Prevailing Wage for Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary
Prevailing wages for Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary are set by the DOL using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, giving H-1B, E-3, and green card sponsors a binding salary floor. Whether the role is titled Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Philosophy Instructor, DOL assigns four experience levels, and the floor shifts significantly by metro area.
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Entry-level postsecondary instructors with limited teaching experience, typically new to independent course design or recently completing a terminal degree. Scope is closely supervised, with narrowly defined teaching assignments and minimal research or departmental responsibilities.
The most common filing level for sponsored postsecondary philosophy and religion faculty. Applies to instructors with some independent teaching experience, a defined course load, and expected scholarly activity, but who are not yet directing programs or leading research agendas.
Experienced faculty who exercise significant independent judgment, lead upper-division or graduate instruction, and hold an established research or publication record. Roles at this level often carry committee responsibilities and mentorship duties beyond the classroom.
Fully competent senior faculty, typically tenured or at the associate or full professor rank, setting departmental curriculum direction, supervising graduate students, and contributing at an institutional or field-wide level through research, publication, or professional service.
Prevailing Wage for Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary by OES area
Each shape is a DOL OES area, the unit prevailing wage is published for.
What’s an OES area?
The Department of Labor publishes prevailing wages for geographic zones called OES areas. Every U.S. county belongs to exactly one, and the wage floor applies across the whole area. A worker in Oakland gets the San Francisco metro wage, not a separate Oakland wage.
Top 10 cities · Level 1
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See which U.S. employers are actively hiring for this role and sponsoring H-1B, OPT, and green card visas at or above the prevailing wage.
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Confirm your title maps to SOC 25-1126
Titles like Lecturer, Visiting Instructor, or Adjunct Professor are sometimes filed under a different SOC code, pulling the prevailing wage floor below the 25-1126 benchmark. Verify your offer letter title is aligned to the correct occupation before accepting.
Account for the California metro premium
Riverside, San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego consistently carry prevailing wages well above the national median for this occupation. If your offer is in one of these metros, the L2 floor alone may substantially exceed what a comparable position pays in Iowa or Idaho.
Watch for start-up or non-tenure-track filing patterns
Private colleges and non-tenure-track programs sometimes file at L1 for roles carrying a full teaching load and research expectations more typical of L2. Check whether the duties description on the LCA matches your actual scope, not just your years of experience.
Use Migrate Mate to identify sponsoring institutions
Philosophy and religion faculty sponsorships are concentrated in specific universities and research institutions. Migrate Mate shows which employers have sponsored this occupation before, so you can prioritize institutions with an established H-1B or green card track record in this field.
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Find Jobs for this rolePrevailing Wage by Reported Job Title
DOL classifies these titles under SOC 25-1126.00 alongside Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary, so the same four-tier wage schedule applies to each. Tap a title to see the full breakdown.
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor Prevailing Wage
Assistant Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
Associate Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Associate Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Humanities Professor Prevailing Wage
Humanities Professor Prevailing Wage
Humanities Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor Prevailing Wage
Instructor positions fall under SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Philosophy Instructor Prevailing Wage
Philosophy Instructor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Philosophy Instructor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Philosophy Professor Prevailing Wage
Philosophy Professor Prevailing Wage
Philosophy Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor Prevailing Wage
Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Religion Professor Prevailing Wage
Religion Professor Prevailing Wage
When a U.S. employer sponsors a Religion Professor for a work visa or green card, DOL applies the prevailing wage schedule for SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). Wage level reflects the role's experience and responsibility, not the title itself.
Religious Studies Professor Prevailing Wage
Religious Studies Professor Prevailing Wage
Religious Studies Professor is an O*NET-reported job title within SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). All roles in this SOC share the same prevailing wage tiers. The level an employer files at depends on what the role requires, not which title is used.
Theology Professor Prevailing Wage
Theology Professor Prevailing Wage
Theology Professor positions fall under SOC 25-1126.00 (Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary). DOL OFLC publishes one four-tier prevailing wage schedule for the entire classification; employers filing H-1B, E-3, or PERM petitions for this title use the levels below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DOL set the prevailing wage for Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary?
DOL calculates prevailing wages using Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For SOC 25-1126, OFLC assigns wage rates at four levels based on experience and complexity. Employers filing an LCA for a sponsored faculty position must offer at least the level that matches the role's actual duties and seniority, and that level becomes the binding floor.
What do the four wage levels mean, and how do I know which one applies to my offer?
Level 1 covers entry-level instructors under close supervision. Level 2 applies to qualified practitioners working with some independence, and it is the most frequently filed level for sponsored postsecondary faculty. Level 3 reflects experienced professionals exercising significant judgment. Level 4 covers fully competent senior faculty in lead roles. Your level is determined by the duties described on the LCA, not solely by your title or years of experience. If the duties are misclassified, the filed wage floor may not protect you.
Why does the prevailing wage for the same faculty role vary so much from city to city?
DOL bases wages on regional Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics surveys, so each metro area produces its own wage table. The LCA must list the actual worksite, so the prevailing wage applied is the one for that specific location, not the national median. Dense academic markets with higher institutional budgets, such as the San Francisco Bay Area, produce higher survey wages than smaller markets in the Midwest. This is the worksite-on-LCA rule: city determines the floor, not where your employer is headquartered.
What happens if a job offer for a sponsored position is below the prevailing wage?
USCIS will not approve an H-1B or other sponsored petition if the employer has not certified an LCA showing the offered wage meets or exceeds the OFLC prevailing wage for the worksite and level. If the offer falls short, OFLC will not certify the LCA, blocking the petition entirely. For green card PERM cases, DOL will deny the application. The offer must be raised to the prevailing wage floor before the petition can proceed.
How do I find and verify the prevailing wage for a specific U.S. location for this occupation?
Use the OFLC Wage Search tool, which lets you look up wages by SOC code 25-1126, state, and metro area. This returns the four-level wage table for your specific worksite city. You can also reference O*NET for occupational details that help confirm the correct SOC code. For finding institutions that have actively sponsored this role, Migrate Mate shows historical sponsorship counts by employer, letting you see which universities and colleges have filed for postsecondary philosophy and religion faculty.
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