Philosophy at Brandeis University

A $40,000 first-year salary—drawn from the three Massachusetts philosophy programs with public data—positions this degree right at the state median but well above the national benchmark of $32,000. Philosophy graduates from comparable programs in Massachusetts typically earn enough to manage the estimated $23,000 in debt, yielding a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57 that's lower than many humanities fields and suggests reasonable first-year affordability.

What complicates the picture is Brandeis's selectivity. With a 35% admission rate and average SAT of 1473, students here are academically competitive with those at Boston College, where philosophy majors earn $47,000—nearly $7,000 more than the state median figure we're using as our estimate. Whether Brandeis graduates cluster toward that higher range or toward UMass-Boston's $37,000 makes a meaningful difference in how manageable that debt becomes. The small graduate cohort that triggered data suppression makes it impossible to know.

For parents, the decision hinges on whether your child plans to leverage Brandeis's academic reputation into graduate school or competitive entry-level positions where the credential matters. If they're pursuing philosophy as preparation for law school, policy work, or roles where critical thinking commands a premium, the investment likely pencils out. If they're uncertain about post-graduation plans, the lack of school-specific data means you're betting on Brandeis's brand to deliver outcomes closer to Boston College than to the state median.