2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in California
19
Ranked Colleges
99
Degrees Awarded
$35,800
Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California” ranking.
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 California, there were 1,878 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,527 and $16,062 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 99 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,974 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California” ranking analyzed 19 colleges that offered a degree 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.
One Size Does Not Fit All
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 Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California”.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California”.
Top 19 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read more about Philosophy at Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Biola University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. Biola is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in La Mirada, California. It awarded 10 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Philosophy at Biola
Out of the 19 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, San Francisco State University landed the #3 spot on the list. SFSU is a large public school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 19 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.
Full San Francisco State University Philosophy Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola Marymount University. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California. Loyola Marymount University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 5 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read more about Philosophy at Loyola Marymount
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. This fairly large school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 8 masters’s philosophy degrees 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 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%. 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.
Read full report on Philosophy at Stanford University
California State University - Los Angeles ranked #6 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. California State University - Los Angeles is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.
Read full report on Philosophy at Cal State LA
University of California - Irvine ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified masters’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Full University of California - Irvine Philosophy Report
University of California - Riverside came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California ranking. Riverside, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s philosophy degrees to 4 students 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Riverside
With a ranking of #9, University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. Located in Santa Cruz, California, this fairly large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s philosophy students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%.
Read more about Philosophy at University of California - Santa Cruz
With a ranking of #10, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s philosophy degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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%.
Read more about Philosophy at San Jose State University
University of California - Los Angeles landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California ranking. This large school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 5 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Philosophy at UCLA
San Diego State University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California ranking. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 3 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Philosophy at San Diego State University
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California ranking, coming in at #13. Located in Davis, California, this large public school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified masters’s philosophy students 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 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Philosophy at University of California - Davis
With a ranking of #14, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. Santa Barbara, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s philosophy degrees to 1 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 University of California - Santa Barbara
With a ranking of #15, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. California State University - Long Beach is a large school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 1 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad 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%.
Read full report on Philosophy at California State University - Long Beach
With a ranking of #16, University of California - San Diego did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. University of California - San Diego is a large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 1 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - San Diego
University of California - Berkeley ranked #17 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. University of California - Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 1 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.8% 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 96%.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Berkeley
Claremont Graduate University ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. Claremont Graduate University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Claremont, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. 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.
Read more about Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University
With a ranking of #18, Epic Bible College did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Philosophy Major in California list. This small school is located in Sacramento, California, and it awarded 0 masters’s philosophy degrees in 2020-2021.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Epic Bible College Philosophy Report
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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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