Find Grad Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California

8 Colleges
$41,396 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Philosophy Master's Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 138 degrees and certificates were awarded to philosophy students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #117 most popular major in the state.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Philosophy Master's Degree Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 8 schools in California to see which ones offered the best master's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Philosophy Master's Degree Colleges.

Top California Schools for a Master's in Philosophy

Our analysis found University of California - Davis to be the best school for philosophy students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Philosophy at University of California - Davis Report

#2

Biola University

La Mirada, CA

Out of the 8 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Biola University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Biola is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of La Mirada.

Read full report on Philosophy at Biola University

The excellent master’s degree programs at University of California - Santa Barbara helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best philosophy schools in California. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Philosophy at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

Read More…

#5

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, CA

The excellent master’s degree programs at San Francisco State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best philosophy schools in California. SFSU is a very large public school located in the large city of San Francisco.

Read full report on Philosophy at San Francisco State University

University of California - Riverside landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree philosophy programs. Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Philosophy at University of California - Riverside Report

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Philosophy Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking. UC Santa Cruz is a large public school located in the small city of Santa Cruz.

Read More…

California State University - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for philosophy students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Cal State LA is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Philosophy at California State University - Los Angeles

Best Philosophy Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Philosophy Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 8
Oregon 9
Nevada 3
Hawaii 3

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

Majors Similar to Philosophy

Related Major Annual Graduates
Religious Studies 1,769
Other Philosophy & Religious Studies 106
General Philosophy & Religious Studies 41

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 8 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Graduate Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited graduate schools across the U.S.