Recent Ph.D.’s
Recent Ph.D.’s (2000–present)
Our Ph.D.’s, reaching back to 2000, are listed below. We indicate current employment, where possible. However, inevitably, some employment information is unknown or not up to date. An (*) by “Present Position” indicates that the information has not been recently confirmed.
We try to keep this information accurate. If you see errors, please contact us at philcounselor@humnet.ucla.edu
2024 Ph.D.’s
Aaron West, Ph.D. 2024
Understanding, Real Definitions, and Causes in Spinoza
Advisor: John Carriero
Present Position:(beginning Spring 2025) Harvey Mudd College (Lecturer)
Torsten Odland, Ph.D. 2024
Truth in the World
Advisor: Sam Cumming
Present Position: Cal State Long Beach (Lecturer)
Sevcan Gugumcu, Ph.D. 2024
Essays on Being and Predication in Aristotle
Advisor: Adam Crager
2023 Ph.D.’s
Saraliza Anzaldúa, Ph.D. 2023
Monsters and Mestizos: Mestizaje as White Supremacy and the Monsterization of Indigeneity.
Advisor: AJ Julius
Present Position (beginning Fall 2023): California Institute of Integral Studies (tenured)
Piera Maurizio, Ph.D. 2023
The Epistemic, Moral, and Political Significance of an Open Mind.
Advisor: Seana Shiffrin
2022 Ph.D.’s
Zachary Biondi, Ph.D. 2022
Kant’s System of Moral Law
Advisor: Barbara Herman and Tyler Burge
Present Position: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Lecturer)
Ian Boon, Ph.D. 2022
Variables in Logic and Natural Language
Advisor: Sam Cumming
Christian De Leon, Ph.D. 2022
Situated Conversation: The Role of Attention in Communication
Advisors: Sam Cumming and Gabe Greenberg
Past Position: Williams College (Visiting Assistant Professor)
Present Position: University of Iceland (Postdoctoral Fellow) and University College Dublin (Visiting Scholar)
Kim Johnston, Ph.D. 2022
Contradictions and the Structure of Reasoning.
Advisors: Josh Armstrong and Sherri Roush
Melissa Retwka, Ph.D. 2022
The Value of Recognition.
Advisor: AJ Julius
Present Position: Auburn College (Lecturer)
Ayana Samuel, Ph.D. 2022
Joint Action, Speech, and Asymmetric Relations
Advisor: Pamela Hieronymi & AJ Julius
Present Position: York University (tenure-track)
2021 Ph.D.’s
Jenna Donohue, Ph.D. 2021
A Deliberative Conception of Moral Complicity
Advisor: AJ Julius
Past Position: Postdoctoral Fellow of Embedded EthiCS, Harvard University
Present Position: University of Arkansas (tenure-track)
Andrew Flynn, Ph.D. 2021
Morality and Irony
Advisors: Barbara Herman and AJ Julius
Present Position: Dean’s Postdoctoral Scholar, Florida State University
Emily Page, Ph.D. 2021
Openness to the Development of the Relationship: A Theory of Close Relationships
Advisor: AJ Julius
Ally Peabody Smith, Ph. D. 2021
Learning from Profound Intellectual Disability
Advisor: Daniela Dover and AJ Julius
Present Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Medicine
Future Position (beginning Fall 2024): Lehigh University, College of Health (tenure-track)
Trent Teti, Ph.D. 2021
The Third Motive On Non-Hedonic, Self-Regarding Reasons for Acting
Advisor: Barbara Herman
2020 Ph.D.’s
Milo Crimi, Ph.D. 2020
Destroying the Modes of Signifying: Anti-Modism in Late Medieval Philosophy of Language
Advisors: Brian Copenhaver and Calvin Normore
Present Position: Occidental College (Visiting Assistant Professor)
William Kowalsky, Ph.D. 2020
Confidence and Objective Probability Signaling in Perceptual Systems
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Present Position: York University (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Jordan Wallace-Wolf, J.D. 2017, Ph.D. 2020
Mental Privacy
Advisor: Seana Shiffrin
Present Position: University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law (tenure-track)
2019 Ph.D.’s
Gabriel Dupre, Ph.D. 2019
Ways in the Studies of Words: The Methodology and Epistemology of Linguistic Science
Advisor: Sam Cumming
Past Position: Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, at Keele University
Present Position: (beginning Winter 2024): UC Davis (tenure-track)
Michael Hansen, Ph.D. 2019
Worlds Apart: An Interpretation of Leibnizian Perceiving
Advisor: John Carriero and Calvin Normore
Present Position: Brigham Young University (tenure-track)
