Data
CategoryPhilosophy Majors’ Job Prospects and the Spread of AI Technology
A study by The Economist looked at how the employment prospects of college graduates have changed over the past few years as AI use by potential employers has increased. (more…)
Slight Decrease In US Philosophy Majors Continues
The number of students earning an undergraduate degree in philosophy in the United States declined for the third year in a row. (more…)
Who Wins Fellowships in the Arts & Humanities?
“Unfortunately, the types of people for whom such fellowships might represent the greatest departure from their everyday experience—and whose career trajectories might be most dramatically shifted given freedom from their usual constraints—are infrequently their beneficiaries.” (more…)
Publishing, Teaching, and the Philosophy Job Market (guest post)
How many publications do early career job applicants in academic philosophy have? How many courses have they taught? How have the answers to these questions changed over the past decade? (more…)
QS 2026 “World University Rankings” in Philosophy
The 2026 “QS World University Rankings” have been published. These contain rankings by subject matter, including philosophy. (more…)
How Old Philosophers Are When Their Influence Peaks?
Philosophers of the past 100 years or so have tended to reach “peak influence” between their early 50s and late 60s, according to a new analysis from Eric Schwitzgebel (UC Riverside). (more…)
Current & Recent Philosophy Grad Students: APDA Is Reaching Out
If you’re a current philosophy PhD student or received your PhD within the past decade, Academic Philosophy Data and Analysis (APDA) wants to make sure you’re counted in its 2025 survey, which is running until the end of the year. (more…)
The Plummeting Philosophy Major in the US (guest post)
Just a few years ago, the philosophy major seemed on the rise. Now, the data reveal a different picture. (more…)
Women’s Share of US PhDs in Philosophy Increased by about One-Third Over Past Decade (guest post)
Women earned 37% of US Philosophy Doctorates in 2024, up from 28% ten years ago. But what explains the change? (more…)
Human vs. AI in Logic Tasks: a Study
Philosopher-turned-software developer Brian Rabern is conducting a study comparing human and artificial intelligence (AI) performance on logic problems, and he is looking for student volunteers to take a short online survey. (more…)
Are Human Reasoning Abilities Declining?
In a piece at the Financial Times (and in a Bluesky thread about it), John Burn-Murdoch, the chief data reporter for the newspaper, goes over some of the worrying findings that might support a conclusion that human capacities to reason and understand are “deteriorating,” especially since the early-to-mid 2010s. (more…)
Author Gender in Elite Philosophy Journals (guest post) (updated)
What percentage of the authors in elite philosophy journals are women? (more…)
A Trove of Data about Philosophy Departments in the US
How many philosophy departments are there in the United States? How many people do they employ? How many students are there in philosophy courses each year? How many people major or minor in philosophy? How many are working on graduate degrees in philosophy? (more…)
Philosophy Major Retention Data
How many college graduates end up getting their undergraduate degree in the major they declared when they initially started college?
Why Do Journal Articles Linger in “Online First”?
Some philosophy journals have a lot of articles in “online first” status. They’ve been accepted, copyedited, and typeset, but not yet assigned an issue. Why? (more…)
The Benefits of Studying Philosophy: Not Just Selection Effects?
Philosophy majors do well according to various measures of critical reasoning and intellectual habits. But is this an effect of studying philosophy, or an effect of students already talented in these ways choosing to major in philosophy? (more…)
Doing Philosophy in English: A Survey for Native and Non-Native Speakers
“Academic English,” the dominant language of contemporary philosophy, is different from everyday English. What are the challenges faced by native and non-native speakers of everyday English as they work in this language? (more…)
The 378 Most-Cited Contemporary Authors in the SEP (guest post) (updated)
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) is one of the most widely respected online reference works. Many philosophers and students have found it to be invaluable, and even non-philosophers have marveled at it. (more…)
Developments at the Philosophy Journal Insight Project (guest post)
The Philosophy Journal Insight Project, which collects and organizes information about philosophy journals, has grown a bit since we first reported on it last year and is asking journals to submit data via a new “operations survey”. (more…)
Demographic Trends in the US Philosophy Major, 2001-2022 (guest post)
How many philosophy majors are there, who are they, and how has this changed over the past twenty years? (more…)
Percent of U.S. Philosophy PhD Recipients Who Are Women: A 50-Year Perspective (guest post) (updated)
Has there been a recent uptick in the percentage of women among philosophy PhD recipients? (more…)
New Guide to Terminal MA Programs in Philosophy
What kind of advice can you offer students trying to figure out which terminal MA program in philosophy to apply to or attend? (more…)
Percentage of Women Philosophy Majors Has Risen Sharply Since 2016 — Why? Or: The 2017 Knuckle (guest post)
What explains the recent sharp increase in women philosophy majors? (more…)
Areas of Specialization in Philosophy — Data from 2022-23 (guest post)
What areas of specialization (AOS) are philosophy departments hiring in? (more…)
New Interface for Academic Philosophy Data & Analysis (guest post)
Academic Philosophy & Data Analysis (APDA), an ongoing project to collect, analyze, and distribute data about job placement, student experience, and other aspects of PhD programs in philosophy, is launching a new “data dashboard” through which people can explore the information it has collected. (more…)
New Site Collects and Standardizes Philosophy Journal Information
The Philosophy Journal Insight Project (PJIP) “aims to provide philosophy researchers with practical insights on potential venues for publication.” (more…)
2023 QS Rankings in Philosophy
The 2023 “QS World University Rankings” have been published. These contain rankings by subject matter, including philosophy.
Recent Data About Philosophy PhDs
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released some data about people who received PhDs in philosophy in the United States in 2021. (more…)