Historical instructor

SUZANNE DESAN

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.43/5 from 46 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

HIST201 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Difficult but fair professor that cares a whole heck of a lot about what she's talking about and makes every lecture almost like a movie in your head that you can easily follow.
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HIS201 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
This is one of the best Professors that I have ever encountered. Her discusion on the age of Enlightenment has helped me not just understand a complex age in human history but she inspired me to really enjoy it.
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HIS201 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Desan gives some of the most passionate, energetic lectures I've ever seen. She cares deeply about the topics she teaches and makes it impossible not to care just as much when she speaks on the topic. There is a lot of reading to do for her courses, but the reading is always applicable and related to lecture content.
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HIS201 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
Desan is incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic, however the lectures are not needed(but attendance is mandatory). She hands out a "textbook" with all the readings you will need, and those are the basis for your papers. Everyth… Read full reviewShow less
Desan is incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic, however the lectures are not needed(but attendance is mandatory). She hands out a "textbook" with all the readings you will need, and those are the basis for your papers. Everything is graded harshly and her expectations are through the roof. If you don't like writing, don't take the class.
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HIST600 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
Desan is so smart and I learned so much in this class. However, it completely ruined my mental health because she expected so much and was honestly mean to me many times. I felt worthless because my best work was absolutely never enough for her.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with SUZANNE DESAN

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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