by our College Data Analytics Team
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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
In 2020-2021, 10,054 people earned their degree in philosophy, making the major the 83rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $30,510 and had an average of $21,514 in loans still to pay off.
At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 388 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major” ranking looked at 106 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in philosophy. This a ranking of the schools where the largest percentage of students has enrolled in philosophy.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major”.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major”.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chicago Theological Seminary. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 5 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Out of the 106 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Piedmont International University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 17 degrees to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major. Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary is a small school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 6 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%.
Read more about Philosophy at Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary
Out of the 106 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Caribbean University - Bayamon landed the #4 spot on the list. Caribbean University - Bayamon is a small school located in Bayamon, that handed out 1 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The New School. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major. The New School is located in New York, New York and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 doctorate’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. New York, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s philosophy degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate 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.
University of Dallas ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. University of Dallas is a small school located in Irving, Texas that handed out 2 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Duquesne University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Stanford University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. Located in Stanford, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 10 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad 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%.
With a ranking of #10, Emory University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. Emory University is a fairly large school located in Atlanta, Georgia that handed out 10 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
University of St. Thomas landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. University of St. Thomas is a private not-for-profit institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Catholic University of America did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking, coming in at #12. Washington, District of Columbia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s philosophy degrees to 3 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Villanova University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. Villanova is located in Villanova, Pennsylvania and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7 doctorate’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Claremont Graduate University ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. Claremont Graduate University is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1 doctorate’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Saint Louis University ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. Saint Louis, Missouri is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s philosophy degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Princeton University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Princeton, New Jersey, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Boston College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking, coming in at #17. Boston College is a fairly large school located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts that handed out 7 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
With a freshman retention rate of 98%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Philosophy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of Notre Dame came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. Notre Dame is located in Notre Dame, Indiana and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 doctorate’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Tulane University of Louisiana ranked #20 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. Located in New Orleans, Louisiana, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 6 degrees to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Philosophy at Tulane University of Louisiana
With a ranking of #21, Marquette University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. This fairly large school is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Vanderbilt University ranked #22 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major list. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s philosophy degrees to 5 students in 2020-2021.
The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Yale University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in New Haven, Connecticut. It awarded 4 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Fordham University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking, coming in at #24. This fairly large school is located in Bronx, New York, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major ranking. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Philosophy at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
