Current instructor

Alfred Mccoy

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.19/5 from 58 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

HIST375 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
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.
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HIST319 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Attend lecture and you will fall in love with it all. Legend.
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HIST375 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Best history class in the department
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HIST375 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
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.
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HIST375 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
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.
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319 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
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!
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Alfred Mccoy

ASIAN/HISTORY 319

The Vietnam Wars

3–4 credits

Explores the prolonged cycle of wars in Vietnam and its neighbors from 1940 to the present, examining both local and U.S. perspectives.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Alfred Mccoy is described as a great lecturer with organized, passionate teaching, though his fast-paced, slide-free style may be challenging. One review also warns against discussion TA Sinae Hyun, citing unreasonable expectations and an arrogant attitude.

Alfred MccoyEthan Moreland

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025
HISTORY 600

Advanced Seminar in History

3 credits

An advanced seminar focusing on the development of research skills and intensive writing through the analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

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).

Brandon BlochPatrick Iber+6 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026
HISTORY 682

Senior Honors Thesis

1–3 credits

HISTORY 682 is a mentored independent research and thesis writing course for honors students, requiring concurrent enrollment in HISTORY 680.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Stephen KantrowitzAllison Useche+34 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
HISTORY 699

Directed Study

1–4 credits

HISTORY 699 is a directed study course allowing students to conduct independent research under faculty supervision.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Stephen KantrowitzGiuliana Chamedes+44 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
HISTORY 755

Proseminar in Southeast Asian History

1–3 credits

A proseminar introducing modern Southeast Asian history through research in English-language sources.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

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).

Alfred Mccoy

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample
HISTORY 999

Independent Work

1–6 credits

HISTORY 999 is an independent work course involving directed study under faculty supervision.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=3 letter grades).

Stephen KantrowitzGiuliana Chamedes+54 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026ASIAN/HISTORY 319The Vietnam Wars
Fall 2026HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2026HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 698Directed Study
Fall 2026HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2026HISTORY 755Proseminar in Southeast Asian History
Fall 2026HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 999Independent Work

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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