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Most Popular Philosophy Master's Degree Schools

2023 Most Popular Philosophy Master's Degree Schools

175 Colleges
$41,396 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Philosophy Master'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.

The Most Popular Philosophy Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 175 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular master's degree programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Philosophy program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Philosophy Master's Degree Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Holy Apostles College and Seminary the most popular school in the United States for philosophy students working on their master’s degree. Holy Apostles College and Seminary is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Cromwell.

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

Read full report on Philosophy at Holy Apostles College and Seminary

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The in-demand master’s degree programs at The Graduate Center, CUNY 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 New York, The Graduate Center is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Of the 31 students majoring in philosophy at The Graduate Center, 52% are male and 48% are female.

Full Philosophy at The Graduate Center, CUNY Report

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#3

American University

Washington, DC

Out of the 175 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, American University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Philosophy at American University Report

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#4

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Boston College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.

About 23% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 77% are male.

Full Philosophy at Boston College Report

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The in-demand master’s degree programs at Georgia State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the most popular philosophy schools in the United States. Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia State is a public college with a very large student population.

Women make up 30% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Read full report on Philosophy at Georgia State University

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#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. SFSU is a fairly large public school located in the city of San Francisco.

Women make up 21% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at San Francisco State University Report

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#6

The New School

New York, NY

The New School ranked #6 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of New York, New School University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

About 5% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 95% are male.

Full Philosophy at The New School Report

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Catholic University of America did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the large city of Washington, CUA is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

Women make up 29% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Read full report on Philosophy at Catholic University of America

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#8

Johnson University

Knoxville, TN

Johnson University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the rural area of Knoxville, Johnson University is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

About 50% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 50% are male.

Full Philosophy at Johnson University Report

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Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.

Women make up 31% of the philosophy majors at the school.

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

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Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. The Domincan School Berkeley is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.

Women make up 8% of the philosophy majors at the school.

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Franciscan University of Steubenville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #12 on the list. Franciscan U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Steubenville.

About 17% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 83% are male.

Full Philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville Report

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Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary - Overbrook did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Wynnewood, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary - Overbrook is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

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With a ranking of #13, California State University - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their master’s degree. Cal State LA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

About 45% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 55% are male.

Full Philosophy at California State University - Los Angeles Report

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Northern Illinois University ranked #13 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.

Women make up 27% of the philosophy majors at the school.

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#13

University of Dallas

Irving, TX

University of Dallas came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Irving, UD is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 27% of the philosophy majors at the school.

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#17

Biola University

La Mirada, CA

Biola University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Biola is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of La Mirada.

About 10% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 90% are male.

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#17

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

Women make up 40% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at Harvard University Report

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#17

Fordham University

Bronx, NY

Fordham University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Bronx, Fordham U is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Women make up 50% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at Fordham University Report

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Loyola University Chicago ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Full Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago Report

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With a ranking of #20, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for philosophy students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, UWM is a public school with a very large student population.

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

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#20

Villanova University

Villanova, PA

Villanova University ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Villanova, Villanova is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

Of the 9 students majoring in philosophy at Villanova, 44% are male and 56% are female.

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University of Connecticut ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public school with a fairly large student population.

About 44% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 56% are male.

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#20

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular master’s degree philosophy programs. Duquesne is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

About 56% of the students majoring in philosophy at the school are women while 44% are male.

Full Philosophy at Duquesne University Report

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#20

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University - Main Campus came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Women make up 22% of the philosophy majors at the school.

Full Philosophy at Purdue University - Main Campus Report

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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 Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
27 DePaul University Chicago, IL
27 University of North Texas Denton, TX
27 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA
27 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
27 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
27 Stanford University Stanford, CA
33 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
33 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
33 New York University New York, NY
33 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
33 Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
33 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
33 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO
33 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA

Philosophy by Region

View the Most Popular Philosophy Master'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 26 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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