Current instructor

Jesse Steinberg

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP 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

PHILOS 530

Freedom Fate and Choice

3 credits

PHILOS 530 examines philosophical problems associated with free will.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2014: 3.38 GPA, 70.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades); Fall 2017: 3.60 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Fall 2020: 3.35 GPA, 62.5% A/AB (n=24 letter grades).

Jesse Steinberg

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample
PHILOS 599

Directed Study

1–3 credits

PHILOS 599 is a directed study course allowing students to pursue independent research or study topics arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

James MessinaLarry Shapiro+16 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample
PHILOS 682

Senior Honors Thesis

3 credits

PHILOS 682 is a mentored study course for seniors completing honors theses in the Philosophy major.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

James MessinaLarry Shapiro+18 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
PHILOS 799

Directed Study

1–3 credits

PHILOS 799 is a directed study course allowing students to conduct independent research or study arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

James MessinaSteven Nadler+11 more

No recorded grade history

PHILOS 999

Independent Work

2–9 credits

PHILOS 999 is an individual mentored study course for graduate students arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

James MessinaLarry Shapiro+22 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
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.

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