Vanita Seth - University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Professor: Vanita Seth

Department: Political Science

College: University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POLI3
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Seth is such a character but she is so wise. Is amazing with female students! She encouraged us all to speak in class on the first day since "female students don't always do that". She tests you on the readings but it was pretty easy to BS the test by studying the night before. TAs grade everything. Definitely a tough class though. Work hard.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POL3
• 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:

Really awesome professor. Lectures were really easy to follow but she can be pretty repetitive. Her lectures and the readings assigned made me think about the world completely differently. Section is mandatory. Very reading-based, and some of the texts can be very old/long. Would still highly recommend. Vanita deserves better reviews tbh.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POL3
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Vanita's lectures were fascinating. She opened my eyes to ways of looking at the world that I had never considered before. This class may be called "Keywords and Concepts," but it is not like a high school AP Gov class at all. The "keywords" covered in the course are focused on political theory and history, not the organization of government.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POLI03
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Took this class last quarter and was very underwhelmed. In lecture her talking points quickly became redundant. Gave her TA's a lot of autonomy which helped me get a better grade. Seemed friendly enough, but mostly felt like we didn't learn much. Many students in my section echoed this concern.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POL105B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Her lectures lack structure and, more importantly, she spreads misinformation. In one class, she said John Locke was a feminist, which is at best a gross exaggeration given the time he was alive. Most of the "tough grader" comments are coming from the fact that her metrics don't relate to the assigned material. Vanita is just a lazy professor.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLI103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Vanita is such an amazing lecturer, you can easily tell how knowledgable and passionate she is at teaching and it only makes your learn that much better. Really recommend this teacher, she's a tough grader but her grading is overall fair and she'll help you improve if you go to her office hours and show some effort.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLI113
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I thought I was doing well until I read my evaluation, which tore me in half and was a huge surprise. My dad even read her eval and was disgusted that ucsc would hire someone who couldn't communicate better. She was obviously trying to prove herself as a young prof with a chip on her shoulder. So many great poli profs; don't waste your time on her!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLI105B
• 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:

Vanita is easily one of the best lecturers at UCSC. Her eloquent speech, notable energy, and complex yet profound organization of ideas all lend themselves to the creation of lectures that stay with you long after class has ended. Take her classes, attend her office hours, and make good friends with your TA, and you'll do fine.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLI105B
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Vanita is an EXCELLENT professor. The comments expressing her "cold" demeanor and/or hard grading come from those who didn't put any effort into the class. Her lectures are engaging, informative, and often very entertaining, and one-on-one she is great to talk to and very helpful. Take her classes!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POLI3
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

In lecture Prof. Seth in engaging and places a lot of emphasis on theory. Lecture not mandatory. One on one I find her to be very cold and intimidating. There is a lot of required reading from eres which is pretty dense, but some of it was really interesting. Her assignments were vague and did not seem to relate to the material.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POLIT03
• 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:

I thought Vanita was one of the best professors I have had this year. Her lectures were fun and interesting and actually made me WANT to attend lectures. I never sought her for help, but she always made it clear that she was there to provide assistance. Be prepared to work and read though. Love her!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POLI105B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

loved her. do the readings and participate in section which are really important. get an amazing TA (ie lydia)... makes things a lot easier. dont be late to lecture or fall asleep (she'll yell at you) AND dont eat in class (cause its annoying).

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POLI03
• 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:

Do not take this class as a GE, you will regret it. Tough grader, vague with directions, rants and complains almost all lecture long about her stupid students, ignores emails, very intimidating and uninviting. She may know her stuff and conduct engaging lectures, but sticks to a very liberal POV which seems incomplete.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: POL105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Holy crap I wish I read these comments before I signed up. Really difficult grader. High amount of D's on this quarter's midterms.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: POLI105B
• 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:

i love politics, but this class was a joke. her lectures are awful, go off on tangents, and she is intolerable. i dont know how she can be called a politics professor; its like a bad history class. avoid like the plague!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POLI105B
• 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:

do not take. she is the devil

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POLI105B
• 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:

Do not attempt to take this class. She is so rude, rigid, and irrational. Even though I did well, it was not by any help from her. Save yourself and choose someone else! Seriously!!!!!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POLI3
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She is very orgainized and hates it when you are late, so don't bother coming to class if you are going to be late. She will kick you out. Kind of boring classes but the assignments were pretty easy and fun.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: POLI103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Do not show up to her class late, she will throw you out

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: POLI103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She was VERY tough in grading and in her eval. She completely failed to explain what she wanted or how she would grade before our midterm essay, so there was an EXTREMELY high percentage of D's in our class. She rambled, was constantly repetitive, and never clear. Totally on a power trip.