John Gruhl - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Professor: John Gruhl

Department: Political Science

College: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POLS227
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

10/10 Fantastic professor with great lectures. I have taken POLS 227, 198H, & 345 with him and loved all of them. Lots of reading and participation is important. Attendence is highly reccommended. You get test prompts ahead of time to help study and study groups are encouraged. Classes are always interesting and the reading is a bit heavy but good.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POLS189H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Class is well organized and well structured, taught well. Feedback is readily available, detailed, and helpful. Grade is based on four papers, a final and participation in class discussion. A number of articles are assigned every day to be read before class, to start discussion. WARNING: Almost any conservative point of view is sadly lacking.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLS441
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof Gruhl is the absolute best. This class is hard but he gave us very fair warning. Really cares about his students. Participation is 25% so come to class prepared.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POLS345
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Gruhl is that incredibly rare combination of a brilliant mind and an excellent communicator. He is the very ideal of a professor. Mostly based on lecture with some reading. Tests are greenbook essays. By no means an easy course, but if you have an opportunity to take a class with Professor Gruhl, seize it swiftly!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLS227
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I've taken two political sciences courses from Prof. Gruhl and they have been some of my favorite at UNL. He is a tough but fair grader and spends a lot of time giving feedback on written tests and papers. His lectures are engaging and invite classroom discussion (participation is required!) He is prepared, knowledgeable, kind, respected.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLS189H
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Prof Gruhl is by far my favorite teacher on campus. He is extremely understanding and willing to extend deadlines if you ask him. His grading is a little tough, but that's to be expected in an honors course. If you have the chance I would take this class, it's a very interesting topic and the prof is amazing.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLS232
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Having taken a 400-level course with Gruhl before, his 200-level coursework seems a lot easier. However, reading and participation are still key. Discussion based class was really fun, but his lectures are still important and interesting. Most of us learned more about government in this class than ever before. He truly cares about students.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLS345
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

My favorite college professor. A class of his steered me away from law school and toward working in politics, which was my real interest anyway. Fantastic teacher.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLS441
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Gruhl is an excellent professor and one of the best in the university, let alone the Political Science Department. I took this class after switching to Pre-Med my Junior Year, and although the exams are tough, it is a very doable work-load. Forming groups before the exam is critical and you must participate. Treated us out for pizza after moot.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POLS441
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Gruhl is truly one of the most caring and enthusiastic teachers I've met at UNL. His course is hard, but if you care about it you can definitely get a good grade. He spends so much time and effort trying to prepare and grade fairly. He's very knowledgeable and creates good discussion.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POLS347
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Gruhl has amazing lectures and is a one primal professor. Requires four books to read during the semester along 20-25 articles. The books chosen for the class are fantastic and topical reads. Only tests are essays. With the amount of reading deadlines can be tough to meet. There is a participation grade.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 443
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

First Amendment Law class. Gruhl explains the cases quite well and does a great job, in my opinion, at creating a "story" for longer groups of cases so that students understand the evolution of how the Court has interpreted the First Amendment. He's definitely liberal, but he has never (in my experience) disrespected another's viewpoint.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POLS227
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Single handedly the best professor I had at UNL. Not only does is a master of the course material, the way he organizes his class is intuitive, his lectures are clear and concise, and he makes his expectations known up front. There are no surprises, and he thus makes you work for your grade. You will learn a lot and make a good friend in Dr. Gruhl.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: POLS227
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor. Very interesting, though has very liberal leanings. Participation is HUGE part of your grade. We read 3 books and wrote essays over 2 of them. Tests are in essay form. Overall, learned a lot from class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: POLS345
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Take his class if you have the chance. He's explicit with lecturers and requires reading & participation mostly. If you coast with those two you're more likely to get a B- already. Polisci Gem.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POLS189H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class serves as a great introduction to political science. Gruhl is definitely very liberal, so the reading material reflects liberal ideologies as well, but he tries to stay neutral during discussions. Papers aren't very long and the reading is interesting for the most part. You must participate to get a decent grade.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POLS227
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Gruhl is a wonderful lecturer and an outstanding teacher.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POLS189H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Good professor. Enjoyed class, thought it was interesting. Lots of reading. Encourages participation. Graded on participation, and essays.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: POLS345
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Amazing professor. I'm not even a poll sci major and I'm taking another one of his classes next semester simply because I like him so much. Always interesting and relevant course material and clear expectations.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: 441
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Gruhl is an amazing lecturer. His course on constitutional law was indeed difficult, but with good studying skills- i.e. reading prior to attending class- you will be OK. You must also participate actively, which is not difficult because the readings and discussions are so interactive. Dr. Gruhl is also very personable and understanding.