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Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools

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2023 Most Popular Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools

106 Colleges
$96,764 Avg Salary

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.

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.

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 fairly 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.

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#2

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Stanford University is a great place for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. 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.

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#2

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Emory University is a great place for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. 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.

Read full report on Philosophy at Emory University

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Columbia University in the City of New York is a great place for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. 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.

Full Philosophy at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Irvine is a great place for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

Of the 9 students majoring in philosophy at UC Irvine, 78% are male and 22% are female.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of California - Irvine

The Graduate Center, CUNY 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, The Graduate Center is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Of the 8 students majoring in philosophy at The Graduate Center, 38% are male and 63% are female.

Read full report on Philosophy at The Graduate Center, CUNY

#6

The New School

New York, NY

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.

Full Philosophy at The New School Report

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 city of Tampa, USF Tampa is a public school 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

University of Colorado Boulder came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. CU - Boulder is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Boulder.

Of the 7 students majoring in philosophy at CU - Boulder, 71% are male and 29% are female.

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#8

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Boston College ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. 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

#8

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree philosophy programs. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

About 43% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 57% are male.

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With a ranking of #8, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 43% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

#8

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY

Stony Brook University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large 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.

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#14

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. 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

#14

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

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 school with a fairly large student population.

Of the 6 students majoring in philosophy at Purdue, 83% are male and 17% are female.

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Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.

Women make up 17% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at Garrett - Evangelical Theological Seminary Report

With a ranking of #14, Ohio State University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 17% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Read full report on Philosophy at Ohio State University - Main Campus

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 33% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

#14

Tulane University of Louisiana

New Orleans, LA

Tulane University of Louisiana ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Tulane is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Orleans.

Full Philosophy at Tulane University of Louisiana Report

#14

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. 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.

Read full report on Philosophy at Duquesne University

University of California - Los Angeles landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular doctor’s degree philosophy programs. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public 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 California - Los Angeles

#14

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list. 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.

Read full report on Philosophy at Harvard University

Indiana University - Bloomington ranked #14 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Doctor’s Degree Schools list. IU Bloomington is a very 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 More…

Additional 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

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.

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