3.4
Quality2.8
Difficulty58%
Would Retake112
Reviews58%
Would Retake
112
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
32
4
26
3
28
2
19
1
7
What Students Say
“The content was easy to grasp and studying was easy”
PHIL1290 - 4.0 rating“I would highly recommend taking a class with him”
PHIL1290 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
20%
Textbook Required
11%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.72 avg changeRatings by Course
120
5.0
(1)17129
5.0
(1)PHIL101
5.0
(3)PHI101
5.0
(1)PHILO
5.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
PHIL
4.5
PHIL2750
4.3
INTROLOGI
4.0
CRITICALT
4.0
CRITICAL
4.0
Reviews (112)
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No Comments
UM's famous Dancing Professor! His Nietsche dance is illuminating.
Great prof, unique "dancing lecture" style. His Sartre dance cannot be forgotten
Very easy prof; thorough notes, but spends entire lectures on assignments
very difficult prof; sparse notes, and spend entire lectures dancing.
This is without a doubt THE most boring prof of all time. The text was better.
No Comments
Very knowledgeable and fair. Knows his philo. Loves his dancing.
No Comments
Intriguing combination of stoic philosophical theory and abstract jazz routines.
A little less dancing, and a little more philosophy please.
He really knows his material, very helpful to students and very funny :)
Make the class more interesting!!!
Excellent prof. His dancing is very instructive and interesting. Is well built.
Pretty good overall. But his Sartre Thong Dance made the class ill.
A rising star in the dancing philosopher community. A+ Prof.
So nice! Doesn't have that professorial pomposity (yet)
No Comments
He taught me that the toilet is for my ass.
I heap loads of scorn upon his dancing mustache.
hard marker, good teacher
hard marker, doesn't make sense, classes boring, text book doesn't help at all, stupid examples, bad prof, get someone else
good prof
sounds like a robot
I thought he did a great job!
Very hard prof. This class requires a lot of work and effort just to get a decent grade. Also he doesn't like to give good grades. There are alot of other profs that teach this course and make it really easy(take home tests and exams). Stay away.
Assignments are easy, tests are easy, decent notes, but he doesn't like to give good marks out. Textbook was almost useless. He made an awful class kinda fun as he's a pretty cool guy.
this guy is entertaining and knows his stuff....but the assignments are way to much work compared to other sections. Avoid this one!
He's the funniest guy. But watch out... make sure that anytime you ask him a question about an assignment, you do it through email so you have evidence. He'll give you a suggestion, and when you follow it, he marks it wrong and won't adjust your mark.
If Prof. Walsh signed up for a course that cost $400 and promised him a diploma as a priest in a small Arkansas-based church, would he do it? True story.
Soo hot! He's so smart and so funny. Fairly easy class, except his backside is too distracting!
He was a really good prof. He was really helpful, and explained everything very carefully. I went into that course not knowing anything about it, and he did such a great job teaching. I wish he was teaching me philosophy now.
One word . . . . BOOOOOOORRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!
so boring! I will bet anyone that takes this class $100 that they will fall asleep atleast once in this class. Plus it is a lot of work for a filler class.
No Comments
Easy class, good prof. despite boring lectures. Prepares you well for exams. Says "upshot" a lot. Does anyone even know what its even supposed to mean? Labs are more interesting than the class itself (w/ Sam). Easy assignments.
Great teacher, really easy class
He is UofM's famous "dancing professor". He explains difficult philosophical concepts with complex and energetic dancing. It often works. But usually, everyone is baffled. How do you study for this stuff? Dancing instead of notes??? During one dance, he tripped and fell on a student in a wheelchair.
Maybe not as amsuing as in his other classes, but you have to pay attention to find the humor. When he's not lecturing, he's actually a pretty interesting guy. The course wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I got some good suff out of it nonetheless. I guess at first blush, that's the upshot.
