Michael is probably one of the kindest professors I've had at UW. You have so many extra credit opportunities and he tries to memorize everyone's names in the first week. If you go to lecture and skim the readings you will have no trouble getting an A. This class was probably the best 4 credit class I could have taken.Rate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
MICHAEL BRUCKNER
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Michael is awesome. Very funny and committed to teaching. Actively revises expectations and content based on student feedback, and is very attentive to student concerns. He knew pretty much everyone by name by the end of the first week, and tried to draw students into participation (which you get points for), but never forced it.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Bruckner was very knowledgeable about philosophy. Philosophy 241 was an intermediate course and I took it for humanities credits and I enjoyed taking it with him! Two essays and two quizzes, spaced out, and quizzes are taken with notes. Extremely helpful study slides and other resources. Do the readings bc they help you understand!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
The lectures itself were pretty boring, and the class was basically graded off two tests and two papers. So long as you show up to the lectures/discussions and take good notes, you should do fine.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Really in depth lectures, going to lecture gives you all the tools you need to succeed. Michael is also really receptive to criticisms and his lectures have been getting better throughout the year. However, he reads off slides(a lot of slides(a lot)) so lectures can also be bland and long.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Im a freshman so I dont have a lot to go by, but I cant imagine a better class. He is a clear lecturer and he makes dumb jokesit is great.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with MICHAEL BRUCKNER
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
View last recorded teaching term →No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2024 | PHILOS 101 | Introduction to Philosophy |
| Fall 2023 | PHILOS 101 | Introduction to Philosophy |
| Spring 2023 | PHILOS 241 | Introductory Ethics |
| Fall 2022 | PHILOS 241 | Introductory Ethics |
| Spring 2022 | PHILOS 341 | Contemporary Moral Issues |
| Fall 2021 | PHILOS 101 | Introduction to Philosophy |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_c9e96f2bcddec6acd859e2ee",
"source": "madgrades",
"source_instructor_id": "6098471",
"identity_basis": "source_id",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "MICHAEL BRUCKNER",
"email": null,
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-06 23:14:58.172943+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 6,
"quality": 4.33,
"difficulty": 2.83,
"quality_count": 6,
"difficulty_count": 6,
"profile_id": "rmp:2710134",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2710134",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:18:37.634395+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_432c74beba85cb7bdc1287f7": {
"review_count": 4,
"quality": 4.25,
"difficulty": 2.75,
"quality_count": 4,
"difficulty_count": 4
},
"course_badd2b5c09509247a930e344": {
"review_count": 2,
"quality": 4.5,
"difficulty": 3,
"quality_count": 2,
"difficulty_count": 2
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.8143736796512275,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"grade_statistics": {
"gpa": 3.779,
"graded": 360,
"counts": [
266,
54,
27,
5,
6,
2,
0
],
"sections": 6
},
"current": false,
"courses": [],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/MICHAEL_BRUCKNER"
}