 Wilson was awarded the "Lebowitz Prize" for excellence in philosophical thought by Phi Beta Kappa in conjunction with the American Philosophical Association.Wilson received her baccalaureate summa cum laude in mathematics from the University of California, San Diego in 1987, before starting a doctorate program in philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1994, and eventually receiving her doctorate in philosophy from Cornell University in 2001.Wilson accepted an appointment as the William Wilhartz Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan in 2002, before moving to the University of Toronto, Scarborough in 2005.