Taking his "Dancing Business Ethics" course was quite an experience. I'll never forget his MBA Mamba or his Donald Trump Tap-dance. But the other rating is right... this stuff is impossible to study for. I fear that I'll fail, and then so much for graduating this Spring. Beware!
Mr.Walsh is an excellent prof, I admit that his lectures can be a little boring but I would blame that on the subject and not him (listen carefully for his sarcastic humor,it makes the time go faster). He is an excellent person to talk to and is always willing to help. The labs in this class are great, definitly take his class if you get a chance.
He was a decent prof. I fell asleep a few times and did find his lectures sort of boring... enjoyed his subtle humor. He took a lot from the text book but the text was super helpful. The work is not too bad in the class, I got pretty good on all his assignments and ended up with my first A....so he can't be too bad.
Good Prof. Has a good sense of humour. He isn't the excited type, though. I expected this class to involve a lot of active participation and involvement, but there wasn't any. Instead, it just seemed like he was the only one in the room.
Philosophy of Education: Prof Walsh is a very nice guy and he was helpful when I had questions. However, his one huge weakness is that he fails to ever engage his class and stimulate interest in the subject. He rarely attempts to create class discussions, the class is almost all lectures which (sorry) become dull after 2+ hours.
Ethics and Society: Assignments were fair-hard, but he is an easy marker. Class was boring, he didn't facilitate class discussion. Its important to listen to the lectures tho, cuz his material is alwasy useful for essays. I really like him, he has a nice sense of humor. I would definately recommend this prof. :)
He taught the distance ed section. The course was pretty easy, 6 long answer assignments based on the unit readings and no exam! However, he was almost impossible to contact. Several students complained that he wouldn't reply to emails or phone calls.
When I saw this guy had a 4/5 rating, my jaw practically hit the floor. This class is painful enough as it is, and it's even more painful with this dud ranting at the front of the class. Lectures about nothing, no enthusiasm, doesnt listen to students at all. Honestly, he "ought" to retire.
Class time is boring! He has the ppt but make students to hand write everything. while writing, he talks about the important concept. Sorry, Can't write and listen at the same time especially you need to write down what he talks as well. No class interaction. No question/answer environment. Bad experience. I wish I could give him 0 rating.
When i checked this guys review before taking his class, all the review were good! i have NO IDEA WHY. He is terrible!!!! sooooo insanly boring and you HAVE to go to class to get the notes!Exam is tomorow and we STILL havent gotten our last test marks back yet so i have no clue of my mark going into my exam.take a different course for your ethics r
He can be a little boring, but has some lame/funny humour. his explanations are fairly good and the class is easy, if you pay any attention youll do fine.
He's really awful, I can't believe he has such a good review on here. His assignments are so vague, and his classes are so boring and useless. Definitely avoid him if you care about marks or learning.
Prof Walsh is the famous "dancing professor of philosophy". All concepts are taught with complex, ornate dancing. Usually instructive, sometimes baffling, occasionally embarrassing. Dancing leotards are hilarious! Knows his stuff.
Lectures were often a bit dry, but it's not his fault really, I put it more down to the subject matter. He did his best to make things interesting through creative examples and the occasional joke. Would sign up for another class with him
Walsh was by far one of the best professors I've ever had. Genuinely an awesome professor, class was a little dry but that's more to do with the material
Dry material, very helpful prof and very approachable, gpa booster if you pay attention but don't underestimate test 2!
I recommend if you're taking class with this prof, I recommend to get the book and you can just skip all the lectures.
Lectures helpful, but not at all mandatory to attend. If you spent the hour each lecture reading the textbook outside of class you would be very well prepared.
Sometimes hard to keep focused during lectures because they were a bit dry. The content was easy to grasp and studying was easy. Don't worry if you miss a couple of lectures. Also, I found his subtle sense of humour awesome!
This course isn't that tough; it has two assignments which each consists of two papers and a final (which is a essay question like assignments and know question ahead of time). Lectures are not necessary but could be little helpful. This prof is not the toughest grader but class is not an easy A. Not a lot of time spent is needed for this course.
