Canadian MA Funding

Quick tip for MA applicants: Most US MA programs in Philosophydon't have any funding opportunities. Many Canadian programs do.

Defending the Humanities Through...Philosophy of Mind?

Basically an article about how studies in philosophy of mind show that 'science' or hard facts about the world do not give us a complete set of knowledge. Thus humanities programs should be encourage. Braced partially on the work of  David Chalmers. 

Found on "In Socrates' Wake" a blog about teaching philosophy

See full article HERE.

GRE cut off

Are there GRE cut offs in philosophy? Respondents to this question on Lieter Reports. The answers so far suggest not, but they do suggest that students with low GRE scores usually have less impressive records, letters and writing samples. Responses also suggest that if GRE scores are low then the applicant needs to make up for it in other parts of the application.
Around 700 is the mark that one needs to reach in order to avoid a critical eye.
http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2011/03/are-some-schools-using-undisclosed-gre-cut-offs-in-admissions-decisions.html

Philosophy Publications and Hiring Practices ( Pedigree?)

This is a questions sent to Lieter. Professionals comment on the state of the profession.

Two questions:
 1: Does philosophy, as a profession, have a route for philosophers to dig themselves out of their professional qualification? That is, if one did not go to a top 10 school, does philosophy, as a profession, have a way for exceptional philosophers to distinguish themselves?
 2. What do we do about this lack?

Using Visual Logic Models for Evaluating/Presenting Programs

By using logic modeling, philosophy programs can present in an easily acceptable visual format how their program prepares students. I use logic maps all the time when I evaluate arguments, why not use them to explain why your department is best. There have been great leaps forward in psychology of infographics, perhaps we could apply this to philosophy programs?

Undergraduate Philosophy Journals

A short list and description of undergraduate philosophy journals. It looks really good on a graduate application if one has a publication even if it is in an undergraduate journal.

CFP: Philosophy of Sport?

Here is a call for papers on the philosophy of sport. Philosophy of sport is rather new and was started in the 1960's. I have been seeing philosophy of sport mentioned quite a bit on the internet lately but am very ignorant of it's nature myself.  The philosophy of sport definition from Penn State:

Article: In the Basement of the Ivory Tower

Professor X suggests that many students should not go to college even though this places his own position as an adjunct in jeopardy.

read the article here

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/06/in-the-basement-of-the-ivory-tower/6810/1/

Top Ten Philosophy Programs Comparative

Just a nice simple table for comparing.

CV: Number of Graduate Conferences?

This is a question I found on a forum. It deals with the number of graduate conferences one should have on a CV. A summarized version of all comments included.

Survey Results: Philosophical Beliefs

The PhilPapers Survey was a survey of professional philosophers and others on their philosophical views, carried out in November 2009. The Survey was taken by 3226 respondents, including 1803 philosophy faculty members and/or PhDs and 829 philosophy graduate students.

Philosophy for Children: Ethics Question about The Little Red Hen

A post from Talking Philosophy. This is a good example of how one could engage children in philosophy from an early age. By using the story of The Little Red Hen, one can ask a child to investigate the ethics of fairness and selfishness. 

Ranking Philosophy Programs: Hirsch Number Rankings

This table ranks PHD philosophy depatments based on  h-values, JK method, and KD method. 99 programs ranked.

Philosophy Journal Information: ESF Rankings, Citation Impact, & Rejection Rates

Table of philosophy journals. Classification of philosophy journals into three types. European Science foundations rankings. This table also includes rejection rates and H&G Values for each journal. 

Final Call for Papers: “The Problem of the Criterion”

At least to me this is an exciting topic. Deadline: June 30th.

 "To know whether things really are as they seem to be, we must have a procedure for distinguishing appearances that are true from appearances that are false. But to know whether our procedure is a good procedure, we have to know whether it really succeeds in distinguishing appearances that are true from appearances that are false. And we cannot know whether it does really succeed unless we already know which appearances are true and which ones are false. And so we are caught in a circle. [‘The Problem of the Criterion’, 1982]"

FAQ: Publishing

The following is drawn from workshops led by David Kahane 1998-2000. Make of it what you will; one fun thing about the workshops was the widely varying opinions offered by faculty in attendance!
What place should publishing have in your priorities as a grad student?
What’s publishable? When is something ready to publish? 
Where to submit it? 
How to submit it
Dealing with rejection
Dealing with acceptance
Other kinds of publishing

Five Secrets to Publishing Success

By Thom Brooks: In this essay, I will uncover what I believe are five secrets to publishing success. These tips arise from my experiences in the fields of philosophy, political science, and law as an author, an editor, and founding editor of the Journal of Moral Philosophy. These experiences may be of particular use to readers working in the areas of humanities and social science, but I hope will also be relevant to readers in different disciplines. The advice below is general and there are always some exceptions, although what I note below is most often the case.

