3.7
Quality2.5
Difficulty80%
Would Retake95
Reviews80%
Would Retake
95
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
40
4
19
3
18
2
12
1
6
What Students Say
“Although she is knowledgeable, she sometimes came across as condescending towards students”
FOCUS195FS - 2.0 rating“Listen, don't take from her unless it's required”
BIO190FS - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
48%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.14 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO46B
5.0
(1)BIO189FS
5.0
(1)AIDSBIO46
4.7
(3)BIO180FS
4.3
(4)BIO154
3.9
(38)Difficulty by Course
BIO
3.0
BIO190FS
3.0
FOCUS195FS
3.0
BIO46
2.7
BIO44
2.6
Reviews (95)
If you're deaf/mildly retarded, this class should STILL bore the hell out of you too!
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Sherryl is a goddess.
very boring. not the best teacher, but good at times.
Not always fascinating, but a very good explanation of a complex subject for non science majors.
amazing course
Interesting, fun, funny. Highly reccommended.
The class is worth taking. It's interesting and the texts are definitely a conversation starter with friends. The TA's however stink and seem to be out to screw the students. They definitely a holding a grudge about something.
She makes the course alot easier than it should be
Really great teacher, makes good effort to learn students' names despite the size of the class. Timely subject matter that is clearly presented. I LOVE her classes
She is a very clear lecturer and nice lady. Her class is for non majors who don't care because it's easy and she puts up with the dumb questions and lack of effort more than I could have ever imagined. Great subject matter!
As Professors go, Broverman is as good as it gets.Her classes are interesting, well taught, and varied in presentation.Less focused on details than concepts, she stresses themes and helps students see the larger picture. Caring and commited, Broverman is a great woman as well a great professor.
SHERYL IS AWESOME.
good class if you need a science credit. sometimes the lectures are a little disorganized, but overall it's great!
The TA's seem to randomly take points off of your tests, but there's a huge curve, so something like 65% of the class get at least an A-. The material is extremely elementary even for a non-major class. Sherryl and especially the supplemental "Myth" book are really liberal. The class is annoying but
This class is harder than it's rumored to be. The TAs take off random points off of your tests and the "weekly report" and PRS activities are annoying and easy to forget. A waste of time. Take Bonkistry instead.
Boring and WAY harder than it seems by the number or the fact that it's for nonmajors. Some of the stuff was just simple crap you've already learned in k-12 sex ed but it was graded harder. Terrible Sherrible is right.
This class is much harder than it should be because the TA's are terrible. The subject matter is simple and you learn alot but the grades you get on the test are not worth taking the class. You will probably do worse than you deserve.
The class is great, although at times the lectures seemed mundane. The TAs have attitudes and many have walked out while they were talking (yelling). The TAs are the problem in this class, not the professor. SHe is extremely helpful in office hours and will most likely give you the points that the TAs randomly took off.
Professor Broverman is AWESOME! Her lectures are a little scattered, and sometimes they're difficult to follow, but her tests are fair. She does everything she can to help you out before exams, including providing lengthy study guides and holding review sessions where she pretty much answers every question on it. I HIGHLY recommend the AIDS class.
AIDS & Emerging Diseases was one of the most fun classes I had at Duke, and I love that she has engaged the Duke community in global health issues.
the lectures are interesting, however she skips around a lot. her lectures are not very coherent. also the tests are a lot trickier than they should be. too many people in the class.
Good prof. Good course. The TAs are fine; my classmates just fuss when they lose points and the TAs are easiest to blame because they're the graders. This is an easy class and covers compelling material.
Sherryl is awesome. The Kenya section of her AIDS and Emerging Diseases class was one of my best undergraduate experiences thus far. Make even the slightest effort to get to know her and you'll find she is one of the most accessible professors at Duke.
Scattered lecturer. Has stimulating conversations (not really about bio) but she just doesn't come off as one as an intellectual. Grading seems arbitrary...based on her favorites (definitely plays favorites). An interesting person but not my type of professor. She does try to get everyone to share their opinion and acknowledges everyone's opinion.
Most overrated class at Duke. I would never take another class like it if my life depended on it. Professor does play favorites and she is also not very helpful, i thought. Is a nice person, though. she opened a school in Kenya for the girls who don't have one. I think she should be a philanthropist and not a professor.
This class was pretty awesome. Not as easy an A...as everyone says but it's not too bad. Unfortunately, she's not teaching again for about two years but this class is great in awakening your eyes to social issues. It's a great science fulfillment if you are not particularly science inclined. I'd recommend it.
Professor Broverman really loves what she's teaching. However, this class was not not as easy as everyone says it is. There were in-class tests that were quite long. Also, she knocked me down a third of a letter to even out the distribution, which does not seem fair at all, especially considering that curves are supposed to help - not hurt!
