Description
In 2013, the Philosophy for Children Fellowship Program for graduate students was established at the University of Washington. These fellowships are open to graduate students in the Department of Philosophy or the College of Education.
Fellows are involved primarily in the Center’s “Philosophers in the Schools” program, which sends UW graduate and undergraduate students into Seattle K-12 schools to lead philosophy sessions, as well as the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl and other related activities.
Each Philosophy for Children fellowship is currently $4,000.

Fellow Responsibilities
- Enrollment in our fall quarter course (PHIL 205, Philosophy for Children, taken as PHIL 584), our winter quarter course (PHIL 205, Philosophy for Children Practicum, taken as PHIL 584), and our spring graduate Philosophical Inquiry in Schools course, PHIL 595.
- Involvement in teaching philosophy in Seattle schools and mentoring undergraduate students involved in the “Philosophers in the Schools” program.
- Participation in the Washington State High School Ethics Bowl, including helping to organize the event and attendance and involvement at the competition.
Total time commitment is expected to be an average of 5 hours per week (not including attendance in the philosophy for children courses) for the three quarters of the academic year.
Apply Online
Instructions & Application
The fellowship application process consists of the following:
- Please submit a one-page statement describing your interest in being involved in the “Philosophers in the Schools” program. Please include complete and current contact information. Experience in philosophy, K-12 teaching or philosophy for children is not required for this fellowship.
- Each applicant should attach to his or her statement one letter of support from a faculty member in the applicant’s department who can speak to the student’s suitability for this fellowship. If you are not yet at UW, please submit a letter of support from a faculty member at another institution.
Deadline
All application materials must be submitted electronically each year by May 20.
2018-19 Fellows
Elina Castellano Tejada

Department of Philosophy
Elina Castellano is a first generation college student and a 1st-year Philosophy PhD student. Before attending UW, Elina got her bachelors degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. There she was able to be part of the Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program and because of the help she got from them, she realized the importance of helping minorities and students of color succeed. With this same mindset, Elina wishes to help children, especially children of color, to understand that their questions and opinions matter.
Ari Hock

College of Education
Ari Hock is a 2nd-year PhD student in the College of Education. He is interested in how people learn with digital technologies in informal environments and across settings. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, Ari worked on the digital marketing team at KaBOOM!, a non-profit that builds playspaces in underserved communities. Ari is focused on helping children realize their philosophical proclivities by building skills related to listening, analyzing, and communicating.
Nic Jones

Department of Philosophy
Nic Jones is a second-year Philosophy PhD student and a second-year P4C fellow. They have worked as a TA at the UW in introductory philosophy of science and introductory logic courses, as well as through the Robinson Center on campus teaching philosophy to middle and early high schoolers. Before attending UW, they spent four years teaching as an SI leader at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in a variety of subjects including psychology, sociology, economics, and statistics. Nic’s greatest joy when teaching is seeing students break out of rote memorization and start to think critically about whatever topic is at hand.
Philosophy for Children Graduate Fellows
2019-2020Elina Castellano
Emily Fuller
Ari Hock
Nic Jones
2018-2019
Natalie Janson
Nic Jones
Jordan Sherry-Wagner
Christina Zaccagnino
2017-2018
Natalie Janson
Jordan Sherry-Wagner
Christina Zaccagnino
2016-2017
Bridget DuRuz
Darcy McCusker
David Phelps
2015-2016
Bridget DuRuz
Joey Miller
Dustin Schmidt
Debi Talukdar
2014-2015
Di’ Anna Duran
Janice Moskalik
Debi Talukdar
2013-2014
Janice Moskalik
Alain Sykes