2026 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Iowa
[Philosophy](/majors/philosophy-and-religious-studies/philosophy/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 17 schools to find the best return on investment for philosophy students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Iowa
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the philosophy degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Philosophy Schools
For return on investment in philosophy, no school beat University Of Iowa this year. Set in the city of Iowa City, University Of Iowa is a very large public institution. Students from in state pay about $11,283 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $33,371. Philosophy graduates carry a median of $26,260 in student loans. Early-career philosophy graduates make about $57,375. Set against $26,260 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of Iowa admits about 84% of applicants.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 17 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