Dr. B is amazing. She is truly passionate about what she teaches and wants to help her students succeed. Her AIDS class is harder than rumored, but is worth taking. If you do the reading and go to lecture, you shouldn't have a problem doing well. Her TAs are terrible, though, and grade unfairly. Luckily, she's always willing to re-grade.
Prof. Broverman is a very nice person who's work and research are extremely interesting (e.g., Wiser, Global Health Research). However, as a lecturer, she's extremely scatterbrained and grades arbitrarily. Often times in Global Diseases I just didn't feel as though I was learning something. To incoming students: Think VERY carefully about Focus.
Wow, I'm surprised to see all of these disparaging comments. I heard tons of great things about Prof Broverman before taking her AIDS/Emerging Diseases class and she didn't let me down. Interesting material, great lecturer, very organized. Very painless way to knock out a science class and learn something useful at the same time. loved it.
Very interesting class but the TA's are very harsh graders. Definitely not an easy A class but once you study its not that hard to get a good grade.
This class is awesome - it's really interesting and really easy. Professor Broverman's lectures are always engaging and interesting. However, she tends to be very disorganized which makes her explanations of certain concepts challenging to understand.
Broverman is awesome! Very worthwhile class and easy for the required science req. Highly recommend!
Dr. Broverman is a kind, thoughtful professor, but discussions can be disorganized. Most students are on their laptops doing other things in class. The work you do throughout the semester varies, leading up to one final (long) paper that doesn't have much to do with what was covered during the semester. Be sure to talk a lot and ask many questions.
Broverman is great. AIDS class was much more interesting than I expected and she's clearly passionate about it. Not very much work, though you should take good notes and study thoroughly for the tests. She's pretty funny and really understands college students. I highly recommend this class for anyone wanting an interesting, easy NS credit.
She is a very nice and personable person. However, her slides are very poorly made and disorganized. If you take notes and go to class, you'll do fine. Pretty easy class.
This was a tough course, but Broverman is interested in the subject. The course is large, and the TAs give you most of the help, which is varying in quality.
The most disorganized class I have ever taken. There was large subjectivity in grading and a complete lack of structure. Many times it seemed like she had something very specific in her head of what she wanted, but would grade down before she let you know what that was. She is very knowledgable, but extremely polarizing and condescending at times.
Definitely the go-to person for global health at Duke. Love her!
Dr. Broverman is nice, fun professor and has done really some really cool things, but she is one of the most disorganized professors ever. Her grading is very arbitrary. If you want clear cut directions, you won't get any. Also she NEVER responds back to the emails you send her.
I loved my class with Broverman. She is extremely interested in what she is teaching about and that shines through. I do agree that her lectures could be more organized, but it wasn't bad enough to really impact my learning process. I loved this class and will really miss it, highly recommend!
This class got me through freshman year! Broverman cares about her students and learned dozens of us by name (which is amazing given that the class had nearly 300 students). Although it's a Biology class, she manages to make the class very relevant to her student's every day lives. If she taught another class, I would certainly be in it.
She was disorganized, gave unclear and unhelpful feedback, and was often frazzled and unprepared for class. Although she is knowledgeable, she sometimes came across as condescending towards students.
Listen, don't take from her unless it's required. Dr. B is rude and condescending. Yes, she knows a lot, but she doesn't know how to get through to students. She can be scattered and behind. Grading takes forever and rubrics are nonexistent. Favorites in class are clear, and she can be very sarcastic.
She is such a bad professor. Please don't take her class. She is so disorganized and this class is the last thing on her mind. Normally, it wouldn't be a HUGE deal but the class suffers as a result of her disorganization. SO BAD. She should not be teaching.
Dr. Broverman is held in high regards by many Duke students. While the course content was interesting and important, I found Dr. Broverman's lectures mundane and aloof. It was almost as if she had taught the course so many times that she no longer had any interest in teaching it. It's an easy NS credit, but I'd take any praises with a grain of salt
I heard really good things about this class from others, but I think something was off this semester because the class was just meh. The topic was really interesting and Prof. Broverman does amazing work, but the lectures were pretty disorganized and I felt the grading was too specific. Be sure to do the homework well and study for the tests.
While taking this class, I didn't understand what all the hype was about; but now that it's over, I understand. Dr. Broverman is disorganized and a confusing lecturer at times, but the material is extremely interesting, interdisciplinary, and relevant to a world where poverty and disease are the (often overlooked) norm in many places.
Dr. Broverman is an amazing faculty member who is doing great work however her lectures were boring. Also, the TA's are in charge of all the grading in the class and are ridiculously tough graders. There are no rubrics, which makes the situation even worse. Overall, the topic is interesting but there is little guidance and arbitrary grading.
