Philosophy

CIP Code: 38.0101

A philosophy degree prepares graduates for careers in Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary. 755 colleges and universities offer this program.

Annual Degrees Awarded
8,253
Colleges Offering 755
Avg. Career Salary $78,050
Top Career Salary $78,050

Philosophy Salary by College

Nationally, bachelor’s graduates in this field earn a median $54,455 four years after graduating (middle half: $34,926–$78,043). Where you study it matters: across 86 colleges with reported results, pay ranges from $31,906 to $107,454.

Sort by:

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjusted1 yr afterMedian debtOutcome Rating
1University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA$107,454$109,282$73,053$19,000A+
2California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA$98,592$89,712——A+
3Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA$97,519$85,876$47,345$18,000A+
4CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY$78,041$74,279$30,851—C
5William & Mary Williamsburg, VA$75,423$68,680—$18,312A
6Fordham University Bronx, NY$74,507$70,915—$20,500A+
7University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA$71,796$65,330$25,303$15,000A
8The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX$71,790$72,989$40,881$19,500A+
9University of Chicago Chicago, IL$71,709$70,454—$22,641A+
10University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC$70,709$75,881$34,284$14,618A+
11Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ$70,628$61,989—$19,250B
12University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA$68,629$60,435——C+
13Boston University Boston, MA$68,026$59,904$40,377$25,375A+
14CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY$67,948$64,672$27,926—C+
15University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI$67,293$70,953$37,885$19,125A+
17Pennsylvania State University-World Campus University Park, PA$65,675$66,792$17,881$23,250C+
16Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA$65,675$66,792$17,881$23,250A
18California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA$65,115$59,250$29,326$14,753C+
19George Washington University Washington, DC$64,898$56,867——A+
20University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD$64,846$56,910$35,608$19,500A+
21Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA$64,402$58,644$26,192$20,500C
22American Public University System Charles Town, WV$64,098$75,832——C+
23University of Scranton Scranton, PA$63,410$64,489$32,513$27,000A
24University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$63,326$57,623$36,355$13,345A+
25University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA$61,754$56,192$30,182$15,000A+
27University of Washington-Bothell Campus Bothell, WA$61,595$56,654$42,072$13,500A
26University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA$61,595$56,654$42,072$13,500A
28University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI$61,186$63,667$35,975$21,500A+
29Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL$60,571$59,511—$26,000A
30Georgia State University Atlanta, GA$60,009$62,121—$22,600D
32Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ$59,935$61,584$40,286$24,188B+
31Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ$59,935$61,584$40,286$24,188B+
33Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK$59,640$66,962——B+
34University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI$59,370$61,777$34,666$24,500C+
35The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN$59,329$64,811—$26,000B+
38Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ$58,891$51,688$40,113$21,625B+
37Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ$58,891$51,688$40,113$21,625A
36Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ$58,891$51,688$40,113$21,625B+
39University of Oregon Eugene, OR$58,635$58,980$27,640$24,500B
40University of California-Davis Davis, CA$58,633$53,352$32,749$13,000A
41North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC$58,285$62,548—$21,706A
42West Virginia University Morgantown, WV$57,041$67,483——B+
43Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$56,885$54,143$52,668$20,937A+
44University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN$56,812$54,268——B
45University of Iowa Iowa City, IA$56,786$59,732—$25,385A
46University of Houston Houston, TX$55,875$56,808—$24,200B+
47Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH$55,823$59,572$39,971$20,800A
48University of Arizona Tucson, AZ$55,804$57,340$34,289$19,750B
49University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA$54,868$48,317$36,581—C+
50Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX$54,822$55,738$30,058$17,375A
51San Diego State University San Diego, CA$53,390$48,581$29,712$25,000B
52University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN$53,189$50,807$31,652$20,500A
53California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA$53,127$48,342——C
54University of Florida Gainesville, FL$52,656$56,046$24,048$17,413A+
55New York University New York, NY$52,633$50,096$40,359$23,250A+
56University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA$52,436$53,328——A
57St. John's University-New York Queens, NY$52,006$49,499——B+
58University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$51,831$47,163$38,380$7,500A+
59University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA$51,402$46,772$25,171$19,022B+
60University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA$51,398$46,769$30,285$15,000B+
61Texas State University San Marcos, TX$50,768$51,616$27,893$24,500C+
62Portland State University Portland, OR$50,191$50,487$24,124$18,822C+
63Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge, LA$50,016$57,897$20,222$18,375A
64University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO$49,909$46,675$32,480$25,000D
65CUNY Hunter College New York, NY$49,583$47,193$10,363—B
66University of South Florida Tampa, FL$49,561$52,751$21,168—B+
67Utah Valley University Orem, UT$49,403$46,822$43,699—B+
68The Catholic University of America Washington, DC$49,378$43,268—$26,759B+
69California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA$49,062$44,643—$12,919B
70California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA$48,566$44,192$20,822—C
71Temple University Philadelphia, PA$47,414$48,220$28,648$25,000B+
72Florida State University Tallahassee, FL$47,153$50,188$27,072$22,000A
73University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC$46,067$49,436$29,251$23,750B
74California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA$44,533$40,522$30,171—C+
75University of Louisville Louisville, KY$44,329$50,194——B
76CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY$43,165$41,084$43,311$17,600C
77Florida International University Miami, FL$43,085$45,858$31,583$13,393B+
78San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA$42,993$39,121$28,539$15,750B
79California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA$42,337$38,524$20,354$13,824C+
80University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN$41,209$39,363—$17,500A
81Hobart William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY$40,284$38,342—$27,000B+
82Wheaton College Wheaton, IL$40,076$39,374—$23,685B+
83University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI$39,532$41,135$31,662$22,993C
84University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL$34,482$33,878$21,824$18,413A+
85The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX$33,457$34,016$14,151$13,000D
86Franciscan University of Steubenville Steubenville, OH$31,906$34,048$32,165$20,000C+

