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Placement History

The department has an excellent track record in placement of our graduates in top universities and institutions. 

The list below includes all graduate students who have received their Ph.D. in the department since 1996. Positions are designated as tenure-track (TT), tenured (T), or fixed-term (FT). If our graduates have accepted employment outside academia, this is noted where information is available. 

2023

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Claudi Brink Spontaneity and Teleology in Kant’s Theory of Apperception Chair: Eric Watkins Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire
Eugene Chua Classical Thermodynamical Concepts Beyond the Classical Domain. Craig Callender TBC TBC
Leonardo Moauro Perfection and Desire in Spinoza's Theory of Value Don Rutherford Postdoctoral Fellow at the Human Abilities Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Jada Wiggleton-Little Let Me Have Your Attention! Taking Pain Utterances Seriously. Matt Fulkerson Cleveland Fellowship in Neuroethics, The Cleveland Clinic Assistant Professor, Ohio State University

2022

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Cami Koepke Responsibility and Addiction:  A Defense of a Control-Based Theory of Moral Responsibility Chair: Dana Nelkin Lecturer: CSU Long Beach
Joseph Stratman Rationalism Restrained: Kant and the Metaphysics of Ground Eric Watkins Assistant Professor: University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Ann C Thresher Putting the Philosophy Back into Natural Philosophy: Ethics, Policy, and Using Philosophic Tools to Solve Scientific Problems Chair: Craig Callender Postdoctoral Scholar: Stanford University

2021

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Rosalind Chaplin Indeterminacy, Infinity, Ideality: Kant's Mathematical Antinomies Chair: Eric Watkins University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Brian Tracz Kant's Theory of Images Chair: Clinton Tolley Law School
Shawn Tinghao Wang How Blame Functions: Essays on Blame, Responsibility, and Moral Emotions Chair: David Brink Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Salzburg Assistant Professor, University of Washington

2020

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Matthew Braich Agency and Reflection: Toward an Empirically Adequate Account of Practical Reason Chair: David Brink Adjunct Faculty, Providence College Adjunct Faculty, Providence College
Travis Chamberlain The Capabilities Approach to Well-being: Characterizing Capabilities and Measuring Them Chair: Nancy Cartwright Leadership and DEI Lecturer: UCSD Rady School of Management Leadership and DEI Lecturer: UCSD Rady School of Management
Cory Davia A Defense of Hybrid Voluntarism Chair: David Brink Visiting Assistant Professor, Claremont McKenna College Educational Developer, University of the Pacific
Kathryn Joyce Relational Equality: A Conceptual and Normative Analysis Chair: Richard Arneson Postdoctoral Research Associate and Lecturer, Princeton Univ. Center for Human Values Program Director for the Civil Discourse Project, Center for Ethics and Human Values, Ohio State University
Jonathan Knutzen A Reason-First Approach to Personal Autonomy Chair: David Brink Lise Meitner Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Graz, Austria Faculty Fellow/Assistant Professor, NYU Center for Bioethics
Matthew Piper The ROM theory of the specious present Chair: Rick Grush
Sebastian Speitel Logical Constants between Inference and Reference - An Essay in the Philosophy of Logic Chair: Gila Sher University of Bonn University of Bonn, Postdoctoral Scholar

2019

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Ryan Stringer  The Nature and Normativity of Love and Friendship Chair: David Brink Lecturer, UC San Diego
Jason Winning  The Mechanistic and Normative Structure of Agency Chair: William Bechtel Lecturer, UC Berkeley Lecturer, UC Berkeley

2018

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
John Dougherty Identity in Gauge Theories Chair: Craig Callender Postdoctoral Fellow, Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy at LMU, Munich
Matthew Evpak Pluralism and Realism Chair: Gila Sher Instructor, University of San Diego

Instructor, University of San Diego

Robert Gillis Justice as Fairness Modified: A Contrarian Coherentist Response to MacIntyre Chair: Anagostopoulos Senior Instructor, Portland State University Senior Instructor, Portland State University
Blythe Greene The Imperfect Present: Stoic Physics of Time  Chair: Monte Johnson Lecturer, UC San Diego
James (JP) Messina Political Obligations and Provisional Rights: A Study in Kant's Politics of Freedom Chair: Eric Watkins and Richard Arneson Postdoctoral
Research Fellow, Wellesley College, MA
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of New Orleans and Assistant Director of Greaux!
Danny Weltman A Cosmopolitan Theory of Secession Chair: Richard Arneson Visiting Assistant Professor (FT), Ashoka University, India Assistant Professor, Ashoka University, India

