Historical instructor

RONALD MACHOIAN

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.60/5 from 5 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

INTLST 401
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Dr. Machoian is one of the most passionate and detailed lecturers I've had while being totally realistic. He goes off track and rambles in an entertaining way and he really wants to get to know all of his students. But he makes it very clear what he wants you to remember. Assignments are student-driven, so you can focus on topics that interest you.
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INTLST 401
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Hands down the best professor I've had at UW. Perfectly weaves personal anecdotes from his life into lectures to make them lively and impactful. Cares so much for his students well-being and lives outside class. Took both "culture and strategy" and "revolution and insurgency." Take his classes you will not regret it.
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INTLST 401
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
I learned a lot about security studies overall & he's a fun teacher. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the American national security sector (and I'm a leftist lol) & the course skews toward that kind of career, but in retrospect I still learned so much. Graded on 2 exams & 1 paper but he's not a hard grader. (I took revolution & insurgency)
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INTLST 401
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
This man is my favorite professor I have ever had and it breaks my heart I can only take two classes from him.
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INTLST 401
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Dr. Machoian was super cool & lenient especially during a pandemic. Manageable reading, interesting content, & good discussion though not vital to passing. Exams were very fair, essay based. Graded by few things but not a hard grade… Read full reviewShow less
Dr. Machoian was super cool & lenient especially during a pandemic. Manageable reading, interesting content, & good discussion though not vital to passing. Exams were very fair, essay based. Graded by few things but not a hard grader, & definitely notices who participates & who does not (this can define your grade!) Overall a good professor & class
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with RONALD MACHOIAN

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2025INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2025INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2024INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2024INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2024INTLST 699Directed Study
Fall 2023INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2023INTLST 699Directed Study
Spring 2023INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2023INTLST 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2022INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2022INTLST 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2022INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2021INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2020INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2020INTLST 699Directed Study
Spring 2020INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2019INTLST 320Contemporary Issues in International Studies
Fall 2019INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2019INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2018INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2018INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Fall 2017INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2017INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2017INTLST 699Directed Study
Fall 2016INTLST 401Topics in Global Security
Spring 2016INTLST 401Topics in Global Security

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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