by our College Data Analytics Team
[Philosophy](/majors/philosophy-and-religious-studies/philosophy/) is a field where your choice of school can shape what you earn after graduation. The highest-paying schools turn a philosophy degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the early-career earnings of their philosophy graduates.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send philosophy graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
For graduate earnings in philosophy, no school beat Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University this year. Set in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University is a public institution. Students who complete the philosophy program here go on to a median salary of roughly $75,545.
Students chasing top earnings in philosophy will find them at University Of Virginia Main Campus, which ranked #2. University Of Virginia Main Campus is a public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville. Students who complete the philosophy program here go on to a median salary of roughly $63,572.
Students chasing top earnings in philosophy will find them at Virginia Commonwealth University, which ranked #3. Located in the city of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University is a public institution. Early-career philosophy graduates from Virginia Commonwealth University make a median of around $26,192 per year.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries philosophy graduates go on to earn early in their careers, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 3 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.