Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & DesignPrivate (for-profit)

San Francisco Film School

San Francisco, California·Private for-profit, 2-year·Far West·sanfranciscofilmschool.edu
6-yr Graduation
67%
—
Total enrollment
127
peer median 181
Avg net price
$31,029
+$7.0k vs Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
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AboutOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyFacultyPeersDocuments

About

San Francisco Film School, also formerly known as the San Francisco School of Digital Filmmaking and FilmSchoolSF, is a private, for-profit vocational film school in San Francisco, California. The school was founded by Stephen Kopels and Jeremiah Birnbaum in 2005 and works in conjunction with Fog City Productions, a local independent production company, to teach students the art and craft of filmmaking. The programs include an Associate of Applied Sciences in Digital Filmmaking, a Professional Certificate program, workshops, and a GAP Year Semester Program.

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
67%
Full-time retention
25%

Pell equity

0.0pp gap
Pell recipients
100%
Non-Pell
100%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 2 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 2 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
2
Passing
0
0.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

2programs
  • Passing0 · 0.0%
  • No Data2 · 100.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
0
No data
2

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Council on Occupational Education

Accredited since 2013Next review Dec 2031
PreaccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Council on Occupational Education

Accredited since 2012Next review Dec 2025

Action history · 13

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Council on Occupational Education
  2. Mar 2021Approved for Distance Education
    Council on Occupational Education
  3. Dec 2020Approved for Distance Education
    Council on Occupational Education
  4. Dec 2020Approved for Distance Education
    Council on Occupational Education
  5. Nov 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Council on Occupational Education

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$30,437
$30–48k$30,437
$48–75k$31,916
$75–110k—
$110k+—

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$31,029
+$6,993vs Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design median $24,037
Federal loans
21.5%

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 63 students received $398K in Pell grants, alongside $530K in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
63
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$398K
$397,518 total
Direct Loans
$530K
100 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$212K
50 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$317K
50 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 32 borrowers who entered repayment, 5 (15.6%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
15.6%
+13.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
32
Defaulted
5
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
15.3%
2017
22.7%
2018
13.5%
2019
15.6%
2020*
5.4%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at San Francisco Film School

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs1
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

14 total completions
01Visual/Performing Arts
14100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
127
12-mo unduplicated
266
Undergraduate
266
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
85%227
Women
15%39

Race / ethnicity composition

Unknown
66.7%
White
14.2%
Black
9.9%
Hispanic
5.0%
Asian
2.1%
Two or more
1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.7%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 105 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    8.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    13

    San Francisco Film School vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions San Francisco Film School selected for federal comparison reporting.

    IPEDS
    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectSan Francisco Film School
    		67%—127$31,029Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Austin
    		——305$20,738Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts-Boulder
    		——8,504$12,193Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Culinary Institute Inc
    		——316$26,470Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Delta College of Arts & Technology
    		——326$19,590Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Douglas Education Center
    		——178$26,922Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    FINE Mortuary College
    		—76.5%185—Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Jna Institute of Culinary Arts
    		——15$16,679Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts
    		—68.2%70$24,148Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Louisiana Culinary Institute
    		—37.5%77$29,765Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    MediaTech Institute-Dallas
    		——217$18,860Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    MediaTech Institute-Houston
    		——62$16,906Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Miami Media School
    		—100.0%28$30,528Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts
    		—42.8%251$39,413Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Theatre of Arts
    		—100.0%10—Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Worsham College of Mortuary Science
    		—92.0%183$23,925Special Focus Two-Year: Arts & Design
    Peer group median67%76.5%181$24,037

    Institutions like San Francisco Film School

    Explore the federal data for institutions in San Francisco Film School's comparison group.

    IPEDS

    Reports & documents (1)

    Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

    Frequently asked questions about San Francisco Film School

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about San Francisco Film School.

    What is the graduation rate at San Francisco Film School?

    San Francisco Film School reports a 6-year graduation rate of 67% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend San Francisco Film School?

    San Francisco Film School reports a total enrollment of 127 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at San Francisco Film School?

    The average net price at San Francisco Film School is $31,029 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    Where is San Francisco Film School located?

    San Francisco Film School is located in San Francisco, California 94104-2835.

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