The 2024 Top 50 list ranks the top U.S. film schools, but there’s a big change this year.

The result is a new No. 1, with NYU Tisch School of the Arts edging past top dogs the AFI Conservatory and USC School of Cinematic Arts on the strength of its wide array of courses. Other schools that saw a significant jump include the University of Arizona, the University of Miami, the University of Colorado, and the for-profit, Manhattan-based schools New York Film Academy and the School of Visual Arts.

It’s the first time we’ve partnered with Screen Engine/Asi, a respected entertainment industry data research company, to create a more data-driven system for the rankings. The company, headed by Kevin Goetz, set out to find a less subjective way to consider each school’s strengths and weaknesses. To achieve this, they created a detailed survey and used the answers...