---
title: Is a Philosophy degree worth the debt?
cip: 3801
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Philosophy degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **72** colleges (72 of 72 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $28,602 ($28,598 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $19,625 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.68× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $25,160–$33,378 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $28,602 | $19,625 | 0.68× | 72 | 72/72 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $61,331 | $19,000 |
| Boston College (MA) | $51,737 | $18,000 |
| Fordham University (NY) | $41,324 | $20,500 |
| Chapman University (CA) | $38,923 | — |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $38,546 | $20,937 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA) | $38,509 | — |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $36,802 | $24,188 |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion (AZ) | $36,802 | $24,188 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus (WA) | $36,290 | $13,500 |
| University of Washington-Bothell Campus (WA) | $36,290 | $13,500 |
| Boston University (MA) | $36,276 | $25,375 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC) | $36,042 | $14,618 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI) | $35,717 | $21,500 |
| University of California-Davis (CA) | $34,697 | $13,000 |
| Wheaton College (IL) | $34,581 | $23,685 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/philosophy.jsonld` · `/education/fields/philosophy.json`