Alternate Placements for Philosophy Ph. D. s: Strategies for Success at MSU
James Nelson
Abstract of Presentation
Tenure stream appointments in academic departments concordant with student education continue to be seen as the natural telos of graduate education in the humanities. In general terms, philosophy has been no exception to this trend; my disciplinary colleagues, by and large, still think in these terms. However, my departmental colleagues at MSU have been willing to take advantage of trends in the field. In the non-profit sector, Ph. D. trained people with writing skills are in high demand, and our Environmental Faculty have been tailoring to their approach to graduate education to specifically help graduate students become " change agents," so they can sell themselves as being able to do basic organizational work as well.
Our students have also been working to develop their skills as grants writers, which will help them be competitive for these positions. There are private and government funded programs that include positions for“ environmental educators”, too. Our graduates will be able to make a strong case for filling many such positions. xx