Philosophy

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2019

9,310

growing 4.43%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$7,411

growing 1.19%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$38,938

growing 2.98%

Average Wage

$83,766

declining 1.45%

People in Workforce

345,331

growing 2.95%

Average Employee Age

growing 1.3%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Philosophy degree recipients are New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Chicago, IL. The locations with a relatively high number of Philosophy degree recipients are Conception, MO, Epworth, IA, and Westchester, FL. The most common degree awarded to students studying Philosophy is a bachelors degree.

Philosophy and Religious Studies Philosophy

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 St. John Vianney College Seminary and Conception Seminary College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Philosophy.

Tuition costs for Philosophy majors are, on average, $7,411 for in-state public colleges, and $38,938 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 (500 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (5,117 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Philosophy

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Philosophy, is Public, 4-year or above (5,117 completions).

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

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,411

Median In-State Public

$38,938

Median Out of State Private

University of California-Los Angeles has the most Philosophy degree recipients, with 134 degrees awarded in 2019.

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

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

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

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Philosophy

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Philosophy by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Philosophy.

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 $83,766 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 Religious organizations, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments.

Wages

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.

$83,766

Average Wage in Workforce

± $4,209

1.45%

1 Year Growth

± 7.31%

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

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

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.

Occupations

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

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, Religious workers, all other, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

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 Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents, Physicians, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

Occupations by Share

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

345,331

2019 Workforce

± 14,411

2.95%

1 Year Growth

± 5.77%

The number of Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.95%, from 335,436 in 2018 to 345,331 in 2019.

The largest single share of Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates go on to work as Clergy (10.2%). 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.

Industries

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 Religious organizations, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Elementary & secondary schools.

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 Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Offices of physicians, and Communications, & audio & video equipment manufacturing.

Industries by Share

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

345,331

2019 Workforce

± 14,411

2.95%

1 Year Growth

± 5.77%

The number of Philosophy and Religious Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.95%, from 335,436 in 2018 to 345,331 in 2019.

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

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

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.

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.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. 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 (5,369 students).

Workforce Age

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

Average Age in 2019

± 0.597 Years

1.3%

1 Year Change

± 1.86%

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 29 and 34 years old, which represent 3.25% and 3.2% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Philosophy are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.

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.

Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Male (63.7%)

Most Common Gender with a Degree in this Field

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

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
5,369 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
1,369 degrees awarded
Non-resident Alien
640 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.

Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

White Male
2,975 degrees awarded
White Female
1,560 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Male
672 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by gender 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 gender.

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

Korea
3,498 degree recipients
Canada
3,264 degree recipients
India
3,002 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Sri Lanka
19.7 times more than expected
Spain
9.11 times more than expected
France
8.26 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Sri Lanka that hold Philosophy and Religious Studies degrees (19.7 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 Korea (3,498 degree recipients).

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 Instructing.

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.