8 Affordable Online Photography Degrees (2025)

If you're a visual artist seeking an affordable online photography degree, we can provide a definitive guide to online bachelor's programs in photography for 2024.

As you look into undergraduate photography degrees, you will see three types of degrees available: bachelor of arts (BA), bachelor of fine arts (BFA), and bachelor of science (BS).

Each of these represents a slightly different emphasis in approach and curriculum, varying between more aesthetic approaches emanating from the fine arts to more professional and technical courses in photography.

Be aware that your career goal can help you determine which program to choose. Consider whether your career interest is in commercial or industrial photography (creating images for clients) or in art photography (creating images based upon your own artistic impulses).

Photography can lead to careers like photojournalism, sports photography, and advertising, which many BA or BS programs emphasize. BFA programs might focus more on the aesthetics of visual art and your personal artistic vision.

List of Eight Affordable Photography Degrees Online

While photography is not a common online degree option, we've compiled a list of the eight best and most affordable online photography degree programs for you to choose from.

1. Academy of Art University

The San Francisco-based Academy of Art University's School of Photography offers an online Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Photography that situates the technical knowledge you will need into a foundation of a liberal arts education.

Your curriculum in the arts would include courses to help enhance your perception of visual structure by studying perspective principles, color, drawing, form modeling, value structure, and design theory.

Tuition is the same for both on-campus and online classes, with a per-unit charge of $1,126. Semester tuition is $13,512, with course fees ranging from $3,689 to $9,466. The total estimated four-year degree cost would be between $150,715 and $156,507.

2. Arizona State University

At Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts in Tempe, Arizona, you can earn an online Bachelor of Fine Arts in art with a concentration in digital photography.

You'll learn from the institute's world-class artists, designers, and scholars at America's largest comprehensive design and arts school. With the BFA focus on creative and artistic expression, the primary method of learning in photography courses is by creating images and peer critique.

Courses include global art history, history of photography, and dozens of photography electives such as art and activism, narrative and non-narrative photo editing, land and place, or photographing people.

Tuition each academic year is $7,317 regardless of where you live. Total program tuition could range from $14,634 for a two-year completion student to $29,268 for a four-year student.

3. Liberty University

Based in Lynchburg, Virginia, Liberty University is a Christian school that offers an online Bachelor of Science (BS) in Digital Design with a concentration in Photographic Design.

Putting an emphasis on photography within strategic communication (that is, work for clients, whether individuals, small businesses, or large companies), courses guide students to become effective visual storytellers that can capture the eyes and minds of various audiences.

Core courses cover two- and three-dimensional design, graphic design, art history, and the relationship between art, culture, and technology. Culminating courses include real-world experience through a practicum and internship.

Liberty University provides free electronic textbooks for all undergraduate courses. At a cost of $390 per credit hour, the total cost of your degree could be $23,400 (for a 60-credit degree completion) or $46,800 for a full four-year degree.

4. Lindenwood University

Located in St. Charles, Missouri, this online Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program in art and design with an emphasis in photography provides both a four-year model and an accelerated two-year degree completion program.

Rooted in the liberal arts, the BFA program also provides students with a diversified skillset that includes craftsmanship, artistic innovation, problem-solving, artistic technique, and project development. Graduates leave with a professional portfolio.

Tuition is $495 per credit hour, resulting in a total degree cost of $29,700 (for 60 credits) to $59,400 for 120 credits.

5. Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design BFA in Photography

Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design is located in Lakewood, Colorado, but offers online liberal arts degree programs for students all over the country.

Students in the RMCAD photography program are immersed in the conceptual, practical, and aesthetic aspects of photography while also learning technical, ethical, and professional skills necessary to become a photographer.

Earning a Bachelor's Degree in Photography allows students to seek several career options, including:

• advertising
• aerial and drone photography
• architecture photography
• digital retouching
• editorial photography
• fashion photography
• photojournalism
• portrait photography
• cinematographer
• filmmaker

Online and on campus programs cost $712 per credit hour and does not include fees for equipment, books, or supplies. Students in the photography program will also need to pay a technology fee that varies each semester depending on the classes taken.

6. Savannah College of Art and Design

To prepare graduates for careers in commercial, documentary, or fine art photography, Georgia's most well-known school of art and design, Savannah College of Art and Design, offers dual online photography degree programs, both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in photography.

To enhance your career options, SCAD provides the opportunity to minor in dozens of specialized areas, including but not limited to:

• advertising photography
• architecture
• cinematography
• fashion photography
• graphic design
• museum studies
• scientific illustration

Tuition for a year (three quarter-terms) is $40,095. A four-year degree would cost over $160,000. However, multiple types of financial aid are available.

7. Sessions College

This Arizona-based design school is home to an online Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Digital Photography, a 120-credit program completable in 3.3 years.

In an unusual curriculum plan, Sessions students spend their first two years laying a technical, design, and critical thinking foundation for the creative industries by applying photography, art, and design skills to a variety of projects.

Upper-level students develop a customized course plan with the goal of crafting an industry-ready professional portfolio and exhibition by extending their photography, research, and presentation skills.

Please note that all coursework is photography-based rather than having a traditional university general education curriculum. Tuition is $510 per credit, making the complete four-year degree cost $61,200.

8. Southern New Hampshire University

One of the most affordable U.S. photography degrees available, Southern New Hampshire University's Bachelor of Arts (BA) in digital photography is available online at only $330 per credit, making the cost of a full 120-credit degree only $39,600.

Since the program allows students to transfer up to 90 credits, you could complete your degree for much less than that, depending upon how your transfer courses align with degree requirements.

The SNHU curriculum covers not only the technical skills for photography and digital editing but also a liberal arts foundation coupled with business acumen to prepare you for a career as you develop a professional portfolio.

How Much Does an Online Bachelor's Degree in Photography Cost?

You'll find that tuition for photography programs varies greatly, from $21,000 to $160,000, depending upon the type of degree and school. In our summaries above, we've tried to provide costs for full degree programs since modes of assessing tuition differ.

How To Make an Online Photography Degree Affordable

None of the tuition rates we quote above have accounted for any financial aid, discounts, or scholarships that you might be eligible for. Be sure to consult with each school's financial aid officers to see how you might lower your expenses.

Is an Online Photography Degree Worth It?

Yes. Receiving rigorous training in the craft of photography as well as the history and theory of photography and visual design will provide you with credentials to be regarded as a professional in this career field.

Find an Affordable Degree in Photography Online Today

Start with the schools in this article to find an affordable online photography degree for you.