The lectures are torture with very long lecture slides but all the lectures were posted so attendance was really not necessary. Lots of people just came for test days and that's it.
The lectures were brutally painful to sit through and the marking is inconsistent. Usually grades reflect effort and understanding of material. But not this class. I've never had such a huge spread in my grades, especially when the tests and assignments are all the same format. I put a lot of work in and it only sometimes showed in my grades.
Professor Walsh is easily one of the best Philosophy professors at U of M. His classes are engaging and interesting, his opinions are very flexible but informative, meaning hes interested in students forming their own opinions and he helps with that. He is a very fair grader and tests contain no surprises. Highly recommend!
Most boring lectures I have ever attended. The textbook does a better job of teaching if you take an afternoon to read it.
Most boring classes I ever attended. Everyone will be sleepy and no one is giving him attention. Textbook is better than attending lectures. :(
Patrick Walsh is definitely one of the better profs at the U of M. His lectures (and voice) are super clear and he is fully willing to answer any questions any student has. Aside from that, his tests, assignments and final were all a cakewalk and not complicated or difficult at all. I would highly recommend taking a class with him.
Online course, NO exam, but the result of your assignment taking you forever to get it. Though it's a 6 credit course, but it worries you as you know nothing about your performances. Avoid it if you want to keep yourself up-to-date about your progress / GPA
Great prof. Explains and goes in depth very well. Easy A if you put in a little work
He is a nice guy, but that was by far the most unentertaining class I have ever taken. I ended up going in once every 2 weeks just to see how far along in the material they were. Just read the textbook and do the coursework and you'll be fine. If you're dedicated and keep up it should be eas to get an A.
Only went to the class on the days there were quizzes and to hand in papers. He writes paragraphs on his online power-points then reads them almost word for word in class. If you study the power-points you will be set for the quizzes. Didn't have a final only a final paper. Super easy,
UofM's famous Dancing Philosopher, they say. He doesn't speak, write notes, or give readings. Instead, each class is 40 mins of random, spastic dancing. What does this have to do with philosophy? How can you study for exams? Also, do not sit in the front row, or you may be accidentally struck by an errant foot or elbow. Two words: BIZARRE course.
literally sitting in the class right now. SO BORING. I've had two cups of coffee and I'm now sleepy. his voice is incredibly monotone and very difficult to listen to. Lectures are basically him talking to himself. pretty unclear. probably an easy A, but so so so boring. If you can get Shaver instead, do it. Trust me, you will be falling asleep.
Patrick is a nice, helpful Professor but his lectures are extremely boring and unentertaining. You don't need to go to class to do well, just study his slides and read the textbook. His tests are fairly easy, his assignments are harder.
He seems like a genuinely nice guy, but is quite the snooze fest. He usually gives the exact topics of what will be on the test, so I often skipped several weeks at a time. I feel bad for him because he seems like he cares a lot about philosophy, but no one ever really pays attention in his class. Very easy to approach, but prepare to be bored.
Read the textbook and youll be fine. Keep in mind an A is 85 or above so it helps to attend class and write the notes before hand. The examples from the book help. Pat usually does examples right from the book.
Professor Walsh is a very nice guy but his lectures are extremely boring. I never bothered attending class because I didn't pay attention anyway. I just made a few friends who were still dedicated to attend the lectures and asked them what material I needed to focus on for the tests and I still got an A at the end of the term with minimal effort.
meh . The prof can't make material any interesting because the whole course is boring to the core. The course is rather slow paced so at least you can take your time with readings and google what you can't understand. 3 tests and final, all are fair with no surprises. multiple choice focused on power points from class while short answer on readings
Very nice but boring. Also tough grader and takes forever to give you your marks back. Will never take any philosophy class again especially after this.
