4.5
Quality2.8
Difficulty100%
Would Retake103
Reviews100%
Would Retake
103
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
80
4
13
3
9
2
1
1
0
What Students Say
“Hands down to the best professor I've ever had”
POL116 - 5.0 rating“Vinnie is the most amazing teacher”
POLITICS100 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
50%
Textbook Required
84%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.19 avg changeRatings by Course
116
5.0
(1)116270
5.0
(1)IR270
5.0
(4)POL270
5.0
(2)POL115
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
POL160
5.0
POLIT240
4.0
FOREIGNPOLICY
4.0
WORLDPOL116
4.0
POL123
4.0
Reviews (103)
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Interesting, funny, and provocative
cool guy. Gotta love the jokes. Class is hard, but worth it. Pol 116 is also.
No Comments
Hah, I love that he got a tamale! Great guy, definitely one of the best classes I've taken, and I'm very appreciative that he comes to UMASS to lecture on American Foreign Policy. Take a course with him if possible!
great guy...but the weekly quizes are killing me!!!
Very helpful and knowledgeable but quite vague about expectations at times and POMPOUS as heck!
Good prof, but HOT?!?!...come on Mohos
an amazing professor, very articulate and EXTREMELY intelligent. really knows what he's talking about. he lectures in such a way that it's not boring and i don't not off. i HIGHLY recommend taking IR 116 with him!!!! It's hard but worth it!
Prof. Ferraro is articulate, clear, friendly, smart. Tough, but very fair grader.
I love this class it is huge but we still have a great atmosphere and the prof makes everything so intresting
Vinnie is awesome, he is the greatest teacher I have had. What I couldn't learn in a year with another teacher, Vinnie clarified in 15mins of discussion in class.
an AMAZING class!! Vinnie is brilliant and SO articulate. There is a lot of reading, but you learn SO much in this class that it's all worth it. Plus he's personable and funny!
Prof. Ferraro is interested and excited about what he teaches, as well as being quite knowledgable. His "drawings" on the board are quite the event to see too!
Awesome professor, amazing mentor
Vinnie is honestly the BEST professor I've had in my 3 years here at MHC. He is encouraging, helpful, and above all, inspiring. Amazingly intelligent and an awesome guy to just go chill and talk about life with.
i'll always remember what vinnie said to us on the first day of class-- "you do not have the right to be ignorant." he honestly changed my life. i am a far more active citizen and a much more worldly person. a million thanks!
He is truly an amazing professor. TAKE WORLD POLITICS 116
he's a good lecturer, but i learned absolutely nothing in his politics 116 class. it was all memorization and not that much thinking. there was a ridiculous amount of reading for those ten point quizzes, though the readings were often interesting. he wastes too much class time with questions.
Best class I ever could have taken first semester. Vinnie is inspiring as a teacher and as an individual. You carry what you learn in his class with you for the rest of the day; he makes you think about the world. TAKE THIS CLASS!
Great guy, very easy going and extremely intelligent. Expects each person to come to conclusions and consider the material.
awesome!!!!!!!!!
Enthusiastic, interesting, helpful, and tells really awful jokes well. Take a class with him. Do so now.
AMAZING! Because of Vinnie, I'm majoring in Politics. Absolutely fantastic, clear, incredibly intelligent, and approachable. I look forward to every class.
HHHOT!!! This was my favorite class this semester, and probably will be my favorite ever. Vinnie is not only a great professor, but also is very approachable and full of good advice.
This class opens your eyes to so much, it's ridiculus
SUCH AN AWESOME PROFESSOR! Really laid back, and it's obvious that he enjoys teaching. So funny, even when telling really stupid jokes. Lots of reading, but it's relevant and interesting. I look forward to every class, they're stimulating and really fun.
Vinny is a great guy-truly inspiring. The 10 point quizzes every week were a pain i have to admit and the readings seemed too much to stay focused on. I mostly enjoyed his lectures. He really loves teaching and he keeps your attention so well. Definately would recommend taking politics 116 with him!
Vinnie is the****! This guy will undoubtedly astound you with his knowledge and ability to present that knowledge clearly.
Amazing teacher. I was challenged, but I enjoyed the class very much.
Best Prof ever and a great guy to have as an advisor, but nearly impossible while I was there. He'll do whatever he can to help his students. I love this man. One professor that is a must while at Mount Holyoke.
