How much debt do NYU philosophy graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $24,128, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 philosophy bachelor's programs in New York. That works out to about $256 a month over 10 years.

Is a philosophy degree from NYU worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%.

NYU Philosophy (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Philosophy
Private nonprofit university
New York, NY
About 75 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

NYU philosophy graduates earn more than graduates of most philosophy programs nationally, $40,359 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,128 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,584. Two other New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$40,35985th percentile of 74 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$76,80290% more than year one

Median federal debt$24,1285th lowest of 6 New York programs

Debt-to-earnings60%New York median 55%, national 67%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all philosophy bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	NYU	New York	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$40,359	$33,339	$30,894
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$76,802	$51,993	$54,937
Median federal debt at graduation	$24,128	$23,125	$22,584
Debt as share of first-year pay	60%	55%	67%
Programs compared		9	74

Five years out, NYU graduates earn more than the national figure and about $24,809 more than the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York philosophy program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.

NYUOther New York programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 90% between the first and fifth year.

NYU grads, year 1$40,359

NYU grads, year 5$76,802

All New York philosophy grads, year 5$51,993

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $256 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (25 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $40,359 salary here buys what about $35,855 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to philosophy, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Natural Sciences Managers

$134,680

Median pay in New York. 5,690 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 9,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $65,440Top 10%: $291,780

Mathematicians

$126,950

Median pay in New York. 150 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $79,110Top 10%: $261,670

About NYU

Tuition and fees	$62,796 / year
Average net price after aid	$37,050 / year
Admission rate	9%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	88%
Undergraduate students	28,663

Philosophy ranks 24th of 43 bachelor's programs at NYU by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($111,360), Management Science ($102,572), and Computer and Information Science ($87,608).

Other philosophy bachelor's programs near New York

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
NYUNew York, NY · private nonprofit		$40,359	$24,128
Columbia UniversityNew York, NY · private nonprofit	6 mi	$52,668	$20,062
Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	7 mi	$27,926	$14,125
Lehman CollegeBronx, NY · public	11 mi	$43,311	$18,700

Common questions

The median graduate earns $40,359 one year after graduating and $76,802 five years after. The median across philosophy bachelor's programs in New York is $33,339.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the philosophy program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Philosophy bachelor's programs in New York, ranked9 programs by pay and debt Philosophy bachelor's programs in the US, ranked74 programs by pay and debt All NYU programs, ranked44 programs by pay and debt