2023 Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Philosophy Doctor's Degree School for You
Philosophy is the #84 most popular major in the country with 10,054 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 106 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Philosophy program at each school on the list.
2023 Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the philosophy doctor's degree programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.
Top 15% Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools
Our analysis found Piedmont International University to be the most popular school for philosophy students who want to pursue a doctor’s degree in the United States. Piedmont International University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.
About 24% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 76% are male.
Read full report on Philosophy at Piedmont International University
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Stanford University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.
Women make up 30% of the philosophy majors at the school.
Full Philosophy at Stanford University Report
Request Information
The in-demand doctor’s degree programs at Emory University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular philosophy schools in the United States. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
About 40% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 60% are male.
Request Information
Out of the 106 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Columbia University in the City of New York landed the # 4 spot on the list. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Of the 9 students majoring in philosophy at Columbia, 44% are male and 56% are female.
Read full report on Philosophy at Columbia University in the City of New York
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 9 students majoring in philosophy at UC Irvine, 78% are male and 22% are female.
Full Philosophy at University of California - Irvine Report
Request Information
The Graduate Center, CUNY ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
Of the 8 students majoring in philosophy at The Graduate Center, 38% are male and 63% are female.
Request Information
The New School came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 25% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 75% are male.
Read full report on Philosophy at The New School
Request Information
University of South Florida - Main Campus landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree philosophy programs. Located in the large city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public college with a very large student population.
About 29% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 71% are male.
Full Philosophy at University of South Florida - Main Campus Report
Request Information
University of Colorado Boulder ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. CU - Boulder is a fairly large public school located in the city of Boulder.
Of the 7 students majoring in philosophy at CU - Boulder, 71% are male and 29% are female.
Request Information
Boston College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree philosophy programs. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chestnut Hill.
Women make up 43% of the philosophy majors at the school.
Read full report on Philosophy at Boston College
Request Information
Villanova University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
About 43% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 57% are male.
Full Philosophy at Villanova University Report
Request Information
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.
Women make up 43% of the philosophy majors at the school.
Request Information
Stony Brook University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Stony Brook, SUNY Stony Brook is a public college with a very large student population.
About 14% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 86% are male.
Full Philosophy at Stony Brook University Report
Request Information
Ohio State University - Main Campus came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public school with a very large student population.
Women make up 17% of the philosophy majors at the school.
Request Information
Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree philosophy programs. Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a very large student population.
Of the 6 students majoring in philosophy at Purdue, 83% are male and 17% are female.
Request Information
Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.
Women make up 17% of the philosophy majors at the school.
Full Philosophy at Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary Report
Request Information
Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the city of Bloomington.
About 17% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 83% are male.
Read full report on Philosophy at Indiana University - Bloomington
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a very large student population.
Women make up 33% of the philosophy majors at the school.
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, Tulane University of Louisiana did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Tulane is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Orleans.
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, Duquesne University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Duquesne is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Pittsburgh.
Of the 6 students majoring in philosophy at Duquesne, 67% are male and 33% are female.
Full Philosophy at Duquesne University Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.
About 33% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 67% are male.
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, Harvard University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 33% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 67% are male.
Request Information
With a ranking of #14, University of Notre Dame did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
About 33% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 67% are male.
Read full report on Philosophy at University of Notre Dame
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also popular but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|
Philosophy by Region
View the Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
Majors Related to Philosophy
Philosophy is one of 3 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Philosophy
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Religious Studies | 9,470 |
| Other Philosophy & Religious Studies | 285 |
| General Philosophy & Religious Studies | 184 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 33 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.