Current instructor

Michael Cardiff

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

Raw average: 3.73/5 from 22 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

Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Hes very passionate about the subject which you want in a professor. Sometimes I wish he'd go more in depth on certain topics that do get covered in exams and quizzes, but overall his style of teaching is pretty solid. The exam structure is my biggest criticism as you have one midterm and one final which is too little imo, but not bad overall
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Quality 4/5Difficulty 1/5
Fun class, lots of cool rocks and natural disaster case studies. Prof. Cardiff gives good lectures with multimedia demonstrations. He uses in-class questions, and attendance counts towards your grade. Labs are the most difficult part of the class (they often run overtime). The textbook is easy to read, but it covers a lot each week- take notes!
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Quality 2/5Difficulty 3/5
This class was excruciatingly boring (one of those classes that everyone is playing the NYT games to ease the pain). He has very little grade transparency as well. Final grades were put in and they appeared much differently in grade letter than canvas had indicated all semester. This class is a definite no from me.
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Quality 2/5Difficulty 3/5
Some concepts and assignment expectations weren't made clear and the discussion section usually left students more confused. However, I think the course gives a good overview of many geological concepts and was an interesting class to take for General Education requirement.
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Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Cardiff is extremely passionate in his work. His course taught me a lot, despite some challenge with labs and the pandemic. I definitely recommend him.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Michael Cardiff

GEOSCI 699 is a directed study course allowing students to conduct independent research or study arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

GEOSCI 777 teaches the operation of electron probes and SEM for microanalysis using WDS and EDS, including their applications and limitations.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2024 · limited sample
GEOSCI 990

Research

1–12 credits

GEOSCI 990 is a research course where students conduct supervised independent study projects.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

GEOSCI/GLE 627 teaches the mathematical treatment of groundwater flow principles, focusing on well hydraulics and flow system analysis.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2021: 3.13 GPA, 48.1% A/AB (n=27 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.48 GPA, 63.6% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.11 GPA, 57.1% A/AB (n=28 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026GEOSCI 699Directed Study
Fall 2026GEOSCI 777Electron Microprobe Analysis
Fall 2026GEOSCI 990Research
Fall 2026GEOSCI/GLE 627Hydrogeology
Fall 2026GLE 790Master's Research or Thesis

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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