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2025 Best Philosophy Schools in the Southeast Region

21 Colleges in the Southeast Region
1,644 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$33,575 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in philosophy, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #83 in the country in terms of popularity. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 21 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for philosophy students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,644 degrees in philosophy annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Philosophy School

Best Philosophy Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of philosophy school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Philosophy School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Philosophy Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Philosophy
Master's Degrees in Philosophy
Doctor's Degrees in Philosophy

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Philosophy Schools in the Southeast Region list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Philosophy in the Southeast Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the philosophy degree levels they offer.

10 Top Southeast Region Schools in Philosophy

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In VA
36 Philosophy Degrees Awarded

University of Virginia - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in philosophy. University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville. A Best Colleges rank of #35 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.

There were approximately 36 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Virginia - Main Campus

2
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In GA
69 Philosophy Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat Emory University if you wish to pursue a degree in philosophy. Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #31 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.

There were roughly 69 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Emory University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
71 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$34,284 Median Starting Salary

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in philosophy. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.

There were roughly 71 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the philosophy program make around $34,284 for their early career.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$41,032 Median Starting Salary

Any student who is interested in philosophy needs to look into Tulane University of Louisiana. Located in the large city of New Orleans, Tulane is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #95 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Tulane is a great university overall.

There were about 47 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent data year. Those philosophy students who get their degree from Tulane University of Louisiana receive $7,457 more than the average philosophy student.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Tulane University of Louisiana

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In GA
52 Philosophy Degrees Awarded

UGA is a very large public university located in the city of Athens. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UGA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 52 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UGA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Georgia

6
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
2.0% Growth in Graduates

UF is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Gainesville. A Best Colleges rank of #56 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UF is a great university overall.

There were approximately 51 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, philosophy degree recipients generally earn around $24,048 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of Florida

7
William & Mary crest
William & Mary
Williamsburg, VA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In VA
35 Philosophy Degrees Awarded

William & Mary is a medium-sized public school located in the small suburb of Williamsburg. A Best Colleges rank of #103 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means William & Mary is a great school overall.

There were roughly 35 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at William & Mary in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in philosophy from William & Mary

8
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
47 Philosophy Degrees Awarded
$27,072 Median Starting Salary

Florida State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee. A Best Colleges rank of #117 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Florida State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 47 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the philosophy program earn about $27,072 for their early career.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Florida State University

9
Furman crest
Furman University
Greenville, SC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In SC

Furman is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Greenville. This university ranks 5th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of South Carolina.

There were approximately 14 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at Furman in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in philosophy from Furman University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$30,936 Median Starting Salary

Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, UofSC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #99 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UofSC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 26 philosophy students who graduated with this degree at UofSC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the philosophy program state that they receive average early career wages of $30,936.

More information about a degree in philosophy from University of South Carolina - Columbia

Best Philosophy Colleges by State

Explore the best philosophy colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Georgia 287 218
Florida 282 347
North Carolina 279 298
Virginia 274 241
Tennessee 269 149
South Carolina 248 88
Kentucky 244 65
Louisiana 242 104
Mississippi 234 25
Arkansas 234 37
Alabama 233 99
West Virginia 207 42

View All Rankings >

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

Philosophy Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Philosophy 1,562
Applied & Professional Ethics 55
Other Philosophy 19
Ethics 8

View All Philosophy Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Religious Studies 1,992
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies 99
General Philosophy & Religious Studies 70

View All Philosophy Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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