2.6
Quality4.0
Difficulty28%
Would Retake86
Reviews28%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
11
4
18
3
20
2
17
1
20
What Students Say
“Nevertheless, great professor, was racist against asians in the beginning, but then she stopped”
POL204 - 4.0 rating“I actually received an A in this class”
POL204 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
45%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.08 avg changeRatings by Course
POL
5.0
(1)POL442A
5.0
(1)POL452
4.0
(4)POL560
4.0
(1)POL542A
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
POL442
5.0
POL202
5.0
POL504
5.0
POL204
4.1
POL
4.0
Reviews (86)
Both the midterm and the final ended up being take home. We had no in-class exams or tests. The only other thing was a paper which was only 7 pages and attendance.
This is the most difficult I have taken this semester. Professer Kurzer is very knowledgable, and her wit makes class a little more enjoyable. It's important to take notes by listening to her lectures, her slides aren't helpful at all - there's no need to even copy them down.
the tests are pretty tough and although she is funny and the lectures are pretty interesting, i am a good student and found it hard to stay on top of the readings and do well
She's nice but lectures are unnecessary because everything on the tests is from the book. Depends a lot on your TA - he or she does all the grading. Grade was based on 6 online quizes (easy, but don't miss them - each was 5% of the grade), midterm, final, and 20% attendence. Go to discussion section. There is a fair amount of reading.
Class was easy. The lectures were sometimes boring but with lots of pictures. Tests were take home.
Great and annimated! But material is way too hard and lectures are sometimes loger than usual.
hilarious woman!
Great lecturer. Quick with the comebacks, too.
Textbook that we used was horrible, it was her own collection of readings. Prof. rude. On the upside, grade is based a lot on attendence and quizzes.
EASY!!! but hard to listen too...
Great lecturer, but the textbook was dry and the quiz questions were mostly out of the book. Reading is a must if you want to pass, and theres quite a bit of it. Professor is funny, but her voice kind of grates in long lectures. Quizzes were difficult, and not graded fairly in my humble opinion.
The answers to every question on her tests / quizes are completely ambiguous. Every answer is right, but some are ever-so slightly more correct than the others. I'm not a mind reader.
She's hilarious! She makes the lectures very interesting. The D2L Quizzes are kind of tricky though....
not one of the best political science courses.
Very good lecturer, but hard professor. She is a hard grader and there is no make up work. She is very interesting and makes taking notes fun, but I wouldn't recommend her to anyone
Grading is arbitrary, lectures to have nothing to with the readings. Hard to understand material because of the way it is presented. DO NOT TAKE HER COURSES!!
This was a semi-challenging class but the professor is entertaining and very knowledgeable. The readings can be dense but are also very helpful
German(?) accent is hard to understand. Not friendly or accommodating. Very vocal about her own very leftist political beliefs. Accent + rheoric= scared me. Very easy class however.
Quizes are insanely hard. All students fail equally, but there is never a curve--Don't take this class
It's hard to understand her because of her accent. The papers are rather hard.
Her quizzes are really hard and so is the final but there is a huge curve. It is worth taking her class because you learn a lot and she is a riot- maybe it's the accent.
The content is interesting, and Prof. Kurzer makes it interesting. Do not interrupt her class or else she will make a display out of you, and give the class an opportunity for a laugh. As for the quizzes if you read and take notes you should easily get a 100%.
GREAT teacher! She is a riot! She does a good job and makes the class very interesting. Take the quizzes seriously, they are worth a lot! And go to class, that is 10% of your grade. take this class... she is funny and you can get an A if you put in some effort.
Funny teacher. She was a little intimidating but funny at the same time. She genuinely likes teaching and tries to make a connection with students. Class is pretty easy, just some online quizzes, a short paper and a final.
She makes the class fun not so much through the materials but rather her demeanor and mannerisms. Overall, I learned a ton and didn't have a bad time doing so. One caveat though: the multiple choice quizzes are extremely difficult; they are almost all directly covered in the book but sometimes seemed very obscure
She gave us a midterm of 32 acronyms from the EU- which are in different languages! It was ridiculous. I had questions about class and called, emailed, tried to talk after class (couldnt make office hours) and she NEVER replied to anything or made time to talk. Do not recommend her if you want a professor that is approachable if you have trouble
Material for this class was very interesting. However, her lectures did not seem to cogently reinforce the readings. Reading load was about 60 pages a week and was very manageable. the questions on the quizzes were worded awkwardly. Her lectures were also very strange and seemed to be designed to entertain, and not reinforce the reading.
