Reviews of professor Stephen Larin

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
This professor was the least professional prof I have ever had. He did not deal with miscommunications well getting defensive with students and gave a ton of work from the beginning with no clear instructions on how to succeed.

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Professor Larin is very passionate and smart and loves what he teaches, however, the reading notes every week get to be way to much and he made our paper due very early compared to every other course when he cannot even give us back our exams or reading notes on time. He also does not make his expectations clear when it comes to the midterm.

Rating: 3.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Professor Larin is really passionate and I have great respect for that. My main problems have to do with the sheer level of work done for the class. The weekly reading notes take me at least 2 days (usually every Sunday and Monday). The midterm was fine, but he takes a while to get things back to us. Not unusual, but not incredibly helpful either.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
He is an excellent prof. He really does care about his students but pushes them to work their hardest. Initially, I was very nervous to take this course as I had heard mixed reviews but the content was fantastic and he did great with being forced to teach online. The reading notes are super helpful, albeit annoying to do. Take any course he teaches

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 5.0/5
Larin is a great guy, he clearly cares about what he's teaching and for the success of his students. That said, his expectations for his students are far too high at the undergraduate level. Expect to spend roughly 3-4 additional hours on this course per week (compared to other 400 level pols courses). He is a tough marker, but does reward effort.

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Tough class but a passionate teacher