Dr. Broverman is a fantastic and knowledgeable professor. She makes the material accessible for students who don't have much Bio experience, and makes her lectures interesting with her great sense of humor. I disagree with comments about the TA's grading; there's a clear rubric by what you can see from previous exams and graded assginments
This class was pretty easy and interesting for me and some of my friends, but I had other ones who really struggled. If you're not a huge science person but you're looking for a science course to take, this is a good one. It's a huge lecture, so you don't have to show up. Grades are based on three short assignments, two midterms, and a final.
Very much a "get out what you put in" class. Broverman is great- super knowledgeable, caring, and a great lecturer. She's a little spacey on administrative stuff. She can tell who's really invested and who's not a mile off, so don't even try with her if you don't care.
Dr. Broverman is a great professor. From her FOCUS program to her AIDS class to WISER, she takes her students seriously and invests time in her relationships with them. Bio180FS was for the Global Health FOCUS, and it was a great blend of biology and global health. Would recommend Global Health FOCUS but would certainly recommend Dr. B!
Dr. Broverman's Global Diseases focus class is easy to do well in as long as you attend class and participate. She has interesting presentations, and if you listen and ask questions, every assignment and test is fairly easy to complete. Not a big time commitment.
Go to class and take notes; lecture slides are posted online but they're pretty vague. Plus, Broverman is a funny and engaging lecturer, which helps in remembering the material and makes going to class worthwhile. For tests, just take the practice exams and skim over your lecture notes, and you should pass without a problem.
Dr. Broverman is one of the best lecturers that I've ever had at Duke. Although her class sizes are large, she always makes you feel engaged.
Write down everything that comes out of her mouth during lectures for tests and homework. Tests are take-home but the questions are hard + vague to the point that you won't always know what she's looking for. Participation is EXTREMELY important in this class: raise your hand to ask a BS question 3-4 times during class to get participation points.
I am so glad I had Prof. Broverman during my first semester here at Duke. Not only is she extremely knowledgable about global health but she also genuinely takes an interest in the lives of her students. She really puts a lot of effort into ensuring that her class and the entire Global Health FOCUS program are positive experiences for new students.
Dr. Broverman's lectures are very disorganized. What she says does not match what's on the test, so her tests are far from accurate assessments of her students. It's extremely frustrating to be in her class because the material is not difficult, but the grades students get would indicate otherwise. She doesn't teach and then tests as if she has.
Dr. Broverman is hilarious, witty and a grade A cynic (in a good way). However, her lectures are seriously disorganized and the class itself could be structured by the TAs in a more efficient manner. This class is extremely lecture heavy, make sure you take down everything she says. Attendance is not taken but you will literally fail if you skip.
The class is pretty interesting and Dr. Broverman is obviously enthusiastic about the material, but the class is somewhat unorganized. Most of the material is common sense, but the lectures were not presented in an order that made sense which was confusing. The biology in this class is pretty easy overall and very brief.
she is very enthusiastic about the material but does a terrible job at teaching it. The things she discusses at length in class are barely on the test and the actual biology is just glanced over in class even though it is difficult to understand. Not worth it as an easy natural science.
Broverman is very knowledgable and passionate about what she teaches, and you learn a lot. Mostly lectures, with some case studies in between. Tests are not too hard, but you definitely have to study for them. There is also a presentation at the end. Very approachable outside of class as well. Take the class if you are interested in the topic.
She's funny, I'll give her that. But besides that... She makes pretty harsh jokes towards students and she is disorganized. She is not an efficient grader and she doesn't give much feedback. After every test/quiz you have to wait at least 2 weeks for your grade, and when it does come back there are few comments. Don't take unless really interested.
Her lectures are honestly the best part of the course. You learn a lot about global diseases and how to view global health on a broad scale. She takes a long time to give back tests and can be a bit disorganized, but definitely take the class if you want to learn about GH. Easy A if you pay attention and work for it.
Amazing lectures and topics. Barely any homework.
Shes a super nice lady and I really appreciate her being flexible and changing the class so we could learn more about coronavirus. Class was super easy and she wanted us all to do well. Only thing that could be improved is the quality of the lecture slides.
So I am CS and only took this class to get the NS req but honestly, this woman is the best in the entire world and made me realize how cool global health is. Her lectures are amazing and I honestly want her to know that she is a queen. Take this class no matter what. LOve youuuuuuuuuuu Sherryl
This class was my favorite class at Duke. I'm about to graduate with a degree in CS and I took AIDS and Emerging Diseases for the NS credit and because friends recommended the class to me. It was the most eye-opening class I took and the one where I felt like I learned the most about the real world.
Dr. B is passionate about her content & students, even making time to come to campus & safely meet with students during COVID. Lectures were interesting, but pay attention because a lot of the quiz questions are word for word from class. Having online made it easier to look at the recorded lectures, but taking notes would be essential if in-person.
