by our College Data Analytics Team
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Philosophy is the 83rd most popular major in the country with 10,054 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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.
Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,386 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,875 and $22,886 respectively. At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 72 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $74,305 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 19 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in philosophy. That schools that top this list have a program in philosophy in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.
We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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 in the Great Lakes Region”.
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 in the Great Lakes Region. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary landed the #2 spot on the list. Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary is a small school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 6 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary Philosophy Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Notre Dame, Indiana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s philosophy degrees to 6 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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%.
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Marquette University landed the #4 spot on the list. Marquette is a private not-for-profit institution located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Philosophy at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Loyola University Chicago landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #7, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Indiana University - Bloomington is a large school located in Bloomington, Indiana that handed out 6 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.
Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This large school is located in West Lafayette, Indiana, and it awarded 6 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 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Philosophy at Purdue University - Main Campus
University of Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 3 degrees to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad 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%. The impressive undergraduate 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.
Northwestern University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 4 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 impressive undergraduate 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.
With a ranking of #11, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in Columbus, Ohio, this large public school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Illinois at Chicago ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of Illinois at Chicago
With a ranking of #14, DePaul University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #15. UW - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. 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%.
Read more about Philosophy at University of Wisconsin - Madison
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #16. This large school is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Wayne State University ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. This large school is located in Detroit, Michigan, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
Michigan State University ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Michigan State University is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 1 doctorate’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, 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 91%.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #19 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 1 diplomas 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Philosophy Report
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