2017

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Craig Agule Responsibility, Reasons-responsiveness, and History Chair: David Brink, Dana Nelkin Assistant Professor (TT), Rutgers University, Camden Assistant Professor (TT), Rutgers University, Camden
Kyle Sereda Leibniz's Conception of Number Chair: Don Rutherford
Benjamin Sheredos Act and Intentionality Chair: William Bechtel Postdoctoral Researcher, UC San Diego Center for Circadian Biology
Andrew Wong Unmitigated Skepticism: The Nature and Scope of Pyrrhonism Chair: Monte Johnson Cycorp

2016

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Amy Berg Studies in Ideal and Non-Ideal Theory. Chair: David Brink Research Assistant Professor (FT), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill  Assistant Professor (TT), Oberlin College
Nanhee Byrnes The Best Results Argument for Democracy. Chair: Richard Arneson Lecturer, UC San Diego
Damon Crockett Sensory Underdetermination and Perceptual Constancy. Chair: Jonathan Cohen Qualcomm Institute, UCSD (postdoc)
Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics, UCLA
Principal Data Scientist, Yale
Jeremy Gomer Intellectual Virtue and Human Flourishing: An Explanation of the Intrinsic Value of the Intellectual Virtues Chair: Georgios Anagnostopoulos Medical School
Gil Hersch Well Being and Public Policy: Doing without Theory Chair: Nancy Cartwright Postdoctoral Researcher at Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, George Mason University Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech
Alexandre Marcellesi Causation and Experimentation from Philosophy to Evidence-Based Policy. Chair: Nancy Cartwright Law School, NYU
Casey McCoy Philosophical Implications of Inflationary Cosmology Chair: Craig Callender Three-Year Postdoctoral Scholar at Edinburgh University Asst Prof, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
Tomoya Sato The Limits Of Logic Chair: Gila Sher
Peter Yong Hegel and the Given: A Phenomenological Interpretation Chair: Eric Watkins Lecturer at University of San Diego

2015

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Sindhuja Bhakthavatsalam Looking beyond Truth: Scientific Understanding and Rationalizing Scientific Activities Chair: Nancy Cartwright Philosophy and Education at CSUN (TT)
Dan Burnston Perceptual Context and the Nature of Neural Function Chair: William Bechtel Assistant Professor, Tulane University (TT)
Adam Streed Brandom's Expressive Conception of Logic Chair: Rick Grush Oakland University, Special Lecturer
Chris Suhler Ethical Theory meets Cognitive Science Chair: Patricia Churchland Auburn University, Instructor (FT) NTU-Singapore, Assistant Professor(TT)

2014

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Joyce Havstad Biochemical Kinds of Selective Naturalism Chair: William Bechtel Philosopher-in-Residence, Field Museum Assoc Professor, University of Utah

2013

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Marta Halina The Role of Visual Perspective Taking in Great Ape Social Cognition: A Philosopical and Empirical analysis Chair: William Bechtel, Co-chair: Nancy Cartwright Washington University in St. Louis, McDonnell Postdoctoral Fellow University of Cambridge, Lecturer in the Philosophy of Psychology and Cognitive Science
Per Milam Abolitionism and the Value of the Reactive Attitudes Chair: Dana Nelkin, Co-Chair: David Brink Oakland University, Visiting Researcher, University of Gothenburg
Theron Pummer The Ethics of Distribution Co-Chairs: Richard Arneson & David Brink St. Anne's College, University of Oxford, Junior Research Fellow in Philosophy University St. Andrews, Assistant Professor
Nathan Rockwood Locke on Real Knowledge Samuel Rickless Virginia Tech, Visiting Brigham Young University,
Assistant Professor (TT)
Daniel Schwartz Baconian Foundationalism and the Problem of Certainty. Donald Rutherford UC San Diego, Postdoctoral Scholar in Philosophy Assistant Professor, American University of Bulgaria

2012

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Eric Campbell Breakdown of Morality Co-Chairs: David Brink and Richard Arneson UC San Diego, Lecturer University of Maryland, Baltimore County (TT)
Timothy Jankowiak Sensation and Intentionality in Kant's Theory of Cognition Eric Watkins University of Southern Utah, TT Towson University (TT)
Erick Ramirez A Sensible Sentimentalism Chair: David Brink, Co-Chair: Dana Nelkin University of Santa Clara, TT University of Santa Clara, TT
Michael Tiboris Youth and Diminished Responsibility  Co-Chairs: Richard Arneson and Dana Nelkin Philosophy UC San Diego: Spencer Foundation Post Doc. Clear Water Farms Director, River Alliance of Wisconsin

