Philosophy & Religious Studies

Types of Degrees Philosophy & Religious Studies Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many philosophy & religious studies graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	13,318
Master’s Degree	2,425
Associate Degree	1,826
Doctor’s Degree	656
Graduate Certificate	530
Basic Certificate	505
Undergraduate Certificate	41

What Philosophy & Religious Studies Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, philosophy & religious studies majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Philosophy & Religious Studies Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in philosophy & religious studies should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills for Philosophy & Religious Studies Majors

When studying philosophy & religious studies, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Philosophy & Religious Studies Majors

A major in philosophy & religious studies will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Philosophy & Religious Studies Major?

People with a philosophy & religious studies degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Professors	10.4%	$74,440
Mathematical Science Professors	9.4%	$73,230
Mathematicians	29.0%	$101,900
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Philosophy and Religion Professors	12.3%	$71,890

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy & Religious Studies?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 64% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of philosophy & religious studies majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	661
Black or African American	661
Hispanic or Latino	1,451
White	8,925
International Students	657
Other Races/Ethnicities	963

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Philosophy & Religious Studies, too. About 4.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Philosophy & Religious Studies

Some careers associated with philosophy & religious studies require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for philosophy & religious studies careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.0%
Bachelor’s Degree	12.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.4%
Master’s Degree	29.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.9%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.5%
Doctoral Degree	47.4%
Post-Doctoral Training	7.0%

Online Philosophy & Religious Studies Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	52	10
Certificate (2-4 Years)	12	0
Associate’s Degree	436	78
Bachelor’s Degree	150	48
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	790	104
Post-Master’s	46	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	366	10
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	8	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	10	6

Majors Related to Philosophy & Religious Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to philosophy & religious studies.

Major	Number of Grads
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities	511,953
Social Sciences	190,792
Communication & Journalism	109,432
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences	51,926
English Language & Literature	50,299
History	31,255
Foreign Languages & Linguistics	29,738
Theology & Religious Vocations	26,672
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies	15,254

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.