Current instructor

Maria Lepowsky

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.74/5 from 34 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

WS420 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
I took her Medical Anthropology course many years ago. I continue to use concepts and ideas discussed in this course everyday in my professional life as an RN. I really appreciate her storytelling and style of lecturing. I would absolutely take courses from Dr. Lepowsky again.
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ANTHRO 265
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
I don't know most of these reviews are so negative, Lepowsky good professor. She did an excellent job transitioning the course from in class to online and was probably the most understanding professor I've had in this situation. I took this course to fill a requirement and while I'm not interested in medicine the course material was captivating.
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ANTH265 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
She is the most flexible professor I've ever had. She realizes that with the amount of information presented in this class, it's not reasonable to be expected to remember it all. Every assessment is open note/book and/or take home. She does everything she can to ensure the success of her students and is the kindest woman I've ever met.
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WS420 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 3/5
I never rate professors, but I had to rate this professor. Her lectures and many readings didn't correlate, the slides had no outline, no bullet points, and followed no order. She cites that she went to Berkeley (in 1981) multiple times, every class. We read outdated works that are 20+ years old, and she seemed to refuse to acknowledge her own bias
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WS420 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I am not a GWS major but found the class and lectures interesting. Lectures slides take a while to set in --always take notes. At first I found content very dry. The books were relevant to the course material and were critical for the take-home essays. Discussion teams were dedicated to the material and discussions were useful to attend.
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ANTH443 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Maria Lepowsky is hands down the best professor I've had so far at UW. She's super passionate about what she teaches, and her class content was interesting too. If you aren't into writing essays though, steer clear of this class. Entire grade is writing based.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Maria Lepowsky

ANTHRO 545

Psychological Anthropology

3 credits

Survey of psychological approaches in cultural anthropology, including ethnopsychiatry, emotion, the self, cognitive development, and culturally defined deviance and mental illness.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 3.72 GPA, 87.5% A/AB (n=16 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.71 GPA, 76.5% A/AB (n=17 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.62 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades).

Maria Lepowsky

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2025 · limited sample
ANTHRO 699

Directed Study

1–6 credits

Directed Study in Anthropology consists of advanced directed study projects arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 3.50 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

Karen StrierSarah Clayton+16 more

No recorded grade history

ANTHRO 999

Reading and Research

1–9 credits

ANTHRO 999 is an advanced course offering mentored reading and research for students with dissertator status.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

Karen StrierSarah Clayton+15 more

No recorded grade history

ANTHRO/GEN&WS 920

Anthropology of Gender

3 credits

Explores theoretical and ethnographic approaches to the anthropology of gender, covering sexual inequality, research methods, gender and history, ethnographic writing, masculinity, and anthropological theory.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2010: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Spring 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades).

Maria Lepowsky

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2024–Spring 2024 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027ANTHRO 545Psychological Anthropology
Spring 2027ANTHRO 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027ANTHRO 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027ANTHRO 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027ANTHRO 698Directed Study
Spring 2027ANTHRO 699Directed Study
Spring 2027ANTHRO 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2027ANTHRO 999Reading and Research
Spring 2027ANTHRO/GEN&WS 920Anthropology of Gender
Spring 2027GEN&WS 682Senior Honors Thesis II
Spring 2027GEN&WS 799Independent Research at the Master's and Professional Level
Spring 2027GEN&WS 999Independent Research
Fall 2026ANTHRO 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026ANTHRO 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026ANTHRO 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026ANTHRO 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026ANTHRO 698Directed Study
Fall 2026ANTHRO 699Directed Study
Fall 2026ANTHRO 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026ANTHRO 999Reading and Research
Fall 2026GEN&WS 681Senior Honors Thesis I
Fall 2026GEN&WS 691Senior Thesis I
Fall 2026GEN&WS 699Directed Study
Fall 2026GEN&WS 990Research & Thesis
Fall 2026GEN&WS 999Independent Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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