Jonathan Wadley

PS1 · PS12 · PS14 · 59 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 58/100
RMP rating: 3.6/5
Take again: 69.39%
Difficulty: 3.6

The decision

if you want to learn political science seriously and will keep up with readings, lectures, quizzes, and .

Best fit · Effort For RewardTough graderGet ready to readLecture heavyAmazing lecturesLots of homework

Knowledgeable Polisci lecturer with and useful short video lectures
and As require real weekly work
PS1 can feel lighter; PS12 and PS14 are more demanding

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

38/100

Many students earn As, but comments consistently say you must read, watch lectures, and nail strict quizzes and discussions; an A is work, not a freebie.

Online reviews dominate and emphasize weekly quizzes and discussion rubrics; in-person comments also stress heavy effort for the A.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

Content is reading- and lecture-dense with fast summer pacing and surface lectures.

Online summer sections especially feel compressed; .

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

55/100

Many online sections list attendance as not mandatory, but and and participation-linked grading.

Online ; several in-person reviews mark attendance as mandatory.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

68/100

About seven in ; majors who do the work praise learning and lectures, while GPA-focused students often warn others away.

Online reviews are split by course difficulty; negative personal experiences.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

and comments about , and little flexibility dominate the grading picture.

Format shift

Both formats report strict rubrics; credit.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

, and projects make the time load high, especially in summer.

Format shift

Online and ; summer online intensives feel especially packed.

Teaching experience

Good

68/100

, and valuable, though personality and responsiveness draw sharp criticism from a minority.

Format shift

; some in-person reviews attack communication and accommodations.

Assessment method

Balanced

55/100

Grades blend weekly quizzes, discussion boards, reading/video work, and style.

Format shift

Online PS1 ; PS12 and PS14 lean more quiz- and project-heavy in both formats.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

14 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

- and reading-heavy with formidable workload; strong learners praise depth, while and poor communication on accommodations.

Main concern

and limited flexibility can feel unforgiving for non-majors.

What students said

“I learned more in this class than any other class I've taken, and for good reason.”
PS14

“He has a horrible personality, is very hard to communicate with, and never gives accommodations.”
PS12

“I've never had so much work for one class. This is definitely not the difficulty that an intro class should be.”
PS1

Remote format

Online

36 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Mostly asynchronous online Polisci with weekly lectures, long textbook reading, quizzes, discussion boards, and occasional projects; feedback and organization are often praised, but quizzes and .

Main concern

Unpredictable or trick-heavy quizzes and if you skim or procrastinate.

What students said

“Read the textbook, watch the lectures, and , and you'll pass easily.”
PS1

“This class is not an easy A class, you have to do the work to do well.”
PS14

“Weekly quizzes are 15 questions long and only give you 25 minutes to complete.”
PS12

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment centers on frequent quizzes from readings and lectures, written discussions, and format.

Weekly quizzesTextbook and lecture basedTimed quizzesDiscussion boardsTerm paper or projectNo traditional final in some PS1 sections

Assessment risk

Standard

48/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person comments describe reading, lectures, quizzes, discussions, and assessments.

QuizzesReading heavyTerm paperDiscussion boards

“Doing well on the quizzes and .”
PS14

“Reading, lectures, and quizzes are what you're graded on. Same .”
PS14

Online

Online sections commonly use weekly quizzes, discussion posts, and projects; some PS1 courses replace a and have exam.

Weekly quizzesTimed quizzesDiscussion boardsNo final exam in some PS1Term paper

“The , which is excellent for taking alongside other intensive courses.”
PS1

“Weekly quizzes are 15 questions long and only give you 25 minutes to complete.”
PS12

“ so its important to be prepared.”
PS14

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“This class is not an easy A class, you have to do the work to do well. As long as you are committed to putting in effort for the course, you will do great!”
Voice snapshots generated from 50 reviews spanning online and in-person , and lecture quality. Credibility rating: High.

📚 Reading and Quiz Heavy

28/100

“You will not pass the .”

🎯 Strong Lectures When You Engage

68/100

“Professor Wadley is a great teacher! , and wants you to succeed.”

⚖️

28/100

“ as discussion posts and will not give full points no matter how hard you stick to the rubric.”

👍 Conditional Recommendation

68/100

“Do the work, and you will be okay.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

Great professor, easy to follow along. Lectures are invaluable for the quizzes.
, and wants you to succeed.
I liked his witty political commentary during the lectures.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

This class is not an easy A class, you have to do the work to do well.
.
I worked my butt off for my A. Never again!

Theme 3

📝 About Workload

Get ready to read
Lots of work but if you get it done as soon as .
though it's online.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

Fifty detailed reviews across multiple years and courses, with consistent , and lecture quality despite some polarization.

Inside 50 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 523

4 out of 512

3 out of 512

2 out of 52

1 out of 510

Course coverage

PS1422 reviews

PS1215 reviews

PS113 reviews

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

43 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 20 · A- 9

B range

B+ 2 · B 6 · B- 1

C range

C 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Not sure yet 2

Jonathan Wadley

x x if you want to learn political science seriously and will keep up with readings, lectures, quizzes, and x x x x.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Varies

WorthIt

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

📚 Reading and Quiz Heavy

🎯 Strong Lectures When You Engage

⚖️ x x x

👍 Conditional Recommendation

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

📝 About Workload

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you want to learn political science seriously and will keep up with readings, lectures, quizzes, and .

⚖️