SMU Philosophy (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Philosophy
- Private nonprofit university
- Dallas, TX
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
SMU philosophy graduates earn more than graduates of most philosophy programs nationally, $42,334 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $21,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $22,584. It is one of the higher-paying philosophy degrees in Texas.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all philosophy bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Texas philosophy program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $228 a month, or 6.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Dallas area are about 3% above the national average, so a $42,334 salary here buys what about $41,065 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
$129,960Median pay in Texas. 7,470 people work in this job in Texas. 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.
Mathematicians
$126,710Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About SMU
Philosophy ranks 17th of 26 bachelor's programs at SMU by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($93,679), Finance ($83,159), and Mechanical Engineering ($79,280).
Other philosophy bachelor's programs near Dallas
Common questions
The median graduate earns $42,334 one year after graduating. The median across philosophy bachelor's programs in Texas is $33,645.
The median federal loan balance is $21,500, which ranks 5th lowest of 6 philosophy bachelor's programs in Texas. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 51% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%.
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 Texas 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