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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Massachusetts

7 Ranked Colleges
478 Degrees Awarded
$29,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor's in Massachusetts

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 in Massachusetts” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Philosophy is the 81st most popular major in the country with 10,015 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,067 and had an average of $22,199 in loans still to pay off.

Across Massachusetts, there were 577 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,300 and $22,458 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 478 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,887 and $24,387 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the philosophy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Philosophy Schools

The philosophy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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.

Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Massachusetts

#1

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Amherst, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts Amherst. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. University of Massachusetts Amherst is a large public school situated in Amherst, Massachusetts. It awarded 28 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UMass Amherst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for UMass Amherst is $22,501 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at UMass Amherst

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Massachusetts - Boston. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.

UMass Boston not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. It costs about $18,340 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students per year to attend UMass Boston.

Read more about Philosophy at UMass Boston

#3

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, Massachusetts

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of the Holy Cross. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts list. Located in Worcester, Massachusetts, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

Holy Cross also took the #2 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $37,292 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students per year to attend College of the Holy Cross.

The low student loan default rate of 0.5% 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 89%. 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.

Read full report on Philosophy at Holy Cross

#4

Brandeis University

Waltham, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Brandeis University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Brandeis University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Waltham, Massachusetts. It awarded 23 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Brandeis also took the #5 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $31,165 for Massachusetts Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students per year to attend Brandeis.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Brandeis University

#5

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Boston University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts. Boston U is a large school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 46 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Boston U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” list. The estimated yearly cost for Boston U is $30,259 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree philosophy students.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about Philosophy at Boston U

#6

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Boston College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #6. This fairly large school is located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, and it awarded 78 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our massachusetts bachelor’s degree philosophy students list, Boston College has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $35,899 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree philosophy students per year to attend Boston College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Boston College

#7

Tufts University

Medford, Massachusetts

Tufts University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Massachusetts ranking, coming in at #7. Tufts is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Medford, Massachusetts. It awarded 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Tufts, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Massachusetts” ranking. It costs about $30,744 for massachusetts bachelor’s degree philosophy students per year to attend Tufts University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, 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%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Tufts University

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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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