Financial Aid

The UNM Department of Philosophy admits students to its Ph.D. program only if it has a reasonable expectation that it will be able to provide five years of full financial support which may be pro-rated for students who have already completed some graduate work in philosophy. The support may be in the form either of a Philosophy Teaching Assistantship (TA-ship) or an English TA-ship (teaching freshman English courses). TA-ships carry a stipend of at least $20,252 (2024-2025 academic year) and a tuition waiver. Philosophy TA’s serve as graders for Philosophy 1115, Introduction to Philosophy, their first semester and teach one section of Philosophy 1120, Logic, Reasoning, and Critical Thinking, in subsequent semesters. Philosophy graduate students supported by English TA-ships teach English 1110, Composition I, and English 1120, Composition II, in the English Department. It is possible that students who enter the program supported by English TA-ships may have the opportunity of switching over to Philosophy TA-ships in subsequent years, given the availability of such TA-ships.

Doctoral students are also eligible for the Gwen J. Barrett Memorial Fellowship, a dissertation fellowship which is available to Ph.D. students in their fifth year. More information is available on our Fellowships Page.

Advanced doctoral students may also apply for the Russel J. and Dorothy S. Bilinski Fellowship established through the College of Arts & Sciences.  More information is available on the "Fellowships" page of the Arts & Sciences website.

Ph.D. students who are in the process of writing a dissertation also may be eligible, by nomination of the department, for the Graduate Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship.

Currently there is no departmentally funded financial aid available for M.A. students in their first year. Many M.A. students, however, are given tuition waivers in their second year upon establishing residency. Also, grading positions and half TA-ships are sometimes offered to M.A. students in their second and subsequent years.

The Office of Graduate Studies has a number of funding programs available to Ph.D. and M.A. students. Many of these programs allow for direct student application. For more information on these programs, please visit the Funding Resources section of the Office of Graduate Studies website.

Minority Support

The UNM Department of Philosophy has always had a significant number of minority students in its graduate program. Financial aid opportunities for minorities are provided through UNM's Office of Graduate Studies.

Travel Awards

The Philosophy Department is pleased to announce that all current UNM Philosophy graduate students and all current UNM undergraduate students with a declared major in Philosophy are eligible to apply for Philosophy Travel Awards. These awards have been made available to assist students who are speaking at professional Philosophy conferences.

Depending on the availability of funds, the standard Travel Award will be $500. Priority will be given to applicants who have not previously been granted a Travel Award and, typically, a student will not be granted more than two Travel Awards per academic year. Final decisions about these awards will be made by the Chair of Philosophy.

Philosophy Travel Awards may be processed as a reimbursement or as a scholarship. If the award is processed as a scholarship, funds will be posted to an awardee's Bursars Account. The Department Administrator in Philosophy will contact awardees to let them know how their award will be processed.

To be considered for a Philosophy Travel Award:

- You must be a current UNM Philosophy graduate student or a current UNM undergraduate student with a declared major in Philosophy.

- You must be in good academic standing.

- You must be presenting a paper or a commentary at a professional Philosophy conference.

- You must submit a Philosophy Travel Award Application Form, and all the supporting materials listed on the application form, by the deadlines stated below. Submission instructions are included on the first page of the form. If you are awaiting a decision from the conference organizers, you may still submit an application. In this case, an award may be granted contingent on your paper being accepted for the conference program.

- You must apply for travel funding from the Student Conference Award Program (S-CAP) offered through UNM's Office of Career Services and, if you are a current Philosophy graduate student, you must also apply for a Student Research Grant (SRG) through UNM's Graduate and Professional Student Association (GPSA).

- You must submit a Travel Award Reimbursement Form, along with receipts and all the supporting materials listed on the reimbursement form, within seven business days of the end date of the conference. Submission instructions are included on the first page of the form.

Application Deadlines

Conference dates are between 16 September and 15 January
Submission deadline: 15 August

Conference dates are between 16 January and 15 May
Submission deadline: 15 December

Conference dates are between 16 May and 15 September
Submission deadline: 15 April