The Department of Philosophy has an excellent record of placing its students in major colleges and universities. According to the 2017 Academic Placement and Data Analysis report (http://placementdata.com), we rank 18th out of 135 Ph.D. programs surveyed in our overall placement rate into tenure track or other permanent positions, and 24th in our placement rate into departments that grant the Ph.D. As of 2019, our placement rate into tenure track or permanent positions is 49%; our placement rate into departments that grant the Ph.D. is 17% (http://placementdata.com/blog/).
The entire faculty is committed to the successful placement of every student in the program. This is facilitated by the Graduate Placement Officer, who organizes placement workshops, arranges for mock interviews and works closely with students to put together a compelling CV and dossier.
It is important that students recognize that successful placement is a matter of professional development throughout the course of graduate education, and not just at its end. The department’s interest in its alumni does not cease when they have found their first position; it endeavors to stay in touch with them and is prepared to offer further assistance in the advancement of their careers.
Notable past graduates of the Penn State Philosophy Ph.D. Program:
Robert Pippin at the University of Chicago
Iris Marion Young at the University of Chicago (deceased)
Cindy Willet at Emory University
Todd May at Clemson University.
Shannon Winnubst at Ohio State University
David Roochnik, Chair of Philosophy at Boston University
Drew Hyland, Charles A. Dana Professor of Philosophy, Trinity College (Hartford, CT)
Jacob Howland, McFarlin Professor of Philosophy at The University of Tulsa
Charles Griswold, Borden Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy, Boston University
William Desmond, Professor of Philosophy, Katholieck Universiteit Leuven, Institute of Philosophy
For more detailed placement record, please contact Uygar Abaci, Placement Officer, 2020-2021.
Recent Placements
The following is a summary of the placement record for the Penn State Philosophy Doctoral Program, from 2021 to 2005 (reverse chronological order).
Name | Initial Placement | Graduation Date | Current Position |
| Benjamin Randolph | Arcadia University (Adjunct Professor) | FA23 | Arcadia University (Adjunct Professor) |
| Mérédith Laferté-Coutu | Concordia University (Canada) (postdoc) | SU22 | Postdoc, Concordia University (Canada) |
| Mercer Gary | Hastings Center (postdoc) | SU22 | Assistant Professor, Drexel University |
| Bailey Thomas | University of Louisville | SU21 | Postdoc, Dartmouth |
| Nicole Yokum | University of Toronto (postdoc) | SU21 | Postdoc, University of Toronto |
| Theodore Bergsma | Penn State University (instructor) | SU20 | Instructor, Penn State UP |
| Tano Posteraro | Social Science and Research Council of Canada Post-Doctoral Fellow at Concordia University (Montreal) | SU19 | Postdoc, Concordia University (Canada) |
| Romy Opperman | New School for Social Research (postdoc) | SU20 | Assistant Professor, The New School |
| Emma Velez | Assistant Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign | SU20 | Assistant Professor, Illinois-Urbana-Champagne |
| Kaitlyn Newman | Georgia College and State University (lecturer) | SU20 | Lecturer, Georgia College and State University |
| Joseph Barker | University of Liverpool (Clinical Research Governance Officer) | FA18 | |
| Nathalie Nya | John Carrol University (postdoc) | Penn State University (Lecturer) | |
| Tiffany Tsantsoulas | Assistant Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Bakersfield | SU20 | Assistant Professor, Cal State Bakersfield |
| Ursula Roessiger | Siena College (Teaching Assistant Professor) | FA17 | |
| Kristopher Klotz | Lynn University (tenure track) | SU19 | Assistant Professor, Lynn University, Bosa Raton, FL |
| Edward O’Byrn | Carlton College (postdoc) | SU19 | Illinois-Urbana-Champagne (tenure track) |
