Philosophy at Colorado State University-Fort Collins

A philosophy degree from Colorado State University-Fort Collins comes with a troubling financial picture: graduates earn just $27,810 in their first year while carrying nearly $19,000 in debt. That's below both the national median ($31,652) and the Colorado median ($32,480) for philosophy programs, placing CSU in the bottom half of philosophy programs statewide. Even University of Colorado Colorado Springs graduates earn $4,670 more annually—a 17% premium for the same degree at a similar public institution.

The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.68 means graduates face nearly 8 months of their entire first-year salary just to cover student loans. While philosophy majors typically pursue graduate education or careers where earnings grow substantially over time, starting this far behind financially can delay those plans. The relatively high debt percentile (73rd nationally) compounds the challenge, especially when you consider that CSU's debt level is actually lower than Colorado's state median—suggesting the weak point here is primarily the earnings side.

The small sample size (under 30 graduates) demands caution with these numbers, but the pattern is concerning enough that parents should press for more current data directly from the department. If philosophy is the goal, peer institutions in Colorado are producing better early-career outcomes with similar or even higher debt loads, which suggests CSU's program may not be positioned as competitively in the job market.