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CIP 38.0201 Philosophy and Religious Studies

Religion/Religious Studies

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

Total graduates

2,694

2025 · 350 schools

International share

4.8%

130 international students

Bachelor's degrees

2,130

2.5% international

Master's degrees

335

15.2% international

Overview

Religion/Religious Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that explores the diverse beliefs, practices, and institutions associated with religion across cultures and throughout history. This discipline examines not only the major world religions—such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism—but also indigenous and lesser-known faith traditions.

Students in this field analyze religious texts, rituals, and ethical systems, and they often engage with philosophical questions about existence, morality, and the nature of the divine. The curriculum typically includes coursework in theology, anthropology, sociology, psychology, and history, providing a comprehensive understanding of how religion shapes individual and societal identities.

The study of religion also addresses contemporary issues such as secularism, interfaith dialogue, and the role of religion in politics and conflict. Scholars in this field often employ various methodologies, including textual analysis, ethnography, and comparative studies, to understand the complexities of religious phenomena.

Graduates with a degree in Religion/Religious Studies can pursue careers in education, social work, counseling, public policy, and international relations, among others. They often find opportunities in non-profit organizations, religious institutions, and academia. Moreover, the critical thinking and analytical skills developed through this program are valuable in a wide range of professions, making it a versatile choice for students seeking to understand the profound impact of religion on human experience and society.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates fell 48% and the international share went from 2.9% to 4.8%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
61.0%
Asian
4.0%
Hispanic
9.3%
Black
8.4%
Other
12.5%
Intl.
4.8%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 350 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#2 Princeton University New Jersey 17 2
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 33 5
#4 Yale University Connecticut 32 9
#5 Stanford University California 6 3
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 5 1
#8 Duke University North Carolina 9 3
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 5 1
#12 Dartmouth College New Hampshire 5 0
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 24 6
#14 Cornell University New York 1 0
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 2 0
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 8 1
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 8 2
#16 Rice University Texas 13 5
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 2 0
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 6 0
#23 Emory University Georgia 11 2
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 22 3
#27 University of Southern California California 6 2
#27 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina 13 0
#29 University of California-San Diego California 4 1
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 2 0
#31 New York University New York 2 1
#34 University of California-Davis California 5 1
#34 University of Florida Florida 9 2
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 5 1
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 16 2
#34 Wake Forest University North Carolina 5 0
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 16 1
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 3 0
#42 Northeastern University Massachusetts 1 0
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 22 3
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 4 1
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 2 0
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 1 1
#44 Lehigh University Pennsylvania 2 0
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 1 0
#49 University of Rochester New York 1 0
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 3 0
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 20 1
#52 College of William and Mary Virginia 3 0
#55 Santa Clara University California 2 0
#55 University of Miami Florida 3 0
#55 Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana 2 0
#59 Florida State University Florida 23 3
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 5 0
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 5 0
#72 Syracuse University New York 4 0
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 7 0
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 8 0
#80 University of California-Riverside California 10 1
#80 Pepperdine University California 4 1
#80 Clemson University South Carolina 5 0
#85 Fordham University New York 4 0
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 7 0
#90 Baylor University Texas 30 0
#90 Texas Christian University Texas 2 0
#90 Marquette University Wisconsin 5 0
#95 American University D.C. 2 0
#95 University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri 3 0
#100 Chapman University California 1 0
#100 Florida International University Florida 9 0
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 8 2
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 5 0
#100 Elon University North Carolina 2 0
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 6 1
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 7 3
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 5 0
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 2 0
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 2 0
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 2 0
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 4 0
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 4 0
#121 University of Denver Colorado 15 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 14 0
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 8 0
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 2 0
#121 George Mason University Virginia 3 0
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 2 0
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 2 0
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 4 0
#137 San Diego State University California 4 0
#137 University of Scranton Pennsylvania 1 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 6 0
#148 Catholic University of America D.C. 11 0
#148 Mercer University Georgia 4 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 3 0
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 7 0
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 4 0
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 49 0
#156 Oregon State University Oregon 4 0
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 5 0
#169 Bradley University Illinois 2 0
#169 Butler University Indiana 3 0
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 12 0
#179 CUNY Hunter College New York 4 0
#179 University of Utah Utah 8 0
#186 California Lutheran University California 3 0
#186 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 5 0
