Program & Careers | Department of Philosophy

The Philosophy Major at CSUSB

The Major in Philosophy requires 36 units. Graduation with a degree in philosophy requires a total of 120 units, made up of general education courses, the 36-unit major, and free electives. Because the major is extremely compact(!), students have plenty of room for further courses in philosophy, a minor, or even a second major. See philosophy advising for additional detailed information and our two-year course rotation (on that page) to plan your major.

Minors

We offer several minors, too!

The Minor in Philosophy (18 units) is useful for students who want a grounding in philosophy short of the full major. See the Handout of Philosophy Minor.
The Law and Philosophy Minor (18 units) develops skills necessary for succeeding in law school and becoming a well-rounded lawyer. See the Handout of Law and Philosophy Minor.
The Minor in Philosophical Logic (18 units) provides an opportunity to learn logic at a level rare in undergraduate institutions in the United States. See the Handout of Philosophical Logic Minor.
The Minor in Philosophy, Policy, and Economics (21 units) is an interdisciplinary minor between Philosophy, Economics and Political Science. See also Handout of Philosophy, Policy, and Economics Minor.

Career opportunities and perspectives

Can I get a good, well-paying job with a philosophy degree? Yes! Philosophy majors earn more than graduates in any other humanities field (read the article). By mid-career, they earn more on average than many majors outside the humanities too (including business, psychology, and biology)! Philosophy grads work in just about every field you can think of: law, business, tech, education, government, journalism, ministry, and more. Many go on to law school, medical school, business school, or graduate school.

Why does it work? Philosophy doesn’t train you for one specific job. It trains the skills every job needs: thinking clearly, writing well, making a strong argument, and spotting a weak one. Philosophy also teaches you to question assumptions, take unusual ideas seriously, and come up with new ways of looking at a problem. That kind of creative thinking is where innovation starts. Entry-level tasks can be learned on the job. These skills are what let you take on the harder, more interesting work (that also tends to be work that employers really value).

What about AI? As AI takes over more routine tasks, the skills philosophy teaches matter more, not less. AI can draft an email or summarize a report. Deciding what’s true, what’s fair, what’s worth doing, and innovating beyond our current situation still takes human beings who can reason carefully. Even AI companies have noticed this! As The New York Times recently reported, leading AI labs like Anthropic and Google DeepMind are hiring people trained in philosophy to help shape how their systems reason and behave. Rather than setting you up to be “replaced” by AI, a philosophy degree prepares you to do work that AI can’t.

Want to dig deeper? See below for links and for helpful charts about salaries and test scores for philosophers!