Patrick Altdorfer - University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Professor: Patrick Altdorfer

Department: Political Science

College: University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PS1518
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is very intelligent but a very poor professor. Lectures go off on long winded tangents far too often. Course material is not presented in an organized manner. Don't bother reading the syllabus because he'll end up months behind and you'll be forced to teach yourself the material.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Pretty good, I don't know whats up with the negative comments

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lots of reading. Nice guy. Not a lot of the lecture is reflective of what material will be on the exam

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you read all of these comments and still think the class will be okay, IT WON'T! That's what I thought.. and i was wrong. He rambles on about everything and you don't know what you need to know. He assigns WAY too much to read every week. His tests are incredibly difficult. I've never actually fallen asleep in class before, until this class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Most of the bad reviews seem unfair. The only real work other than studying for exams is one 4 page paper and the readings. People are claiming there is too much reading but honestly with no other homework you could spend 10 mins a day on readings and get them all done in a week. Good professor if you show up and do the work.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class is ridiculous!!!!! He rambles on for the entire class and you feel like you learn nothing! He assigns like 100 pages of reading at least per week and thank god because that's the only place you'll learn anything! he's so boring!!!! Comparative Politics made me think about switching my major!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PS300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

had him for comparative politics and learned nothing, even though i was truly interested in the subject. it's clear that his masters work was on germany because that's all he ever talked about. mostly he made up statistics about eastern europe and told us how one might analyze the data were it true. waste of time and tuition. monotonous. bogus exam

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLSC500
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Had him for German gov and politics. I liked him, lectures could be dry but worth paying attn to. The essays I was assigned were challenging but rewarding, he's not an easy grader. Expect to work hard if you want an A; he doesn't take BS like most other profs do. As far as I could tell he was very evenhanded, didn't play favorites. Good/nice guy.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PS300
• 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:

STAY AWAY FROM HIM AT ALL COSTS!he doesnt teach anything on the tests & grades like a pompous jerk.this is my concentration in my major & I failed bc coming out of it I had no clue what he was even teaching.No feedback and assigns readings as if that is the only class you have.I made a 9pg study guide & studied for 2 weeks for the final for an 80!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ADVI1000
• 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: N/A

Comment:

He was my academic advisor. Ha ha what a joke

Rating # 11

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Nice guy. Very passionate about politics. But...he is the worst prof I have ever had at Pitt. Problems: 1. Material is not taught in an organized format. He'll continue to branch off from one thing to another until he is off topic. 2. There is too much reading for an intro level course. 3.Considering 1 and 2, not enough feedback (quizzes, hw, etc.)

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very disorganized lectures. Doesn't grade easy on tests, and doesn't tell you what will be on them ahead of time. I would not recommend him

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very unclear about concepts and never tells you what will be on the tests. Very biased and spends pretty much the whole class giving you his opinion instead of going over what you need to know. A lot of reading and hard tests. Would not recommend him at all.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PS1511
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

literally one of the worst teachers i've had at pitt...i asked him if i could meet with him about an exam...he said he was too busy...don't worry about doing the readings for class cuz he doesn't talk about them...he babbles about what he things is interesting...seems that he likes making things as difficult as possible DO NOT TAKE HIM

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PS1511
• 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:

Really biased, and is extremely full of himself. If you can handle his far left rants about Bush being a dictator, you can do well. Most of the class has nothing to do with the midterm, but if you read the book it's really easy. Even better, there's no final, just two papers, so you don't need to do any reading the second half. Still, avoid him.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PS1511
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Intelligent, fair and reasonable. I would definitely recommend him.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PS1511
• 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:

Very good prof, seems very intelligent, very accessible if needed.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PSCOM
• 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:

Comparative Politics-- He is very boring but definitely a nice guy. His liberal political views come up even though he tries to say neutral. I ended up with a good grade but spent a lot of time panicking before the tests and final paper. Not the worst class or the best class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PS0300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures can easily be sidetracked by inquisitive students. I found it hard to pay attention; he goes off in a tangent sometimes. Excessive amounts of text reading are assigned, most of which he doesn't go over in lecture. He's nice, but disorganized and unpredictable. Which, for me, doesn't cut it. Steer clear, if at all possible.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PS300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Not sure where everyone came up with awful ideas about Aldorfer. His test are anything but impossible. All one has to do is go through the Sadaro book and make note cards frm the key terms. Thats the only preperation I did for exams and I got high A's on both. He is very friendly, and will help you on anything. Great person overall and a good prof.