The Theresa Symons Philosophy Trust (the Trust) was established by the estate of the late Paul Symons to honour the memory of his mother, Theresa Symons. The Trust funds up to three postgraduate scholarships annually, known as the Theresa Symons Postgraduate Scholarships in Philosophy, for qualified students wishing to pursue a higher degree by research in philosophy at The University of Western Australia.
Christopher Paul Castairs Symons, who preferred to be called "Paul", was a philosophy student from the mid 1950s through to the early 1960s. He matriculated from St Charles Seminary. His Master’s thesis title is "The Composite Nature of Man according to Aquinas and Descartes", supervised by S A Grave. Paul requested to graduate from the School of Philosophy rather than the School of Psychology in 1957 and was granted his request. He achieved his MA in Philosophy in 1961. He continued to show a keen interest in the Department of Philosophy by maintaining contact with the staff up until 2001.
It is as a direct result of Paul Symons’ high regard for his teachers and for the subject of philosophy that he made this bequest in memory of his mother.