Philosophy at Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA · Bachelor's Degree · about 77 graduates a year

$47,345
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$97,519
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$54,455
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#3 of 86
Rank by pay
#3 of 86
Rank, wage-adjusted
$18,000
Median federal debt

Boston College graduates in philosophy earn 79% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 18% of one year’s pay at that point.

How Boston College Compares for Philosophy

All 86 colleges reporting philosophy earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA$107,454$109,282#1$73,053
2California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA$98,592$89,712#2—
3Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA$97,519$85,876#3$47,345
4CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY$78,041$74,279#6$30,851
5William & Mary Williamsburg, VA$75,423$68,680#11—
6Fordham University Bronx, NY$74,507$70,915#9—
7University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA$71,796$65,330#16$25,303
8The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX$71,790$72,989#7$40,881
9University of Chicago Chicago, IL$71,709$70,454#10—
10University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC$70,709$75,881#4$34,284

Other Majors at Boston College by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Finance and Financial Management Services$147,746$82,495#5 of 452
Computer Science$143,204$86,749#38 of 349
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations$132,903$74,446#1 of 67
Information Science/Studies$131,090$80,731#2 of 148
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$126,475$80,046#6 of 126
Accounting and Related Services$126,461$75,512#4 of 796
Business Administration, Management and Operations$123,144$71,675#9 of 1176
Economics$121,337$72,099#30 of 368
Mathematics$111,072$74,144#16 of 309
Marketing$106,353$66,227#3 of 516
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$94,867$78,934#210 of 966
International/Globalization Studies$91,874$51,371#1 of 87
Political Science and Government$86,537$46,764#28 of 565
Biology$83,614$38,592#13 of 841
Communication and Media Studies$83,586$55,162#5 of 660
Natural Resources Conservation and Research$82,861$49,111#1 of 265
History$80,073$41,341#11 of 459
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology$76,328$42,384#3 of 59
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$75,274$42,474#25 of 110
English Language and Literature$70,141$41,878#11 of 576
Sociology$70,121$48,091#14 of 462
Psychology$70,033$44,760#26 of 1027
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods$61,719$43,262#19 of 680

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Boston College philosophy graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $47,345 one year after graduating and $97,519 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does Boston College rank for philosophy?

Among 86 colleges reporting earnings for philosophy graduates, Boston College ranks #3 by median pay four years after graduation, and #3 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is philosophy at Boston College worth it?

Its graduates earn 79% more than the national median for philosophy ($54,455), and the median federal debt at graduation is $18,000.

← All data for Boston College · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.