2025 Best Philosophy Bachelor's Degree Schools in California
a bachelor's degree in
philosophy is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #61 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 19 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Philosophy Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,187 bachelor's degrees in philosophy to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Philosophy School for Your Bachelor's Degree
Your choice of philosophy for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:
Quality Overall Is Important
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Earnings
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.
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 - How many other philosophy students want to attend this school to pursue a bachelor's degree.
- 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 easy is it for philosophy to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- 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 bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Philosophy Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Philosophy in California
The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in philosophy.
10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Philosophy
University of Southern California is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in philosophy. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.
Those philosophy students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Southern California earn $10,184 more than the standard philosophy graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of Southern California
University of California - Los Angeles is a good option for students interested in a bachelor's degree in philosophy. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the philosophy program report average early career income of $30,182.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Los Angeles
University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in philosophy. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
Those philosophy students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley earn $8,159 more than the standard philosophy graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Santa Barbara is a good option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in philosophy. Located in the suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public university with a very large student population.
After graduating, philosophy bachelor's recipients usually earn around $25,303 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Santa Barbara
Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Philosophy bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Davis earn a boost of approximately $4,553 above the average earnings of philosophy majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in philosophy from University of California - Davis