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Philosophy & Religion

Types of Degrees Philosophy & Religion Majors Are Earning

Those studying Philosophy & Religion have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	6
Bachelor’s Degree	100
Master’s Degree	52
Doctor’s Degree	26

What Philosophy & Religion Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Philosophy & Religion develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Philosophy & Religion graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Philosophy & Religion emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Philosophy and Theology — Importance 4.8 / 5; level 6.7 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.5 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Philosophy & Religion program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4 / 5; level 5 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Philosophy & Religion careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Philosophy & Religion graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.8 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7
Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Philosophy & Religion professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Gateway to Logic	Analytical or scientific software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Philosophy & Religion graduates include:

• College Professor
• Eastern Philosophy Professor
• Adjunct Professor
• Pastoral Ministries Professor
• Western Philosophy Professor
• Ethics Professor
• Theology Professor
• Old Testament Professor
• Instructor
• Religious Studies Teacher
• Humanities Professor
• Philosophy Adjunct Instructor
• Online Philosophy Instructor
• Adjunct Philosophy Professor
• Adjunct Faculty Member

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Philosophy & Religion graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	73.8%
Master’s degree	13.1%
Post-doctoral training	12.5%
Post-master’s certificate	0.6%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Philosophy & Religion?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 40.8% women and 59.2% men among Philosophy & Religion graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	75	40.8%
Men	109	59.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Philosophy & Religion graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	120	65.2%
Asian	6	3.3%
Hispanic or Latino	21	11.4%
Black or African American	12	6.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	1.1%
Two or More Races	2	1.1%
Race Unknown	8	4.3%
International Students	13	7.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

Online Philosophy & Religion Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Philosophy & Religion. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	4	0
Bachelor’s	3	1
Master’s	1	1

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES	38.00
Applied and Professional Ethics	38.0104
Buddhist Studies	38.0202
Christian Studies	38.0203
Ethics	38.0103
Hindu Studies	38.0204

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.