An online master’s in philosophy is a narrower decision than a bachelor’s, and it is worth being direct about why. The degree is most often used for one of three purposes: as a bridge to doctoral admission for someone whose undergraduate record or preparation was not competitive, as subject-area depth for someone already teaching or working in a field where the questions matter, or as a terminal applied credential in bioethics, health care ethics, or professional ethics. It is not the credential that opens college teaching. That is the PhD.
This page explains how these programs are structured, what an MA in philosophy actually does for an application or a career, and what to compare across schools. The school listing below shows related online programs, since master’s-level philosophy is offered by a smaller set of institutions than the bachelor’s.
Quick answers
What is an online master’s in philosophy?
It is a graduate degree built on advanced seminars in the history of philosophy and in problem areas such as ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind, usually finishing with a thesis or a set of substantial seminar papers. Online delivery works well for it because the work is reading, argument, and writing.
Will a master’s let me teach philosophy in college?
Not in most cases. Philosophy and religion teachers at the postsecondary level typically hold a doctorate. A master’s can qualify you to teach as an adjunct at some community colleges, which is contingent, low-paid work rather than a career track. The occupation had a median annual wage of $80,260 and is projected to change 0.7 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 2,000 openings per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).
Do I need a philosophy bachelor’s to be admitted?
Not always, but you need to show you can do the work. Programs typically want a writing sample that is a piece of philosophical argument, not a literature review or a personal statement in essay form. Applicants from other majors are common and are usually asked to complete undergraduate logic and history coursework as prerequisites.
Is an MA useful for PhD admission?
It can be, and this is one of its clearest uses. A well-taught MA gives you a graduate-level writing sample, letters from philosophers who have read your work closely, and evidence that you can survive a seminar. It does not guarantee admission, and doctoral programs remain highly selective.
What is an applied ethics master’s?
A terminal professional degree, usually in bioethics, clinical ethics, health care ethics, or business and organizational ethics. It is designed for practitioners: clinicians serving on ethics committees, compliance staff, chaplains, administrators. It is a different degree from a research MA in philosophy and should be compared on its own terms.
How long does it take?
Calendars vary by school, by thesis versus non-thesis track, and by full-time versus part-time enrollment. Confirm total credits, whether a thesis is required, and expected time to completion with each program rather than assuming a single national timeline.
At a Glance
- Degree types: MA in Philosophy (research or PhD-preparatory) or a terminal applied ethics master’s
- Typical duration: Varies by school, track, and enrollment intensity – confirm the catalog
- Admissions: Bachelor’s in any field plus a philosophical writing sample in most programs
- Capstone: Thesis, comprehensive examination, or a portfolio of seminar papers
- Accreditation: No programmatic accreditor for philosophy; verify institutional accreditation
Schools to compare
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$88,174
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$124,080
Avg net price
$13,807/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 100
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
11%
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$92,446
Avg net price
$13,481/yr
TuitionIn‑state$16,347
Out‑of‑state$50,547
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 127
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
98%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$110,066
Avg net price
$6,128/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 47
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
7%
Graduation rate
95%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$82,735
Avg net price
$14,398/yr
TuitionIn‑state$67,832
Out‑of‑state$67,832
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 40
Source:Accreditor: New England Commission on Higher Education · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$88,665
Avg net price
$17,716/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 38
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
96%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$143,372
Avg net price
$20,111/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 99%
- Programs offered: 53
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 96%
- Programs offered: 30
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Typical topics in a master’s program
| Course Topic |
What You Learn |
| Graduate proseminar |
The methods and literature of contemporary philosophical writing |
| Advanced logic |
Modal logic, metalogic, or formal methods beyond the undergraduate course |
| History seminars |
Close work on a single figure or period rather than a survey |
| Ethical theory |
Metaethics and normative theory at the level of the current journal literature |
| Applied and professional ethics |
Bioethics, clinical ethics, business ethics, or environmental ethics |
| Epistemology or metaphysics |
Sustained work on a problem area, with a research paper as output |
| Thesis or capstone |
An extended original argument written under a faculty director |
Research MA vs applied ethics, in practice
Choose a research MA if the goal is doctoral admission, a stronger writing sample, or simply advanced study in the discipline. Read the seminar list and check whether the department publishes where its MA graduates are placed.
Choose an applied ethics master’s if you already work somewhere the questions arise – a hospital, a compliance office, a research institution – and you want the vocabulary and the frameworks to do that part of your job well. This is the version of the degree with the clearest professional return, because it attaches to work you already have.
What neither version does is create an academic job. If teaching philosophy at a college is the goal, the honest path runs through a funded PhD program, and even then tenure-track openings are scarce. Read the how to become a philosophy professor page before you commit years to this.
Skills and outcomes to compare
Outcomes vary by program, but you can compare:
- Whether the degree is a research MA or a terminal applied credential, as stated in the catalog
- Whether a thesis is required, optional, or unavailable, since doctoral applications benefit from one
- Which subfields the faculty actually publish in, rather than which courses appear in the catalog
- Seminar size and how much written feedback a paper receives
- Whether a reading language requirement applies, which matters for history-of-philosophy work
- Whether the program reports doctoral placements for its graduates
- Whether any on-campus residency or synchronous seminar attendance is required
For pacing and delivery comparisons, see: How Online Philosophy Degrees Work
How to compare online master’s programs
- Identify the program type: research MA or terminal applied ethics degree.
- Read the required core and confirm it goes beyond a repeat of undergraduate surveys.
- Check whether a thesis option exists and whether faculty direct theses for online students.
- Ask how seminars run online, and how much written feedback a graduate paper gets.
- Confirm any residency, synchronous meeting, or comprehensive examination requirement.
- If doctoral study is the goal, ask the department directly where recent MA graduates were admitted.
- Verify recognized institutional accreditation through the U.S. Department of Education database.
No agency accredits philosophy programs specifically – there is no programmatic accreditor for this field. Institutional accreditation is the check that matters. A master’s degree in philosophy does not qualify you for tenure-track college teaching, and it is not a license or certification for any occupation.
Admissions requirements
Requirements vary by school, but most programs require a completed bachelor’s degree in any field. Common elements include transcripts, a statement of purpose, letters of recommendation, and a writing sample. The sample is usually the most heavily weighted item, and it should be a piece of philosophical argument: a thesis defended against objections, not a summary of what several thinkers said.
Applicants without a philosophy background are common and are often admitted with prerequisite coursework attached, typically logic plus one or two history courses. Standardized test scores are frequently optional. Ask admissions directly what they weigh rather than inferring it from the catalog.
Master’s vs a bachelor’s pathway
A bachelor’s in philosophy is the complete undergraduate credential and, for most people, the last philosophy degree they will earn. It is the version that pairs well with law school, a licensure program, or a second major.
A master’s is a targeted addition. It makes sense when you can name what it is for: a doctoral application, an ethics committee role, a teaching subject-area requirement, or genuine intellectual work you want to do under supervision. It does not raise general employability the way a professional master’s in a licensed field does. Management analysts, the largest occupation associated with this degree, are projected to grow 8.8 percent from 2024 to 2034 with 98,100 openings per year, and they are hired on demonstrable analytical and business skill rather than on a philosophy credential (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-2034).
Compare degree options:
For a value and fit discussion, see: Is an Online Philosophy Degree Worth It. If the questions you want to pursue are ones a religious tradition frames, see the Theology Program Guide instead.
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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