Current instructor

Martha Gibson

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

Raw average: 3.77/5 from 74 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

PHILOS 101
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
very tough grader and exams are quite difficult. Lecture attendance is mandatory as all the content is delivered there and no recordings are available. Her handwriting is quite bad, so make sure to follow along closely. She does however really care about her studnets and is eager to help you succeed.
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PHIL530 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Martha is an amazing upper-level philosophy professor. She can be a little hard to get used to (her teaching, grading, and communication style), but she really respects her students, treats us as people, is very flexible, understanding, and genuinely wants us to succeed. Once you are used to her exam style, you will easily be able to succeed.
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PHILO101 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
Martha is kind, but her handwriting makes lectures very difficult to follow if you do not hang onto every word. Most of what you will discuss is regurgitated from readings. Lectures are very redundant, but take-home tests require extensive comprehension that sometimes goes beyond the level of class conversation.
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432 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 5/5
Modern History with Gibson was hard. You can't BS the exams, she wants premise-conclusion arguments in paragraph form and will ding points both for logical mistakes and bad writing. But an A is doable if you attend most/all the lectures and do the readings. Also there's like zero discussion, but you learn more than in lower level debate-y classes.
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432 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Martha and her TA do not have a clear standard of grading. They say the standard answer is composed of 7-8 sentences, but the sample they offered is 1.5 page long.
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432 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Martha is very sweet and caring. Difficult course, but you learn a lot and improve your writing. Not an easy A, but a good class if you invest in the course and the material. Exams are asynchronous and you have 1-2 weeks to complete them. Allows you to build better comprehension of the mateiral without the stress of in class exams
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Martha Gibson

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 701

Reading Seminar

3 credits

PHILOS 701 is a reading seminar that examines select topics in philosophy.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Michael TitelbaumMartha Gibson+2 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Fall 2022 · limited sample
PHILOS 916

Seminar-philosophy of Language

3 credits

A graduate seminar focused on the philosophy of language.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Martha Gibson is described as one of the best teachers with high standards, yet she actively helps students meet those expectations. This review highlights her effectiveness in supporting student success despite rigorous requirements.

Martha Gibson

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2026–Spring 2026 · limited sample
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 599Directed Study
Fall 2026PHILOS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026PHILOS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026PHILOS 699Directed Study
Fall 2026PHILOS 701Reading Seminar
Fall 2026PHILOS 916Seminar-philosophy of Language
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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