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An online associate degree in photography is a two-year, roughly 60-credit program that covers the craft foundation – camera operation, exposure, composition, lighting, and the Lightroom and Photoshop workflow – and produces a starting portfolio. It is the shortest degree route into the field and the most common one at community colleges. Because photography is not licensed and hiring runs on the portfolio, an associate can be a complete credential for freelance portrait, event, and product work, or the first half of a bachelor’s, depending on which track you choose.
That track choice is the main decision at this level. An Associate of Arts (AA) or Associate of Science (AS) in photography is built to transfer into a bachelor’s program, with general education designed to satisfy a four-year school’s requirements. An Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in photography or digital photography is built for direct entry into work, with more studio and technical credits and fewer transferable general-education courses. This page explains what each involves, what you will study, what equipment you must supply, and how to compare programs.
A two-year undergraduate degree of roughly 60 credits covering camera fundamentals, composition, lighting, digital workflow, and post-production, plus general education. It is offered as an AA or AS (transfer-oriented) or an AAS (career-oriented). Online versions use your own camera and computer in place of the campus studio and run critique through video sessions and image-review platforms.
Pick the AA or AS if there is any chance you will pursue a bachelor’s, because its general-education courses are designed to transfer. Pick the AAS if you intend to work immediately and want the maximum number of studio and technical courses in two years. AAS credits can transfer, but four-year schools often accept fewer of them, so the bachelor’s takes longer if you change your mind.
Yes. No degree is required to work in photography, and an associate program that produces a solid portfolio and teaches pricing and licensing is a workable launch point for freelance portrait, wedding, event, real estate, and small-product work. Salaried positions that list a degree requirement usually specify a bachelor’s, so check postings for the roles you want.
Two years full-time is the standard plan. Part-time enrollment extends it; transfer credit or an accelerated format can shorten it. Studio courses are sequenced, so the fastest possible completion is limited by how often each course is offered.
A camera with manual controls and interchangeable lenses, at least one lens, a tripod, a computer that runs Lightroom and Photoshop, and ideally a calibrated monitor. Lighting courses add a light and modifier. Programs publish a required list; budget for it separately from tuition.
Often, particularly with an AA or AS from a college that has an articulation agreement with the four-year school. Studio credits usually require a portfolio review to transfer into the major. Confirm the receiving school’s policy before enrolling rather than after.
For a full map of this program area, start here: Photography Program Guide
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: New England Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard
The transfer track splits credits roughly evenly between general education and the photography foundation. The general-education courses – composition, humanities, math, a science, social science – are chosen to satisfy a four-year school’s lower-division requirements, and the photography courses mirror the foundation year of a BFA or BA: introductory photography, composition, history of photography, digital workflow, and an introductory lighting or studio course. The goal is to arrive at a bachelor’s program as a junior with the foundation complete. The practical advice is to identify the bachelor’s program you would transfer to before you enroll and to plan the associate around its transfer guide.
The AAS trades general education for studio and technical depth: more lighting, more post-production, a commercial or portrait course, often a video basics course, and usually a business-of-photography course and a portfolio capstone. It is designed to make you employable or self-employable in two years. The cost of that design is transferability – four-year schools frequently accept AAS general-education credits but evaluate the technical courses case by case, and a later bachelor’s may take closer to three years than two. If you are certain you want to work rather than continue, the AAS is the more useful degree; if you are not certain, the AA or AS preserves the option at little cost.
Some colleges offer photography as a concentration in an associate in visual arts, digital media, or graphic design. This route builds design and layout skills alongside camera work and is worth considering if your interest includes content production for marketing or social media, where the salaried market is larger. Graphic designers had a median annual wage of $62,960 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), compared with $44,660 for photographers (BLS OEWS, May 2025). See the graphic design program guide for the design side of that pairing.
| Course Topic | What You Learn |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Photography | Exposure, focal length, depth of field, and manual camera control |
| Composition & Design | Framing, balance, line, and how the viewer reads an image |
| History of Photography | The medium’s development and the work clients and critics reference |
| Digital Workflow (Lightroom) | Importing, cataloging, raw processing, and batch editing |
| Post-Production (Photoshop) | Retouching, masking, layers, and preparing files for print and web |
| Studio Lighting | One-light and two-light setups, modifiers, and controlling contrast |
| Portrait or Commercial Photography | Directing subjects, shooting to a brief, and delivering usable files |
| Business of Photography | Pricing, licensing, releases, and finding clients (more common in AAS tracks) |
| Portfolio Capstone | A reviewed body of work presented for clients or transfer |
Associate programs generally admit on the standard college application without a portfolio. The sequence inside the program is what matters: introductory photography precedes lighting and post-production, and the capstone assumes all of it. Studio sections are small because critique does not scale, and online sections may be offered only once a year. Confirm:
If you are moving faster than a standard two-year plan, compare accelerated photography programs.
At the associate level, transfer works in both directions. Credits you bring in – from dual enrollment, prior college, or CLEP – can reduce general-education requirements. Credits you carry out matter more, so ask the receiving bachelor’s program:
See Affordable Online Photography Degrees for more on managing total program cost, including the associate-to-bachelor’s route.
Verify that the college holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor through the U.S. Department of Education database. For a transfer track, this is the single most important check, because four-year schools generally do not accept credits from unaccredited institutions.
The associate is the right level if you want a structured foundation and a starting portfolio in two years, with the option to transfer. A bachelor’s in photography adds two years of advanced studio work, a thesis portfolio, and the credential that salaried postings tend to list. A photography certificate is shorter and narrower – better if you already have a degree or already work in the field and need one skill set rather than a full foundation.
Compare degree options:
Data verified: August 25, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
Back to Online Photography Degrees: Programs & Careers (2026)
