Best Producer programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Produce or direct stage, television, radio, video, or film productions for entertainment, information, or instruction.
147 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 8,519 people a year. The job pays a median of $129,790 in California across about 34,110 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
9 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 09.0701In California → | 2,880 | 33.8% | 65 | $29,112 | $23,836 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0602In California → | 2,113 | 24.8% | 50 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 3 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, Generalmain feeder CIP 50.0501In California → | 1,884 | 22.1% | 121 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 4 | CIP 50.0601In California → | 1,559 | 18.3% | 42 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 5 | Musical Theatremain feeder CIP 50.0509In California → | 45 | 0.5% | 6 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 6 | CIP 50.0607In California → | 12 | 0.1% | 3 | $25,014 | $24,650 |
| 7 | Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Othermain feeder CIP 50.0599In California → | 11 | 0.1% | 3 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 8 | Directing and Theatrical Productionmain feeder CIP 50.0507In California → | 9 | 0.1% | 3 | $20,667 | $24,994 |
| 9 | CIP 50.1004In California → | 6 | 0.1% | 3 | $28,050 | $25,468 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 29 of the 147 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 520 | Radio and Television | $27,278 | 57% | — | 93% |
| 2 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 407 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $34,187 | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 3 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 317 | Film/Cinema/Media Studies | $18,654 | 50% | — | 96% |
| 4 | California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 311 | Radio and Television | $25,988 | 69% | — | 46% |
| 5 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 275 | Radio and Television | $24,650 | 70% | — | 91% |
| 6 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 274 | Film/Cinema/Media Studies | $21,397 | 87% | — | 29% |
| 7 | New York Film Academy Burbank, CA Private for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 266 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $17,109 | 68% | $46,505 | — |
| 8 | Chapman University Orange, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 262 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $35,795 | 82% | $42,965 | 65% |
| 9 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 254 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $24,561 | 79% | $36,488 | 45% |
| 10 | Los Angeles Valley College Valley Glen, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 244 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 32% | — | — |
| 11 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 191 | Film/Cinema/Media Studies | $29,696 | 93% | — | 9% |
| 12 | California State University - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 190 | Radio and Television | $22,133 | 53% | — | 91% |
| 13 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 190 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $24,840 | 76% | — | 76% |
| 14 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 189 | Film/Cinema/Media Studies | $28,608 | 83% | — | 33% |
| 15 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 174 | Film/Cinema/Media Studies | $29,011 | 93% | — | 11% |
| 16 | Moorpark College Moorpark, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 172 | Radio and Television | — | 44% | — | — |
| 17 | San Diego State University San Diego, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 157 | Radio and Television | $22,487 | 76% | — | 36% |
| 18 | Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 153 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 36% | — | — |
| 19 | Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 140 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $22,596 | 41% | $32,792 | — |
| 20 | American Film Institute Conservatory Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 139 | Film/Cinema/Media Studies | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Los Angeles City College Los Angeles, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 118 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | — | 29% | — | — |
| 22 | Orange Coast College Costa Mesa, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 116 | Radio and Television | — | 48% | — | — |
| 23 | City College of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 109 | Radio and Television | — | 40% | — | — |
| 24 | California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 102 | Cinematography and Film/Video Production | $24,618 | 56% | — | 94% |
| 25 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 101 | Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General | — | 49% | — | — |
All 147 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University - Northridge | Northridge | Public | 520 | 2 |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 407 | 5 |
| San Francisco State University | San Francisco | Public | 317 | 4 |
| California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach | Public | 311 | 4 |
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 275 | 2 |
| University of California - Irvine | Irvine | Public | 274 | 3 |
| New York Film Academy | Burbank | Private for-profit | 266 | 3 |
| Chapman University | Orange | Private not-for-profit | 262 | 3 |
| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 254 | 3 |
| Los Angeles Valley College | Valley Glen | Public | 244 | 4 |
| University of California - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 191 | 2 |
| California State University - Los Angeles | Los Angeles | Public | 190 | 2 |
| University of California - Riverside | Riverside | Public | 190 | 2 |
| University of California - Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara | Public | 189 | 2 |
| University of California - Berkeley | Berkeley | Public | 174 | 2 |
What producers and directors earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $90,360. California pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Producers and Directors page.
How to become a Producer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 10 majors mapped to Producers and Directors10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0701Radio and Television
- 50.0501Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General
- 50.0507Directing and Theatrical Production
- 50.0509Musical Theatre
- 50.0512Theatre and Dance
- 50.0599Dramatic/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other
- 50.0601Film/Cinema/Media Studies
- 50.0602Cinematography and Film/Video Production
- 50.0607Documentary Production
- 50.1004Theatre/Theatre Arts Management
Common questions
Answers for people weighing producers and directors programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Producer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Radio and Television, which awarded 2,880 degrees in California in 2024-25, 33.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Producer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Film/Video and Photographic Arts, Radio, Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Arts. Together they graduate about 8,519 people a year in California.
How much do producers and directors earn in California?+
The median is $129,790 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 43.6% above the U.S. median of $90,360. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for producers and directors growing?+
BLS projects a +4.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 12,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
147 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 9 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do producers and directors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Director, Producer, Casting Agent, News Director, News Producer, Program Manager among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-2012.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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