Our Students

Our students have access to a variety of opportunities that support their academic growth and professional visibility. These include an undergraduate Philosophy Club, support for research and conference travel. Explore the sections below to learn more.

The experience of our PhD students is also enhanced by our program’s close connection to several independent research centers and institutes at the university. The UC Center for Public Engagement with Science, led by philosophy professors Angela Potochnik and Melissa Jacquart, coordinates a broad range of research and public outreach activities centered on expanding and enriching the interface between science and the public. The Cincinnati Ethics Center, led by philosopher and affiliate faculty member Andrew Cullison, sponsors our graduate students as Ethics Bowl coaches and community coordinators (bringing Ethics Bowl to local elementary, middle, and high schools), and allows them to coordinate other ethics-related outreach activities. The Institute for Research in Sensing includes philosophy faculty members on its leadership team, as does the Strange Tools Research Lab—both providing graduate fellowships to support research spanning biology, psychology, philosophy of mind and cognitive science. In addition, the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) is currently housed at the University of Cincinnati and provides funding to our graduate students to support its activities—such as in organizing its influential biannual conference, where the University of Cincinnati has a strong presence.

The undergraduate Philosophy Club is a student-run group open to all UC students interested in philosophical discussion—no background in philosophy required. The club draws students from a wide range of disciplines, including philosophy, engineering, political science, mathematics, film, and computer science, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of philosophical inquiry.

Members meet weekly during the academic year to explore new topics. Each semester, students in the club vote on a topic and work with the graduate student coordinator to develop questions for our panelists. Past panel topics include:

  1. Meaning of Life
  2. Philosophy and Death 
  3. Philosophy and Technology

To get involved or learn more, visit “UC Philosophy Club” on Facebook.

Explore a range of competitive opportunities designed to support and enhance the professional development of our undergraduate and graduate students.

Undergraduate Student Support:

  • Taft Summer Undergraduate Research Mentor-Mentee Award
  • Taft Undergraduate Enrichment
  • Paid co-op opportunities

Graduate Student Conference/Poster Presentation Support: 

  • GSG ($600 for presenters, $300 for non-presenters) 
  • Taft Graduate Travel (up to $700) 
  • Department funds (up to $500) 

Graduate Fellowships: 

  • Presidential Fellowship Program
  • Taft Competitive Dissertation Fellowship
  • Cincinnati Ethics Center
  • Philosophy of Science Association Fellowship (for information contact Max Cormendy, Executive Director, at cormenmw@ucmail.uc.edu) 
  • AI Humanities Research Center Fellowship (for information contact André Curtis-Trudel, Assistant Professor, at curtisa4@ucmail.uc.edu)  

Graduate Summer Fellowships: 

  • University Research Council (URC) Graduate Student Stipend and Research Cost Program for Faculty—Student Collaboration (up to $7,750)
  • Taft Graduate Summer Fellowship ($3,000)
  • Student workers during summer (for International Students)
  • PSA Summer Fellowship (for information contact Max Cormendy, Executive Director, at cormenmw@ucmail.uc.edu)

 Additional Graduate Student Support:

  • Graduate Student Research Fellowship Awards ($2000) 
  • Taft Graduate Enhancement Award
  • Student workers in the Philosophy Department
  • Philosophy Club Coordinator ($1000/academic year)
  • Internships and Fellowships with the UC Center for Public Engagement with Science, Institute for Research in Sensing, and the Cincinnati Ethics Center

We are proud of our placement record of PhD graduates into academic positions. In the 2022 Academic Philosophy Data & Analysis (APDA) report, our program ranks third worldwide in its rate of placing PhD graduates in permanent academic positions. In the 2017 Academic Placement Data and Analysis Report, we were ranked #4 in placement rate among all U.S. Philosophy PhD programs (see section 4.2.2).

Placement data since 2003:

We list all placements of PhD students since 2003, by year of degree. "TT" = tenure-track.