Antti Hiltunen, Ph.D. 2019
Spinoza: The Human Mind as an Understanding of the Nature of its Body
Advisor: John Carriero
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Present Position: Software Engineer, ISBX
Gabbrielle M. Johnson, Ph.D. 2019
Cognition and the Structure of Bias
Advisors: Sam Cumming and Gabe Greenberg
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Past Position: Bersoff Faculty Fellow, NYU (post-doctoral fellowship)
Present Position: Claremont McKenna College (tenure-track)
Andrew Lavin, Ph.D. 2019
Normality Judgments: Structure and Content
Advisors: Gavin Lawrence and Calvin Normore
Present Position: Butte College, Feather River College, and CSU Chico (Philosophy Instructor)
Lauren Schaeffer, Ph.D. 2019
Oppression and Resistance
Advisor: A.J. Julius
Present Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Michael Skiles, Ph.D. 2019
First Principles to Further our Understanding of What is to be Done
Advisor: Calvin Normore
Present Position: C.E.O., HostGPO
Eric Tracy, Ph.D. 2019
The Bounds of Thought: Prospects for a Norm-Based Metasemantics
Advisors: Sam Cumming and Josh Armstrong
Past Positions: City College of New York and Fordham University (Adjunct Assistant Professor)
Present Position: Princeton University (Lecturer)
2018 Ph.D.’s
Jonathan Gingerich, Ph.D. 2018
Freedom’s Spontaneity
Advisors: Calvin Normore and Seana Shiffrin
Past Position: Washington University St. Louis (post-doc)
Past Position: King’s College London-The Dickson Poon School of Law
Present Position: Rutgers Law School (tenure-track)
Brian Hutler, J.D. 2014, Ph.D. 2018
Cooperation, Religious Freedom, and the Liberal State
Advisors: Barbara Herman, Seana Shiffrin
Past Position: University of Pennsylvania (Lecturer)
Past Position: Johns Hopkins University Berman Institute of Bioethics (post-doc)
Present Position: Temple University (tenure-track)
Kevin Lande, Ph.D. 2018
Parts of Perception
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: University of Antwerp (post-doc)
Present Position: York University (tenure-track), Director of The Cognitive Science program
Olúfẹmi O. Táíwò, Ph.D. 2018
Autobiography
Advisors: AJ Julius
Present Position: Georgetown University (tenured)
Sabine Tsuruda, J.D. 2016, Ph.D. 2018
Moral Agency and the Workplace
Advisors: Seana Shiffrin
Present Position: Queens University School of Law (tenure-track)
2017 Ph.D.’s
Laura Gillespie, Ph.D. 2017
On the Possibility and Permissibility of Interpersonal Punishment
Advisor: Seana Shiffrin
Present Position: McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, Stanford University (post-doc)
Skef Iterum, Ph.D. 2017
Technical Warrant and its Relation to Intentional Action
Advisor: AJ Julius
Present Position: Senior Font Tools Developer, Adobe
William Reckner, Ph.D. 2017
The Form of Law: Practical Principles and the Foundations of Kant’s Moral Theory
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Present Position: University of Richmond (tenure-track)
Tamar Weber, Ph.D. 2017
Forming Concepts and Doing it Well: A Theory and Epistemology for Empirical Concepts
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Present Position: Finance Budget Analyst, California Department of Finance
2016 Ph.D.’s
Gregory Antill, Ph.D. 2016
The Ethics of Self-Fulfilling Beliefs
Advisor: Pamela Hieronymi
Present Position: Claremont McKenna (Visiting Assistant Professor)
Lee-Ann Chae, Ph.D. 2016
War and Peace: Towards a Just Peace
Advisor: A.J. Julius
Past Position: Wharton School of Business (post-doc)
Present Position: Temple University (tenure-track)
Lindsey Chambers, Ph.D. 2016
Role Obligations and the Morality of Reproductive Selection
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Past Position:McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society, Stanford University (post-doc)
Past Position: Harvard University (College Fellow)
Present Position: University of Kentucky (tenure-track)
Ashley Feinsinger, Ph.D. 2016
Making Words
Advisor: Sam Cumming
Past Position: University of San Diego (tenure-track)
Present Position: UCLA School of Medicine (Adjunct Assistant Professor)
Present Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
2015 Ph.D.’s
