Historical instructor

RICHARD MCFARLAND

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.44/5 from 32 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

ANTHRO 100
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor McFarland is a very entertaining lecturer, and his content is incredibly interesting to anyone with any interest in biology. My only complaints would be that this course is graded almost entirely off of 3 difficult tests and a few essays (of which McFarland's was the hardest, as there were a lot of questions to answer in too few words).
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ANTH100 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
McFarland was by far my favorite professor for Anthro 100. He expected a lot but was straightforward in his lectures so his expectations were clear. He was always in a great mood and somehow got me excited about the difference between apse and monkeys. You don't need to do the readings. I got a B+ because I had a hard time remembering dates.
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ANTHRO 105
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Not only does McFarland know what he's talking about, he's always in a good mood and gives entertaining and concise lectures. The class I took was very test heavy and I didn't finish with the grade I would've liked, however I still feel like I learned a ton from his class and I would love to have him again.
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ANTHRO 105
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I took professor McFarland for Anthro 105 and I absolutely loved going to class. He's such a good lecturer and is very passionate about what he's talking about. The only downside to the class is that there are only 140 points for the semester so it's easy to not do well. I would 100% take another class of his in the future.
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ANTHRO 105
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
McFarland is an awesome professor; his lectures are interesting and his powerpoint slides are very clear. But, there's only two exams for the entire semester, both of which are very detailed. The class isn't out of many points, so it can be difficult to get a good grade.
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ANTHRO 105
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Some questions in the tests are super specific which makes it really difficult. Also, you can only get a total of 12 points off on every assignment combined, so it makes it very difficult to get an A. Richard lectures well and gives you information you need to know. Be careful about talking during class because he frequently calls people out.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with RICHARD MCFARLAND

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2020ANTHRO 100General Anthropology
Spring 2020ANTHRO 420Introduction to Primatological Research
Fall 2019ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Fall 2019ANTHRO 120Freshman/sophomore Seminar in Anthropology
Fall 2019ANTHRO 999Reading and Research
Spring 2019ANTHRO 100General Anthropology
Spring 2019ANTHRO 690Problems in Anthropology
Spring 2019ANTHRO 699Directed Study
Spring 2019ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2018ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Fall 2018ANTHRO 120Freshman/sophomore Seminar in Anthropology
Fall 2018ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2018ANTHRO 100General Anthropology
Spring 2018ANTHRO 420Introduction to Primatological Research
Fall 2017ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Fall 2017ANTHRO 120Freshman/sophomore Seminar in Anthropology
Spring 2017ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Spring 2017ANTHRO 490Undergraduate Seminar
Fall 2016ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Fall 2016ANTHRO 490Undergraduate Seminar
Fall 2016ANTHRO 699Directed Study
Spring 2016ANTHRO 100General Anthropology
Spring 2016ANTHRO 690Problems in Anthropology
Spring 2016ANTHRO 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2015ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Fall 2015ANTHRO 690Problems in Anthropology
Fall 2015ANTHRO 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2015ANTHRO 699Directed Study
Spring 2015ANTHRO 105Principles of Biological Anthropology
Spring 2015ANTHRO 690Problems in Anthropology

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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