Michigan supports the study of philosophy in a variety of ways. There is a full schedule of talks given by visiting philosophers. Graduate students organize the annual Spring Colloquium which features presentations by three philosophers and comments by our graduate students. Michigan is, as well, one of nine institutions world-wide that hosts the annual Tanner Lecture for Human Values. Each year we invite a major intellectual figure to give the Tanner Lecture, which is followed by an interdisciplinary symposium involving distinguished scholars from around the world. In addition, Michigan has been host to a series of talks in ancient philosophy, co-sponsored by the Departments of Philosophy and Classical Studies.
As important as formal philosophical events are, informal philosophical exchange within the Department is more important still. Faculty members are readily accessible; they tend to live near campus and work in their offices, often with doors open. The Graduate Student Working Group meets frequently to discuss work in progress. Joint student-faculty discussion groups frequently develop and meet periodically on specific topics (See the Groups page).
Graduate students actively participate in Department governance. Two graduate student representatives serve on the Department's Executive Committee, and another serves on the Department's Graduate Studies Committee.