David Attanasio, Ph.D. 2015
The State Obligation to Protect
Advisor: Seana Shiffrin
Past Position: Universidad de los Andes (Visiting Professor)
Past Position: Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano (tenure-track)
Present Position: Dechert LLP (Counsel, International Arbitration Group)
Justin Jennings, Ph.D. 2015
Right Action and Integrity
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Present Position: Wake Forest University (Assistant Teaching Professor)
Andrew Jewell, Ph.D. 2015
Believing for Reasons
Advisor: Mark Greenberg
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Aaron Mead, Ph.D. 2015
On Loving Some People More than Others
Advisor: Pamela Hieronymi
Past Position: Caltech (Lecturer)
Present Position: Exponent Engineering and Scientific Consulting (Managing Engineer)
Ingrid Steinberg, Ph.D. 2015
Paternalism and the Moral Status of Children
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
2014 Ph.D.’s
Joshua Blander, Ph.D. 2014
Dependence, Separability, and Theories of Identity and Distinction in Late Medieval Philosophy: Case Studies from Scotus and Ockham
Advisor: Calvin Normore
Present Position: The Kings College (tenure-track)
Denis Bühler, Ph.D. 2014
Psychological Agency: Guidance of Visual Attention
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (post-doc)
Past Position: Oxford University (Lecturer)
Past Position: University of Antwerp (post doctoral fellowship)
Past Position: University of Tübingen (tenure-track)
Present Position: Ecole Normale Supérieure (tenure-track)
David Friedell, Ph.D. 2014
Abstract Artifacts
Advisors: Sam Cumming, Terry Parsons
Past Position: Barnard College (Visiting Assistant Professor)
Past Position: University of British Columbia (post doctoral fellowship)
Present Position: Union College (tenure-track)
Adam Masters, Ph.D. 2014
On Emotion
Advisor: Mark Greenberg
Present Position: Washington State Department of Transportation (Accounting)
Paul Nichols, Ph.D. 2014
The Meaning and Semantics of Singular Definite Noun Phrases
Advisors: Joseph Almog and Sam Cumming
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Present Position: University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Lecturer)
2013 Ph.D.’s
Janelle DeWitt, Ph.D. 2013
The Structure and Function of Emotion in Kant’s Moral Theory
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Past Position: King’s College PA (tenure-track)
Past Position: Western Michigan University (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Past Position: University of Indiana (post-doctoral fellowship)
Present Position: UCLA (Adjunct Assistant Professor)
Jeffrey Helmreich, Ph.D. 2013
More than Words: Stances as an Alternative Model for Apology, Forgiveness, and Other Speech Acts
Advisor: Seana Shiffrin
Present Position: University of California, Irvine (tenured)
Rachel Johnson, Ph.D. 2013
What Are Practical Reasons? Explaining the Counting in Favor of Relation
Advisor: Pamela Hieronymi
Present Position: Trinity University (tenure-track)
Diane Kierce, Ph.D. 2013
Deciding What Is Best for the Child: The Ethics of Different-Child Choices in Reproductive Selection
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Present Position: Nordstrom (Marketing Technology Data Analyst)
Michael Lopez, Ph.D. 2013
The Nature of Indoctrination and Its Role in a Proper Education
Advisor: Calvin Normore
Present Position: Lopez, Bark & Schulz LLP (Partner)
Yannig Luthra, Ph.D. 2013
Embodied Rational Agency
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: University College London (Teaching Fellow)
Youichi Matsusaka, Ph.D. 2013
A Theory of Direct Discourse: Its Semantics and Pragmatics
Advisor: David Kaplan
Present Position: Tokyo Metropolitan University (tenured)
Eliot Michaelson, Ph.D. 2013
This and That: On the Semantics and Pragmatics of Highly Context Sensitive Terms
Advisor: Sam Cumming and David Kaplan
Past Position: McGill University (two-year post doc, Mellon)
Present Position: Kings College London (permanent post)
Eileen Nutting, Ph.D. 2013
Understanding Arithmetic through Definitions
Advisor: Tony Martin
Present Position: University of Kansas (tenured)
Gabriel Rabin, Ph.D. 2013
