2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy (Income $0-$30k)
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2019-2020, 9,456 people earned their degree in philosophy, making the major the 82nd most popular in the United States.
At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 7,882 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 166 colleges that offered a degree in philosophy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent philosophy programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the philosophy program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k
The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy (Income $0-$30k)
Out of the 166 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Pennsylvania is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 26 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UPenn has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UPenn is $3,181 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Durham, North Carolina, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Duke has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Duke is $-7,808 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k. A negative average net price may seem strange, but it generally means that financial aid will more than cover the cost to attend the school.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $1,866 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 70 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $2,712 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UChicago.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 166 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Dartmouth College landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Hanover, New Hampshire, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
Dartmouth did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Dartmouth College is $12,052 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. U-M is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 36 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
U-M also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #11. The yearly cost to attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is $3,166 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Florida came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school handed out 50 degrees to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $1,994 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UF.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #8, Vanderbilt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 23 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Vanderbilt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt is $3,156 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
With a ranking of #9, Cornell University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Cornell University is located in Ithaca, New York and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
Cornell did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $7,484 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cornell.
The low student loan default rate of 1.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Chapel Hill, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 68 students in 2019-2020.
UNC Chapel Hill not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #18 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for UNC Chapel Hill is $4,026 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #11. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 54 students in 2019-2020.
UW - Madison also claimed a top spot on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. It costs about $4,367 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UW - Madison.
The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Philosophy at University of Wisconsin - Madison
With a ranking of #12, William & Mary did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. William & Mary is a medium-sized school located in Williamsburg, Virginia that handed out 34 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at William & Mary, the school also landed the #19 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for William & Mary is $4,711 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #13, Lehman College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Bronx, New York, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend Lehman is $234 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Hunter College came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Hunter College is located in New York, New York and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
The yearly cost to attend Hunter College is $320 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 58 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UW Seattle is $7,850 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large public school awarded 16 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.
It costs about $771 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend John Jay.
Read full report on Philosophy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Wake Forest University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It awarded 35 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Wake Forest University has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wake Forest University is $5,250 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Florida State University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Florida State is a public institution located in Tallahassee, Florida. The school has a large population, and it awarded 46 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $5,360 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Florida State University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #19 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 62 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Columbia, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $8,916 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Boston College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #20. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It awarded 78 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Boston College, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Boston College is $6,353 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Emory University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This fairly large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 44 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
Emory also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #17. It costs about $11,468 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Emory University.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 29 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.
The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $5,477 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Philosophy Report
Tufts University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #23. Tufts University is located in Medford, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Tufts is also in the top of our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category. The yearly cost to attend Tufts is $5,267 for Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
University of Notre Dame did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #24. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Notre Dame, Indiana. It awarded 30 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Notre Dame has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Notre Dame is $12,498 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 0.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
University of California - Los Angeles came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 127 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UCLA has also earned the #22 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Los Angeles is $8,553 for bachelor’s degree philosophy students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Los Angeles
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
Footnotes
- *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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