Easy prof, classes are boring, but if you read the slides and the book pages mentioned in slides, do google research on the topics you don't understand in book you will get an easy B, trick is go to his office hours, prepare the test answers beforehand and you should be fine. He is genuine, cares about the stdnts but lots to read. Books are a must.
Patrick is such a good professor, he is so passionate about what hes teaching but its sad because its just SO boring. If he taught another class that i was actually interested in, i'd take it but philosophy just isn't for me. He is very understanding and will accommodate you when needed. His exams are directly from his class notes.
This guy LOVES to hear himself speak. He is incredibly overqualified to be teaching this course and seems to want us all to know it too, speaks at such a high level of knowledge when this is many people's only ever philosophy course. Does not dumb things down and is utterly boring. Don't waste your time attending class, just read the slides.
This prof should record an audiobook cause I have never fallen asleep faster when listening to someone talk. Seriously tho, his lectures are useless and he is SOOO boring. Read over his slides and do your best. The textbook material SUCKS and that won't change but reading does help slightly. If you have a course with him, good luck.
Had him for second half of PHIL1200. Honestly seems so kind, but he is so incredibly boring. Loves to hear himself talk. Straight up difficult not to fall asleep a little in his lectures. However, you definitely need to go to class to get the notes, since there's not enough detail on his powerpoint I thought. Upside, no final exam, just a paper.
I took PHIL1200 online and had to complete 6 assignments all around 7 pages for the entire course. Professor Walshs feedback on these assignments was helpful and he was very lenient in regards to late assignment. At the end of the course although I was 1% away from the A+ threshold, he gave me an A* anyways. Con: he grades assignments very late.
Okay this prof is okay, he has good explanations and good examples of the content. However the class is extremely boring. If you are taking this class as remote learning I highly recommend skip the class and then watch the recorded lecture 2 hrs later but put the setting to playback at 2x speed. He talks so slow this made it so much better. Read to
For Business ethics when I took it I believe it was just 3 exams. Straightforward course, do some studying for each exam and you can get a B or an A. However lectures were dry.
Easy class, fair tests, not hard assignments. I didn't read the textbook and just used my notes from class to study and did quite well. He is a nice person, will answer questions and knows the material he is teaching well. Good choice to pick!
This is an awesome Professor. I love the subtle jokes he cracks in the middle of lecture. It can be boring sometimes but the content is really interesting, at least for me, it was. He has been really lenient in online class. Loved his lectures and his answers to my questions. All in all, he is a good person but can be boring for many.
Easy A class. Tests are easy, no homework. If you are in the sciences and need an elective this should be it.
Initially, the classes might feel boring, but don't drop it. Patrick's tests are very easy - 2/3 count & the final was fair. Only hard part is the assignment, which is best done in a group. TEXTBOOK IS MANDATORY. He speaks very slowly so his classes can be boring but I liked the course for how well it was structured & how straightforward it was.
This course may seem a bit boring in the beginning, but you'll get by studying the textbook for tests (check slides first) if you don't like sitting through lectures! Make sure you have a few friends in class that you can discuss the assignment with. His tests are straightforward, an easy A if you actually study the textbook.
Overall I had a great experience in professor Walsh's class. I understand the comments saying he is boring (he does have a monotone voice), but he explained things very clearly and made sure that his students understood. He has a dry sense of humor that I found funny. He never makes you feel like an idiot, no matter what you ask. Solid prof.
Honestly, I think this course had potential but I and many other students did not enjoy his class. He's a really nice and reasonable guy but it's almost impossible to pay attention in his class.
If you're going to take PHIL 1290 DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS! Comparative to the other classes, his tests were extremely different and more difficult. My friends were in the other critical thinking class and my experience was so different from theirs. My class average was almost consistently lower and many people in my class agreed his class was boring.
I think he's a pretty funny and nice guy but I definitely wouldn't take PHIL 1290 class with him. His class was very different from the other phil 1290 courses, they even had different textbooks. The tests were much harder in this class compared to the other classes.
