Philosophy and Religious Studies

Philosophy

Focuses on ideas and their logical structure, including arguments and investigations about abstract and real phenomena. Covers logic, ethics, aesthetics, epistemology, metaphysics, symbolism, and history of philosophy, and applications to the theoretical foundations and methods of other disciplines.

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Inside the major

Programs within this field

Colleges may offer this field under 4 more specific program names. The program you choose affects the courses you take.

Logic: Focuses on the systematic study of valid inference, argument, and sound reasoning. Covers Classical logic, properties of argument, validity, proof, fallacies, formal and material logic, symbolic and mathematical logic, analysis, specific schools of logic, and applications to problems in other academic disciplines and professional fields.
Ethics: Focuses on the systematic study of the theory of moral good and its application to various theoretical and practical problems. Covers ethical theory, history of ethics, belief and value systems, ethical constructs, and applications to specific topics, issues and problems.
Applied and Professional Ethics: Focuses on the systematic study of ethical issues in the workplace and public life, and the application of ethical decision-making to the practical problems of society and the professions. Covers ethical theory; history of ethics; contemporary social dilemmas; methods in applied ethics; and applications including medical ethics, legal ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics, and criminal justice ethics.
Philosophy, Other: Philosophy not listed above.

Where it can lead

Careers this field can lead to

Explore related careers, starting with the closest connections and the occupations hiring the most people.

Growing with the economy

Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary

Median pay: $80,260
Hiring change through 2035: 2.0%
Job openings a year: 1,800

To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree

Explore this career Growing

Natural Sciences Managers

Median pay: $167,220
Hiring change through 2035: 8.2%
Job openings a year: 9,200

To get hiredBachelor's degree

Explore this career Growing slowly

Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary

Median pay: $79,940
Hiring change through 2035: 1.7%
Job openings a year: 3,900

To get hiredDoctoral or professional degree

Explore this career Growing slowly

Mathematicians

Median pay: $126,710
Hiring change through 2035: 0.6%
Job openings a year: 100

To get hiredMaster's degree

Explore this career

All work is projected to grow 3.5% between 2025 and 2035; read every hiring-change figure against it. The figures beside each career are the pay of that work, across everyone doing it. Graduates of this field earn $28,698 one year after completing the program, which is the start of a career rather than the shape of one.

Working style

How and where the work happens

Related careers can feel very different from one another. Compare the specific occupations to understand the work each one involves.

0%of related openings involve substantial in-person or active work

Few of the careers connected to this field are measured as substantially in-person or active work. Compare the specific occupations to see how much time each one involves with people, equipment, and movement.

College options

Where to study it

Ordered by how many degrees each college awards in this field. Sort by any numbered column.

College	Degrees a year	Earnings, first year out	Admit rate	Average annual cost after aid
University of Pennsylvania PA	180	$61,331	6%	$10,000
University of California-Los Angeles CA	116	—	9%	$10,000
University of California-Santa Barbara CA	108	$25,487	28%	$13,000
University of California-Berkeley CA	98	$23,934	12%	$10,000
University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA	81	$36,290	43%	$8,000
University of Wisconsin-Madison WI	81	$35,717	43%	$8,000
University of Southern California CA	77	$28,506	10%	$20,000
Boston College MA	77	$51,737	16%	$13,000
Columbia University in the City of New York NY	75	$38,546	4%	$6,000
New York University NY	75	$28,813	9%	$17,000
University of California-Davis CA	69	$34,697	42%	$12,000
Boston University MA	62	$36,276	11%	$12,000
University of Chicago IL	61	$28,698	5%	$0
Emory University GA	60	$33,513	11%	$11,000
University of Colorado Boulder CO	59	—	83%	$19,000
Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ	57	$36,802	64%	—
University of Notre Dame IN	52	$23,992	12%	$11,000
University of California-Santa Cruz CA	51	$28,735	63%	$14,000
University of Maryland-College Park MD	51	—	45%	$10,000
Tulane University of Louisiana LA	47	—	15%	$20,000
The University of Texas at Austin TX	47	$33,184	29%	$17,000
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NC	45	$36,042	19%	$9,000
University of California-Riverside CA	44	$26,851	63%	$13,000
University of Washington-Bothell Campus WA	43	$36,290	92%	$8,000
Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ	41	$36,802	90%	$17,000
University of Florida FL	41	$25,985	24%	$7,000
Franciscan University of Steubenville OH	41	$26,960	72%	$20,000
University of California-San Diego CA	39	—	25%	$10,000
Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ	39	$25,760	65%	$18,000
University of Virginia-Main Campus VA	39	—	17%	$13,000
University of California-Irvine CA	38	—	26%	$12,000
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VA	38	—	57%	$18,000
Fordham University NY	37	$41,324	56%	$37,000
Wake Forest University NC	36	—	22%	$8,000
University of Georgia GA	35	—	37%	$13,000
Northwestern University IL	35	—	7%	$8,000
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus PA	35	—	50%	$23,000
University of Scranton PA	35	$18,830	84%	$24,000
San Francisco State University CA	34	$34,537	96%	$12,000
Florida State University FL	34	—	25%	$10,000

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