Maybe the best Professor in the department is in the running for the school. Knows everything about what he teaches and then some. Will stop the lecture sometimes to talk about his personal interactions with important historical figures. Extremely dense lectures and lots of content that is sometimes hard to follow.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Alfred Mccoy
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Attend lecture and you will fall in love with it all. Legend.Rate My Professors ↗
Best history class in the departmentRate My Professors ↗
Prof. McCoy is great and is a top-tier lecturer He has tons of interesting stories and he presents history in a uniquely dramatic way. Pretty funny too. Readings are pretty dense but are always on topic.Rate My Professors ↗
Prof McCoy is extremely knowledgeable and keeps lectures engaging, but he doesn't use slides besides for pictures so lectures can be hard to follow (my TA made a lecture guide which was extremly helpful). One of the most rewarding yet difficult classes I have taken at UW. Would recomend for serious history majors.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor McCoy is an amazing lecturer, he really cares and understands about the content of the course. He tells stories about his time in Vietnam researching and other fun stories! A must take teacher even if you arent a history major!Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Alfred Mccoy
An advanced seminar where students apply research skills to a historical topic, producing a project with original analysis through intensive writing and discussion.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.86 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=11 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.75 GPA, 92.9% A/AB (n=14 letter grades); Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=13 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Senior Honors Thesis
1–3 creditsSenior Honors Thesis involves mentored independent research and thesis writing on an original topic for honors students.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Senior Honors Thesis
1–3 creditsSenior Honors Thesis involves mentored independent research and thesis writing on an original topic for honors.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Senior Thesis
1–3 creditsThe Senior Thesis course involves mentored independent research and writing on an original topic, requiring concurrent enrollment in HISTORY 690.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Senior Thesis
1–3 creditsSenior Thesis involves mentored research and writing on an original topic in History.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Directed Study
1–4 creditsDirected study in history conducted under the supervision of a faculty member, graded on a lettered basis.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Introductory seminar in modern Southeast Asian history; work mostly in English-language sources.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2017: 3.92 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades); Fall 2019: 3.90 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2025–Fall 2025 · limited sampleResearch and Thesis
1–9 creditsResearch and Thesis involves independent research and writing of a thesis under the supervision of a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Independent Work
1–6 creditsINDEPENDENT WORK is directed study under the supervision of a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=3 letter grades).
No recorded grade history
The Cold War from WWII to the end of the Soviet Empire, exploring geopolitics, ideology, and covert operations across five continents using diverse sources.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.71 GPA, 85.2% A/AB (n=61 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.87 GPA, 95.5% A/AB (n=67 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.93 GPA, 95.8% A/AB (n=120 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 755 | Proseminar in Southeast Asian History |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
| Spring 2027 | HISTORY/INTLST 375 | The Cold War - From World War II to End of Soviet Empire |
| Fall 2026 | ASIAN/HISTORY 319 | The Vietnam Wars |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 600 | Advanced Seminar in History |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 698 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 755 | Proseminar in Southeast Asian History |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | HISTORY 999 | Independent Work |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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