Stephen Birdsall - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Professor: Stephen Birdsall

Department: TBD

College: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Grade is based on four papers, 2 midterms, and a non-cumulative final. The midterms are a little difficult but if you take good notes and study them, you will do fine. The papers are greaded by TAs. Lectures are pretty dry but Birdsall makes them as interesting as possible. Attendance is not mandatory. Good class to take to fulfill a GenEd.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Professor Birdsall is really nice and a good professor. I actually liked lectures, but I took this class for my major so I was already interested in the material. The class was huge, which was a downside, and Birdsall tried to get more participation which was hard. This class was super easy, assignments are straight forward and tests are simple.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I took this class because I needed to fill in a spot in my schedule and I am glad I did. Prof Birdsall is amazing and he made it so I was fully engaged in class. The class was very easy, only a few written assignments that were graded easily and three exams. I will warn you though, the final exam is very hard compared to the other previous exams.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I loved this class. Birdsall definitely cares about geography and his students. He does a good job at explaining how geography is connected to the world at large. There are 4 writing assignments and the TAs graded them nicely. I recommend going to class since the tests are based on lectures.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This is the most boring class I have ever taken. Nice guy though.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Birdsall is quite enthusiastic about this course even if he (understandably) is not too enthusiastic about the students. I felt kinda bad for him as barely anyone would answer his questions but most people are taking it for the Gen Eds. Overall his lectures can be dry but this course should be easy if you know the basics of world history.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is not bad by any means, but this class is not for everyone. There is a ton of information thrown at you in a short period of time (which is understandable given the point of the class). However, the exams are worth a surprising amount and they are hard to study for because he makes them weirdly specific. Nice guy, but not the best course.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Birdsall is super nice and definitely cares about his students. Lecture is pretty boring but you have to go because the test is based entirely on it. Make sure to take really good notes too because tests can have the most specific random questions. There are 4 short writing assignments also but graded kind of tough by TAs.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Birdsall is the typical nice grandpa teacher. Knows a lot about geography and is pretty funny at times, but the material in this class is kinda dry a lot of the time. The tests are tough but he curves grades a ton at the end of the semester. I probably deserved a B and he curved it to an A-. Overall cool guy.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He was a great lecturer. He knows what he is talking about and it's the type of class where going over the powerpoint won't help you at all. You need to be in class and take good notes to know what the slide is about. He has amazing stories and is ver knowledgable about wha the teaches. Still a hard class, I'm terrible at geography.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Birdsall is truly a remarkable man. He is extremely knowledgeable and incredibly passionate. The class is based on only 3 exams and 4 short writing assignments. GO TO CLASS unless you want to read the entire textbook. If you go to class and take good notes, you should be fine. He is well-respected and earned a round of applause on LDOC!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I personally really enjoyed this class with Prof. Birdsall. He is really passionate about geography, and he really tries to engage the class in each lecture. You are graded only by 3 exams and 4 short writing assignments. Attendance isn't mandatory but is necessary in order to do well on the exams, but lectures are always super chill!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Birdsall is great! As long as you go to class you will do fine.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• 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:

Professor Birdsall is very passionate and knowledgeable about geography. The content of the class makes his lectures a little dry at times, but he does his best to keep you interested. It's mainly a lecture/test class with a few assignments. The tests are pretty specific from lectures, but if you show up and take good notes you're good.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Birdsall is the most precious professor I have encountered at UNC by far. He really knows his stuff about geography. Exams are mainly lecture-based and attendance isn't mandatory. Downfalls are lectures can get boring at times but he tries to keep it interesting, & he doesn't use a mic so it can be hard to hear at times. Love him! 10/10

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lecture can be a little boring sometimes but Birdsall tries to give his own input (rather than stick to textbook material). The tests were not terrible, if you attend lecture, skim the readings, and study the vocab you will do fine. There were 5 VERY SHORT writing assignments. Overall, I felt like this was a good geog intro class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are a little monotonous at times, but you can tell he really cares about what he is teaching and wants you to succeed in his class. Your grade is made up of a few pretty simple written assignments and exams. If you go to the lecture and take good notes you should get an A no problem.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Pretty nice dude - he loves geography, and it shows. Lectures are laid-back and a little sleepy, but TAKE THOROUGH NOTES and go to class. Exams are almost entirely based on lectures. The assignments for the class are also pretty easy. I put in no effort and scooted out of there with a B-.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof Birdsall is like a cool grandpa. He's a very nice man who's passionate about his field. I struggled at first since I'd never taken geography before but he was very helpful and looks for growth more than grades. Very fair grader in that he added points back for students with tougher TAs.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GEOG120
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took this class to fulfill gen-ed credit. Not a bad professor -- and I found the class to be pretty interesting -- but if you want to pass, you have to go to class. I did not read the textbook, yet still made an A on the exams. The class is based on 5 small (not hard and graded very fairly) writing assignments and the three exams.