Elizabeth Bussiere - University of Massachusetts - Boston, Boston, MA

Professor: Elizabeth Bussiere

Department: Political Science

College: University of Massachusetts - Boston, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI329
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

One of the best professors I've ever had! She is incredibly intelligent and really forces her students to bend their brains to digest and interrelate the material provided. MUST go to class for this professor or you will not pass, both by missing information and by her course policy. I loved how challenging this class was & look forward to others

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: INTRD200G
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I took this class on a whim - psychology in politics lecture - should be fun right? It was a blast. The teacher had very good contrasting reading materials and structured every paper in such a way that it forced you to challenge yourself to work within the confines of the different themes of the books against each other. Her feedback was phenomenal

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI329
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Bussiere is truly world class. She is incredibly intelligent and always willing to help you in whatever way that she can. Her courses usually involve two exams and two papers (one shorter 5-6 page one and one longer 7-8 page one.) I would definitely recommend taking a class with her.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI329
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Bussiere is such a sweet woman. However her lectures can be hard to pay attention to if you are not into the material. I did not pay attention in class, take notes, or read but still except a decent grade. Papers can be challenging but she gives lots of feedback. Syllabus says you can only miss 7 classes but unsure if she stands by that

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI329
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Caring and approachable, an expert in Con. Law etc.. If you like the law, you will find class interesting. The exams are challenging, asking to interrelate material. I took all of her classes, received good grades by reading . Anyone thinking of going to law school should take her classes. Provides study guides for exams and is always available.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI327
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

On the papers and tests she is very structured and clear about what she wants. She is an amazing person and I have a lot of respect for her. However, some of the material and her lectures are extremely boring so it can be very challenging to keep up on the readings. But falling behind will come back to bite you on the tests and papers.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI377
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Prof. Bussiere is an amazingly smart person. She knows the material in and out and loves every second of it. However this comes at a cost of some extremely dense and dry readings. Also her lectures can be very long and sometimes feel like they are long tangents. However if you ever need help she is amazing and will always make time for you.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI377
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great Professor recommend the class

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI327
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She is an incredible professor who is passionate about her classes. She is knowledgeable on all topics and is willing to help. She makes herself available and is incredibly flexible to the needs of individual students. She is a tough, but fair grader - she is clear about what is expected. Show up, pay attention, and do the work, and you'll do fine!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI329
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Her excitement about the material is infectious, and this ended up being one of my favorite poli. sci. classes at UMB. However, she only lectured (no discussions) so I imagine the class might not be as fun if you aren't already interested in the subject. Overall, very knowledgable and well-spoken, I would take more classes with her if I could!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI332
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Bussiere is awesome!! she is one of my favorite professors at UMASS. YES her classes are demanding and she expects a lot from students so if you are expecting an easy class don't take it! if you want you want to actually learn and are interested in law YES go for it. She is always available for office hours and over email! very helpful.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI332
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Don't do it to yourself, from her unorganized lectures to her unrealistic expectations of undergrad students to the sheer monotone voice she speaks with everything is just a mess. I consider myself a good student, I don't expect grades to come easy but her class is ridiculous.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POLSCI332
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She is a sweet person, very caring and understanding. Her class is extremely demanding -do not take it if you are expecting the typical easy UMB PolSci course. This course will push you to your limits academically, so be prepared for an intense challenge. That being said you can learn a lot. Do not skip class; it's so easy to fall behind.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PSCI332
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She tends to get off topic at times. My class this semester has fallen so far behind that she had to take some topics off of both the midterm and the final exam. She is a tough grader. Attendance is necessary if you want to pass. There are things she goes over in class that are not in the textbook. If you don't read the material then you are setting yourself up to fail!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CIVILLIBERTIES
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Very sweet lady, however she is all over the place in her lectures we have fallen so far behind in the syllabus. Make sure you do the reading. class is usually boring so if you don't like the subject of the class avoid her. Hard grader but will give lots of feed back on exams and papers.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POLSC113G
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She's a sweet lady, and very helpful if you have issues. He teaching style, however, makes you feel like a high school student (it was an intro class, but none of us were freshmen).

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POLSIID
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great professor

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POL113G
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

very low academic level

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: POL329
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I want to preface this by saying that she is an awesome person, she is a good human being. My issue is with teaching style. She seems to put a very high emphasis on lecture material for exams, the problem is, she gives very ambiguous lectures, and you don't know what to write down, and what not to write, which effects your grades.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PO332
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Bussiere has a strong background in US Constitutional Law and the Supreme Court. She asks for a lot of reading and good examination skills. The good news is that she'll provide study sheets and she'll tell you what she wants to see on papers and exams. Overall, she's not too tough if you've put in all the work she asks of you.