Alan Deardorff - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Professor: Alan Deardorff

Department: Economics

College: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Get ready for the memorization game. The gist is that there are roughly 200 vocabulary words, and some lucky five will appear on the exam. No rhyme or reason to actually study. Buckle down and flash card it out.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Entire grade is based on 3 exams and it's super unclear before you take them how hard it will be. The grading curve was eased this semester, but the tests still ask you about highly specific details in the readings that were never mentioned in class and aren't really relevant. Does post the slides, so you can skip, but overall wouldn't take again.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class has a lot of potential and covers some interesting, applicable topics; however, Deardorff pretends to teach and does not actually explain the concepts that he requires you to know for exams.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Tests you a lot on pure memorization, which doesn't enhance learning or critical thinking skills, but basically reinforces whats wrong with the education system. Memorize this, regurgitate it on an exam, bye. Not a great Professor, but the material is moderately interesting, could be worse.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Great and interesting lecturer. Study questions mandatory to get that A. Unless you've dropped by in office hours and introduced yourself he really isn't accessible (doesn't give that welcoming vibe when walking by him) outside class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great lecturer in my opinion. Yes, there's a lot of work and reading, but if you really want a solid foundation in understanding international economics this is a solid course. Lectures super interesting. I'm taking this at the same time as ECON 102, and there's a lot of overlapping material which helps a lot. Yes, you need to read the textbook!!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Currently stuck with the outcome of this class, as I didn't heed the numerous warnings on here. Please for you own sanity, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS unless you are ready to spend a lot of hours memorizing stuff you may not ever see again. I definitely regret taking it. Even the GSIs says it is an unnecessarily hard class. STAY AWAY from this class!!!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Too much memorization for a 300 level economics course. The material is designed to be for non-economics majors, so there's a LOT of focus on readings. Most of the exams were just regurgitated material of what we did in class and a lot of little details that you might not think were important. Memorize everything, acronyms, statistics, names, etc.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• 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:

Consistently scored above the class average and appreciate a challenging course when it is made up of genuinely difficult material. Do not appreciate a professor who intentionally makes his course more difficult than it needs to be, not through the content itself, but through the vexatious way he tests and grades students Lots of rote memorization

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Easily one of the best Professors that I've taken at Michigan. This class will change the way you view the world and the world economy. It's by no means an easy A, but the material is very learnable if you work at it, and it's possible to ace the class even if you aren't an Econ major or have only taken 101/102.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Deardorff is one of the best Professors I've had at Michigan. He is one of the best trade economists in the world, yet takes the time to plan amazing lectures and work with students until they understand the material. Tests aren't easy, but are based fairly on the lecture slides and study questions posted online.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECON541
• 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:

Alan Deardorff is one of the best professor I've ever studied with, let alone his world-class reputation. He gave very clear explanations on the hard-to-digest topics. Though he is a tough grader, he is quite fair on the grading policy based on your quality of work and attempts.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PUBPOL495
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

International Trade Policy. Seems interesting right? WRONG. This is the worst class I've taken at U-M. Deardorff is self-centered and arrogant. He patronizes students who try to participate. The lectures are tedious and boring. I sat with my friend, surfing Facebook and texting trying to evade the prof's eyes to save myself from public humiliation.

Rating # 14

Overview:

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

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

terrible, simply terrible professor. he puts zero effort into his classes, extremely unhelpful

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Alan is a brilliant man, a renowned economist, and his class is very interesting. Only, he has the malicious intention of making exams as hard as possible, resorting to offbeat questions and obscure acronyms in an attempt to trip his students. His class is worth it though.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

My favorite class last semester. The Professor was awesome, and he incorporated economic news into the class too. But be prepared to put in a lot of hard work for this class, which includes memorizing a LOT of factual information, definition and acronym. I would highly recommend this class for its broad perspective

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Although Prof. Deardorff makes the class interesting, the class is just poorly structured. The exams rely too heavily upon factual information and they test on too much for a 3 credit course. Don't expect a typical Econ course (it's different from any that I have taken thus far). I would recommend avoiding this class unless you need to take it.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

My favorite professor at the university. Hard to get an A, easy to get a B, impossible to fail if you go to class. Teaches almost as much history as theory, little calculations, some memorization. Took class time to talk about current issues. responds to emails in 5 seconds if you have any questions. interesting class!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECON340
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor in Economics department. Would not take a class with him again. Exams are not fair and do not test what is important in the course. Horrible lecturer and was very unhelpful during office hours. It is a shame that Professor Deardorff is the only one to teach Econ 340, because it could of been a great course.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PUBPO330
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Avoid him by all means. He gets lost in classes and takes weeks to finish marking papers. He's worse than the GSI