Our graduates have an established a track record of successful placement in tenure-track positions at liberal arts colleges and research universities. A record of our most recent placement success is included at the bottom of this page.

UO Philosophy Placement Guide

Placement Committee

The placement committee assists graduate students with preparation for the job market. Current activities of the placement committee include administering graduate travel awards, scheduling placement workshops, and facilitating mock interviews and job talks.

2023-2024 Graduate Placement Committee

Nicolae Morar, Chair  
Ramon Alvarado  
Colin Koopman (spring only)  
Ex-Officio, Beata Stawarska (DGS-advising)

Placement Workshops

The placement committee chair will meet with students on the job market early in the year to plan with them what kinds of workshops will be most useful. An initial workshop will review the three stages of the application process: assembling application materials, preparing for interviews, on-campus interviews, and job talks. Other workshops will be arranged as requested, and may include: publication, dissertation writing, interdisciplinary job searches, electronic CVs and teaching videos, etc.

Upon request, the placement committee will schedule mock interviews and/or job talks with job candidates.
 

Professionalization Training

The Philosophy Department is in the process of implementing a comprehensive 5-year professionalization plan for our PhD students and a similar set of professionalization resources for our MA students.

Year 1:

In addition to (or as a part of) the Pedagogy Seminar:

• In Winter, grads will be introduced to the travel funding policy and will receive advice on attending conferences throughout their time in the program.
• In Spring, grads will be introduced to CV templates and the process of building one’s CV during the program.
• In Spring, grads will receive advice on turning term papers into conference submissions.

Year 2:

•  In Fall, Workshop I on solo and online teaching, which will include setting up a class in Canvas and any other topics crucial to solo teaching that could not be covered in Year 1.
• In Winter, a workshop on how to undertake the Historical Research Paper (HRP).
• In Spring, Workshop II on solo and online teaching, which will include training in teaching asynchronous online courses. All PHIL summer courses are asynchronous online courses and grads must attend this workshop in order to qualify for summer teaching.

Year 3:

• In addition to (or as a part of) the Writing Seminar:
• In Fall, a Literature Review workshop discussing how to develop topics.
• In Winter, a second Literature Review workshop to discuss the logistics of committee formation and requirements.
• In Spring, a Prospectus writing workshop.
• In Spring, a job market session with grads who were on the market in the current AY. The purpose of this session is to start thinking about the job market in a general and relatable way, learning from the experience of peers.

Year 4:

The department will be developing year-long Job Market Prep seminar scheduled in the same way as the Pedagogy and Writing seminars.

• In the Fall, the course will address, Grant Writing, and Fellowship Applications, and would also discuss using the Literature Review to prepare sample syllabi for use in job materials.
• In the Winter and Spring, the course will focus on creating and workshopping job materials.
• Spring will also include discussion of applying for interdisciplinary jobs.
• In Spring, students will also make a summer dissertation-writing plan.

Year 5 + Non-Academic Job Sessions:

• In Fall, each student currently on the job market will have an opportunity to give a practice job talk over the course of the term. 
• In Fall, a 3-Minute Thesis event where grads practice giving concise introductions to their work. 
• Between Winter and Spring, two non-academic job sessions are held. These are for students in all years. 
   

Professionalization Seminars

Pedagogy Seminar (Teaching Philosophy Seminar)

In the first year of employment as a graduate employee (GE), graduate students must also complete the sequence of all three terms of the professionalization pro-seminar on pedagogy and teaching (for a total of 4 credits). Thus, all doctoral students are required to complete three terms of this course as part of their graduate requirements. Master's students are also welcome to join this seminar. 

MA students who are offered GE positions are required to successfully complete the pedagogy seminar for any term you are scheduled to teach, provided you have not completed it previously in that same term of the year. For example, if you previously completed the teaching seminar in winter term, you would still be required to register for the seminar if chosen for a fall or spring GE assignment, but not to repeat the winter seminar if you receive another winter assignment.

Writing Seminar

In the third year of the PhD, as they transition from writing for coursework to writing for independent research and dissertation, graduate students must also complete the sequence of all three terms of the professionalization seminar on writing and publication (for a total of 4 credits). The primary purpose of this course is to teach students how to develop a regular writing practice, how to revise their own work, how to submit work for publication, and how to write a dissertation. Thus, all doctoral students are required to complete three terms of this course as part of their graduate requirements.

UO Professional Development Resources

The University of Oregon offers a multitude of professional development resources for graduate students. Whether you are interested in pursuing a career in or outside of academia, students can seek career counseling and exploration, resume and CV reviews, interview preparation, teacher training and certificates, graduate workshops, and more.

Graduate Teaching Initiative

The UO Teaching Engagement Program’s Graduate Teaching Initiative offers UO graduate students structured and rigorous, yet flexible, pathways to develop as college teachers. The program is meant to develop inclusive, engaged, and research-led teachers who will, in turn, help shape the campus teaching culture.

The Teaching Effectiveness Program also offers hints for the development of a teaching portfolio that can be effective for communicating teaching skills to prospective employers.

Advising 

The Director of Graduate Studies serves as the official advisor of all philosophy graduate students until they choose a dissertation director. Students should meet with the director of graduate studies to discuss how they plan to satisfy the requirements for an advanced philosophy degree.

Students may also consult with the director of graduate studies about which courses satisfy which distribution requirements, transfer credits, satisfaction of the second language requirement and logic requirement, teaching assistantships inside and outside of the department, and fellowships.

Beata Stawarska      
Director of Graduate Studies: Advising

Email: stawarsk@uoregon.edu      
Phone: 541-346-5545      
Office: 247 Susan Campbell Hall      
Profile Page

Choosing an Advisor

Graduate students are free to choose an advisor from amongst the tenure-related faculty at any point in their graduate career; however, doctoral students must do so by the time they begin their Literature Review, generally spring of year 3.

The faculty member must agree to be the student’s advisor. Keep in mind: the department recommends that you not work with the same faculty members for your History Paper–fall and winter, year 3–and your dissertation.

Please contact the director of graduate studies for more information about policies on assessment of student progress.