#186 University of Detroit Mercy Michigan 1 1
#191 Samford University Alabama 6 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 10 0
#191 Rowan University New Jersey 2 0
#202 Sacred Heart University Connecticut 1 0
#208 University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina 2 0
#208 Belmont University Tennessee 1 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 3 0
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 4 1
#227 Ball State University Indiana 1 0
#236 Stetson University Florida 4 0
#236 Bethel University Minnesota 11 0
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 5 0
#250 Oakland City University Indiana 3 0
#262 Andrews University Michigan 19 3
#276 Regis University Colorado 4 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 9 1
#288 Texas State University Texas 2 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 3 0
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 1 0
#299 University of Nebraska--Omaha Nebraska 4 0
#308 University of the Incarnate Word Texas 1 0
#317 Emory & Henry University Virginia 1 0
#332 Clark Atlanta University Georgia 1 0
#342 Missouri State University Missouri 12 2
#353 Trevecca Nazarene University Tennessee 1 0
#365 University of Central Arkansas Arkansas 2 0
#365 Gardner-Webb University North Carolina 17 0
#365 Liberty University Virginia 515 5
#382 Saint Leo University Florida 14 0
#382 Texas Wesleyan University Texas 1 1
#382 Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus Puerto Rico 1 0
LAC #1 Williams College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #2 Amherst College Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #3 Pomona College California 1 0
LAC #3 Bowdoin College Maine 4 0
LAC #3 Swarthmore College Pennsylvania 6 0
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #12 Vassar College New York 1 0
LAC #12 Washington and Lee University Virginia 3 0
LAC #14 Wesleyan University Connecticut 4 0
LAC #14 Hamilton College New York 2 0
LAC #16 Grinnell College Iowa 8 0
LAC #16 Carleton College Minnesota 8 1
LAC #16 Davidson College North Carolina 2 0
LAC #19 Barnard College New York 3 0
LAC #19 Middlebury College Vermont 4 0
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 2 0
LAC #22 College of the Holy Cross Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #22 Smith College Massachusetts 4 0
LAC #22 Colgate University New York 7 0
LAC #26 Bates College Maine 2 0
LAC #26 Haverford College Pennsylvania 3 0
LAC #28 Macalester College Minnesota 4 0
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #30 Lafayette College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #31 Trinity College Connecticut 1 0
LAC #31 Denison University Ohio 2 0
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #34 Colorado College Colorado 1 0
LAC #34 Mount Holyoke College Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #38 Occidental College California 1 0
LAC #38 Scripps College California 3 0
LAC #38 Trinity University Texas 3 0
LAC #41 Skidmore College New York 6 1
LAC #41 Kenyon College Ohio 6 2
LAC #44 Pitzer College California 1 0
LAC #44 Wabash College Indiana 6 0
LAC #47 Hillsdale College Michigan 8 0
LAC #49 DePauw University Indiana 2 0
LAC #49 St. Olaf College Minnesota 8 0
LAC #49 Rhodes College Tennessee 5 0
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 4 0
LAC #54 Centre College Kentucky 3 0
LAC #54 Dickinson College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #54 Gettysburg College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #57 Furman University South Carolina 3 0
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 8 0
LAC #60 Hobart and William Smith Colleges New York 1 0
LAC #60 Reed College Oregon 8 0
LAC #62 Agnes Scott College Georgia 4 0
LAC #62 Lake Forest College Illinois 2 0
LAC #62 Gustavus Adolphus College Minnesota 2 0
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 3 1
LAC #74 Principia College Illinois 2 0
LAC #74 Kalamazoo College Michigan 5 0
LAC #78 Saint Mary's College Indiana 3 0
LAC #78 Hope College Michigan 11 0
LAC #78 Whitman College Washington 2 0
LAC #81 Wheaton College (MA) Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #83 Morehouse College Georgia 6 0
LAC #85 Stonehill College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #85 Drew University New Jersey 8 2
LAC #85 Allegheny College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #85 Randolph-Macon College Virginia 2 0
LAC #91 College of Wooster Ohio 4 0
LAC #91 Juniata College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #97 Lewis & Clark College Oregon 4 0
LAC #100 Hendrix College Arkansas 1 0
LAC #100 Lycoming College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #100 University of Puget Sound Washington 11 0
LAC #106 Pacific Lutheran University Washington 8 0
LAC #109 Westmont College California 11 0
LAC #111 Luther College Iowa 1 0
LAC #111 Hampden-Sydney College Virginia 2 0
LAC #116 Roanoke College Virginia 2 0
LAC #119 Albion College Michigan 2 0
LAC #125 Emmanuel College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #128 Cornell College Iowa 3 0
LAC #132 Eckerd College Florida 1 0
LAC #150 New College of Florida Florida 1 0
LAC #154 University of North Carolina Asheville North Carolina 3 0
LAC #158 Bryn Athyn College of the New Church Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #158 Presbyterian College South Carolina 3 0
LAC #160 Wittenberg University Ohio 1 0
LAC #160 Albright College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #172 Guilford College North Carolina 2 0
LAC #181 Bethune-Cookman University Florida 3 0
LAC #184 Louisiana State University at Alexandria Louisiana 5 0
LAC #184 CUNY Medgar Evers College New York 1 0
LAC #184 Allen University South Carolina 1 0
— Trinity Anglican Seminary Pennsylvania 22 6
— Faith International University Washington 22 0
— Vanguard University of Southern California California 20 2
— Arizona State University Digital Immersion Arizona 19 0
— American Public University System West Virginia 17 0
— Grove City College Pennsylvania 16 0
— Chicago Theological Seminary Illinois 15 0
— California State University-Chico California 13 0
— Southern Wesleyan University South Carolina 12 0
— Hartford International University for Religion and Peace Connecticut 11 0
— Kentucky Mountain Bible College Kentucky 10 1
— College of Charleston South Carolina 10 0
— Claremont Graduate University California 9 0
— Southern Adventist University Tennessee 9 0
— Athens State University Alabama 8 0
— Memphis Theological Seminary Tennessee 8 0
— University of Mobile Alabama 7 0
— Denver Seminary Colorado 7 1
— Naropa University Colorado 7 0
— East Texas Baptist University Texas 7 0
— MidAmerica Nazarene University Kansas 6 1
— Calvin University Michigan 6 0
— Spring Hill College Alabama 5 0
— California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt California 5 0
— Graceland University-Lamoni Iowa 5 1
— Appalachian State University North Carolina 5 0
— Mount Vernon Nazarene University Ohio 5 0
— Oklahoma Wesleyan University Oklahoma 5 0
— Bob Jones University South Carolina 5 1
— Western Washington University Washington 5 0

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary 20,460 — $92,040

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.