Mind, Modality, and Meaning: Towards a Rationalist Physicalism
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: Australian National University (one-year post doc)
Present Position: NYU, Abu Dhabi (tenured)
Ira Richardson, Ph.D. 2013
The Morality of Mental Practical Action
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Luca Struble, Ph.D. 2013
Anti-Individualism and Epistemic Transparency: Common Sense Rationalism about Univocal Reasoning
Advisor: Tyler Burge
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Past Position: Pomona College (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Present Position: UCLA Extension (Instructor)
2012 Ph.D.’s
Mandel Cabrera, Ph.D. 2012
Natural Unity and Human Nature
Advisor: Joseph Almog and Barbara Herman
Past Position: Auburn University (Instructor)
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Past Position: UIC, Yonsei University (Asst. Prof., renewable)
Present Position: UIC, Yonsei University (tenure-track)
Tilda Cvrkel, Ph.D. 2012
Mitigation, Deliberation, and Moral Assessment
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Present Position: UCLA Dept. of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (Lecturer)
David Goldman, Ph.D. 2012
The Justification of Antagonistic Response to Wrongdoing
Advisor: Pamela Hieronymi
Past Position: Yale University (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Past Position: The Ohio State University (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Past Position: UCLA Extension (Program Director)
Present Position: Rutgers University (Associate Director of Undergraduate Education)
Sarah Jansen, Ph.D. 2012
Plato and Popular Poetry
Advisor: Gavin Lawrence
Past Position: Carleton College (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Past Position: Carleton College (tenure-track)
Present Position: Northern Arizona University
Ari Lev, Ph.D. 2012
Active Parts of the World
Advisor: Joseph Almog, John Carriero
Jessica Pepp, Ph.D. 2012
Locating Semantic Reference
Advisor: Joseph Almog
Past Position: McGill University (Lectureship)
Past Position: University of Oslo (post doc)
Present Position: Uppsala University (Researcher)
Alexandru Radulescu, Ph.D. 2012
The Logic of Indexicals
Advisor: David Kaplan
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Present Position: University of Missouri (tenured)
Stephen White, Ph.D. 2012
Friendship, Beneficence, and the Self
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Present Position: Northwestern University (tenured)
2011 Ph.D.’s
Sarah Coolidge, Ph.D. 2011
From Concepts to Cosmos
Advisor: Joseph Almog, John Carriero
Present Position: Behavioral Health Specialist, SOME (So Others Might Eat)
Kristina Gehrman, Ph.D. 2011
Bringing Values Down to Earth
Advisor: Gavin Lawrence
Past Position: Miami University of Ohio (tenure-track)
Present Position: University of Tennessee, Knoxville (tenured)
Christopher Ba-Thi Nguyen, Ph.D. 2011
The Ethics of Uncertainty
Advisor: Barbara Herman
Past Position: California State University, Fullerton (Lectureship)
Past Position: Utah Valley University (tenured)
Present Position: University of Utah (tenured)
Jesse Summers, Ph.D. 2011
Addiction as Compulsive Misvaluation
Advisor: Pamela Hieronymi
Past Position: Rice University (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Present Position: Duke University (Lecturing Fellow)
Thomas Ward, Ph.D. 2011
The Hylomorphism of John Duns Scotus
Advisor: Calvin Normore
Past Position: Azusa Pacific University (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Present Position: Baylor University (tenure-track)
Julie Wulfemeyer, Ph.D. 2011
Bound Cognition and Referential Uses of Language
Advisor: Joseph Almog
Past Position: Colgate University (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Past Position: Minnesota State, Mankato (Visiting Asst. Prof.)
Present Position: Minnesota State, Mankato (tenured)
2010 Ph.D.’s
Jorah Dannenberg, Ph.D. 2010
Promising as Paradigm
Advisors: Joseph Almog and Seana Shiffrin
Past Position: UCLA (Lecturer)
Past Position: Stanford University (two-year post doc)
Past Position: Stanford University (tenure-track)
Present Position: Brandeis University (tenure-track)