Being a teaching professor in the University of California (UC) system is a bit like being a professor at a liberal arts college, but with teaching assistants and other forms of support typical of research universities. I teach two undergrad classes every quarter, or six a year. The main difference with most of my colleagues is that they teach four classes a year, one of which is typically a graduate class. Otherwise our jobs are very similar.

Being a teaching professor in the UC system is pretty great! To my knowledge, only three other philosophers have ever held such a position. One is my colleague Reuven Brandt. Another is David Jennings at UC Merced. Mara Harrell, now at the University of Virginia, was also a teaching professor when she was my departmental colleague at UCSD. Check out the journal Mara edits, Teaching Philosophy, for great articles on the theory and practice of teaching.

Classes I regularly teach include Topics in Political Philosophy; Contemporary Moral Issues; Ethics and Society I and II; Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics; and Philosophy & Literature. In 2026 I’m excited to be teaching a brand new class, Philosophy & Animals.