Philosophy at Columbia University
Home to a distinguished tradition of philosophical research and teaching, the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University provides a comprehensive academic atmosphere for pursuing advanced study in a wide range of philosophical subjects and methods—systematic, analytic, and historical. The Department has a faculty with an unusually broad range of interests and areas of expertise that span the main periods of the history of western philosophy and nearly every major area of contemporary philosophical debate.
Department News
Professor Akeel Bilgrami receives Center for Political Economy Faculty Grant
Professor Bilgrami’s research project, titled “The Instability of Constraints on Capital,” is affiliated with the Political Economy and Democracy Initiative. The grant is administered through the Columbia World Projects. It supports new knowledge and networks that facilitate the exchange of discoveries, accelerate the identification of key challenges, and open up the methods that scholars use.
Professor Francey Russell receives Barnard’s 2025 Gladys Brooks Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
Congratulations to Prof. Russell! Established at Barnard in 1989 by the Gladys Brooks Foundation, this award recognizes considerable individual achievements of tenure-track/tenure-eligible assistant professor. Please see this page for more information.
Congratulations to our Class of 2025 Graduates and Essay Prize Winners!
The Department of Philosophy is proud of our Class of 2025 majors, concentrators, and recipients of MA and PhD degrees. We warmly congratulate them on their accomplishments and hard work. We also congratulate the following students for earning the following prizes and distinctions.
Departmental Honors
Nathan Darmon (GS)
Varun Mandgi (GS)
Oliver Rice (CC)
Elias Wachtel (CC)
Adam Leroy Jones Prize
Zimu Zhang (CC) - "Why nonlocality and nonseparability does not suggest monism."