Historical instructor

DAVID MCDONALD

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.29/5 from 21 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

HIST201 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
The best lecturer I've experienced. He's extremely knowledgable and passionate about his work, and he's approachable for questions/feedback about assignments. His grading policies are firm but fair - overall a fantastic professor!
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HIST201 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
This class is an insane amount of work, but professor McDonald goes out of his way to make himself accessible to you and will go above and beyond to help you succeed if you take the initiative. I learned and grew so much from this class. He shows genuine interest in your life and really cares about his students. One of the best profs I've had.
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HIS418 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
He doesn't really use the board or powerpoints in lecture. He just speaks which can sometimes be difficult to follow. Would recommend following along with the required readings from the textbook, and the additional readings he posted are helpful for the papers. Was graded on 2 papers, 1 midterm paper, an in class final and a final paper.
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HIST417 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Took this class sometime. Professor McDonald is, hands down, the best lecturer on campus. Easy to approach, eager to help if you demonstrate initiative. His lecture on Rasputin remains the best I heard during my four years in Madison. Highly recommended.
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HIST417 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
He's an old-styled lecturer, so you'll have to listen to what he says to take notes in lectures. He is without a doubt an expert in Russian history and an amazing orator. Papers were fair as long as you read and went to lecture. For the final he gives out a very helpful study guide. If you're interested in taking Russian history, take his classes!
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HISTORY 417
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor McDonald is super interesting. He knows his material really well and presents it with the competency of someone who's been doing it for along time. He's extremely helpful, but don't be fool because he grades papers hard. So put a lot of time and effort into writing them.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with DAVID MCDONALD

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2025HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2025HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2024HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2024HISTORY 201The Historian's Craft
Spring 2024HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2023HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2023HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2023HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2023HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2022HISTORY 201The Historian's Craft
Fall 2022HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2022HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2022HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2022HISTORY 420Russian Social and Intellectual History
Spring 2022HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2022HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2022HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2022HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2021HISTORY 418History of Russia
Fall 2021HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2021HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2021HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2021HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2020HISTORY 201The Historian's Craft
Fall 2020HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2020HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2020HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2020HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2020HISTORY 201The Historian's Craft
Spring 2020HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2020HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2020HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2019HISTORY 418History of Russia
Fall 2019HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2019HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2019HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2019HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2019HISTORY 753Seminar-comparative World History
Spring 2019HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2018HISTORY 417History of Russia
Fall 2018HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2018HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2018HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018HISTORY 418History of Russia
Spring 2018HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2018HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2018HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2018HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2017HISTORY 201The Historian's Craft
Fall 2017HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2017HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2017HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2017HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2017HISTORY 200Historical Studies
Spring 2017HISTORY 417History of Russia
Spring 2017HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2017HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2017HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2017HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2016HISTORY 200Historical Studies
Fall 2016HISTORY 201The Historian's Craft
Fall 2016HISTORY 418History of Russia
Fall 2016HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2016HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2016HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2016HISTORY 283Intermediate Honors Seminar-studies in History
Spring 2016HISTORY 417History of Russia
Spring 2016HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Spring 2016HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2016HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2016HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2015HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2015HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2015HISTORY 283Intermediate Honors Seminar-studies in History
Spring 2015HISTORY 418History of Russia
Spring 2015HISTORY 699Directed Study
Spring 2015HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2014HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2014HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2014HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2014HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2013HISTORY 417History of Russia
Fall 2013HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2013HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2013HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2013HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2013HISTORY 420Russian Social and Intellectual History
Spring 2013HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2013HISTORY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2013HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2013HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2012HISTORY 418History of Russia
Fall 2012HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History
Fall 2012HISTORY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2012HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2012HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2012HISTORY 999Independent Work
Spring 2012HISTORY 417History of Russia
Spring 2012HISTORY 600Advanced Seminar in History

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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