Ethics Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Ethics — headline outcomes are in the stats below. Median in-state published tuition is about $10,372.
Key Statistics
Ethics: what the data shows
Common questions about ethics degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a ethics degree?
A Ethics program is classified under NCES CIP 38.0103 in the Philosophy field family (38.01).
A program that focuses on the systematic study of the theory of moral good and its application to various theoretical and practical problems. Includes instruction in ethical theory, history of ethics, belief and value systems, ethical constructs, and applications to specific topics, issues and problems
IPEDS counted 54 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of ethics degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 38.01 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Applied and Professional Ethics (CIP 38.0104)
- Logic (CIP 38.0102)
- Philosophy (CIP 38.0101)
How long does it take to get a ethics degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 38.0103 in our file:
- 54 Bachelor's (51.9% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 50 Master's (48.1% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
Is a ethics degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Philosophy bachelor's program family: median debt $19,016, median earnings $54,455 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.60.
About 9.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $10,372 and median net price is $18,851.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Ethics and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$10,372 Median In-State Public
$48,952 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Ethics majors are, on average, $10,372 for in-state public colleges, and $48,952 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Ethics programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Ethics from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Ethics.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,615 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Ethics programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
| 4 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 5 | San Diego Mesa College | CA | $1,146 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Ethics programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | College of San Mateo | CA | $536 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 5 | Skyline College | CA | $1,738 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Ethics programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Ethics programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Ethics is in WA (44 completions). That state represents about 81.5% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is WA (0.06% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| WA | 44 | 81.5% | 0.06% |
| NC | 5 | 9.3% | 0.00% |
| IN | 2 | 3.7% | 0.00% |
| NY | 2 | 3.7% | 0.00% |
| IL | 1 | 1.9% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 38.01 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Applied and Professional Ethics CIP 38.0104
- Logic CIP 38.0102
- Philosophy CIP 38.0101
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 38.0103 in the survey year used in our extract (104 total across levels below).
- 54 Bachelor's (51.9% of IPEDS total)
- 50 Master's (48.1% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Philosophy CIP family (7 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Ethics graduate.
- $19,016 median federal loan debt among completers
- $54,455 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.60 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 9.5% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$N/A Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Ethics majors is $N/A.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Ethics majors.
Occupations by Share
N/A 2023 Workforce
The number of Ethics graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Ethics by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Ethics in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Ethics.
Age distribution for Ethics degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
54 Total Degrees Awarded
14 Male (25.93%)
40 Female (74.07%)
Gender distribution of Ethics degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
17 White (31.48%)
14 Asian (25.93%)
12 Hispanic or Latino (22.22%)
7 Two or More Races (12.96%)
2 Black or African American (3.70%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Ethics degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Ethics are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Ethics.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Ethics field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Ethics majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Ethics majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Ethics majors.
About
A program that focuses on the systematic study of the theory of moral good and its application to various theoretical and practical problems. Includes instruction in ethical theory, history of ethics, belief and value systems, ethical constructs, and applications to specific topics, issues and problems
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Ethics.
CIP Code
38.0103 - Ethics
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $19,016 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $54,455, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.60. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Ethics graduate.
About 9.5% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians. That is a program-level mobility signal, not a national underemployment rate.
Women earned 65.3% of 147 Ethics completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $10,372 in-state at public colleges and $48,952 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.