Ward Thomas - College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

Professor: Ward Thomas

Department: Political Science

College: College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POLS282
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Thomas was a very enjoyable professor. Would absolutely recommend for serious POLS students. Can be a bit of a tough grader, but keen attention to lectures and consistent keeping up with the reading will almost always guarantee a good grade. Don't use big vocabulary--he doesn't like it lol

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POLS282
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Thomas has a dry sense of humor and overall his class was enjoyable and informative. Be prepared to work, but if you pay attention to lectures and probe his mind during office hours, you will likely do very well. He is affable, humorous, and generally speaking, free of political biases. Take him if you want to challenge yourself in POLS.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLS282
• 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:

One of the best professors in Political Science department. He is a funny guy and tells jokes throughout the class (but end up awkwardly most of the time). You need to finish the readings and videos before classes, which can be a lot, especially in the beginning of the semester. Tough grader. If you like Poli Sci, he's a solid choice.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MONT103
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

WT loves to hear himself talk, but if you listen he does make good points and explains the material pretty thoroughly. You'll be in his office hours for longer than you probably want to be there, but he'll tell you everything you need to know for your paper and/or test.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLS103
• 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:

Prof. Thomas is not as hard as people make him seem. If you go to office hours before the exams and talk to him EXTENSIVELY regarding the guiding questions on the syllabus, he will clearly explain them in a way that could earn you a good grade on the exams. His papers are hard. He is so picky with grammar. If you want a challenge, take him.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLS282
• 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:

Don't be fooled: As laid back as he may seem, he is a very difficult grader. Fair warning, he can also be abrasive. However, given the relatively low caliper of the Political Science Department, he is one of the better options.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLS282
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Extremely hard grader. Laid-back attitude but serious about his material. Readings are at some points vague and incomprehensible, but class lectures are interesting and relevant. Low number of graded assignments is frustrating in combination with tough grading. Would recommend courses for upperclassmen or those who want a challenge.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLS103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof Thomas definitely made class lectures very interesting. Looked forward to going to class, but there was a LOT of reading. He's a tough grader and takes forever getting papers back, but other than that I'd definitely recommend taking his Intro to IR class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLS301
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Just Horrible. Likes to hear himself talk.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: IR103
• 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:

He is a really nice professor and he knows his stuff. Gives a lot of readings and grading isn't the best. The biggest issue I had were his lack of office hours. He only had a few and there would be tons of people waiting and if you tried to make an appointment he wasn't very flexible. I learned a lot in the class though.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POLS103
• 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:

Nice, funny man. Assigns TONS of readings though (dense and obscure ones!), especially ones that you have to get in the reserve room of Dinand and pay to copy... I probably spent $40 making copies of articles I didn't even understand. Makes tests sound extremely hard, but they covered general concepts, and aren't too bad.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POLSSECT
• 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:

terrible

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HIST103
• 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:

Great Professor. Does give A LOT of reading, and some is repetative. BUT he is a really cool guy, and really wants you to understand concepts. Makes tests sound scary but they really aren't that bad, just study a lot and you will be fine :) Great class, great prof, take it!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: IR103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy overall. Good professor and knows his stuff... Awful grader. For an intro class he graded as if it was a seminar. Was on leave last year, but no excuse for a grad school level grading policy. Very sketchy in office hours, especially uncomfortable sometimes. Slaughtered the GPA, despite extreme effort put into the class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

He is such a nice guy and such a great teacher. I don't think I could give any Professor at HC a better endorsement, and that saying a lot.

Rating # 16

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

one of the best profs at HC! brilliant, a great teacher, and a very nice and approachable guy. as someone said above, be ready to work, but also be ready to learn more in one semester than you ever thought possible.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

the best prof in poli sci. dept. & incredible guy. be ready to WORK

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POLS103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is by far the brightest professor i've ever had. he goes out of his way to present different viewpoints and address all sides of issues. interesting and funny, well organized.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: FYP113114
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Gives boring and long readings, without enough time to read them. Nice guy, but can be very bias although he claims not take sides on issues. Lectures are tedious, and repetitive. Very hard grader

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: POLS103
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Best teacher in the poly sci department. A hard grader, but you really learn a lot. Glad he will be back teaching regular poly sci and not fyp next year.