Highlights

• James Franco is not only a successful actor, but also an accomplished author, poet and academic with multiple degrees from top universities.
• Franco spent a significant amount of money, totaling over $700,000, on his education, including four master's degrees and a doctorate.
• Despite his achievements, Franco's career has been marred by serious sexual misconduct allegations, and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to make a comeback in Hollywood.

James Franco has been acting since 1997, and he's most famous for playing Harry Osborn in the Spiderman trilogy and for Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. Franco is a household name because of the roles he plays, but only a select few know that he is a published author with 19 books to his name. Fewer still know that Franco is a poet, an academic with a doctorate in English, and a college professor.

James Franco is a proud owner of four master’s degrees and a doctorate from some of the best universities in the United States, and he has paid a pretty penny to have his name printed on those pieces of paper.

Updated January 2024: James Franco has all but disappeared since serious sexual misconduct allegations were brought against him over the past several years. Since those allegations, Franco has admitted to being a sex addict and has sought treatment. Franco's talent has landed him four roles that are in various stages of production. However, it likely won't be Franco's talent that'll bring audiences to the theaters. It will be whether they believe his apologies for his behavior and are ready to forgive him.

7 James Franco’s Background, Ethnicity, Age, And Accomplishments

Franco Has Won 3 Emmy Awards, A Golden Globe, And Has Been Nominated For An Oscar

• At 45 years old, Franco earned an impressive number of accomplishments

James Franco was born on April 19, 1978. He is currently 45 years old. He is of Portuguese and Swedish decent on his father's side and Russian-Jewish on his mother's side.

Franco has some amazing awards to his name. He is an Academy Award nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for the film, 127 Hours. Franco is also a three-time Primetime Emmy Awards nominee and a Golden Globe winner and nominee for 127 Hours, Pineapple Express, and The Disaster Artist, which he directed as well as starred in.

This is not to say that his rise to stardom and acting was easy. When Franco first attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1996, he dropped out to pursue his acting career. However, a decade later, he went back to the same college to continue his education, and he did great.

Franco got his undergraduate from UCLA and went ahead and got five more degrees. Which, unsurprisingly, cost a fortune.

6 James Franco Attended UCLA

Degree Earned: Bachelor's Degree In English And Creative Writing

• Franco spent over $77,000 on his degree

In 2006, Franco went back to UCLA to get his degree. He graduated in 2008 with a good GPA and an undergraduate degree in creative writing.

Franco would go on to teach a winter session screenwriting class at UCLA after completing his degree.

To get his degree completed in two years, Franco had to receive special permission from UCLA to take 62 units per semester.

The cost of this degree for the 2023/2024 terms is $38,517 per year. Considering it took two years to complete the degree, it is estimated that Franco spent approximately $77,034 for his time at UCLA.

5 James Franco Attended Columbia University

Degree Earned: Master's Degree In Fine Arts In Writing

• Franco spent over $270,000 on his degree

In 2008, Franco enrolled at Columbia University along with three other schools at the same time.

In two years, Franco graduated and got his degree from Columbia. Following this degree, Franco was published in many publications, including Esquire and the Wall Street Journal.

Columbia University is another prestigious institution that Franco taught at.

A master’s degree takes 2 years. Per semester at Columbia, the fees for the 2023/2024 school year are $33,932. As such, per year, Franco was paying around $135,728 for a total of about $271,456 to get his Master's Degree from Columbia.

4 James Franco Attended NYU

Degree Earned: Master's Degree In Fine Arts In Filmmaking

• Franco spent over $150,000 on his degree

In 2011, Franco got his Master’s Degree in film from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Once he completed his studies, Franco taught many courses at NYU. This happened despite receiving a “D” in acting class.

Franco has 39 director credits and 25 writer credits to his name. His success and academic achievements weren’t cheap, though. This Master’s costs $75,660 for the 2022/2023 school year. To finish the degree in two years, the grand total was around $151,320.

3 James Franco Attended Warren Wilson College

Degree Earned: Master's Degree In Fine Arts In Poetry

• Franco spent over $80,000 on his degree

The published poet had to work hard to get where he is now. Using his degree, Franco wrote his famous book, Directing Herbert White: Poems. The collection of poems is about making a film of the poem Herbert White by Frank Bidart.

For a two-year Master’s Degree in Poetry for the 2023/2024 term at Warren Wilson College, students would pay around $40,290 per year. That makes the total for a Master's Degree, $80,580.

2 James Franco Attended Brooklyn College

Degree Earned: Master's Degree In Fine Arts In Fiction Writing

• Franco spent over $22,000 on his degree

The degree from Brooklyn College could be one of the least expensive degrees that Franco has got. The tuition fees for this two-year master’s degree are $5,545 per semester. This makes tuition for one year approximately $11,090. For the entire Master's Degree, the total is $22,180.

With this degree, Franco taught fiction writing at Brooklyn College. He also wrote his novel Palo Alto, which was turned into a movie in which he starred.

1 James Franco Attended Yale

Degree Earned: Doctorate Degree In English

• Franco spent over $240,000 on his degree

To top it off, in 2010, Franco decided he wanted to obtain his PhD at Yale in English. A PhD from Yale generally takes five years to complete. If this was the case, with the cost per year of $48,300 according to the 2023/2024 term, the total would have been $241,500 for a Doctorate from Yale. A degree that Franco earned, adding the title of doctor to his resume.

An actor, director, poet, academic, writer, and novelist, Franco is a diverse and multifaceted artist. Thanks to his degrees, he got to teach English, filmmaking, acting, and much more at some of the best universities in the US. Whether his talents will again be put on display in the future is unknown. After all, he is facing serious allegations. But, Hollywood can be a forgiving town to some. Whether Franco falls in this category remains to be seen.