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2024 Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois

4 Colleges in Illinois
388 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$28,930 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in philosophy is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #83 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 4 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of philosophy. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 388 degrees in philosophy during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Philosophy School

Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois Your choice of philosophy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for philosophy schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Philosophy Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Philosophy
Master's Degrees in Philosophy
Doctor's Degrees in Philosophy

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools 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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Philosophy in Illinois

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the philosophy degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top Illinois Schools in Philosophy

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$28,698 Median Starting Salary

University of Chicago is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in philosophy. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 71 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the philosophy program report average early career earnings of $28,698.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Chicago

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$22,831 Median Starting Salary
$16,590 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a degree in philosophy. UIUC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 27 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, philosophy degree recipients usually earn around $22,831 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$34,581 Median Starting Salary
$25,562 Median Student Debt

Wheaton College Illinois is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in philosophy. Located in the large suburb of Wheaton, Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 11th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 16 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Wheaton College Illinois in the most recent data year. Philosophy degree recipients from Wheaton College Illinois receive an earnings boost of around $5,651 above the typical earnings of philosophy majors.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Wheaton College Illinois

4
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$29,611 Median Starting Salary
$28,696 Median Student Debt

DePaul University is a wonderful decision for students pursuing a degree in philosophy. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. This university ranks 7th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 23 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year. After graduation, philosophy degree recipients generally make an average of $29,611 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in philosophy from DePaul University

Best Philosophy Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Philosophy Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 262
Ohio 314 314
Indiana 294 217
Wisconsin 273 182

View All Rankings >

Philosophy is one of 3 different types of Philosophy & Religious Studies programs to choose from.

Philosophy Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Philosophy 378
Applied & Professional Ethics 8
Other Philosophy 2

View All Philosophy Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Religious Studies 168
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies 5
General Philosophy & Religious Studies 1

View All Philosophy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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