2024

  • Tim Elmo Feiten, Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy, The Pennsylvania State University
  • Mark Ornelas, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), Rochester Institute of Technology
  • David Wong, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Georgia Southern University

2023

  • Andrew Evans: Visiting Assistant Professor in Health, Humanities, and Society in the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values, Notre Dame University
  • Matt Willis, Senior Lecturer, Ohio State University

2022

  • Frank Faries, Term Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Jonathan McKinney, Visiting Asst. Professor in Cognitive Science, Carleton College

2021

  • Maxwell Gatyas:  Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.  Previously Senior Lecturer at University of Wisconsin - Superior.
  • Sahar Heydari Fard, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT) at The Ohio State University (starting Fall 2022). Formerly Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, in connection with the Program in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), UNC-Chapel Hill

2020

  • Amanda Corris:  Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), Wake Forest University, starting fall 2022.  Formerly Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota

2019

  • Walter Stepanenko:  Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), York College of Pennsylvania, starting fall 2022.  Formerly Visiting Assistant Professor at John Carroll University.
  • Guilherme Sanches de Oliveira, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institut für Philosophie, Technische Universität Berlin and the Science of Intelligence research cluster, Berlin, Germany.

2017

  • Vicente Raja, Research Fellow at University of Murcia (Spain) (TT-equivalent) and External Affiliate Faculty of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy at Western University (Canada). Formerly Postdoctoral Fellow, Western University Canada, Rotman Institute of Philosophy.
  • Iris Spoor, Assistant Professor (TT), Mount St. Joseph University, Cincinnati, OH.
  • Valentina Petrolini, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of the Basque Country, Spain.

2016

  • Vanessa Bentley, tenure-track assistant professor, Department of Humanities and Philosophy, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmund, OK. Started 2020-2021.

2015

  • Luis Favela, Associate Professor, Departments of History of Philosophy of Science and Cognitive Science, Indiana University.  Formerly Associate Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL.
  • Maurice Lamb, Lecturer in Informatics (equivalent to U.S. tenure track Assistant Professor), School of Informatics at the University of Skövde.  Formerly National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow (SPRF-IBSS program), Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati.

2014

  • Nina Atanasova, Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh. Formerly Assistant Lecturer (Continuing), University of Toledo.

2013

  • Aaron Kostko, Assistant Professor (TT), Center for Learning Innovation, University of Minnesota at Rochester, Rochester, MN.

2012

  • Muk Yan Wong, Lecturer, Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong
  • Doug Keaton, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), Flagler College, St. Augustine, FL. Previously: Visiting Assistant Professor at University of Arkansas, Little Rock.
  • Giovanni Mion, Assistant Professor (TT), Istanbul Technical University. Previously: Postdoc, CCCOM, University of Tartu, Estonia; Visiting Assistant Professor at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX; faculty, University of New York in Prague.

2011

  • Dan Hartner, Assistant Professor (TT), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN.
  • Clement Loo, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies (TT), University of Minnesota at Morris. Previously: Postdoc, College of the Environment, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT (2 years).

2010

  • Lindsay Craig, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Temple University, Philadelphia PA. Previously: Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Oklahoma; Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID.

2008

  • Albert Brown, Executive Director of The Mallory Center for Community Development, Cincinnati, OH.

2007

  • Anthony Landreth, Entrepreneur, Landreth & Sparrow Research, LLC, Richmond, VA
  • Matthew Van Cleave, Professor, Lansing Community College, Lansing, MI
  • Previously: Visiting Assistant Professor at Concordia College, MN
  • Greg Johnson, Instructor of Philosophy, Mississippi State University, Meridian, MS. Previously: Lecturer, Drexel University.
  • Cassie Striblen, Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), West Chester University, West Chester, PA. Previously: Assistant Professor of Philosophy (TT), Doane College, Crete, NE.
  • Viorel Paslaru, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

2006

  • Arthur Morton, Associate Professor of Philosophy, St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL.
  • Kimberly Mosher Lockwood, Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH.
  • Michael Sontag, Dean of Arts & Humanities, Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Mt. St. Joseph, Cincinnati, OH.

2003

  • Michael Cundall, Associate Professor and Director of the Honors Program, North Carolina A&T University, Greensboro, NC
  • Cate Sherron, PhD, Professor of Philosophy, Thomas More College, KY.
  • Jerrome Langguth, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Division Chair of the Humanities, Thomas More College, KY

Donations enable the Philosophy Department to better serve our students, faculty, and the community. Gifts help support:

  • Student prizes and fellowships
  • Our 57-year tradition of annual colloquia (topical conferences)
  • Distinguished Faculty Chair in Ethics
  • Graduate student research fund

You can make a gift online now by visiting the UC Foundation Web site.

For more information on ways to support the students, faculty and programs of the Department of Philosophy, please contact the Office of Development for the UC College of Arts & Sciences.