Broverman's class was really fun, and she is very knowledgable about her topics. She is willing to go on tangents that interest you, and will get back to you with her own research if she didn't have the answer. This may have been due to COVID, but she was somewhat disorganized. Her class was easy, but her quizzes looked for very specific answers.
Professor Broverman could literally be a TEDx speaker. She's very clear, enthusiastic about the material, and makes class really engaging. She also modified the syllabus to include information pertaining to COVID, which was really interesting. If you're taking this in person, make sure to take thorough notes in class. Strongly recommend BIO 154!!
Dr Broverman may be an interesting faculty member to get to know, given her valuable work for an NGO, but she is not a professor whose class I would recommend taking. She is highly disorganized, has unclear grading criteria, and is not very empathetic. I think her lack of flexibility/ empathy makes her a poor professor to take a class with.
Dr. Broverman is one of the few professors that actually takes mental health seriously, unlike a lot of professors that acknowledge it once and never do anything for the students. She extended exam due dates, moved coursework around to accommodate changes due to Covid-19, and just cares about her students. Also, her lectures are super interesting!
Literally one of the kindest professors at Duke. Cares about students' mental health and just shows you how to be empathetic. Would take this class again in a heartbeat, went in thinking it was an easy NS and came out with a lot more than that.
Such an amazing lecturer makes science topics understandable regardless of your background. Lecturers are engaging and allow you to question larger concepts. Super accommodating for Covid-19. Three tests plus four-part group project and readings per class.
If you get a chance to take a class from Professor B. 100% take it. She's an incredible person who is so knowledgeable.
Great professor, very knowledgeable. However, the homework is graded quite harshly by the TA's, lots of points deducted if different wording is used to describe the same answer.
Professor Broverman is incredibly clear when explaining things, and she can describe complex topics in simple ways to help you understand material. She is very passionate about what she teaches, which makes the class that much better. Her lectures are really engaging and interesting, and the material sticks. Her tests are fair as long as you study.
The goat
Everyone should take this course! Great discussion around structural determinants and how society/stigma has worsened the epidemic, all factors that are applicable to almost all systems. Intriguing lectures/lots of examples made studying fun! She's also just a great person. Highly recommend!!! Especially people looking for an enjoyable NS credit!!
Attention non-stem students: I would take a different NS, unless you take Bio154 P/F. It's not as easy as they say. Prof is a great lecturer, but no one shows up. TAs grade and office hours r messy, telling u different things. Prof is nice, but disorganized. Stem students throw curve. I tried hard, but late grading stopped me from switching to P/F.
Amazing lecturer, I loved this class!
Professor Broverman is extremely knowledgable about what she teaches. This class will provide a new perspective for students on emerging diseases and global health conflicts around the world. The class is all lecture-based, has hard quizzes, and slides tend to be very disorganized, but it is relatively easy to succeed and still learn a lot.
Bio 154 is the worst class I've ever taken at Duke, as far as the quality of academia. The slideshows are AWFUL and lazily made. Either just pictures or lines of text, which makes it extremely difficult to follow along or review after class or for the exams. The material could be interesting, but it's not taught in an engaging, structured way.
Dr. Broverman was super passionate about course content and was approachable; she always stayed after to answer questions after class and was very understanding of conflicts. There were 3 homeworks, 2 midterms, and a final. The exams were mainly free response questions, but they were not too difficult if you'd paid attention in lecture.
This class is not hard if you study the day before for the tests. There are small HW assignments that are graded for completion. The professors and TAs are a little unorganized. Only the second test was slightly difficult, but it isn't weighted that heavily. Lectures are a little all over the place, but attendance is not required
Dr. Broverman is very caring, however course was a bit disorganized. It is a really good topic, tests are not difficult. Solid NS credit for non-STEM people.
Professor Broverman is AWESOME! She is one of the most caring professors at Duke. While attendance isn't mandatory, you should go to lecture so that she gets to know you...came in clutch when I asked to take an exam on a different day. The class is really easy, especially if you're looking for a NS that's also rewarding.
Dr. Broverman is incredibly knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions or just talk about anything global health related. She was also really accommodating and kind.
Professor Broverman appears to be an extremely caring educator and is very knowledgeable in her field. However, her class was disorganized and was mostly kept together by the TAs. I had many issues with her not responding to emails that couldn't be directed to the TAs, and she had a habit of rambling during lectures about unrelated subjects.
So Interesting! Learned so much, and she was very, very thoughtful.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
48%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.14 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO46B
5.0
(1)BIO189FS
5.0
(1)AIDSBIO46
4.7
(3)BIO180FS
4.3
(4)BIO154
3.9
(38)Difficulty by Course
BIO
3.0
BIO190FS
3.0
FOCUS195FS
3.0
BIO46
2.7
BIO44
2.6