Film/Video and Photographic Arts at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus

Fairleigh Dickinson's film program starts graduates at $22,311—below both the national median ($25,173) and especially New Jersey's stronger film market median ($28,474). You're paying the same debt as peers at Rutgers and Montclair State, but your child will earn $16,000 less than Rutgers graduates right out of school. In a state with just nine film programs, landing in the bottom quartile for earnings should concern you.

The 56% earnings growth to $34,823 by year four looks impressive on paper, but context matters: your child is still catching up to where other NJ film graduates started. At nearby Rutgers campuses, film majors begin their careers earning more than FDU graduates make four years later. The $25,000 debt load is manageable relative to first-year income (1.12 ratio), but the opportunity cost of those early career years—when your child could be building industry connections and advancing—is significant in a competitive field like film.

For a family considering this $25,000 investment, the question is whether FDU's specific program features justify starting $6,000 behind the state average. If your child has guaranteed internship placements or mentorship relationships that offset the earnings gap, it might work. Otherwise, the state's public universities offer demonstrably better financial outcomes in this field.