Philosophy Graduate Student's GREs

An interesting article from http://carrefoursagesse.wordpress.com about the high scores of philosophy students. It predicts the [unposted] GRE scores of several philosophy programs. The article focus' on the standard deviation in the GRE scores of philosophy majors. Its almost appalling how well we do. Also an interesting insight into why they might be so high.

Job Market: "I Shoulda known Better"

This is a great post over at the philosophy smoker blog. It goes over what the author wishes he had known going into the philosophy as a profession. much of it is vague but some of it is quite interesting. I also recommend reading the insightful comments.

USU: Advice to Graduate Students

Utah State University councils Students looking to enter graduate school in philosophy. Suggests applying to schools with multiple strengths because graduate interests often change. Other basic advice as well.

Call for Proposals – Conference: “Advancing Publicly Engaged Philosophy”

I thought this might interest some of my readers. It is put out by the Public Philosophy Network which I have blogged about earlier.  "The Public Philosophy Network invites proposals for a Fall 2011 meeting on Advancing Publicly Engaged Philosophy.  The conference will include a mix of formal and informal sessions on various issues in practical philosophy, including concrete projects and political problems as well as discussions of larger philosophical questions about how to engage in philosophical activity outside the academy."

CFP: The 2011 Meeting of the Central States Philosophical Association

[CPF = Call for Papers, Found at http://lemmingsblog.blogspot.com/] As tradition has it, the university of the President of the Central States Philosophical Association hosts the annual meetings. So, the 2011 meeting will take place in my current hometown St. Louis. Our excellent Vice President, Paul Weirich, Curators' Professor at University of Missouri, Columbia, has just issued the following call for papers:

In Defence of Regional Public Universities

An interesting and decently written piece for graduate students. It gives advice on how to get a job at a teaching rather than a research university. With the general state of employment in philosophy, knowing how to tailor your application to a teaching rather than a research university could be a valuable skill.

SURVEY: Ethics of Grading

Found on: http://philosophy-teacher.blogspot.com/2011/03/survey-ethics-of-grading.html

SURVEY: Ethics of Grading
Dear philosophy professors: If you could do me a HUGE favor and fill this out, it just takes a couple minutes, I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!!!! :) Karla 

"I am doing educational research on the ethics of grading practices and am especially interested in philosophers' views. Part of this research includes a survey that asks participants their views on a number of hypothetical scenarios involving grading practices."

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JQ6FFMK

Ranking Philosophy Programs: Google Rankings Vs. Philosophical Gourmet Vs. Academic Analytics

 The top ten Google  rankings for university philosophy departments compared to Academic Analytics and The Philosophical Gourmet Report. Although their algorithm for page ranking is more complicated then I can explain, it's basically a index of popularity/relevance/influence on the internet. 
****Every one of the top ten Phd programs ranked by google was ranked 26th OR ABOVE by the Gourmet.  Any thoughts about this correlation?

Undergrad: Talking to Your Professors

The College of Saint Rose Published this nice little hand out in 2010. It would have been helpful for a few fumbles I myself made as an undergraduate. Building relationships with your professors is an important part of undergraduate as well as graduate education and the first part is knowing some of the basic protocol. I would appreciate any input from Professors with regard to your feelings about these suggestions.

Studying Tips for Philosophy

A good summery of alot of information with links to other resources. 

Applying to Ph.D. Programs in Philosophy

Eric Schwitzgebel, Professor of Philosophy at University of California at Riverside, gives a great guide to applying to PHD programs in philosophy. Generally good advice and information about applying to philosophy MA schools as well.

Academic Job Interviews: Advice

Some of this advice is so common sense it may be easily overlooked. By Alain-Philippe Durand is professor of French and director of the School of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Arizona

 

Job Applications: Phoning in

"Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to be involved with a variety of phone interviews, both inside and outside of academe and on both sides of the call. Throughout all of these situations, I have noticed a few problems that candidates, including me, have struggled with; overcoming them will greatly increase one’s chance of getting a campus interview." By Kevin Brown Professor of english at Lee University.

UO: How to Make a Teaching Portfolio

This is a quick but very useful graduate resource from the University of Oregon. It introduces what a teaching portfolio is, gives general format and outline instructions, and even gives an example of a portfolio from the social sciences.

Munitz Essay Prize: $5000

The Milton K. Munitz Prize in Philosophy for 2011:

An award of $5000 will be offered in 2011 for the submitted works of scholars which deal, centrally (though not necessarily exclusively), with Milton Munitz’s works and ideas and specifically respond to the following question:

What is the nature and significance of Milton Munitz's concept of Boundless Existence?

Submissions of any length will be accepted until December 15, 2011.

