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General Philosophy

Types of Degrees General Philosophy Majors Are Earning

People majoring in General Philosophy can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	3
Associate’s Degree	411
Bachelor’s Degree	6,645
Master’s Degree	790
Doctor’s Degree	404

What General Philosophy Majors Need to Know

Studies in General Philosophy build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Philosophy graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in General Philosophy 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

The skill set developed in a General Philosophy 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.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to General Philosophy careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

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

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Philosophy 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 General Philosophy professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
University of California Thesaurus Linguae Graecae TLG	Dictionary software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Philosopher’s Information Center The Philosopher’s Index	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Philosophy graduates include:

• Adjunct Faculty Member
• Associate Professor
• Religious Educator
• Church History Teacher
• Humanities Professor
• Jewish Educator
• Theology Teacher
• Ethics Professor
• Online Philosophy Instructor
• Philosophy Lecturer
• Western Philosophy Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Religious Studies Teacher
• Assistant Professor
• Philosophy Faculty Member

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Philosophy 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 General Philosophy?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 41.8% women and 58.2% men among General Philosophy graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	3,448	41.8%
Men	4,805	58.2%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	4,517	54.7%
Asian	582	7.1%
Hispanic or Latino	1,340	16.2%
Black or African American	398	4.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native	18	0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.0%
Two or More Races	420	5.1%
Race Unknown	272	3.3%
International Students	702	8.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Philosophy Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of General Philosophy graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$35,242
4 years	$46,522
5 years	$56,339

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $56,339 — roughly 60% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online General Philosophy Programs

Distance learning are documented by IPEDS for General Philosophy. 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	16	14
Bachelor’s	19	15
Master’s	3	4
Doctoral (Research)	2	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.}

Is a Degree in General Philosophy Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Philosophy graduates earn a median of $46,522 four years after completion — roughly 22% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

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

Program	CIP Code
Philosophy	38.01
Applied and Professional Ethics	38.0104
Ethics	38.0103
Logic	38.0102
Philosophy, Other	38.0199
Buddhist Studies	38.0202
Christian Studies	38.0203
Hindu Studies	38.0204
Philosophy and Religious Studies, General	38.0001

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.