The Plummeting Philosophy Major in the US (guest post)
Just a few years ago, the philosophy major seemed on the rise. Now, the data reveal a different picture. As Eric Schwitzgebel shares in the following guest post, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded in philosophy (and their share of the total undergraduate degrees awarded) has declined over the past few years. Furthermore, he notes that “relatively elite schools award disproportionately many philosophy degrees—and this tendency has increased as the percentage of students earning philosophy degrees has declined.” (A version of this post first appeared at The Splintered Mind.) The Plummeting Philosophy Major in the US by Eric Schwitzgebel Three years ago, I posted some optimistic reflections about how the philosophy major seemed to be recovering from its recent decline in the U.S. I take it back. The National Center for Education Statistics has released its numbers from the 2023-2024 academic year, and it’s bad. First off: The humanities in general have been hemorrhaging majors since about 2008. English in particular has been hammered. In the 2000-2001 academic year, 4.5% bachelor’s degrees recipients were English majors. Now it’s 1.7%. [1] Since philosophy started out low, its decline is not as visually evident in the above graph. Here are the raw numbers: Year: Philosophy BAs awarded (as a % of all Bachelor’s degrees) 2001: 5836 (.49%) 2002: 6529 (.52%) 2003: 7023 (.54%) 2004: 7707 (.57%) 2005: 8283 (.60%) 2006: 8532 (.60%) 2007: 8541 (.59%) 2008: 8778 (.59%) 2009: 8996 (.59%) 2010: 9268 (.59%) 2011: 9292 (.57%) 2012: 9362 (.56%) 2013: 9427 (.54%) 2014: 8820 (.49%) 2015: 8184 (.44%) 2016: 7489 (.40%) 2017: 7572 (.39%) 2018: 7667 (.39%) 2019: 8074 (.40%) 2020: 8209 (.40%) 2021: 8328 (.40%) 2022: 7958 (.39%) 2023: 7550 (.38%) 2024: 7091 (.36%) As you can see, there were grounds for hope around 2019-2021. However, since 2021 the number of bachelor’s degree completions in philosophy has fallen from 8328 to 7091—a 15% decline in just three years. The percentage of college students receiving philosophy degrees is at an all-time low. Bachelor’s degree completions in general have declined somewhat. They peaked at 2,068,932 in the 2020-2021 academic year and have declined slightly in every subsequent year, down to 1,959,325 for the 2023-2024 academic year—a 5% decline overall. Possible explanations of this general trend..
The post https://dailynous.com/2025/10/15/the-plummeting-philosophy-major-in-the-us-guest-post/
.
https://dailynous.com/2025/10/15/the-plummeting-philosophy-major-in-the-us-guest-post/
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"content": "The Plummeting Philosophy Major in the US (guest post)\n\nJust a few years ago, the philosophy major seemed on the rise. Now, the data reveal a different picture. As Eric Schwitzgebel shares in the following guest post, the number of undergraduate degrees awarded in philosophy (and their share of the total undergraduate degrees awarded) has declined over the past few years. Furthermore, he notes that “relatively elite schools award disproportionately many philosophy degrees—and this tendency has increased as the percentage of students earning philosophy degrees has declined.” (A version of this post first appeared at The Splintered Mind.) The Plummeting Philosophy Major in the US by Eric Schwitzgebel Three years ago, I posted some optimistic reflections about how the philosophy major seemed to be recovering from its recent decline in the U.S. I take it back. The National Center for Education Statistics has released its numbers from the 2023-2024 academic year, and it’s bad. First off: The humanities in general have been hemorrhaging majors since about 2008. English in particular has been hammered. In the 2000-2001 academic year, 4.5% bachelor’s degrees recipients were English majors. Now it’s 1.7%. [1] Since philosophy started out low, its decline is not as visually evident in the above graph. Here are the raw numbers: Year: Philosophy BAs awarded (as a % of all Bachelor’s degrees) 2001: 5836 (.49%) 2002: 6529 (.52%) 2003: 7023 (.54%) 2004: 7707 (.57%) 2005: 8283 (.60%) 2006: 8532 (.60%) 2007: 8541 (.59%) 2008: 8778 (.59%) 2009: 8996 (.59%) 2010: 9268 (.59%) 2011: 9292 (.57%) 2012: 9362 (.56%) 2013: 9427 (.54%) 2014: 8820 (.49%) 2015: 8184 (.44%) 2016: 7489 (.40%) 2017: 7572 (.39%) 2018: 7667 (.39%) 2019: 8074 (.40%) 2020: 8209 (.40%) 2021: 8328 (.40%) 2022: 7958 (.39%) 2023: 7550 (.38%) 2024: 7091 (.36%) As you can see, there were grounds for hope around 2019-2021. However, since 2021 the number of bachelor’s degree completions in philosophy has fallen from 8328 to 7091—a 15% decline in just three years. The percentage of college students receiving philosophy degrees is at an all-time low. Bachelor’s degree completions in general have declined somewhat. They peaked at 2,068,932 in the 2020-2021 academic year and have declined slightly in every subsequent year, down to 1,959,325 for the 2023-2024 academic year—a 5% decline overall. Possible explanations of this general trend..\nThe post https://dailynous.com/2025/10/15/the-plummeting-philosophy-major-in-the-us-guest-post/\n.\n\nhttps://dailynous.com/2025/10/15/the-plummeting-philosophy-major-in-the-us-guest-post/",
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