I've had several classes with Professor Kurzer, and while they aren't easy they are entertaining and educational.
This class is a nightmare! Do not take it even if you feel you are up to the task like I was at the beginning of the semester!!! Her lectures are hard to understand and her quizzes are absurd. Take this class if you would like to ruin your GPA.
Absolutely horrible excuse for a good politics class. Disgrace to the university.
Professor Kurzer is a lot of fun and will respect you if you respect her. Never come in late or you will be made a fool in front of 200 other students. The quizzes often have very radical questions, something that was only mentioned in passing, etc. Overall, I learned SO much in this class and would recommend it anyone!
This is the WORST class I've taken my ENTIRE time at the U of A! Drop immediately!
Dr. Kurzer is a very funny person. She is not afraid to call out a student for coming in late, talking, or going on facebook. She makes class very funny. Made up of 6 quizes (each 5% of grade), one paper, and one final, and attendance is taken for credit. Do the readings, PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS, and it will be fine. Quizes are hard!!
This "teacher" is no longer effective. She does not respect the students, and talks down to the class on a consistent basis. Her quizzes are unusually difficult and the textbook is dry as can be. Seems like she was at one time a good professor, but unfortunately that time is no longer. I hear the fall teacher is much better, by her own admission!
Kurzer's POL204 class was overall very interesting. The makeup for the class is 6 online quizzes (30 points), Attendance (10 points), Paper (30 points), and Comprehensive Final (30 points). The quizzes are not that hard..all you have to do is READ! Also, the individuals bad-mouthing Kurzer are probably the ones who were late, didn't read, or failed
I'd like to comment on the last post since the person writing the review is probably staff. I actually received an A in this class. That said, I believe this is a professor review site not a student performance review. As a professor she is disrespectful and tries purposely to make the material more difficult than it is. I didn't say she succeeded.
Keeping in mind that I got an A in this class, it still sucked. The questions to the quizzes were easy to answer, but over half the time the answer choices were confusing and used poor grammar. Her voice was annoying. She made thee class funny but not easier by any means. I would say don't take her unless you want to get a B or C for sure.
Avoid this class if possible!!! The lectures do not flow very well, the whole semester you just learn about a few random countries of her choice. The book is extremely dense, dry and it has no table of contents. The quizzes are worded poorly and seem biased. Kurzer is more concerned about late students than doing her job and teaching!!!
The information provided through the course is actually fairly interesting. That said, the reading is quite dry and there is plenty of it. The quizzes are more difficult than would be expected and Kurzer will gladly make a fool of you if you show up to class late. It is possible to do well in the class but an effort must be made.
Makes it unnecessarily hard. I tried to ask for help several times just to be denied. The content of the class is very interesting but she makes sure that what she teaches in class has nothing to do with what she puts on the tests.
She's a pretty effective professor, BUT the only way you can pull of an A is if you are one of her favorite students.You pretty much have to kiss her ass,and I'm not kidding.Go speak to her during office hours as much as possible and get on her good side.The more she likes you, the more inclined she will be to give you a good score on the quizzes.
She has random attendance checks at the end of class, and she will absolutely keep you to the end of class, even in the lecture is clearly over which is incredibly frustrating. She sometimes has quizzes over the weekend and there are no excuses for missing them. Interesting course but there is a ton of reading so be ready to work hard to get an A.
Kurzer is a great professor. She'll make you earn your A, but its not a big secret on what she wants: she wants you to do the readings and come to class. Can't believe people are whining that a college professor is making them work. The subject matter isn't particularly difficult, and she's more than welcoming in her office hours.
This class is next to impossible. Her quiz and final exam questions are extremely specific. I squeaked by with a C and I'm happy about it. VERY difficult class, and I'm not one to slack off either!
Very god teacher if you are interested, disciplined, and willing to put forth a lot of effort. Quizzes are tough. Receieved a 50% on the first, argued to 60% just by explaining my rational. Do the essay portions first. I have received no lower than 85% on the weighted quizzes since I figured out what she is looking for.
The online quizzes are extremely difficult even if you read the text thoroughly (40-80 pages of dry text per week). The class will seem impossible, but don't worry because she curves all the grades at the end of the semester.
