M.J. Peterson - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: M.J. Peterson

Department: Political Science

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: 356IL
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She expects you to know things without having actually taught them. Writing papers for her is a total guessing game because if you don't talk about this one thing that she wanted but never taught you then you get at most a B. DON'T TAKE HER CLASS!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: 356IL
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Don't take a class with her

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI356
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Not clear with instructions, rude to students, and an unfair grader. I would never recommend a class with her unless you want to work hard and see your GPA fall anyway. Only time I ever got below an A in my major and I worked really hard.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POL356
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

No clear grading criteria and she seems to change how she grades things based on her mood. Her syllabus says that you don't need outside information for decision memos but if you don't use outside info you get an 80 and if you do you get a 98. She is often scatterbrained and doesn't know how to teach or communicate. She is often rude as well.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She doesn't tell you when assignments are due and she never gives anyone a decent grade. If you are thinking that your GPA is too high and you want to do a lot of work and still have it go down then by all means take her class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Okay, shes a really nice person and she tries but man, this class was SO BAD. She grades ridiculously hard on the papers (which really have absolutely nothing to do with what is on the lectures) and expects so much reading every week. I have always gotten at least an 80 on my papers and she gave me a 60 on the first one. I was in shock. Don't do it

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Her lectures can be boring and ramble on yet they present interesting facts. 277 is easy, requiring only a few five page papers throughout the semester. The only drawback is that she posts patronizingly easy quizzes on Moodle each week. If you're interested in learning lots of fun facts about global history take this class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Probably the worst class I've ever taken. Assignments don't make sense. Grading is nonsense. Not even an actual polisci class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Really tough grader, and confusing assignments.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PS356IL
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Consummate educator. Great course - lecture + material provides solid foundation in IL. 5 decision memos, 2 argument summaries, 7 vocab quizzes, midterm, final, text is IL bible + database research work. Fall 14 usual Peterson organization lacking - rubric clear, course schedule changed after student confusion, fuzzy grading & super preoccupied.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PS356IL
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Consummate educator. Great course - lecturematerial provide solid foundation in IL. 5 decision memos, 2 argument summaries, 7 vocab quizzes, midterm, final, text is IL bible + database research work. Fall 14 usual Peterson organization lacking - rubric clear, course schedule changed after student confusion, fuzzy grading & super preoccupied.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 121H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She thinks obscure facts are common knowledge leaving every one confused. assignments unclear. papers are hard and trick questions in her geo quizzes. just do yourself a favor and dont take this

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: 121H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

hardest class ive ever taken, shes a good person and all but omg such a hard class

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 292
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

basically she is unclear, condescending to students, and rude.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: 277
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgeable about International Relations! Funny and interesting!!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: 277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I would rather gnaw my own foot off than take her class again.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 18275
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I did not like her at all. I thought she was one of the most condescending professors I have ever met. I met with her twice a week it seemed, her feedback was never helpful. I ended up with a B in the class but it did not reflect my effort whatsoever. If you can take this class with another teacher you should. I even spoke to the dean about her.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI356
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She is extremely knowledgeable about international law. The assignments can be tough but there aren't too many of them. You do need to attend lectures but she makes them interesting. This is one of the most rewarding classes I have taken at UMass. I would highly recommend it to people interested in International Relations or Law.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: 356IL
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

NEVER, I repeat NEVER take a class with this lady. MJ does not provide any clarity on assignments. She writes them quickly and often has mistakes in her writing that you have to decipher. She never lets you know when assignments are due and leaves a lot up to the student. If you dont have 20+ hours a week to devote then dont take it.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PS277
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Top quality, consummate educator with wealth of knowledge! Engaging lecture. Great historical/thematic framework. Super organized - excellent syllabus & rubrics. Challenges you to reevaluate academic strengths/weaknesses - also teaches through instructional videos/moodle quizzes. 3 papers/lots of reading. Seems gruff but willing to help.