Current instructor

Cindy Cheng

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.28/5 from 78 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

ASIANAM/HISTORY 161
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
I enjoyed Professor Cheng's lectures, the material was interesting and thought-provoking. As long as you do the readings and take notes during lecture you should do well on the exams. Don't let the no-tech policy scare you away, I found that writing things down by hand made me retain the info better anyway. Would definitely take again!
Rate My Professors ↗
ASIANAM/HISTORY 160
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
She's very sweet :) Her lectures were very fascinating and I learned A LOT. This class went so well I decided to minor in Asian American Studies. Her no-tech policy can make some people groan, but it's there for a reason + to help you pay attention and succeed. Readings are dense, but skimming will be okay since most of it's covered in lecture.
Rate My Professors ↗
ASIANAM/HISTORY 160
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Professor Cheng is super awesome! Her lectures are super helpful and as long as you take notes and understand, you'll do well. Readings can be heavy, but most of it is unpacked during lecture or discussion. Overall a super good class and I would def recommend!
Rate My Professors ↗
ASIANAM/HISTORY 160
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
I enjoyed listening to her lectures, she made them very interesting! The class was overall pretty easy as long as you do the homework readings. Extra credit opportunities were provided, and attendance was randomly taken in certain lectures as a part of your grade.
Rate My Professors ↗
HIST160 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Amazing professor - few tests and no other homework. Very interesting material
Rate My Professors ↗
HIS160 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
Lots of readings and if you want to do well you have to read it all. You are given all the possible exam questions before each of the 2 non-cumalative exam which is nice and there are 2 simple essays along with multiple extra credit opportunites. You will be called out for using any tech in class. Lectures can be boring/take longer then needed.
Rate My Professors ↗

Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Cindy Cheng

ASIANAM/HISTORY 161

Asian American History: Settlement and National Belonging

3–4 credits

Explores Asian American settlement and national belonging, focusing on social, cultural, and political citizenship, diaspora, transnationality, and place.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Cindy Cheng

Cindy Cheng provided all exam questions and graded papers generously, making the class easy, though one student found it boring.

Cindy Cheng

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2025–Spring 2026 · limited sample
HISTORY 600

Advanced Seminar in History

3 credits

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 2012: 3.85 GPA, 92.3% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Spring 2013: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=14 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.92 GPA, 94.4% A/AB (n=18 letter grades).

Eric CarlssonCindy Cheng+7 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
HISTORY 691

Senior Thesis

1–3 credits

The Senior Thesis course involves mentored independent research and writing on an original topic, requiring concurrent enrollment in HISTORY 690.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Stephen KantrowitzCindy Cheng+22 more

No recorded grade history

HISTORY 699

Directed Study

1–4 credits

Directed study in history conducted under the supervision of a faculty member, graded on a lettered basis.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=2 letter grades).

Stephen KantrowitzChad Goldberg+40 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027ASIANAM/HISTORY 161Asian American History: Settlement and National Belonging
Spring 2027HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2027HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2027HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2027HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2026ASIANAM/HISTORY 160Asian American History: Movement and Dislocation
Fall 2026HISTORY 100Historical Studies: Introductory
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 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 999Independent Work

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_bf649d2f9d0bc6549a10acab",
  "source": "enrollment",
  "source_instructor_id": "cicheng",
  "identity_basis": "netid",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "Cindy Cheng",
  "email": "CICHENG@WISC.EDU",
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 78,
    "quality": 4.28,
    "difficulty": 2.33,
    "quality_count": 78,
    "difficulty_count": 78,
    "profile_id": "rmp:1555222",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1555222",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 19:20:55.816911+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_51bcfac615ac0e8f336cd98b": {
        "review_count": 2,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 1.5,
        "quality_count": 2,
        "difficulty_count": 2
      },
      "course_a08c002b9c02a82e43021507": {
        "review_count": 15,
        "quality": 4.6,
        "difficulty": 2.07,
        "quality_count": 15,
        "difficulty_count": 15
      },
      "course_9bb6d60733633321d297ed75": {
        "review_count": 2,
        "quality": 3,
        "difficulty": 3,
        "quality_count": 2,
        "difficulty_count": 2
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 4.153304812346218,
    "prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "current": true,
  "courses": [
    {
      "course_uid": "course_26a5f5c1d5cb3b7f4ebb4a9b",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 600",
      "title": "ADVANCED SEMINAR IN HISTORY",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 3.617
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_3b97b068160d601be814baa5",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 699",
      "title": "DIRECTED STUDY",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 4,
      "gpa": 3.797
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_51bcfac615ac0e8f336cd98b",
      "course_id": "ASIANAM/HISTORY 161",
      "title": "ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY: SETTLEMENT AND NATIONAL BELONGING",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 4,
      "gpa": 3.656
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_6432520b02cd7934abbfcd3f",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 682",
      "title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 3.763
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_8778fa7b5b565bca47ade417",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 681",
      "title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 4
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_97935a61b1c6b838f99ceb60",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 691",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_9ece8db211897864d843d882",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 990",
      "title": "RESEARCH AND THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 9,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_a5cb188042700b0c351bcea5",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 692",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_f3c5da1f78bad390731fed93",
      "course_id": "HISTORY 999",
      "title": "INDEPENDENT WORK",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 6,
      "gpa": 3.953
    }
  ],
  "revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/CINDY_CHENG"
}