| Eyo Ewara | University of Texas, San Antonio (tenure track) | SU19 | Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Loyola University of Chicago |
| Daniel Smith | University of Memphis (Visiting Assistant Professor) | SU18 | Assistant Professor, University of Memphis |
| Elif Yavnik | SU18 | Assistant Professor, Sabanci University Turkey | |
| Shaeeda Mensah | Temple University (postdoc) | FA18 | Assistant Professor, McDaniel College |
| Lauren Nuckols | Central Washington University (Lecturer) | FA17 | |
| Peter Giannopoulos | University of Central Florida (tenure track) | SU17 | |
| William Paris | Northwestern University (postdoc) | SU18 | Assistant Professor, University of Toronto |
| Kimberly Harris | Marquette University (tenure-track) | SU18 | Assistant Professor, University of Virginia |
| Desiree Valentine | Marquette University (tenure-track) | SU18 | Assistant Professor, Marquette University |
| Aminah Hasan | Furman University (tenure-track) | SU16 | Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Emory University |
| Axelle Karera | Wesleyan University (Visiting Assistant Professor) | FA15 | Emory University (tenure-track) |
| Lindsey Stewart | Wellesley College (Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow) | SU21 | University of Memphis (tenure-track) |
| Sara Brill | Fairfield University | ||
| Ryan Pollock | Grand Valley State (3 year Visiting Assistant Professor) | ||
| André Rosenbaum de Avillez | Del Mar College (Assistant Professor) (tenure-track) | ||
| Ronke Oke | West Chester University (tenure-track) | ||
| Shaheen Moosa | North Central College (tenure-track) | ||
| Deniz Durmuz | John Carroll University (tenure-track) | ||
| Jameliah Shorter-Bourhanou | Georgia College and State University (tenure-track) | Assistant Professor, University of Memphis | |
| David Johnson | Boston College (tenure-track) | ||
| Camisha Russell | Colorado College (Postdoctoral Fellow) | University of Oregon (tenure-track) | |
| Stephanie Jenkins | Oregon State University (tenure-track) | ||
| Toby Svoboda | Fairfield University (tenure-track) | ||
| Jesse Bailey | Sacred Heart University (tenure-track) | ||
| Michael Shleeter | Pacific Lutheran University (tenure-track) | ||
| Mariana Alessandri | University of Texas Pan American (tenure-track) | ||
| Alex Stehn | University of Texas Pan American (tenure-track) | ||
| Michael Brownstein | New Jersey Institute of Technology (tenure-track) | ||
| Masato Ishida | University of Hawaii at Manoa (tenure-track) | University of Hawaii at Manoa (Associate Professor) | |
| Julia Levin | Saint Francis (tenure-track) | ||
| Kyle Grady | Rhodes College (tenure-track) | Freedom Preparatory Academy | |
| Omer Aygun | Galatasaray University – Istanbul, Turkey (tenure-track) | ||
| Michael Deere | Salem State University (tenure-track) | ||
| Christopher Lauer | University of Hawaii at Hilo (tenure-track) | ||
| Bryan Lueck | Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (tenure-track) | Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (Associate Professor) | |
| Brian Armstrong | Georgia Regents University (tenure-track) | ||
| Leigh Johnson | Rhodes College (tenure-track) | ||
| Melanie Shepherd | Misericordia University (tenure-track) | ||
| Amy Wendling | Creighton University (tenure-track) | ||
| Cory Wimberly | University of Texas Pan American (tenure-track) | ||
| Kirsten Jacobson | University of Maine at Orono (tenure-track) | University of Maine at Orono (Associate Professor) | |
| Hua Henry Wang | Georgia College and State University (tenure-track) | ||
| Ryan Drake | Fairfield University (tenure-track) | ||
| William Roberts | McGill University (tenure-track, Political Science) | ||
| David O’Hara | Augustana College (tenure-track) | Augustana College (Associate Professor) | |
| Hasana Sharp | McGill University (tenure-track) | McGill University (Associate Professor) | |
| Lara Trout | University of Portland (tenure-track) |