Scott Hestevold - University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Professor: Scott Hestevold

Department: Philosophy

College: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHL490
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Awesome man and incredibly passionate about metaphysics. Hysterical and very helpful if you don't understand the material.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PH100
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Hestevold was probably the best professor I had at UA. He was very caring and knew each of us by name. The few times I had to email him to get him to fix a quiz in blackboard, he had responded 3 or 4 times and figured out the problem before I checked my email a few hours later. This class was not as easy as I expected but he is a great prof.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHL381
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Boring lectures and uptight style. Steer clear of this professor.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHL381
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Boring and hard. Take a different class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PH100
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hestevold is an awesome professor. Your final grade is the average of 4 tests and up to 4 percentage points based on participation. I didn't put in very good effort the first two tests and that really hurt me. Went to him for help to get my grade up and he was incredibly helpful and accessible. Put in the effort, and you will do well.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHL264
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, if your interested in philosophy. Kept readings down to minimum and test where all multiple choice. Would highly recommend. Love this class and work load is very little, great class

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I absolutely loved Dr. Hestevold, but I would NOT recommend taking PHL100 unless you are genuinely interested in the subject and are ready to commit a good bit of time studying for tests and reading before lectures. Philosophy is a very tough subject itself, so I would not recommend taking it just to "meet a core requirement".

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PH100
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class was not as fun as I had hoped, and I often find myself daydreaming. However, he is a solid teacher for philosophy and his final grade is just 4 tests averaged.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is a fabulous teacher, one of the best I've ever had. If you are just taking this class to receive a credit however, you should rethink it. It requires hard work and some studying. If you want an A you must work hard for it. It was the most interesting class I've ever taken. I genuinely loved it.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHL352
• 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:

Professor Hestevold is probably the best pure teacher I've ever met. He is highly articulate, and can easily explain complex concepts. He is a patient listener, and I never saw him get bored or angry with a question or complaint. All that being said, his metaphysics courses are hard. You'll learn a lot from them, though.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• 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:

Tests are impossible, 70% of my class finished the class with a C,D or F. Nice guy his class is just way too difficult for an intro level course.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• 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:

Hestevold is awesome. Passionate about philosophy, interesting, funny, easy to understand. Sure you could find an easier humanities elective, but this class could actually change your life. I really got a lot out of it. 4 tests are the only grades. They're really not bad but you HAVE to go to class to do well bc he references things talked about

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHL381
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Hestevold consistently lectures clearly, and I think I laughed at least once every class. That said, he's one of the hardest professors I've ever taken. If you're not willing to work, save your self and don't register for his class. Tests are fair and fairly straightforward if you've done the readings and reviewed notes, but hard nonetheless!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• 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:

He was a great teacher who was extremely passionate about the subject he taught. He always made the material clear-I could come to class and not have read and still understand what he was talking about. Tests were challenging but not too hard if you study well. A great intro course in philosophy!!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHL264
• 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:

An absolutely precious man and outstanding philosopher. He has a great sense of humor. You can tell metaphysics is his passion. Easy to sidetrack, but this often leads to some of the deepest class discussion I've ever had. Please take him. Very understanding and fair grader. Hestevold changed the way I think about many different things.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This class is incredibly difficult, especially for a freshman level lecture. He relies heavily on the book and expects his students to answer all of the questions on his handouts alone. He is a very boring lecturer and his talks are very hard to follow. I really like him and he's fun to talk to outside of class, but I don't recommend his course.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hestevold is a precious old man & enjoys teaching! He is a very difficult professor, but his tests are doable with enough study. Class is for the most part mandatory but you NEED to be there in order to know the material. Hard but it definitely opens your eyes. Great teacher and course. I would recommend it.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Hestevold is amazing. But be warned: the tests are HARD. However, they are not impossible. I loved the class, and found it very easy to pay attention to. He is very organized and helpful. While it was a pretty challenging 100 level class, I think it was completely worth it!!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The material is much more upper level than an intro course. His test questions are so intricately worded that they become confusing at times. When he explains the material in class, he'll use examples that don't always make sense. Most of it is way too complex to teach in an intro class. Avoid taking any philosophy course if you can.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHL100
• 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:

The class was an intro to Philosophy as whole, but the material was upper level. Tests were extremely hard, the more i studied the worse i did. A couple of sections I thought were easier then the others and that I felt I understood, still failed the test. His practice exams do not match or even really help for the test. Wouldn't recommend prof.