How to Teach Pre-College Philosophy (APA)

• The APA gives some suggestions on how to teach philosophy to pre-college classroom. The "MAIN PAGE" is where the links came from
• 
  
• MAIN PAGE

• Planning your course

• One approach: critical thinking skills

• Training

• Resources

Pre-College Philosophy from APA Advice

Advice from the American Philosophical Association about how to go about teaching philosophy in high school. What school are and are not looking for.  Also advice about where and how to find a position. 

Peterson's Graduate Schools Search Engine

This is a good resource for studying which graduate schools are available. Particularly because you can narrow your search by location (state) and degree level (certificate, MA, Phd) in the advanced search mode.  You can also search multiple disciplines and sub-disciplines like bioethics. For someone who was in my position, being able to search for MA by state and PHD nationally would have been really useful.

UC Davis: Grad TA Handbook

The teaching handbook contains advice from philosophy graduate students about how to TA philosophy classes. It includes samples of the sorts of handouts you might want to use and other useful information. One should always save the teaching materials you develop for TA or classes taught. Many teaching colleges ask for these materials or they will ask what sort of thing you might have on a syllabus. It is important to create something like a teaching portfolio as a record for future teaching prospects later on. Also save teaching evaluations as they will be solid recommendations for teaching later on.
http://www-philosophy.ucdavis.edu/teaching_HB.pdf

Review "Philosopher's Tool Kit" by Aspenson

A quick overview of "The Philosophers Tool Kit" by Steven Aspenson . This article does not address wheather or not philosophy should be understood as method, but rather if a method is assumed would this be useful to a philosopher. If not useful to a philosopher, could it be a useful teaching tool.

Free: Philosophy on YouTube

Here are some links to some great philosophy free on YouTube. Mostly Bryan Magee's interviews for the BBC's Great Philosophers Series. Actually seeing the philosophers you read is an interesting experience.

Badly Rejecting Applicants For Jobs

The following rejection letter for a job was found on http://philosophysmoker.blogspot.com/. I believe that this is a good example of the negligence which can be found in over-supplied markets.

Philosophy for Children: Mini-Conference

In conjunction with the 2011 Meetings of the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association in San Diego, there will be a Mini-Conference on Philosophy for Children on April 20 and 21.  The focus of the Mini-Conference will be on the significance and impact of pre-college philosophy instruction.  Scholars from around the globe will participate in the Mini-Conference.   Attendance is open to anyone attending the Pacific Division Meetings.  If you plan on attending the Mini-Conference please register by clicking here.


Full page here: http://www.kidsphilmini.co.cc/

UC Bearkeley: How to Write a CV. Part 2

Includes elements of a good CV and how to put the information together.  Seeing how professionals put together a CV give a good outline of what one might strive for in graduate school.

See:  UC Bearkeley: How to Write a CV. Part 1

Recommendation Letters and Philosophy PhD Programs: Four Helpful Hints

Four suggestions from http://everyday-ethics.org

Philosophy Podcasts

Here are a number of philosophy podcasts. Philosophy bites is interesting and I have also listened to Hubert L. Dreyfus(4, 8, 18, 24) and David B. Ebrey (31) and  John Searle (10, 15, 21) podcast. Many of the other ones I am unsure about, but there are some big names on this list.

Philosophy Blogs

Here my readers can post their blogs or websites. I would love to take a look at what other philosophers are doing on the web. If your posting valuable content I will suggest it to my readers on this blog. Post your blog or blog suggestions in comments. Here is a list of blogs I already follow.

Call for Book Reviewers

 Book Reviews are a great way for graduate students to start publishing on journals. Here is a good opportunity to start a publishing record. Douglas Lackey, the Editor of *The Philosophical Forum*, invites philosophers to join a team effort to review the three volumes of Terence Irwin's *History of Ethics*.

Save Money on Books

A good list of where to buy text books online. Although philosophy usually doesn't have the outrageous book prices of the disciplines like biology, it is always nice to save some money. Some of these would be great to suggest to incoming students without a clue.

Job Applications: Cover Letters

How to write a cover letter for an academic job. Some basic but insightful suggestions, some specifically about how academia job applications work.

Book: Academically Adrift

If the purpose of a college education is for students to learn, academia is failing, according toAcademically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, a book being released today by University of Chicago Press. Review and summery from Inside Higher Ed.

UC Bearkeley: How to Write a CV. Part 1

This is a CV writing guide from UC Berkeley, created for graduate students and post-docs but still quite useful for undergraduates.  This is Part 1.
See:  UC Bearkeley: How to Write a CV. Part 2

MIT: How to Write a C/V

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) resembles a resume in many ways, but is more specifically focused on academic achievements.  A CV summarizes educational and academic history, and may include details about teaching experience, publications (books, articles, research papers, unpublished manuscripts, or book chapters), and academic honors and awards.  Use a CV rather than a resume for teaching or research opportunities, applying for fellowships or for further academic training.  Some research positions in industry may also prefer a CV rather than a resume

Check out the full website here


http://www.mit.edu/~career/guide/cv.pdf

Adding New References to a CV as a Junior Professor

From Lieter Reports

The UNIVERSITY SYSTEM as a failing BUSINESS

Many people have been outraged by the merciless cutting of departments recently. It seems to me that this is going about the problem in the wrong way. If we think about the college system as a business, which is partially how investors see it, I think I can show us several interesting aspects of it's decline. 

