Raymond La Raja - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Raymond La Raja

Department: Political Science

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POL101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Raymond La Raja, loml. I went into college as a psych major wanting to go to law school. After taking his 101 class first semester of college, I declared my double major in polisci-- it was the best decision. Going to class was always so exciting. I even took my bio major bf one day to watch and he left wanting to contact congress. changed my life.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I've had Professor La Raja for both PoliSci 101 and 208. He is a great teacher with a very clear understanding of the subject. I enjoyed both classes, but liked 101 better because of his discussion-oriented take on a huge lecture; he also handled presenting basic information objectively in today's political climate extremely professionally.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI208
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This is my second class that I've taken with Professor La Raja and he truly is fantastic! He is a funny guy, very smart, and very caring. The two papers for this class were very fun, and they helped me learn skills that will be useful in the field. Everybody should take a class with Professor La Raja before they graduate!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI208
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Ray is the best teacher in the Poli Sci department. His teaching is clear, he explains things well, answers questions thoroughly and clearly cares for his students. His exams are straightforward and papers or other assignments are fun and well explained. I took 101 with him as well and loved both classes. Talks about current events which is great.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very smart professor, and loves to meet students. Pretty easy class if you do the readings

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Smart guy, and really makes you invested in the subject he teachers. His lectures though, are online and watching them can be a bit of a chore. That being said it never exceeds 45 mins of video, and its pretty much all the homework that he assigns. Great class, brought in lots of guest speakers so that you could see the theory in application.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I had a really good time in this course. I loved hearing him talk about anything. He was incredibly easy to listen to and learn from. I actually enjoyed doing the assignments and studying the material in this course. This course is a perfect introduction to political science. I'm very grateful to have taken this course!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: AMPOL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Although Ray is a kind, well-spoken man with good intentions and hefty experience with the U.S. Government, it seems to me that he has become lazy throughout his years as a professor. His lectures are all online, which is inconvenient and time consuming, and we wasted three-quarters of class time discussing current events rather than class material

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

The class has an odd blended setup where students do most of there learning outside of class. The classes consisted of a lot of current events and a lot of stuff that was not relevant to the course. If attendance was not taken with iClickers then there would be no reason to go to class.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: AMPOL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

La Raja is incredible. He is super knowledgable about American Politics (he has a masters in Public Policy from Harvard and his Ph.D. from UC Berkley) and he really cares about his students. His class is really straightforward and his expectations are clear. You watch lectures online, then come to class to talk/ review material. One of the best.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: AMPOL101
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Cool professor! makes you learn a lot of things. Interactive class, never boring. Go for it, even when you are not a political science major.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Was my first Political Science class of college and sealed the deal for me that I wanted to continue with the subject as my major. La Raja is easy to understand and not boring to listen to during lecture at all. Prepares you very well for both the essays and in class tests. Go to class and you will get an A.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

La Raja is the man! The class has busy work but nothing to be worried about. He posts his lectures before class so that was where I took the notes and in class he had great lectures with a lot of student involvement. He's funny ad actually wants to talk to his students. Ideas are driven into your brain without realizing it and the tests are easy.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great Lectures, grading is more up to TA's. But overall great professor and great class. Highly recommend to PoliSci majors and non polisci majors

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Prof. La Raja is a great guy, very informative, and smart. He posts his lectures online and that's where I got all my information. In lecture, he clarified some slides from his online lectures and then just talked about current events. I didn't really ever pay attention in lecture but there were clicker Qs almost every class that counted attendance

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: 101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

La Raja's American Politics course is fantastic! Although there is an unnecessary amount of busy work, you really get the contents of the course drilled into your head. He also has a really interesting strategy memo assignment which serves as your second (and last) paper which is not only fun to research but it also provides applicable experience.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Watched videos online, but I loved his lectures because he engaged the students and asked questions and made it interesting and relevant. A lot of assignments, but they are small and you don't have to do all of them. He is very approachable, and actually begs people to come chat with him. Very clear expectations. I would take another class with him

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great professor!!! He keeps the class interesting by bringing up a lot of current topics, and he promotes a lot of in-class discussion. I had him in the experimental class, so you learn the information before class. The tests and quizzes are straightforward, and he's really easy to talk to if you need further clarification. The TAs are awesome too.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: POL101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The best professor I have had at UMass. I always looked forward to going to class and his lectures were very thorough and interesting and he reposts his powerpoints online for you to review later. Good attendance will only boost your grade not kill you. Readings were interesting. He´s very engaging in class. What you learn will stick with you.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: POLISCI101
• 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:

La Raja is the man! I loved his American Politics class. The exams are all blue book open response and there are some outside papers, but the class isn't too hard and it's great information. Take it!