Philosophy · California

Philosophy colleges in California

CampusPin lists 305 U.S. colleges in California that offer Philosophy programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.

Philosophy develops rigorous reasoning, argument, and ethical analysis through the study of logic, knowledge, mind, and morality, building transferable skills used across law, policy, and writing.

Schools in California that offer Philosophy

Philosophy programs in California: by the numbers

A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 305 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.

Schools listed

305

Public / private

20 / 30

Universities / 2-year

38 / 12

Cities represented

36

In-state tuition range

$1,104–$57,946

Median in-state tuition

$15,195

Lowest published in-state tuition

Barstow Community College

$1,104

Most selective

California Institute of the Arts

26% acceptance

Largest by enrollment

California State University-Fullerton

41,793 students

Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.

What you'll study in a Philosophy program

  • Formal and informal logic and critical reasoning
  • Ethics and moral theory, including applied ethics
  • Epistemology, the theory of knowledge and justification
  • Metaphysics and the philosophy of mind and reality
  • History of philosophy, ancient through contemporary
  • Philosophy of science, language, or law
  • Close reading and fair reconstruction of arguments
  • Analytic and argumentative writing
  • A chosen area of focus and a senior seminar or thesis

Where a Philosophy degree can lead

  • Lawyer or Attorney (with law school)
  • Policy or Research Analyst
  • Writer or Editor
  • Ethics or Compliance Specialist
  • Management or Strategy Consultant
  • Postsecondary Philosophy Teacher (with doctoral study)

Typical pay: Early-career wages vary widely by field and are rarely tied to the major itself (BLS, 2024 philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary median $78,050).

A Philosophy major studies the structure of ideas and arguments: logic and reasoning, ethics, the theory of knowledge, the nature of mind and reality, and the history of thought from ancient to contemporary work. Where Religious Studies and Theology examine belief systems and their texts and traditions, Philosophy centers on the methods of argument themselves, asking how a claim can be justified, what follows from a premise, and where a line of reasoning breaks down. The work is reading and writing intensive: much of it is learning to read a difficult text closely, reconstruct an argument fairly, and then evaluate it. Students usually build some breadth across areas like ethics, logic, metaphysics, and epistemology, and many add a focus such as political philosophy, philosophy of science, or applied and professional ethics.

Philosophy is a general humanities major rather than direct job training, and that is part of its design. It is most often a foundation that graduates carry into law, public policy, business, technology and AI ethics, writing and editing, and graduate study. Teaching philosophy at the college level, the occupation most directly tied to the field, generally requires a doctoral degree, so an academic career is a long path that only some pursue. Employers across many fields value the major's core skills, careful argument, clear writing, and the ability to analyze a problem from several angles, so the payoff tends to show up across a career rather than in one job title. Students weighing philosophy often pair it with a second major, internships, or a professional track that turns its reasoning skills into a specific direction.

In federal data for the closely related occupation of philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $78,050 and projects employment to grow about 0.7% from 2024 to 2034; a doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.

Philosophy in other states

Other majors in California

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Use CampusPin's filter-first search to narrow 305+ Philosophy programs in California by tuition, school size, acceptance rate, and campus setting.

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