Current instructor

Judith Houck

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

Raw average: 4.22/5 from 9 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

HIST404 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
This class was informative, interesting, and well planned. Topics were chosen carefully and covered with plenty of discussion. Professor Houck goes above and beyond to help her students exceed; word to the wise, papers count a great deal towards your grade. Proofread, seek feedback, and fine-tune.
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HIST404 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 2/5
Called people out in class, shut down students' opinions and came across as rude. She would keep circling back to the same discussion topics and not cover new material to discuss mask mandates again. I do not recommend her or her class. She did nothing to encourage participation and did everything she could to put students on the spot.
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HISTSCI 286
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I really enjoyed having Houck as a professor and learned A LOT from her class. Not only is she very knowledgeable, but she cares a lot about her students. Her feedback for rough drafts of papers may be a bit harsh, however I ended up getting a higher grade on my paper than I thought I would, and I suspect others did as well.
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HISTSCI 286
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Amazing professor. I learned a lot and she has been a wonderful teacher and mentor. Definitely take a class with her if you can!
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MHB523 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
She believes that there is always room for improvement, but will not prioritize the steps needed to improve for you. You need to take her feedback on writing with a grain of salt because it is impossible to address it all. You'll be surprised that after having your paper trashed, you end up with a higher grade than her feedback seemed to imply.
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MDHIS352 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
Plays favorites, asks REALLY vague questions and then expects you to know EXACTLY what she's fishing for, is boring, a harsh grader even if you're a good writer and mechanically correct. I feel stupider after that class and have far less interest in the topic than I started with. And I still have no idea what the TV show LOST has to do with race.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Judith Houck

GEN&WS 699

Directed Study

1–6 credits

GEN&WS 699 is a directed study course graded on a lettered basis.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Christine GarloughAnnie Menzel+18 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
GEN&WS 990

Research & Thesis

1–6 credits

GEN&WS 990 is an independent research and writing course designed to complete the dissertation requirement for graduate students.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Christine GarloughAnnie Menzel+19 more

No recorded grade history

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 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=1 letter grades).

Stephen KantrowitzGiuliana Chamedes+54 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
HISTSCI 682

Senior Honors Thesis

3 credits

HISTSCI 682 is a senior honors thesis course focusing on independent research in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Daniel WillifordJudith Houck

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample
HISTSCI 999

Independent Work

1–3 credits

HISTSCI 999 is an independent directed study course under faculty supervision.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Richard KellerFlorence Hsia+10 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026GEN&WS 681Senior Honors Thesis I
Fall 2026GEN&WS 691Senior Thesis I
Fall 2026GEN&WS 699Directed Study
Fall 2026GEN&WS 790Research & Thesis: Master's and Professional Level
Fall 2026GEN&WS 990Research & Thesis
Fall 2026GEN&WS 999Independent Research
Fall 2026HISTORY 698Directed Study
Fall 2026HISTORY 699Directed Study
Fall 2026HISTORY 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026HISTORY 999Independent Work
Fall 2026HISTSCI 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026HISTSCI 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026HISTSCI 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026HISTSCI 999Independent Work

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

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