undergradly.
Major · Philosophy and Religious Studies

Examine fundamental questions — logic, ethics, and how we know what we know

Philosophy trains students in rigorous argument, formal logic, ethical reasoning, and the analysis of foundational questions about reality, knowledge, and value. About 5,500 degrees are awarded annually across 880 colleges, almost entirely at the bachelor's level. The most direct occupational connection is postsecondary teaching, which requires doctoral credentials.

Schools offering
880
Annual completions
5,518
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$58k

About this major

Philosophy as a formal major focuses on the structure and evaluation of arguments about fundamental questions — questions about knowledge, reality, morality, language, and the foundations of other disciplines. The CIP definition frames it as the study of ideas and their logical structure, including instruction in logic, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, symbolism, and the history of philosophy. In practice, students work through canonical primary texts — from ancient Greek philosophy through early modern rationalism and empiricism to twentieth-century analytic and continental traditions — while developing formal skills in symbolic logic and argument reconstruction. The goal is not familiarity with a body of facts but facility with a method: identifying exactly what a claim asserts, what supports it, and where the reasoning can be challenged.

The major spans several distinct subfields. Ethics and applied ethics cover moral theory and its application to questions in medicine, law, technology, and business. Epistemology examines the nature and limits of knowledge and justified belief. Metaphysics asks about the nature of reality, identity, causation, and free will. Philosophy of mind investigates consciousness, intentionality, and the relationship between mental and physical states. Logic — both formal and informal — runs through all of them as a foundational tool. Students who complete upper-division work typically develop a specialization in one or two of these areas, often in connection with a planned graduate program or law school application.

Philosophy is smaller than most people expect: about 5,518 degrees are awarded annually across 880 colleges, almost entirely at the bachelor's level. The top completers are concentrated at major research universities — UCLA (103 completions), Berkeley (87), and UCSB (84) lead the list. The only career destination tracked in this major's data is philosophy and religion teacher at the postsecondary level, with a median wage of $78,050 and a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry credential.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary $78k +0.7% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$58k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if the method of philosophy — not just its subject matter — is what draws you. Students who do well in this major tend to enjoy pulling apart arguments to find hidden assumptions, are comfortable with extended uncertainty on questions that don't resolve cleanly, and find the discipline of formal logic satisfying rather than tedious. If you're planning on law school, the reasoning skills that philosophy builds are directly useful, and the LSAT alignment is well documented. If you're genuinely interested in doctoral-level academic philosophy — epistemology, philosophy of mind, ethics — this is the right foundation, and the concentration of strong programs at research universities like Berkeley, UCLA, and the University of Washington means you can find rigorous preparation at the undergraduate level.

Think twice if you're expecting a direct career path at the bachelor's level — the only tracked career in the data requires a doctoral degree, and five-year median earnings sit at about $57,510, which reflects a mix of graduates heading into law and other professional programs rather than a straightforward occupational outcome. Think twice also if you're drawn to philosophy mainly for its content but not its method: if moral philosophy interests you primarily in applied professional contexts, Applied and Professional Ethics (100 completions) is a more focused option, and if you want the analytical training with a stronger quantitative component and clearer professional pipeline, Economics or Political Science may serve you better. Philosophy rewards students who are genuinely interested in the discipline itself, not those treating it as a flexible filler major while waiting to figure out what they actually want to do.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Philosophy

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 103 103
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 0 87 87
University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 0 84 84
Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ 0 65 65
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 0 59 59
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA 0 56 56
Boston University Boston, MA 0 56 56
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO 0 51 51
New York University New York, NY 0 51 51
University of California-Davis Davis, CA 0 46 46
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Philosophy, Other

273 completions/yr

Applied and Professional Ethics

100 completions/yr

Ethics

44 completions/yr

Logic

3 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Philosophy majors actually study day-to-day?
The curriculum centers on close reading of primary texts — from Plato and Aristotle to Kant, Hume, and contemporary philosophers — combined with rigorous argument analysis and writing. Core areas include formal logic (symbolic and predicate logic, proof structures), epistemology (theories of knowledge and justification), metaphysics (the nature of reality, identity, causation), ethics, and the history of philosophy. Students write frequently, almost always under the expectation that every claim is supported by argument. Upper-division courses often go deep into specific debates: philosophy of mind, political philosophy, philosophy of science, or applied ethics tracks. The work is less about memorizing positions and more about learning to evaluate and construct arguments precisely.
What kinds of jobs do Philosophy graduates end up in?
The occupation most directly tied to a philosophy credential is philosophy and religion teacher at the postsecondary level, with a median wage of $78,050 — but the typical entry credential for that role is a doctoral or professional degree, not a bachelor's. That means most philosophy graduates do not enter a philosophy-specific career after the bachelor's; they enter adjacent fields where analytical and writing skills transfer. Law is the most common professional route: philosophy majors historically post strong LSAT scores. Business analysis, policy work, technical writing, and management consulting are other destinations. None of these paths flow automatically from the degree — they require intentional positioning during or after the undergraduate years.
What are realistic earnings after a Philosophy bachelor's degree?
Five-year median earnings for philosophy completers run about $57,510 — based on bachelor's completers, since associate's earnings data for this field is not tracked. That figure sits above the mid-range bachelor's median and above what many humanities fields show, which partly reflects that philosophy graduates skew toward selective universities and often pursue graduate education. The single direct career destination in the packet — postsecondary philosophy teacher — pays $78,050 at the median but requires doctoral credentials, meaning there is a meaningful gap between what the bachelor's alone produces and what the headline occupation pays. Graduates who outperform the five-year median typically do so by entering law, consulting, or graduate programs, not by entering philosophy-specific roles.
Is a bachelor's in Philosophy a stepping stone to graduate school?
For most students who study philosophy seriously, yes — the bachelor's functions as a foundation, not a terminal credential. The only tracked career destination in the data, philosophy and religion teacher at the postsecondary level, has a doctoral or professional degree as the typical entry requirement. Philosophy programs are concentrated at research universities — the top ten completers list is entirely large R1 institutions, led by UCLA (103 completions), Berkeley (87), and UCSB (84). That institutional pattern reflects a grad-school-track culture. If you're considering this major but not graduate school, you're in the minority, and the planning question becomes what professional skill set you're layering on alongside the degree.
How competitive is the job market for Philosophy graduates?
Job growth for philosophy and religion teachers at the postsecondary level is projected at 0.7% — essentially flat, well below the 4-5% average for all occupations. Philosophy is a relatively small undergraduate field with about 5,518 completions per year across 880 colleges. The academic philosophy job market specifically — faculty positions — is notoriously difficult, with doctoral graduates competing for a limited number of tenure-track openings. Outside academic philosophy, competition is shaped by how well graduates have positioned themselves in adjacent fields: law, policy, technology, or finance. The degree is not a liability in those areas, but it does not confer automatic access either.
Should I major in Philosophy or a related field?
Philosophy's closest relatives in the CIP family are Applied and Professional Ethics (100 completions) and Ethics (44 completions) — both much smaller and more specialized, better suited to students who want to focus on ethical frameworks for professional contexts like medicine, law, or technology. Logic (3 completions) is essentially vestigial as a standalone major. If you're drawn to analytical rigor but want a more direct path to quantitative or policy careers, Economics or Political Science provide sharper professional pipelines. If your interest is in the humanistic questions that philosophy raises but you want more cultural and literary depth, English or Comparative Literature may fit. Philosophy itself is the right choice when the argument structure — the method itself, not just the subject matter — is what you find most compelling.