2011

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Jacob Stegenga Multimodal Evidence Nancy Cartwright Postdoctoral Fellow University of Toronto Cambridge HPS (TT)
Eric Martin Examining Life's Origins William Bechtel Postdoctoral Scholar, London School of Economics Baylor Assistant Professor of History and Philosophy
James Messina Kant's Hiddent Ontology of Space Eric Watkins Southern Utah University (TT) Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison (TT)
Charles Kurth Rethinking the Objectivity of Ethics David Brink Washington University St. Louis (TT) Associate Professor, Western Michigan University
Erin Frykholm Narrative Epistemology and the Variability of Virtue. Hume on Character and Moral Epistemology  Co-Chairs: Donald Rutherford & Richard Arneson University of Kansas (TT) University of Kansas (TT)

2010

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Kristen Irwin The Core Mysteries: Pierre Bayle's Philosophical Fideism Donald Rutherford Biola University (TT) Loyola University (TT)
Mitchell Herschbach Beyond Folk Psychology? Toward an Enriched Account of Social Understanding William Bechtel CSU Northridge (FT) CSU Northridge (FT)

2009

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Nina Brewer-Davis Political Obligation through Connectedness David Brink Auburn University (FT) Visiting Assistant Professor, Auburn University
Ioan Muntean Unification and Explanation in Early Kaluza-Klein Theories Craig Callendar Leeds University Lecturer (FT) Notre Dame University, The Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, Visiting Scholar
Matthew Brown Science and Experience: A Deweyan Pragmatist Philosophy of Science Paul Churchland University of Texas, Dallas (TT) University of Texas, Dallas (TT)
Lisa Damm The Architecture of Emotion Experience Rick Grush University of Pittsburgh HPS (Postdoc) Law School
Sophia Efstathiou The Use of Race as a Variable in Biomedical Research Nancy Cartwright University of Southhampton (Postdoc) Researcher, Philosophy, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

2008

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Eric Conrad Science and Objectivity Gerald Doppelt
Araceli Penafuerte An Actualist Ontology for Counterfactuals Gila Sher San Diego State (FT) San Diego State (FT)
Matthew Egan The Apotheosis of a Human Ideal: The Young Hegel's Conception of the Absolute Eric Watkins Occidental College (FT) Lecturer, University Of San Diego
Dale Dorsey Thresholds and the Good: A Program of Political Evaluation Richard Arneson University of Alberta (TT) University of Kansas (TT)

2007

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Gregory Charak Between Soul and Precision: Ernst Mach's Biological Empiricism and the Social Democratic Philosophy of Science Nancy Cartwright Medical School, University of Pennsylvania Medical School, University of Pennsylvania
Aaron Schiller Concepts in Experience Rick Grush University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee (FT) University of Santa Clara

2006

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Cory Wright Truth and Cognition William Bechtel Washington University-PNP (Postdoc) CSU Long Beach (TT)
Nellie Wieland Scribbledehobble: A Dissertation on Linguistic Agency Wayne Martin CSU Long Beach (TT) CSU Long Beach (TT)
Jeff Stedman Perfectionism, Value Pluralism and the Human Good David Brink, Richard Arneson Bowling Green State University (FT) Law School
Jason Thibodeau Ordinary Language Philosophy: A Critical Re-examination Rick Grush Auburn University (FT) Georgia Perimeter College
Gregory Shirley Heidegger and the Philosophy of Logic Wayne Martin, Gila Sher
Andrew Hamilton Laws, Causes, and Kinds: Toward a Solution to the Biology Problem Nancy Cartwright Arizona State University (TT) Arizona State University (TT)
Anna Alexandrova Connecting Models to the Real World: Game Theory in Action Nancy Cartwright Washington University-PNP (Postdoc); U of Missouri-St. Louis (TT)

Lecturer, Cambridge

2005

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Mark Warshaw The Cognitive Challenge to the Truth Conditional Theory of Meaning Gila Sher Out of Philosophy
Mark Newman Beyond Structural Realism Craig Callendar University of Minnesota-Duluth (TT) Rhodes College Memphis
Luke Robinson The Metaphysics of Morality: A Dispositionalist Account David Brink Southern Methodist University (TT) SMU (TT)
Carl Sachs The Collapse of Transcendence in Nietzsche's Middle Period Donald Rutherford University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (FT) Marymount University (TT)
Kory Schaff Work, Freedom and Community: Hegel's Normative Economics Richard Arneson, Michael Hardimon Occidental College (TT) Cal State LA (TT)

2004

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
John Vella Nature, Reason and Philia in Euripidean Drama Georgios Anagnostopoulos University of San Diego (FT) Dept of English, Loyola High School, L.A.

