Undergraduate Student Groups for Philosophy Students

Undergraduate Philosophy Association (UPA)

The Undergraduate Philosophy Association (UPA) at UT Austin aims to build a vibrant community of undergraduate students who are widely interested in the many fields of philosophy. Our organization’s main focus is the operation and publication of Ex Nihilo, the undergraduate philosophy journal at UT Austin. The organization serves to create a space for students to develop their passion for philosophy, become better writers, and engage with like-minded peers in both educational and social settings. With this organization, we hope to aid undergraduates in becoming familiar and more adept with the process for publishing academic work, while also engaging the broader campus community with academic philosophy from their peers.

If you would like any more information concerning UPA, please contact us via utexasupa@gmail.com.

Ex Nihilo

Ex Nihilo is a student-run philosophy journal that seeks to serve as a platform for undergraduate philosophy essays of exceptional quality. The journal is published by the Undergraduate Philosophy Association (UPA), and its support comes from the Department of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin.

Our goal is to highlight the philosophical contributions of today’s undergraduate students. We strive towards creating a space for students to develop their passion for philosophy and become better writers as we work with the finalists to refine and edit their essays for publication. We want to make philosophy more accessible to all those interested, and we believe that this journal is a great place to start.

We invite all undergraduate students to submit their philosophy-related essay for consideration to be published in our journal, Ex Nihilo. We welcome essays from any field within philosophy, including those topics on the margins. See the information below for details on submitting your work for publication.

Submission Guidelines

Eligibility

We welcome submissions by undergraduates of any major, from any institution. Submissions must be in English, although minor, incidental uses of other languages, especially when relevant to the paper, will not be disqualifying. If you are planning to submit your paper to other publications in addition to Ex Nihilo, please keep us up-to-date on the status of your entries. Each applicant may submit up to 2 papers for consideration, though only one may be published.

Submissions

The following requirements must be met in order for a submission to be considered for publication:

• Author must be an undergraduate student at the time of submission
• Entries must address a philosophical topic
• Entries must be of original work
• Entries must be within 1,500 and 5,000 words
• Abstracts must not exceed 250 words
• Please ensure your entry follows these formatting guidelines:
• Must follow the Chicago Manual of Style
• Must be formatted in Times New Roman, 12 pt, double-spaced
• Must be submitted as a PDF, .doc, or .docx file

Peer Review

Please note that for any paper chosen for publication, Ex Nihilo's Editors will offer multiple rounds of comments and revisions. As such, authors should be prepared for a significant amount of correspondence and editing throughout the editorial process.

Maintaining Anonymity

Our process for reviewing submissions aims to eliminate any reader bias through our anonymous submission process. We ask that you do not include any identifying information on your submission, and that you include identifying information in the body of the email you submit.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Gulraiz Ali (he/him)
Editor-in-Chief, President of UPA

Madison Mallett (she/her)
Editor-in-Chief, Vice President of UPA

Armchair Philosophy

Armchair Philosophy Club (APC) is dedicated to providing a space for dialogue among philosophy majors and non-majors alike. Philosophy is an interdisciplinary subject that greatly benefits from diverse perspectives on topics ranging from whether birds are real to the morality of artificial intelligence. We greatly appreciate members from different backgrounds representing diverse ways of thinking, and we try to minimize jargon and heavy readings to create a more inclusive community. With weekly meetings, socials, and guest speaker events, we aim to create a community for conversations that really make you think. We would love to have you show up and ponder life and existence with us regardless of whether you’re a fourth-year philosophy major or have no idea what philosophy is (or anywhere in between)!

Please email apcataustin@gmail.com for more information, and to join the Discord and GroupMe!