If you’re passionate about photography and want to turn your hobby into a career, you’ll need to find the best photography school in Texas. Luckily, there are several great schools to choose from.
Our team of photograph experts researched several photography schools in Texas based on the following criteria: accreditation, faculty, reputation, graduation success rates, online availability, and campus locations. We then compared these factors to come up with a list of top five photography schools in Texas.
Here are our choices for the best photography school in Texas:
Texas State University
Texas State University in San Marcos is our choice for the top photography school in Texas because of their reputable faculty, flexible accreditation options, and strong independent study component.
Founded in 1899 as the first public university in the San Marcos area, Texas State University’s enrollment is now more than 38,000 students. The school offers over 200 undergraduate degree programs and 120 graduate degree programs through their nine colleges including a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Major in Photography.
University of Houston
University of Houston is our choice for the best photography school in Houston because of their acclaimed faculty and strong photography program.
Established in 1927, University of Houston is a public research university with an enrollment over 44,000 students. As the flagship institution of the University of Houston System, it offers more than 300 degree programs through its 12 colleges including a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) with a concentration in Photography.
Another reason we like UH is the affordable tuition and financial aid packages. Their tuition is based on a semester system, where 15 hours of class time per week will cost you about $4,042 per semester for in-state students and $8,077 for out-of-state students according to the UH Tuition Estimator.
Amarillo College
Amarillo College is our choice for the best photography college in West Texas. We like Amarillo College because of their affordability and convenient campus location.
Established in 1929, Amarillo College is a public two-year community college with an enrollment of over 12,000 students. The school offers over 40 degree programs through their seven divisions including a Photographer Certificate Program.
Tuition for in-district residents will cost you about $68 per credit which means it is affordable for most people. Out cost include $2,016 for an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree. Out-of-district residents will pay about $380 per credit or $4,480 for an AAS degree.
University of Texas
The University of Texas in Austin is one of the biggest schools in Texas and our pick for the best photography school in central Texas. We like UT because of their accredited bachelor’s program in Digital Media-Photography and Film with Associate in Science (AS) option in Photography.
Established in 1883, the University of Texas is a public research university with an enrollment over 50,000 students. Their main campus consists of 300+ buildings across more than 1,500 acres.
UT offers one of the best programs in the state because of their best-in-class faculty and low tuition. The Digital Media-Photography and Film Bachelor’s program costs less than $9,000 per year for in-state residents. This includes a fully accredited bachelor’s degree plus the Associate in Science option for those who have already earned an AAS from a Texas community college.
St. Philip’s College
St. Philip’s College, located in San Antonio, made our list of the top rated photography schools in Texas because of the school’s quality instructors and low tuition.
Founded in 1898, St. Philip’s College is a public two-year community college with an enrollment of over 10,000 students. The school offers more than 40 degree programs through their seven divisions including a Photographer Certificate Program that costs less than $3,500 for the whole course.
St. Philip’s is a good choice for photography students who want to transfer credits from a two-year college to a four-year university. Since most universities accept lower division courses, many students can save money by starting at St. Philip’s and then transferring credits into their bachelor degree program.
Saint Edward’s University
Saint Edward’s University is another top photography school in Austin. We like Saint Edward’s University because of the school’s small class size and low tuition.
Established in 1885, Saint Edward’s University is a private liberal arts university with an enrollment of about 3,000 students. The school offers over 40 undergraduate degree programs through their four colleges including two best-in-class photography degrees – Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication Studies with Photography Emphasis and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Photography.
Tuition for Saint Edward’s University is low for a private school at about $26,000 per year which includes the best-in-class photography degrees. In addition you can apply for scholarships to further reduce your costs.
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University, located in Fort Worth, is our favorite photography school in Dallas due to its best-in-class faculty and best-in-class photography degrees.
Established in 1873, Texas Christian University is a private university with an enrollment over 9,000 students. The school offers more than 90 undergraduate degree programs through their eight colleges including two best-in-class photography degrees – Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication with Photography Concentration and Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Commercial Photography.
Tuition for TCU is a little more expensive than other photography schools at about $31,000 per year which includes best-in-class photography degrees. In addition you can apply for scholarships to further reduce your costs.
How To Choose The Best Photography School
Choosing a photography school can be difficult. It’s not as easy as going with the first one you see.
You need to do your research and find out what school is best for you. You’ll want to think about location, price, size of classes, and how hands-on the program is.
In this article we’ll give some important considerations when choosing a photography school in Texas that will help make it easier for you to figure out which one would be best for you or anyone else who wants to get into photography professionally!
How We Rated The Top Texas Photography Schools
Are you a potential student looking for more information about photography schools?
Our research team took several important factors into consideration when rating photography schools.
When deciding on the best photography school in Texas, we looked at accuracy of information provided by each school on their official website, accreditation with US Department of Education, faculty experience with industry professionals, class size for hands-on learning experience opportunities – here are the top factors we considered:
- Accreditation and ratings – Does the school hold accreditation with a US Department of Education approved national organization? Does the school hold accreditation with a US Department of Education approved national organization? How long has the school been in operation and do they offer continuing education and professional development for alumni?
- Faculty experience and student outcomes – What kind of teaching methods does the school use and what is the average class size? What kind of teaching methods does the school use and what is the average class size? How many graduates has the school had in recent years and how long ago did they graduate from that particular institution?
- Reputation – Does their website have a lot of positive reviews from students, alumni, and other professionals in related fields
- Location – All of these photography school are located in the Lone Star State
- Student to Teacher Ratio – For the hands-on learning experience, this is a very important factor!
- Job opportunities – What are the average starting salaries for graduates? Being able to get a well paying job after graduation is very important.
- Online availability – Are their courses available online? Many photography schools now offer opportunities for students to take classes online, so it’s good to find one that does!
- Campus locations – How many campuses does the school have? Some photographers may want to work in a more metropolitan environment while others may prefer working in rural areas.
- Financial aid and tuition – Affordable education is more important than ever in 2022 and most of the photography schools on our list offer a variety of financial aid options for those that qualify.
