Current instructor

Jesse Steinberg

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.40/5 from 15 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

PHIL541 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Jesse is a really cool guy (restauranteur + band member) and he evidently cares about teaching. He is very approachable and his readings are all of appropriate length. His ability to clarify complex arguments was useful which is why I wish he dedicated less time to class discussion which and more to lecturing
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PHIL541 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
The course was entirely discussion-based, and he did a really good job of facilitating and contributing to them. The majority of the final grade is determined by the final paper, participation, and the final exam. Overall, he's an amazing proessor, and is exactly what people should desire in a philosophy professor.
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PHIL101 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
My grade is based off of 4 papers, a midterm, and final. The downside of this class is that there are no notes. It's hard to take notes because the entire class is discussion based. The TA also does a lot of grading, overall great class and was fun.
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PHIL541 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
He is very charismatic and open to discussion. The one thing I did not like about 541 is that he changed the take-home exam to an in-person one. He takes paper drafts, so take advantage of that. Make sure your arguments are fleshed out rly well in the papers because he is not a particularly lenient grader. The subject can be duller than you expect.
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PHIL541 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
It's a 500 level philos class so you have to read the papers and care. But jesse is wonderful- chill, super nice, and has an odd sense of humor. He doesn't take philosophy too seriously and acknowledges that it can be pretentious. It was 3 papers and an oral exam, which is pretty run-of-the mill. Rec to anyone who likes philos
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PHIL101 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Honestly, I didn't too many of the readings, but the way Professor Steinberg explained them in lecture allowed for me to do just fine. There were only four papers, a midterm, and a final for grades. The four papers were only two pages, so they weren't the worst. Philosophy wasn't my thing, but this class was interesting and rewarding.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Jesse Steinberg

Modern Ethical Theories covers ethical theories and problems from the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2018: 3.48 GPA, 76.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Spring 2022: 3.56 GPA, 77.8% A/AB (n=27 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.48 GPA, 72.7% A/AB (n=33 letter grades).

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Directed Study (PHILOS 599) is an independent study arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2026–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027PHILOS 541Modern Ethical Theories
Spring 2027PHILOS 599Directed Study
Spring 2027PHILOS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHILOS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHILOS 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHILOS 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHILOS 699Directed Study
Spring 2027PHILOS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2027PHILOS 999Independent Work
Fall 2026PHILOS 530Freedom Fate and Choice
Fall 2026PHILOS 599Directed Study
Fall 2026PHILOS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026PHILOS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026PHILOS 699Directed Study
Fall 2026PHILOS 799Directed Study
Fall 2026PHILOS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026PHILOS 999Independent Work

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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