Best Philosophy programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment
Teach courses in philosophy, religion, and theology.
24 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,543 people a year. The job pays a median of $65,580 in Kentucky across about 320 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
16 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kentucky page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 39.0602In Kentucky → | 782 | 50.7% | 4 | $32,202 | $25,375 |
| 2 | CIP 39.0601In Kentucky → | 253 | 16.4% | 7 | $32,202 | $25,375 |
| 3 | CIP 39.0201In Kentucky → | 129 | 8.4% | 7 | $33,182 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 39.0301In Kentucky → | 88 | 5.7% | 4 | $28,103 | $17,318 |
| 5 | CIP 39.0401In Kentucky → | 72 | 4.7% | 5 | $32,351 | $25,937 |
| 6 | CIP 39.0699In Kentucky → | 64 | 4.1% | 4 | $32,202 | $25,375 |
| 7 | CIP 38.0101In Kentucky → | 36 | 2.3% | 10 | $31,618 | $22,862 |
| 8 | CIP 39.0701In Kentucky → | 29 | 1.9% | 4 | $32,226 | $26,000 |
| 9 | CIP 38.0104In Kentucky → | 25 | 1.6% | 1 | $31,618 | $22,862 |
| 10 | Philosophy and Religious Studies, Generalmain feeder CIP 38.0001In Kentucky → | 22 | 1.4% | 1 | — | — |
| 11 | Religion/Religious Studiesmain feeder CIP 38.0201In Kentucky → | 22 | 1.4% | 6 | $26,048 | $25,612 |
| 12 | CIP 39.0501In Kentucky → | 9 | 0.6% | 2 | $30,092 | $27,000 |
| 13 | CIP 30.5101In Kentucky → | 5 | 0.3% | 1 | — | — |
| 14 | CIP 39.0604In Kentucky → | 4 | 0.3% | 2 | $32,202 | $25,375 |
| 15 | Christian Studiesmain feeder CIP 38.0203In Kentucky → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $26,048 | $25,612 |
| 16 | CIP 39.0706In Kentucky → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $32,226 | $26,000 |
Top 24 schools in Kentucky
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 24 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 9 feeder programs | 935 | Divinity/Ministry | — | 40% | — | 56% |
| 2 | Asbury Theological Seminary Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 6 feeder programs | 317 | Divinity/Ministry | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Religious Education | — | 50% | $11,672 | 99% |
| 4 | University of Louisville Louisville, KY Public · 2 feeder programs | 35 | Applied and Professional Ethics | — | 61% | — | 79% |
| 5 | Campbellsville University Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 6 feeder programs | 34 | Theology/Theological Studies | — | 42% | $18,824 | 80% |
| 6 | Clear Creek Baptist Bible College Pineville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Bible/Biblical Studies | — | 38% | $9,512 | — |
| 7 | Asbury University Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 6 feeder programs | 22 | Religious Education | — | 65% | $19,816 | 63% |
| 8 | Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 22 | Divinity/Ministry | — | — | — | — |
| 9 | Kentucky Mountain Bible College Jackson, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Religion/Religious Studies | — | 64% | $10,880 | 100% |
| 10 | Lexington Theological Seminary Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 12 | Divinity/Ministry | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Philosophy | — | 71% | — | 93% |
| 12 | Kentucky Christian University Grayson, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 8 | Theological and Ministerial Studies, Other | — | 37% | $21,713 | 61% |
| 13 | Centre College Danville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Religion/Religious Studies | — | 81% | $18,407 | 54% |
| 14 | Kentucky Wesleyan College Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Religion/Religious Studies | — | 47% | $36,525 | 72% |
| 15 | Transylvania University Lexington, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Philosophy, Politics, and Economics | — | 71% | $21,881 | 87% |
| 16 | Georgetown College Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Philosophy | — | 49% | $12,666 | 91% |
| 17 | Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Philosophy | — | 50% | — | 78% |
| 18 | Bellarmine University Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Philosophy | — | 64% | $22,542 | 86% |
| 19 | Brescia University Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Theology/Theological Studies | — | 54% | $14,604 | 35% |
| 20 | Lindsey Wilson University Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Religious Education | — | 44% | $14,471 | — |
| 21 | Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Philosophy | — | 40% | $18,902 | 90% |
| 22 | Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Religion/Religious Studies | — | 56% | — | 94% |
| 23 | Berea College Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Philosophy | — | 58% | $5,274 | 19% |
| 24 | Morehead State University Morehead, KY Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Philosophy | — | 52% | — | 77% |
All 24 schools in Kentucky
Every school in Kentucky with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 935 | 9 |
| Asbury Theological Seminary | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 317 | 6 |
| University of the Cumberlands | Williamsburg | Private not-for-profit | 59 | 2 |
| University of Louisville | Louisville | Public | 35 | 2 |
| Campbellsville University | Campbellsville | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 6 |
| Clear Creek Baptist Bible College | Pineville | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 1 |
| Asbury University | Wilmore | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 6 |
| Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary | Louisville | Private not-for-profit | 22 | 3 |
| Kentucky Mountain Bible College | Jackson | Private not-for-profit | 16 | 2 |
| Lexington Theological Seminary | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 12 | 2 |
| University of Kentucky | Lexington | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Kentucky Christian University | Grayson | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 2 |
| Centre College | Danville | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Kentucky Wesleyan College | Owensboro | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Transylvania University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
What philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary earn in Kentucky
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $80,260. Kentucky pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Kentucky employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Kentucky
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary page.
How to become a Philosophy
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional degree
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Kentucky
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 25 majors mapped to Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary24 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.5101Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
- 38.0001Philosophy and Religious Studies, General
- 38.0101Philosophy
- 38.0103Ethics
- 38.0104Applied and Professional Ethics
- 38.0199Philosophy, Other
- 38.0201Religion/Religious Studies
- 38.0202Buddhist Studies
- 38.0203Christian Studies
- 38.0204Hindu Studies(no graduates reported)
- 38.0207Talmudic Studies
- 38.9999Philosophy and Religious Studies, Other
- 39.0201Bible/Biblical Studies
- 39.0301Missions/Missionary Studies
- 39.0401Religious Education
- 39.0501Religious/Sacred Music
- 39.0502Worship Ministry
- 39.0601Theology/Theological Studies
- 39.0602Divinity/Ministry
- 39.0604Pre-Theology/Pre-Ministerial Studies
- 39.0605Rabbinical Studies
- 39.0699Theological and Ministerial Studies, Other
- 39.0701Pastoral Studies/Counseling
- 39.0703Urban Ministry
- 39.0706Chaplain/Chaplaincy Studies
Common questions
Answers for people weighing philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary programs in Kentucky.
What degree do you need to become a Philosophy?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Divinity/Ministry, which awarded 782 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 50.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Philosophy?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 16 programs to this occupation. The largest are Theological and Ministerial Studies, Bible/Biblical Studies, Missions/Missionary Studies and Missiology, Religious Education, plus 6 more. Together they graduate about 1,543 people a year in Kentucky.
How much do philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary earn in Kentucky?+
The median is $65,580 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 18.3% below the U.S. median of $80,260. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +0.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 2,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+
24 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 16 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Religion Professor, Assistant Professor, Philosophy Professor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1126.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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