Berkeley PhD Tutor for Test Prep, German, Philosophy, and Logic

Pia S.

I am a big-time learner. I love how learning new topics opens up new worlds, how one starts to see familiar things in a new light, and how everything gains new meaning.

I recently finished my PhD in philosophy at UC Berkeley, which brought me to the US in 2016. I'm originally from Germany, where I earned my BA in German Studies — but philosophy classes I took along the way, especially in logic, sent me down a different path for graduate school. That path led to a Master's in Logic and Philosophy of Science, and then a PhD at Berkeley, where I became drawn to Kant's theoretical philosophy; my dissertation focused on his Critique of Pure Reason.

Teaching has been central to my time at Berkeley: over a nine-year span there, including a one-year interruption as a visiting scholar at Harvard, I taught 22 courses in ethics, metaphysics, logic, aesthetics, and the history of philosophy — some as Primary Instructor, designing the course and exams myself, and most as a Graduate Student Instructor, breaking down lecture material in discussion sections. I've graded thousands of essays along the way, and in 2021 I received the Graduate Student Instructor award for my teaching.

When I tutor, my goal is the one I carried into every discussion section: breaking down overwhelming material into pieces a student can work with. I tailor sessions to each student, whether that means close-reading dense writing, building a logic proof step by step, or workshopping a philosophy essay. My essay-grading experience gives me a clear sense of what strengthens an argument, and I bring that same eye to TOEFL prep, having taken the exam myself as an international applicant. Since German is my native language, I also teach it, from grammar and conversation to literature and exam prep. Whatever you're working on — philosophy, logic, reading, essay writing, TOEFL, or German — feel free to reach out.