Bachelor’s degrees. Wage-adjusted = pay ÷ √(state wage index). Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data.

What Can You Do With a Philosophy Degree?

Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:

Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary

$78,050 +0.7% growth
$78,050
Average Salary Across Careers
$78,050
Highest Paying Career
1
Career Paths Available

Best Colleges for Philosophy

Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in philosophy.

# College Location Degrees Awarded Repit Grade
1 University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 121 A+
2 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 62 A+
3 University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 102 A
4 University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 96 A
5 New York University New York, NY 86 A
6 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY 83 A
7 University of Chicago Chicago, IL 78 A
8 Boston University Boston, MA 77 A
9 Emory University Atlanta, GA 63 A
10 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 58 A
11 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 56 A
12 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 55 A
13 University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 53 A
14 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 52 A
15 Tufts University Medford, MA 47 A
16 Harvard University Cambridge, MA 41 A
17 University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA 41 A
18 Cornell University Ithaca, NY 41 A
19 Stanford University Stanford, CA 37 A
20 University of Georgia Athens, GA 37 A
21 Princeton University Princeton, NJ 37 A
22 Brown University Providence, RI 37 A
23 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 35 A
24 University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 34 A
25 Yale University New Haven, CT 33 A
26 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA 30 A
27 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA 26 A
28 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 102 B+
29 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 78 B+
30 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 67 B+

Largest Philosophy Programs

Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most philosophy graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.

# College Location Degrees Awarded Repit Grade
1 University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 121 A+
2 University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 102 A
3 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA 102 B+
4 University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 96 A
5 New York University New York, NY 86 A
6 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY 83 A
7 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO 83 B
8 University of Chicago Chicago, IL 78 A
9 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 78 B+
10 Boston University Boston, MA 77 A
11 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI 67 B+
12 Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 65 C
13 Emory University Atlanta, GA 63 A
14 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI 62 A+
15 University of California-Davis Davis, CA 62 B+
16 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA 61 B+
17 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 58 A
18 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 56 A
19 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 55 A
20 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 54 B+
21 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA 54 B+
22 University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO 54 B
23 University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA 53 A
24 University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 53 B
25 University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 52 A
26 Holy Apostles College and Seminary Cromwell, CT 48 C+
27 Tufts University Medford, MA 47 A
28 Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ 47 B
29 The New School New York, NY 47 B
30 Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 45 B+
8,253
Degrees Awarded Annually
755
Colleges Offering Program
1
Related Careers

About Philosophy

Philosophy is a degree program offered at 755 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 8,253 students graduate with this degree.

Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary.

Program Classification

CIP Code 38.0101
Field (2-digit CIP) 38
Category (4-digit CIP) 38.01

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do with a Philosophy degree?
A Philosophy degree can lead to careers as a philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary, and more. Top earners in related careers can make up to $78,050 annually.
How many colleges offer Philosophy?
755 colleges and universities in the United States offer Philosophy as a degree program. Each year, approximately 8,253 students graduate with this degree.
What are the best colleges for Philosophy?
The best colleges for Philosophy based on Repit's ratings include University of California-Los Angeles, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of California-Berkeley, New York University. Rankings are based on the college's overall Repit grade and the number of degrees awarded in this program.
What is the salary potential with a Philosophy degree?
Graduates with a Philosophy degree can expect average salaries around $78,050 in related careers. Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.