Interesting course, but the professor is horrible. The only way to get a passing grade is read the textbook about fifty times because her quizzes don't make sense. And the exams are even worse. The paper is an easy A though
Disrespectful to students, very ridiculous standards, understandlable for people being rude, but not for those who don't disturb anyone. She is a horrible speaker, hard to understand, and computer illiterate, yet expects the student to just do whag she demands... The material is really interesting, but she makes it harder than it needs to be.
plain and simple if you can avoid this instructor do it because the class sucks. Not only will you defiantly not get an A but a B will be mind numbingly hard to reach as well. She is rude and boring with the class grade riding on 2 tests avoid if possible.
claims that her classes are organized and her lectures sequential but in reality, she's all over the place. made it hard to follow and keep up with. she DOES do clicker questions that she uses for attendance. So it technically is mandatory. tests all open ended, didn't do the greatest on them but got an A because of the final paper
Do the readings, go to class and you will do well! The exams are moderately difficult but Kurzer is generous on giving points on the essay questions. Got mid B's on the midterm and final, received an A on the paper and got an A overall. Can't believe people are complaining about doing what's expected of them as a college student!
The material is interesting and I enjoyed the readings, but my peers and I question her ability to teach effectively. Has a very combative stance against students who raise difficult questions and can often times be extremely disrespectful. If you are late by a minute, you run the risk of getting chastised in front of the entire lecture hall.
Is no good. She gives you encouragement, only to blame you for falling short. She isn't clear on her grading, and is misdirecting. Ultimately, it seems that if you're trying to get above a C+B-, it's outside your control.
Dr. Kurzer is an excellent teacher, but do not expect to be coddled by her. Her classes are reading intensive, but I would think as adults, you can't really expect less from an upper level bachelor's or master's level class. I learned a lot from her class and she is actually a really nice person if you ask for help.
Lectures really do help. Also reading the book is a must. She does not post lecture slides online till about a week before the test. If you plan to get an A then you need to work for it because it will not be easy. Her lectures can be a drag sometime and she does not believe in getting out of lecture early. She will drag her lecture till times up.
She stands at the front of the class for an hour and fifteen minutes just talking with an accent that can make things difficult to understand. On numerous occasions she told us she doesn't care what our grades are or if we show up because she gets paid any way. Clicker Qs have nothing to do with the lecture. If you want to pass, do the readings.
easily one of the best/worst classes Ive taken thus far at UofA. Prof Kurzer's classes are not what I would recommend signing up for
This was not the easiest teacher I have ever had but she made it crystal clear what was expected. If you don't read, you won't pass. Her tests are difficult, you usually have 30 multiple choice that are 90% in the form of "all of these are true EXCEPT..." and 4-8 essay questions. I found her lectures really interesting and her passion is there....
She is a really nice person, and always responsive when asking questions. Her multiple choice tests are very confusing though, and there was a lot of reading, but overall a good class. Be sure to keep up with the work required and you'll be fine
Kurzer is a very nice and funny professor. She teaches for the whole time allotted so the lectures are sometimes very long. She is very passionate about what she teaches. Very interesting class. Tests are difficult.
She's overall a very nice lady who is extremely passionate about comparative politics. It definetely shows in her lectures. Attendance was extra credit based on clicker questions, 3 tests with mc and essays, and there was a paper due at the end of the semester. If you go to class, read the book, and put effort into the paper you'll get an A.
I strongly would recommend not to take this class. Professor Kurzer is a very nice person but not when it comes to helping students out with passing the course. She isn't specific about her exams in which her exams can consist of a lot of things but never points out what we should focus on. TA's are very hard to get to so there's no help there.
Would not recommend taking this class She is passionate about comp. politics but doesn't put much effort in whether or not her students are understanding Her accent is heavy & she goes between yelling in lecture and whispering You will read A LOT But Ive read all the material went to almost all the lectures studied non stop and am still struggling.
Professor Kurzer is not the best professor I've ever had at the University, but she isn't the worst. I showed up to maybe 5 classes total, read the assigned readings and lecture slides before the exam, and still ended the course with a high B. The exams are tough, but if you make yourself a study guide from the readings, you'll be okay!
She literally said, "The tests will contain material from the textbook, that will not be covered in the lectures" so yes exams were hard! Lecture is strongly meant for auditory learners, she is passionate about politics but makes it difficult to learn from her. She has a sense of humor with students on the bright side
She literally bullied kids in the class, called them out by name & told them (no exaggerating) that they need to stop smiling in her class. She makes you buy her book & read every single page or else you won't pass a test, which is pretty much the only grades. She doesn't care about the success of her students, so don't bother reaching out to her
Most of the students in the class are either not interested in politics or uninformed about basic things. A guy literally labeled Muslim Brotherhood political party as "terroirsts". And he regret saying that after realizing how stupid that statement is. Nevertheless, great professor, was racist against asians in the beginning, but then she stopped.
