CCollegeMatcher

Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary

US occupation · SOC 25-1126

Job titles people report: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Humanities Professor, Instructor, Philosophy Instructor, Philosophy Professor, Professor, Religion Professor, Religious Studies Professor, Theology Professor

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$80,260
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$62,600 – $104,770
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
20,460
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+2%
Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
Openings a year (projected)
1,800
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Doctoral or professional degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Teach courses in philosophy, religion, and theology. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Main tasks

  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students and the community on topics such as ethics, logic, and contemporary religious thought.
  • Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Write articles and books.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Doctoral or professional degree
O*NET Job Zone 5
Extensive preparation
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).

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 27 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Health & Nursing

  • Bioethics/Medical Ethics

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Health & Nursing at the Major step.

Where many students take health & nursing

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Philosophy & Religion

  • Philosophy and Religious Studies, General
  • Philosophy
  • Ethics
  • Applied and Professional Ethics
  • Philosophy, Other
  • Religion/Religious Studies
  • Buddhist Studies
  • Christian Studies
3 more programmes
  • Hindu Studies
  • Talmudic Studies
  • Philosophy and Religious Studies, Other

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Philosophy & Religion at the Major step.

Where many students take philosophy & religion

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Other fields

Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

  • Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Theology and Religious Vocations

  • Bible/Biblical Studies
  • Missions/Missionary Studies
  • Religious Education
  • Religious/Sacred Music
  • Worship Ministry
  • Theology/Theological Studies
  • Divinity/Ministry
  • Pre-Theology/Pre-Ministerial Studies
6 more programmes
  • Rabbinical Studies
  • Theological and Ministerial Studies, Other
  • Pastoral Studies/Counseling
  • Urban Ministry
  • Chaplain/Chaplaincy Studies
  • Religious/Canon Law

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk