by our College Data Analytics TeamFor its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 14 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for philosophy students pursuing a bachelor's degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,375 bachelor's degrees in philosophy during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Your choice of philosophy for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for philosophy students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Philosophy Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in philosophy.
University of Southern California is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in philosophy. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the philosophy program make around $28,506 for their early career.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of Southern California
It's hard to beat University of California - Davis if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in philosophy. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the philosophy program at University of California - Davis get $6,170 above the standard college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Davis
University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in philosophy. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the city of Berkeley.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the philosophy program report average early career earnings of $23,934.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Santa Barbara is a wonderful decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in philosophy. Located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the philosophy program make around $25,487 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the philosophy program make an average of $26,851 in their early career salary.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Riverside
UC Santa Cruz is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Santa Cruz.
Soon after graduating, philosophy bachelor's recipients typically earn about $28,735 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Santa Cruz
Chapman is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Orange.
Those philosophy students who get their bachelor's degree from Chapman University earn $10,396 more than the average philosophy grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from Chapman University
SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco.
Bachelor's recipients from the philosophy major at San Francisco State University earn $6,010 above the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from San Francisco State University
Fresno State is a very large public university located in the large city of Fresno.
Philosophy bachelor's degree recipients from California State University - Fresno earn a boost of approximately $3,497 over the average income of philosophy graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from California State University - Fresno
Located in the large suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a very large student population.
Soon after graduating, philosophy bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $26,453 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from California State University - FullertonExplore all the Best Philosophy Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Colleges | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 226 | 236 |
| Oregon | 185 | 98 |
| Nevada | 129 | 43 |
| Hawaii | 112 | 24 |
| Alaska | 75 | 4 |
One of 3 majors within the Philosophy & Religious Studies area of study, Philosophy has other similar majors worth exploring.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Philosophy | 1,324 |
| Other Philosophy | 51 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Religious Studies | 314 |
| Other Philosophy & Religious Studies | 8 |