She is the best professor U of A has to offer!!! Super passionate about what she teaches, she is biased but being in her class is a lot of fun
This class isn't even that bad and she's not as scary as people make her seem. Yeah, she's loud but not terrible. The first exam was part multiple choice part short answer, the second exam was essay questions and the final was all multiple choice. If you attend class regularly and skim the chapters, you should be fine. There is also a final paper.
Although Kurzer has an amazing personality, I do not suggest taking any of her classes. It takes forever for her to grade. In this class your only grades are 3 midterms (each 20% of your grade), a policy memo (30% of your grade), and attendance (10 % of your grade).Kurzer does not give clear directions for any assignments.
Take any other Pol Class if you can. Tough grader and few assignments, def wish I wouldnt have taken this class.
Honestly would not recommend this class or Kurzer if you have the chance. Only grades are 3 exams & a final paper, textbook assigned is one SHE wrote & exams have nothing to do with in-lecture material, all based on the readings & readings/concepts from readings are never gone over in class. No exam prep & very little respect for her students
Kurzer will make you laugh during class but outside of class there are four lectures for every one she has live as well as questions that if you do not answer correctly will give you a zero for the entire week. Does not tell what will be on the tests and leaves the floor open for questions but does not actually teach anything that you can question.
Kurzer is the worst prof I have had in my 2 1/2 years of college. Her tests include questions that cannot be found in the textbook (that she wrote) that she requires you to read. Makes fun of students for asking clarification questions. Takes forever to grade assignments. DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO LEARN!
Honestly, as long as you actually participate in class, read the textbook, and watch the lectures this class is not as bad as people make it out to be. This is by no means an easy A class, but as long as you put in the work you should get the grade you want. She's also pretty funny during lectures and always checking if anyone has any questions.
The lectures were very boring. This class requires quite a bit of reading in order to learn the information. The class grade is based on a few big assignments, and the instructions are ALWAYS unclear.
Prof Kurzer can be really fun in the classroom and if you are taking POL 204 it means you are interested in international politics and the course does deliver on that. However although the course material is interesting the lack of quizzes and activities makes the final weigh heavily. Also the research paper is very unnecessary and stressful.
She's really not as bad as everyone makes her seem. If you do the work and show up to lectures you will be just fine. However, there's not a lot of opportunities to earn points in the course (there's literally only the mid-term, final, weekly discussion posts, and a paper). If you need help or want feedback, don't wait to ask!!
The professor is interesting to listen to, engaging in lecture, and quite funny. My issue lies with the weekly 20-40 page readings, that the weekly discussion post is on. Kurzer lectures really fast and it is often really hard to get all of the notes that she puts on the slides. Not a lot of opportunities to receive points, few assignments.
If you are going to take this class to fulfill your Social science requirements, DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS!
She is really sarcastic, very hard class and everything is graded like if you were professional already
don't take! I am graded extremely arbitrarily and not with either any sort of rubric or any reasoning. I've submitted work that was detailed and answered questions thoroughly, and either agreed with her answer or gave another slightly different one but gave good logic, and yet either her or her TAs gave me a D with no reasoning.
If you are a visual learner I do not recommend taking this class!! The professor will have slides full of content that she breezes through and if you ask her to go back she'll chastise you and ask if you were even listening to what she said. I had to drop this class because I didn't feel I could succeed in this course with this professor
She is rude and condescending when giving feedback
This professor is very intelligent and her course is very organized and informative. For being a 200 level class it was very difficult and she is a very strict grader, but if you follow directions and put in the work you can get an A. I do not recommend it to students who are trying to find an easy credit or who are not serious about poly-sci
I had previously read the reviews on this platform, and although I debated not taking her class, I decided to do so anyway. she is one of the toughest graders, sometimes using a sarcastic tone while providing feedback. Being a 200-level class, it easily surpasses upper-division courses in terms of difficulty. I would stay away from her courses.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
45%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.08 avg changeRatings by Course
POL
5.0
(1)POL442A
5.0
(1)POL452
4.0
(4)POL560
4.0
(1)POL542A
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
POL442
5.0
POL202
5.0
POL504
5.0
POL204
4.1
POL
4.0