Public Philosophy

This seems interesting, I have noticed that quite a few schools are doing something along these lines. It seems that this is a great way to give back to the community. It also forces our ivory tower to be able to relate to the "folk" which seems like a good thing.  Information on the public philosophy network in this post.

Feel free to comment

Department Chair: Roles, Jobs, and Recomendations

A very interesting article about the responsibilities and problems of being the chair of a department. The article takes information from many studies and interviews. Posted here are the roles/ jobs of a department chair and implications and recommendations for departments on how to make the position of chair more effective.

Graduate Community: Deciding Between Graduate Offers

     Admission decisions are coming back now and hopefully you were accepted to several places. While you most likely have all your applications ranked, I urge you to take a step back for a moment and consider the graduate communities of the schools in question.

Strengthening Applications to Grad Programs

Advice and discussion about Strengthening Applications.

Call for Papers: Kentucky Philosophical Association; General

Kentucky Philosophical Association Spring 2011 Meeting:

 Submissions on any philosophical topic are welcome. Papers should be no longer than 3,000 words, suitable for reading aloud, and prepared for blind review. Include the following information as a cover page in a separate file

How to Publish Books in Philosophy

This is an interesting and informative piece, it is a little out dated but is still a great guide. I assume that publishing books changes less then publishing in journals. Gives an outline of the whole process of publishing a book in philosophy. Includes how to chose a publisher, negotiate with the publisher, publishing dissertations and much more.

The Best Book Publishers in Philosophy

Lieter discusses the landscape of book publishing in philosophy with a focus on which publishers will get the most out of your book. Also information such as which publishers produce monographs. Ranked publishers.

Philosophy Graduate School - FAQ advice

How do I get admitted?

Graduate schools may consider five types of evidence when deciding whether to admit you and whether to give you financial aid: your grades and courses, letters of recommendation, a writing sample, GRE scores, and your personal statement.

APA members Vote: Change Date and Purpose of the APA?

Thats right OPEN that packet and share your views with the rest of us. The APA recently sent out a voting ballet to all its members. This vote takes up to APA issues which have been on the lips of many bloggers. After the blizzard this year (or was it last year?)  many people have been calling for a change. Secondly, a new technological revolution which has been slowly taking on force is skype job interviews. APA asks if job interviews should be a main function of the eastern APA.

Academic Analytics - How It Works & Graphs

How The Index Works, a great article from Chronical.

Philosophy in the Community

The University of Saskatchewan Philosophy department offers free lectures to the surrounding community available to anyone interested. Firstly a brilliant marketing idea. Secondly, if we think this stuff is so important it seems like we should offer to share it. 

Poll: Moving Eastern APA to January? Results

From Ethics ect.... vote on the poll.
The results so far:

600 votes. 84% in favor of moving the APA to January.
http://ethics-etc.com/2011/02/11/poll-would-you-favor-moving-the-eastern-apa-to-early-january/

Call for Papers/Abstracts: PHILOSOPHY OF MIND, CONSCIOUSNESS, etc.

Call for Papers/Abstracts: PHILOSOPHY OF MIND, CONSCIOUSNESS, etc.
6th Annual Gateway Graduate Conference April 8-10, 2011, U.S. St. Louis, MO

The Philosophers’ Forum at the University of Missouri, St. Louis invites submissions of high quality graduate student abstracts or papers to our 6th annual Gateway conference. This year’s topic will be on the topic of Introspection, broadly construed. Possible areas relevant to this topic include philosophy of mind, cognitive science, philosophy of science, epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of religion.

More on Admissions Decisions--and What Departments Can Do to Help

An interesting comment about graduate admission committees. Found on Leiter.

Community College Job Interview - Sample Questions

The following are questions on education, teaching and "fit" that you may be asked. A subsequent column will deal with other kinds of questions.

Philosophy of Character Funding Announcement

Funding opportunity up to $100,000 a year for philosophy majors....

The Mentoring Project for Pre-tenure Women Faculty in Philosophy

There is mounting evidence that mentoring is important for success in academia.  The Mentoring Project aims to build long-term mentoring relationships between eminent senior women and junior women in the field of philosophy.

Should Graduate Students be Encouraged not to Publish?

One argument that graduate students should not publish papers and a good counter argument found in the comments. I Thought this was very interesting, but I feel the argument against publishing would only be applicable at highly ranked universities.