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2024 Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region

11 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,305 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$27,875 Avg Early-Career Salary
Philosophy is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #83 most popular degree program in the country. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 11 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for philosophy students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,305 degrees in philosophy during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Philosophy School

Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region The philosophy program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Philosophy rankings. For our Best Overall Philosophy School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Philosophy Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Philosophy
Bachelor's Degrees in Philosophy
Master's Degrees in Philosophy
Doctor's Degrees in Philosophy

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Philosophy Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Best Schools for Philosophy in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of philosophy degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Philosophy

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
85 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
16.5% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in philosophy has to check out University of Chicago. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 85 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, philosophy degree recipients typically earn an average of $28,698 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Chicago

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
77 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
5.2% Growth in Graduates

University of Wisconsin - Madison is a wonderful option for students interested in a degree in philosophy. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 77 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Philosophy degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Madison get an earnings boost of around $7,843 above the typical income of philosophy majors.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Wisconsin - Madison

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
45 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$23,992 Median Starting Salary

University of Notre Dame is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in philosophy. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 45 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, philosophy degree recipients typically make an average of $23,992 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Notre Dame

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
31 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
12.9% Growth in Graduates

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in philosophy. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 31 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the philosophy program earn around $22,831 for their early career.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$30,105 Median Starting Salary
$20,800 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbus. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the philosophy program at Ohio State University - Main Campus earn $2,231 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Ohio State University - Main Campus

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
23.8% Growth in Graduates
$34,581 Median Starting Salary

Wheaton College Illinois is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wheaton. This college ranks 11th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were roughly 21 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year. Those philosophy students who get their degree from Wheaton College Illinois make $6,707 more than the typical philosophy graduate.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Wheaton College Illinois

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
48 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
12.5% Growth in Graduates

Franciscan U is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Steubenville. This university ranks 29th out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 48 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Franciscan U in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the philosophy program report average early career wages of $26,960.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
36.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 36 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the philosophy program make about $29,611 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in philosophy from DePaul University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In WI
$24,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 19th out of 46 colleges for overall quality in the state of Wisconsin.

There were about 21 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UWM in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,671 Median Starting Salary
$25,466 Median Student Debt

GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Allendale. This university ranks 9th out of 57 schools for overall quality in the state of Michigan.

There were approximately 8 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at GVSU in the most recent data year. After graduation, philosophy degree recipients generally make around $22,671 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Grand Valley State University

Best Philosophy Colleges by State

Explore the best philosophy colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Michigan322262
Ohio314314
Illinois304388
Indiana294217
Wisconsin273182

View All Rankings >

One of 3 majors within the Philosophy & Religious Studies area of study, Philosophy has other similar majors worth exploring.

Philosophy Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Philosophy1,251
Applied & Professional Ethics24
Ethics16
Logic7
Other Philosophy7

View All Philosophy Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Philosophy

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Religious Studies545
General Philosophy & Religious Studies15
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies7

View All Philosophy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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