2025 Best Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools

Philosophy is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #59 most popular doctor's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 2 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for philosophy students pursuing a doctor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 399 doctor's degrees in philosophy to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Doctor’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their doctor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. That is, everyone wants their doctor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on philosophy students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of philosophy students who choose to seek a doctor's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt philosophy students go into to obtain their doctor's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized philosophy related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for philosophy students working on their doctor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Philosophy Doctor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study Philosophy in the United States

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in philosophy.

Top Schools for a Doctorate in Philosophy

1

University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

10 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is a wonderful option for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in philosophy. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in philosophy from University of Pennsylvania

2

University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA

10 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat University of California - Irvine if you wish to pursue a doctor's degree in philosophy. UC Irvine is a fairly large public university located in the city of Irvine.More information about a doctorate in philosophy from University of California - Irvine

Philosophy by Region

View the Best 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
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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Philosophy Related Rankings by Major

Philosophy is one of 3 different types of Philosophy & Religious Studies programs to choose from.

Philosophy Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Philosophy	366
Other Philosophy	18
Applied & Professional Ethics	11
Logic	4

Most Popular Related Majors

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Religious Studies	228
General Philosophy & Religious Studies	19
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies	10

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.