He is a good Prof, his lectures are a bit heavy and long but about 70 to 80% tests are made from the presentations and readings he provides in the class during lectures which was a good part
Had him for the second half of the course. His lectures can be a bit of a drag to attend (I personally saw the recordings at 1.5x playback speed and that helped). Papers are graded fairly and he gives good personalized feedback. He's very accommodating with extensions and overall a very decent prof.
Boring class, his monotone and slow voice makes it even worse. There is a take home final exam which is a lot of work. If you are a good textbook reader I wouldn't even attend class as it isn't very helpful for the most part. Class starts interesting enough but goes downhill fast by the second test, would probably only take if its mandatory.
The course content is interesting, but lectures are very dry and hard to follow. The Midterm was fair, but the final exam was tougher than it ought to have been. Lots of work and reading if you want an A/A+.
This professor was impossible to get ahold of. I took his course PHIL1300 distance education and a lot of the material was very difficult to understand. By the time of the final exam I had only received feedback on 2 of the assignments from the whole course. The assignment and exams difficulty level was WAY beyond that of the material taught.
Professor Walsh is passionate and well intentioned. He does his best to help his students and responds well to questions. I wasn't the biggest fan of the material of the course, there are lots of readings. It is very time consuming to develop a good understanding of the course material to succeed in the course.
I work full time in the military. At times it would be tough to mesh my course work with my work responsibilities, while being deployed to various locations. While I did not like asking for flexibility on deadlines, Patrick Walsh had no problem working with me to ensure that I had the time to hand in quality work. I will always appreciate that.
Professor Walsh is a good person, however sometimes his lectures can be a bit slow / boring. Tests are usually straightforward, and you can talk to him outside of class and he is pretty good at explaining things. He does make a lot of jokes and random comments, so if you're into that then I'd say you'll find him mildly funny.
I don't think this class was for me personally but Professor Walsh comes off as extremely intelligent and his discussions felt very thorough and intentional. Scores based entirely on test and exam performance, tests are open book and only the top 3 out of 4 count towards your grade. Final exam counts to over 50% of your final grade.
Very funny lectures
Very monotone, at times the dry humor can be funny. Exam questions seemed a little unfair, the response to one question could affect the response of many others
Lectures can be dry, but the professor explains concepts well. The workload is manageable if you stay on top of the readings. Using unstuck study and ChatGPT really helped me prepare for exams.
The content of this course is interesting, but the feedback is given late, making it difficult to improve on subsequent assignments. The lecturer's hands-off approach to teaching also makes it challenging to get the support needed to improve. I would not take it again.
Excellent sense of humor, I found him very clear and comprehensible when explaining concepts that were both simple and complicated. Perhaps not the most engaging or interactive, but easy to learn from and textbook oriented. All grading through tests, does not feel like he is trying to 'trick' you.
a bit of a tough marker and may take a while to release grades, but very understanding when it comes to assignment deadlines. textbook readings are usually works from philosophers who lived hundreds of years ago, or an elaboration on/assessment of what those authors had to say. overall, nice guy but i learned philosophy is not for me personally
Took the distanced class, lots of heavy reading that often took multiple read throughs to understand (in person lectures may be different). Content somewhat built upon one another but mainly found that feedback on the content of one assignment could not be necessarily be used to improve the next.
The material is really interesting and engaging. There are a lot of articles, books and pieces to read through as well as videos to watch, but they were well organized and uploaded ahead of time. The professor returned assignments later than expected (some really late) but the feedback was great and really specific. Overall a pretty good class
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
20%
Textbook Required
11%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.72 avg changeRatings by Course
120
5.0
(1)17129
5.0
(1)PHIL101
5.0
(3)PHI101
5.0
(1)PHILO
5.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
PHIL
4.5
PHIL2750
4.3
INTROLOGI
4.0
CRITICALT
4.0
CRITICAL
4.0