prospective students

Eligibility

SPAWP welcomes applications from undergraduates who are interested in pursuing graduate study in philosophy; though the program is open to students of all genders we seek students with a demonstrated commitment to advancing historically under-represented genders in the field of philosophy. Applicants must be currently enrolled in an accredited college or university.  Preference will be given to applicants who will have just finished their penultimate year (typically: junior year) at the time of the program. Those who have finished their sophomore year are also eligible, as are students who will have graduated by the time of the program but will not be attending graduate school the subsequent fall. For those who are not eligible but are planning to apply to graduate school, check out past SPAWP workshops on our YouTube channel.

Attending

Students admitted to SPAWP will have their transportation costs reimbursed (up to $500), will be provided with housing and meals on the UC San Diego campus for the duration of the program, will have all reading materials needed for coursework provided electronically, and will receive a $200 allowance for incidentals during their visit.

The two program courses will alternate meeting each day during the ten days, with breaks for meals and also time reserved each day for group workshops.

In addition there will be several group recreational activities during the program (costs fully covered). In past years, activities have included: visiting the San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park, the San Diego Zoo; a day at the beach with kayaking; and more!

Criteria

While academic ability and philosophical promise are the main criteria for selection, the selection committee will also give some additional weight to applicants who come from colleges or universities with smaller or more limited resources (e.g., with very small philosophy departments that are unable to offer the same range of courses as larger departments), and also to applicants who have encountered factors that present hardships to their pursuit of higher education (including financial and cultural factors). (Note: while these latter criteria will be considered and given some weight in the selection process, they are not necessary for admission to the program.)

Study

SPAWP is part of a long-term study designed to determine the effectiveness of programs such as this in helping undergraduate women who wish to pursue careers in academic philosophy to succeed (UCSD IRB 140036XX). Applications who are selected as participants should understand that they will be asked to complete a brief anonymous survey 1-2 times per year in the years following their participation in the program. The questions asked on the survey will exclusively concern the participant’s academic career, including how many graduate programs they applied to; which programs they were accepted at, which program they entered; if and when they completed the doctoral degree; and what kinds of job offers they received after completing graduate studies. There may be additional questions of the same general sort added to these surveys as needed to ensure that the study is able to track the data required to determine the program’s effectiveness. It may also be the case that some applicants who did not participate in the program will be asked to complete a similar survey. The surveys are anonymous. The program has no need for or interest in collecting information that is tied to identified individuals. All that is necessary for assessing the program’s effectiveness is statistical information about the average progress of the participants as a whole.

Application

Go to the main Application page to find instructions on how to apply — and good luck!