Nathan Firestone - University of Pittsburgh

Professor: Nathan Firestone

Department: TBD

College: University of Pittsburgh

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PS1201
• 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:

He was insanely sweet and a very interesting lecturer! Corona may have skewed this a bit, but he wants everyone to do well and pass- so as long as you put effort in you're basically guaranteed a B.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POL0500
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Took his online class. He never replies to your emails. The syllabus is also misleading and lacks enough information.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: HIST250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

2 huge take home tests. He did not give feedback once this semester. Also, he does not respond to emails. You do not need the 3 textbooks. You will watch a ton of movies. The take home tests are ESSAYS 11 pages long. Would not take anything from him.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: LEGLST0080
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Only assignments are 2-3 writing heavy exams, with an optional final to improve your grade. He gives study guides, so do them and you'll do well. You need the book; a lot of the cases you can't find online. Firestone has a ton of experience and a lot of interesting stories! Clearly very liberal, but he's willing to listen to different opinions.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: LEGST0800
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Judge Firestone is a very nice man and an easy grader but I will never take his class again. If you don't actually want to learn anything about the law and just want to cram for a couple hard tests, than take his class. Otherwise, skip him! This intro class is terrible and he doesn't actually teach the students anything. Waste of money and time.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PS1202
• 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:

I've taken professor Firestone for several classes now and gotten an -A or higher in all of them. He is lecture heavy but an easy grader. Also, he is an actual cinnamon roll 10/10 recommend adore him

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: LEGLS0080
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Judge Firestone is awesome. Although his exams are tough, the study guides help a lot and so does his easy grading. He genuinely cares about his students and it's apparent! Definitely take him but don't be fooled, you NEED to prepare for exams.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: LEGST0080
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Firestone gave us two tests and an optional final to improve our grades. After about a month I stopped doing the readings for class and just studied the text for the final. The final was optional and only to try to improve your grade. With a 10ish hours of studying for each exam I scored a B+ on both, I took the optional final and got an A-

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PS1511
• 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:

Took Judge Firestone for Amr. Pres. and now Foreign Policy. Great guy, assigns textbooks but independent research will also do nicely. It would help if you're interested in the material. Easy grader as long as you show up to the optional workshops (they help!) and put your best effort into the exams. Grade based off of two exams and one take home.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PS1212
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Super easy grader, yet still an interesting class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PS1212
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I enjoyed this class. I'm pretty interested in the study of the presidency and learned new things. If you are interested in presidents take a class with Firestone. The lectures are mostly stories so take note of key points and pay attention to the films. Follow the study guides for exams while reading.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PS1511
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Firestone is good for this class. I liked that we only had to attend three classes. He usually covers on topic in depth in class and the rest you read on your own. Three Exams. Two in the testing center and one take home. He tells plenty of stories and is pretty interesting. Study the book, his notes, and and A is doable.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PS0500
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Awful at teaching an online class. Takes forever to respond to emails. When and if you get a response, you're lucky if it is more than a word. Extremely disorganized, just piled random crap into course web folders. The last week of school and we didn't even get exam 1 grades back. Nothing makes sense, he always makes mistakes in announcements.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: LEGLST0080
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Syllabus said there would be four tests and an optional final, but we only had two, and convinced him to make the first open book/open notes and the second a take home. Very knowledgeable guy. Sweet, easy-going. Participation not necessary but it could boost your grade. He goes off on tangents a lot but it helps break the monotony of 2.5hr class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PS1202
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Here comes the judge. I think he's great, but not your textbook definition of 'helpful', 'clear' or 'easy': no office hours, stream of consciousness teaching style, and tests that made girls cry. But he's an encyclopedia of law and politics, a supreme goof, and fair grader. He appreciates the hell out of genuine student interest. Read up and learn!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: LEGST0800
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Judge Firestone is a nice guy and will give help if you ask for it. Tests were hard but he's an easy grader. Two midterms and an optional final. Doesn't follow any format and gets off topic constantly. Can't really take good notes in this class. Extremely liberal, doesn't listen to other viewpoints. Class is long and boring.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: LEGLS0080
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is a good outstanding community citizen, loves his work, even loves teaching students and the attention but here's the catch, unless your parents were a lawyer whom he has heard of or knows, or you are the brat of someone in the field, he does not give you any respect whatsoever, a complete "classist" by nature of seniority of the profession .

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: LEGST0800
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Firestone's class is fairly entertaining, he likes to make jokes to keep it light. His tests are rather difficult, but he is such an easy grader.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PS1511FORPOL
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took this class as a hybrid course. Sessions were once a month for 3hrs on Saturdays. Judge Firestone is very passionate and knows his stuff. He is friendly and opens the floor for discussion. The course was very self-directed so you must be motivated. 2 closed books exams & a take home. All essay questions. Study hard. Very interesting material.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: LEGALSTUDIES
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. He gives very interesting talks about his personal cases, and he also expands on the cases we read in class. Loves when there is discussion, and makes class interesting. The exams and quizzes are challenging but he is more than a fair grader. You can get a C on a quiz and end up getting a B+ or A- after curve. I would recommend.