Ilham Khuri-Makdisi is a History professor at Northeastern University rated 3.82/5 by 90 students, with 3.45/5 difficulty and 62.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Ilham Khuri-Makdisi professor reviews and ratings: 3.82/5 from 90 student reviews at Northeastern (62.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
She's a really knowledgable and enthusiastic instructor. She gets excited when people participate in class and is very helpful. There is only a couple assignments but there is A LOT of reading. If you're not interested in the topic then please avoid.. lectures can be long and boring otherwise. Despite that, She's still a great teacher to have.HIST185 2024-12-05 00:48:41 +0000 UTC
AWESOME PROFESSOR, the warmest academics ive ever met. very knowledgable, caring students, giving awesome amazing lectures!! I CANT USE WORD TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I LOVE AND RESPECT HER, how amazing her lectures are. Sad to see some people doesnt understand her and rate her low, shes definitely amazing if you have any interests on ME, take her classHST185 2024-11-12 20:19:47 +0000 UTC
The professor knows a lot about the history of the middle east and spent all class lecturing about it. There were lots of readings to do that didn't connect with the lecture however and we kept jumping around to different countries and time periods which made it hard to learn. Additionally, she is not that easy of a grader. I would not recommend.HSTU290 2023-05-04 00:47:01 +0000 UTC
Professor Ilham is extremely knowledgeable in her specific class material and everything regarding the middle east, but also expects for her students to know everything. Every single class was a lecture about a new topic that was never clear until you have to study it for the midterm or final. Excessive amount of readings assigned.HST290 2023-04-18 15:55:04 +0000 UTC
She is an amazing professor! She definitely loves to lecture, and plan on taking lots of notes. She gets so excited when students ask questions, she is great at clarifying things and never makes you feel inferior in any way. If you are interested and engaged in her lectures, you will love her classes!INTL1160 2010-09-22 18:27:35 +0000 UTC
Lecture was long and could sometimes be a little dull, but overall it was a good class. There was a lot of reading, but there were only 2 papers and the exams were straight-forward. I learned a lot.HSTU185 2008-12-25 11:31:49 +0000 UTC
The subject itself is really interesting, she does a good job of giving the historical perspective of what we're learning about. In all honesty, I haven't stayed awake fully through one of her classes, but in general she is a good teacher and you do learn alot.HSTU160 2008-11-17 14:29:43 +0000 UTC
No CommentsHIS101 2007-12-01 21:17:30 +0000 UTC
SWEETEST PERSON AND BEST PROFESSOR AT NEU! SHE IS HELPFUL AND SHE NOWS HER SUBJECT. FLEXIBLE BUT YOU NEED TO SHOW INTEREST AND WORK HARD.TURTUR 2007-10-25 16:44:53 +0000 UTC
Be prepared to take notes and do the readings. Professor is willing to work with you as long as you put in effort. There is also an immense amount of reading which is sometimes difficult to understand. However, the professor is passionate and always willing to clarify any questions. She is also a very fair grader and wants her students to succeed.HIST185 2024-12-04 22:54:33 +0000 UTC
A basic level course but very broad in its scope. Expect an epic saga of medieval slayings, battles, backstabbings and all that sort of awesome stuff. She answers emails and grades fairly.HST185 2009-08-04 23:35:20 +0000 UTC
I had her for Modern Middle Eastern History and she was lovely!!! Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Not incredibly hard tests if you study. Made what could be a very difficult history understandable and interesting!!!!HSTU290 2007-01-10 21:28:04 +0000 UTC
She packs a ton of information into this class but if you follow along and do the readings its worth it. There is a lot of reading but she keeps the topic interesting and is very passionate about her work. I would definitely take another class by her.HST290 2005-04-13 14:39:09 +0000 UTC
I thought she was a great professor. It was her first time teaching here so she was really receptive to suggestions from students and if you actually paid attention and did the work, it turned out to be a challenging but interesting class.HSTU185 2005-01-06 19:11:18 +0000 UTC
reviews are mixed but she is agreeably such a nice professor. you can tell how passionate she is about the subject, and if you try, it is so easy to succeed. my biggest tip is LISTEN during lectures; although they can be long, they are super helpful and thorough. be prepared for a lot of reading, but what you put in you get out. she works with you!HIST185 2024-12-04 20:28:44 +0000 UTC
Ilham Khuri-Makdisi has an average rating of 3.82/5 from 90 student reviews. 62.0% of students said they would take them again.
Ilham Khuri-Makdisi's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.45/5 based on student reviews.
Ilham Khuri-Makdisi has taught HIST1185, HIST4701, HIST3400, HIST1290, HIST7221, HIST4691 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.