Philosophy

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2023
8,662
declining 5%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$7,773
growing 0.739%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$44,208
growing 4.14%
Average Wage
$104,219
growing 4.7%
People in Workforce
369,821
growing 2.65%
Average Employee Age
45
growing 0.158%

About

Philosophy and Religious StudiesPhilosophy

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Philosophy and the types of students that study this field. University of California-Los Angeles awards the most degrees in Philosophy in the US, but Conception Seminary College and St. John Vianney College Seminary have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Philosophy.

Tuition costs for Philosophy majors are, on average, $7,773 for in-state public colleges, and $44,208 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Philosophy programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (461 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (4,604 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Philosophy (2023)
  1. University of California-Los Angeles
    127 degrees awarded
  2. Boston College
    111 degrees awarded
  3. University of California-Santa Barbara
    110 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Philosophy, is Public, 4-year or above (4,604 completions in 2023).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Philosophy programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,773
Median In-State Public
$44,208
Median Out of State Private

University of California-Los Angeles has the most Philosophy degree recipients, with 127 degrees awarded in 2023.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Philosophy.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution
  1. Conception Seminary College
    100%
  2. St. John Vianney College Seminary
    94.1%
  3. Divine Word College
    45.8%

Out of all institutions that offer Philosophy programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Conception Seminary College has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Philosophy, with 100%.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Philosophy and Religious Studies majors is $104,219 and the most common occupations are Clergy, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Postsecondary teachers.

The industry that employs the most Philosophy and Religious Studies majors is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Metal forgings & stampings.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
$104,219
Average Wage in Workforce
± $4,933
4.7%
1 Year Growth
± 6.45%

The average salary for Philosophy and Religious Studies majors is $104,219 and the most common occupations are Clergy, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Postsecondary teachers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Philosophy and Religious Studies majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
Highest Paying Pumas
  1. Loudoun County (Northeast)--Sterling & Ashburn (Northeast/Ashburn Village) PUMA, VA
    $494,564
  2. Essex County (North)--Newburyport, Amesbury & North Andover PUMA, MA
    $457,515
  3. Hampden County (East)--Chicopee PUMA, MA
    $442,805

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Philosophy and Religious Studies majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Philosophy and Religious Studies majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.

The most common occupations for Philosophy and Religious Studies majors, by number of employees, are Clergy, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Postsecondary teachers.

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Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Philosophy and Religious Studies majors working as Clergy, Judicial law clerks, and Religious workers, all other.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Philosophy and Religious Studies majors are Magnetic resonance imaging technologists, Cardiovascular technologists and technicians, and Surgeons.

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Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
369,821
2023 Workforce
± 14,912
2.65%
1 Year Growth
± 5.59%

The number of Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.65%, from 360,259 in 2022 to 369,821 in 2023.

The largest single share of Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates go on to work as Clergy (9.07%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Philosophy and Religious Studies by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.

The most common industries that employ Philosophy and Religious Studies majors, by number of employees, are Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Religious organizations, and Elementary & secondary schools.

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Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.

The highest paying industries of Philosophy and Religious Studies majors, by average wage, are Metal forgings & stampings, Pipeline transportation, and Railroad rolling stock manufacturing.

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Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
369,821
2023 Workforce
± 14,912
2.65%
1 Year Growth
± 5.59%

The number of Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.65%, from 360,259 in 2022 to 369,821 in 2023.

The industry which employs the most Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates by share is Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, followed by Religious organizations. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Philosophy and Religious Studies.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
PUMAS with a relatively high number of Philosophy and Religious Studies majors
  1. District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC
    8.16
  2. NYC-Brooklyn Community District 2--Downtown Brooklyn & Fort Greene PUMA, NY
    6.92
  3. Multnomah County--Portland City (Central East) PUMA, OR
    6.67

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Philosophy and Religious Studies majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Philosophy and Religious Studies majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies is 45.

N/A Male employees are more likely to hold Philosophy and Religious Studies degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Philosophy and Religious Studies (4,765 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
45
Average Age in 2023
± 0.564 Years
0.158%
1 Year Change
± 1.79%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Philosophy and Religious Studies. The most common ages of employees with this major are 37 and 34 years old, which represent 3.29% and 3.04% of the population, respectively.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Philosophy and Religious Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (60.1%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Philosophy.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    4,765 degrees awarded
  2. Hispanic or Latino
    1,412 degrees awarded
  3. Non-resident Alien
    732 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Philosophy for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. White Male
    2,516 degrees awarded
  2. White Female
    1,504 degrees awarded
  3. Hispanic or Latino Male
    650 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Philosophy.

White Male students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Philosophy is from the 2 Digit Course Philosophy and Religious Studies.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. India
    4,126 degree recipients
  2. Korea
    3,447 degree recipients
  3. Mexico
    3,286 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Norway
    5.43 times more than expected
  2. Algeria
    5.11 times more than expected
  3. Other Europe, not specified
    5.1 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Norway that hold Philosophy and Religious Studies degrees (5.43 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is India (4,126 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Philosophy field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Philosophy majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Philosophy majors need more than the average amount of Learning Strategies, Writing, and Systems Evaluation.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Philosophy majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Learning Strategies is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

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Bar Chart

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