Placement

The philosophy department at Rice regularly places graduate students in full-time academic employment, and the faculty and staff take proactive roles in supporting our graduate students in their pursuit of academic positions. The list below includes graduate students who have received their PhDs since 2003. The information is complete as far as we know, but please contact us with updates and corrections.

Code: TT=tenure track; T=tenured; O=other academic position; PD=post doc; NA=designations are not applicable.

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PLACEMENTS

2024

  • Jeanine Campsall, “Are There Unfulfillable Moral Obligations?” (Sher)
  • Joshua Smith, “Wonderment: A Philosophical Analysis of Its Nature and It's Attending Virtue” (Schroeder). Current: Ethics and religion teacher, Episcopal High School (O)
  • Logan Wigglesworth, “The Understanding of Value and the Value of Understanding” (Kriegel). Current: Postdoctoral fellow, Auburn University (PD). Previous: Visiting assistant professor, Hope College (NTT)

2022

  • Donald Oxtoby, “How Rich Is Perceptual Experience?” (Siewert). Current: Postdoc, University of Turin (PD)
  • Wai San Ng, “Semantic Change: What, How, and So What” (Grandy)
  • Darren Medeiros, “Conscious Conceptual Thought” (Siewert). Current: Instructor, University of Rhode Island (NTT)

2021

  • Brandon Williams, “Toward a Functional Account of Normative Reasons” (Sher, Schroeder). Current: Instructional assistant professor and director of the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center for Ethics and Leadership, University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs (O). Previous: Full-time faculty, Houston Community College (TT)
  • Allen Porter, “Social Justice Leftism as Deconstructive Postmodernism” (Crowell). Current: Assistant Professor, University of Austin (TT). Previous: Postdoctoral fellow, James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, Princeton University (PD)

2019

  • Daniel Burkett, “Punishment by Agreement - A Contract-Based Argument for the Moral Permissibility of Punishment” (Sher). Current: Lecturer, Binghamton University (NTT)
  • Ya-Yun (Sherry) Kao, “Living Reflectively: Authenticity and Justifiability” (Bradford). Current: Assistant teaching professor, Georgetown University (NTT)
  • Peter Zuk, “A Theory of Well-Being” (Sher, Siewert). Current: Assistant professor, University of Texas at Arlington (TT). Previous: Bioethics research fellow, Baylor College of Medicine (PD)

2018

  • Victor Saenz, “Desire and Moral Virtue in Aristotle's Ethics” (Morrison). Current: Executive director, Houston Institute (O)

2017

  • Carissa Phillips-Garrett, “Blame, Forgiveness, and Honor in Aristotle and Beyond” (Morrison, Sher). Current: Associate professor, Loyola Marymount University (T). Previous: Visiting assistant professor, University of Houston (NTT)
  • Jesse Slavens, “Tracking Kant's Bête Noire: The Significance of Hegel's Emptiness Critique for Contemporary Kantianism” (Engelhardt). Current: Assistant professor, Clark State College (TT)
  • Kerry Vaughan, “Choice, Manipulation and Wellbeing: On the Nature and Ethical Significance of Nudging” (Sher). Current: Technology industry (NA)

2016

  • Joseph Adams, “Living Storied Lives” (Sher)
  • Rainer Ebert, “The Wrongness of Killing” (Sher). Current: Adjunct professor, Lone Star College and Houston Community College (NTT). Previous: Postdoctoral research fellow, University of Johannesburg (PD)
  • Shohei Edamura, “Leibniz’s Early Metaphysics of Body ―From 1663 to 1686” (Kulstad). Current: Professor, Meiji University

2015

  • Michael Barkasi, “The Semantics of Indicative Mood Modal Constructions” (Grandy). Current: Staff scientist, Oviedo Lab, Washington University in St. Louis (O)

2014

  • Jacob Mills, “Leibniz on Modality” (Grandy). Current: Professor, Houston Community College (T)

2013

  • Dustin Tune, “In Defense of Sufficiency as the Distributive Ideal for Political Power” (Sher). Current: Program Coordinator for Philosophy, San Antonio College

2012

  • Philip Robichaud, “Ignorance and Moral Responsibility: A Quality of Will Approach” (Sher). Current: Assistant professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (TT)

2011

  • Vinod Acharya, “Nietzsche’s Meta-Existentialism” (Crowell). Current: Associate director, Honors Program and teaching professor, philosophy, Seattle University (O)
  • Anthony Carreras, “Aristotle’s Ideals of Friendship and Virtue” (Morrison). Current: Dean and professor, Lone Star College (T)
  • Stan Husi, “Building Reasons without Authority” (Sher). Current: Associate professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (T)

2009

  • Matthew Burch, “Estrangement and Responsibility: Heidegger’s Account of Selfhood” (Crowell). Current: Senior lecturer, University of Essex (T)
  • Jeremy Garrett, “The Normative Foundations of Civil Marriage” (Sher). Current: Research associate in bioethics, Children’s Mercy Kansas City; professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of philosophy, University of Missouri-Kansas City; adjunct professor, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (O)
  • Garret Merriam, “Virtue Ethics and the Moral Significance of Animals” (Brody). Current: Associate professor, Sacramento State (T). Previous: Associate professor, University of Southern Indiana (T)

2008

  • John O’Neal, “The Web of Reality: Mechanisms of Complexity & the Metaphysics of Levels” (Grandy). Current: Technical content developer, Palo Alto Networks (NA). Previous: Technical curriculum architect, Amazon Web Services (NA)

2006

  • Trisha Phillips, “Diagnosing Exploitation: Justice and Human Subjects Research” (Brody). Current: Associate professor, West Virginia University (T). Previous: Associate professor, Mississippi State University (T)

2004

  • Harry Adams, “Justice for Children: The Development of Autonomy” (Sher). Current: Lecturer, Prairie View A&M University (NTT)
  • Ian Dove, “Certainty and Error in Mathematics: Deductivism and the Claims of Mathematical Fallibilism” (Grandy). Current: Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (T)
  • Janet Malek, “The Ethics of Conception and the Concept of Harm: A Defense of a Child-Centered Ethical Appeal” (Brody). Current: Professor, Baylor College of Medicine (T)
  • Amy Rowland, “Care and Punishment: Imagining an Integrated Response to Wrongdoing” (Sher). Current: Owner and consultant, Creative Resilience Consulting (NA)
  • Jack Weir, “Pluralistic Casuistry, Animals, and the Environment” (Brody). Current: Professor emeritus, Morehead State University (T)

2003

  • Ana Iltis, “A Philosophical Exploration of the Possibility and Implications of Institutional Moral Responsibility” (Engelhardt). Current: Professor, Wake Forest University (T)
  • Joseph Parker, “Moral Complicity: An Expressivist Account” (Brody). Current: Professor, East Carolina University (T)
  • Lisa Rasmussen, “Clinical Bioethics: Analysis of a Practice” (Engelhardt). Current: Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (T)