2003

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Jonathan Gunderson Action and Inaction: The Reality of Reasons and Limits of Physicalism Gerald Doppelt, Steven Yalowitz John Carroll University (FT) Metropolitan State University (FT)
Ryan Hickerson The Breakthrough to Phenomenology: Three Theories of Mental Content in the Brentano School Wayne Martin Western Oregon University (TT) Western Oregon University (T)
Matthew Kisner Descarte's Naturalistic Rationalism Donald Rutherford University of South Carolina (TT) University of South Carolina (T)
P.D. Magnus Undetermination and the Claims of Science Paul Churchland Bowdoin College (FT) SUNY Albany (T)
Vida Pavesich Hans Blumenberg: An Anthropological Key Michael Hardimon CSU East Bay (FT)

2002

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Eric Peterson The Cultural Constitution of Real, Scientific Objects Gerald Doppelt Independent Researcher
James Anderson The Role of Interdependence in Moral Theory: Liberalism and its Critics Gerald Doppelt San Diego State (FT)
Laura Perini Visual Representation and Scientific Knowledge Sandra Mitchell, Paul Churchland Virginia Tech (TT) Pomona College (TT)

2001

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
David Danks The Epistemology of Causal Judgment Clark Glymour Carnegie Mellon (TT) Carnegie Mellon (T)
William Casebeer Natural Ethical Facts: Evolution, Connectionism, and Moral Cognition Paul Churchland US Airforce Academy USAF
Michael Selgelid Neugenics: Genetically Informed Reproductive Decision Making Philip Kitcher University of Witwatersrant (Postdoc) Senior Research Fellow, CAPPE, ANU
Joseph Ramsey Expertise and Mixture in Automatic Causal Discovery Clark Glymour Director of Research Computing, Carnegie Mellon Director of Research Computing, Carnegie Mellon

2000

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Ilya Farber Domain Integration: A Theory of Progress in the Scientific Understanding of Life and Mind Patricia Churchland, Sandra Mitchell Washington University-PNP (Postdoc) Singapore Management University (TT)
Maralee Harrell Chaos and Reliable Knowledge Clark Glymour Colorado College (TT) Carnegie Mellon (T)
Anne Margaret Baxley Kant's Theory of Virtue: The Importance of Autocracy Henry Allison, David Brink Virginia Tech (TT) Washington University (T)
Evan Tiffany The Normativity of Morality David Brink Simon Fraser University (TT) Simon Fraser University (T)
John Berteaux Race and the Liberal Tradition Gerald Doppelt San Diego State (TT) CSU Monterey Bay (T)
Michael LeBuffe Two Types of Seventeenth Century Naturalistic Ethics Nicholas Jolley, David Brink Texas A&M (FT) Texas A&M (T)

1999

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Aarre LaaKso The Significance of Spatial Representation Patricia Churchland, Gary Cottrell Employed outside academia
Mark Collier Newton of the Mind: An Examination of Hume's Science of Human Nature Paul Churchland, Patiricia Kitcher Stanford (FT) University of Minnesota, Morris (TT)
Iain Thomson The End of Onto-Theology: Understanding Heidegger's Turn, Method, and Politics Gerald Doppelt, Hubert Dreyfus University of New Mexico (TT) University of New Mexico (T)
Ian Eagleson The Epistemic Role of Kantian Intuitions Henry Allison, Patricia Kitcher New Mexico State (FT) Employed outside academia
Kelly Becker Meaning Holism: An Articulation and Defense Steven Yalowitz Centre College (TT) University of New Mexico (T)
Jason Frye Phenomenology as Bildungsprozess: The Structure of Hegel's Dialectic Henry Allison, Wayne Martin Law School
Jessica Pfeiffer Playing Dice with the Universe: A Combinatorial Account of Laws Philip Kitcher, Sandra Mitchell University of Maryland (T)
Peter Thielke Discursivity and its Discontents: Maimon's Challenge to Kant's Account of Cognition Henry Allison, Wayne Martin Yale (Postdoc) Pomona College (T)

1998

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Stefan Heck Reasonable Behavior: Making the Public Sensible Patricia Churchland Employed outside academia

1997

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Brian Keeley Cognitive Science as the Computational Neuroethology of Intelligent Behavior: Why Biological Facts are Important for Explaining Intelligent Behavior Patricia Churchland, Sandra Mitchell Washington University-PNP (Postdoc) Pitzer College (T)
Gillian Barker Abstraction, Analogy and Induction: Toward a General Account of Ampliative Inference Philip Kitcher University of Western Ontario (TT)
Kyle Stanford A Pragmatic Theory of Causation Philip Kitcher UC Irvine-LPS (TT) UC Irvine-LPS (T)

1996

Name Dissertation Title Advisor Initial Placement Current Position
Edmund Mulaire The Promise of Science: Scientific Realism Without Convergence Paul Churchland Employed outside academia