I love him! He was so helpful, and available - for questions, problems - everything! He knows so much. His class is the only class I didn't miss once - because it was so interesting and informative. Everyone should take a class with him!
So amazing I asked him to be my advisor. I really admire his mind, his abitliy to lecture well, and his personability.
Vinnie is absolutely amazing professor, lecturer, advisor, and person.
Such a great professor- truly inspiring and looking out for you to do your best in his class. I hope I can get him to be my advisor in the coming years!
I'm a science major and I really thought I was going to hate the class, but he surprised me. Vinnie has a brilliant mind, I'm quite envious actually. GREAT public speaker/orator and can pesuade you to see his side of the story, it's fascinating. I've been learning****loads about the world, more than I have ever learned b4.
The best thing about him is he wants you to keep learning, he always says he has a life time guarentee on all his classes, his life not yours, so you can call him up and talk about politics 10 years from now. I chose a different advisor to have mercy on him, he always has like 9834734 advisees.
Vinnie's classes are really hard but he is an amazing prof and I highly reccomend him!
Everyone needs to take a class with Vinnie. Really smart guy and very approachable. I wish he would teach a 300 level politics seminar...
Great professor, really smart everyone should take a class with him
amazing!
Vinnie is amazing!! He's such an engaging prof, and everyone's fav.
Vinnie is the best teacher you can possibly ask for World Politcs class. It is true that the class isn't easy. We also have lots of reading to do. But he always give us time to ask questions about the questions we have from the reading. If you want to learn World Politcs, take it from him!!!! He will make you think!!
I took his "Rhetoric of Peace and War" first year and fell in love with him. It's true that he is tough, but incredibly fair. He makes me think of Aslan in Narnia. Taking World Politics this semester and finding it dry compared to his one-on-one, but it's not his fault when there are 150 of us. Brilliant man.
SOOOOOO overated
I have taken his 270, an independent 2nd year and am writing a thesis with him. He is amazing. love love love him. I enjoyed the Aslan comment.. it's true. Take him, he is great! So intelligent. The 270 is huge which I don't like but he is so good with independents. He works way to hard though!!! Can't say enough. Vinny is the BEST!
I guess i do think he's a bit overrated, but as sb mentioned before, it's hard to connect with 100 students at once... funny guy, but a wee bit full of himself
Vinnie takes his work so seriously, and wants to make you understand what's happening in the world too. True, this was a huge lecture, but he still kept every person engaged. Vinnie cares so much, I'm so glad he's teaching still.
Some readings are very interesting and easy, but others are very long and challenging. Friendly, funny and willing to answer questions. Weekly multiple choice quizzes and the final consists of creating a webpage (simple training provided). Less stressful than most classes.
Vincent Ferraro is a god. His lectures will make you cry and fill you up with such wonder and fear and excitement that you cant wait for class to end so you can go out and start changing the world. I'm serious, he is a brilliant man, but unlike so many other brilliant people, he is able to convey his thoughts in an acessible and clear way.
I had him last semester as a visiting professor at UMass. I loved him. He was captivating and always had my attention. He is with out a doubt the single greatest professor i've had at UMass or might ever have. He is brilliant, funny, and a good friend.
I found his class really boring and tedious. Listening to him and Ellis bicker and hem and haw about the semantics of political situations is not productive. I feel like I didnt learn anything at all. Everyone cheats on his American Foreign Policy quizzes.
great
The most amazing person and professor. This first year seminar was incredible.
FYS:really fun class, if you can take it DO IT!!B/c you could learn so much about people, and how they tick, how you tick, all while being gently guided in the direction of greatness by Vinnie. Great prof and very loyal to his students!
I lost all respect for him when he didn't do anything about the student who cheated in the final website assignment, which was worth 50% of our grade. It was a severe violation of the honor code and he knew that very well. There were others who had cheated too, and they let those slip as well. He should pay more attention when grading assignments.
Prof Ferraro was a great prof. Even though the class was huge, he learned my name after only meeting with me once. The quizzes are challenging, you'll have to read the articles, but the work load isn't bad. And for the person below me's allegations, he did in fact remove the offending website.
Overrated.
The best professor I have had in the 5 college system. First I took his class at UMASS then traveled to Mt Holyoke for his upper levels! I wonder what it is like to constantly be the smartest man in the room?!?!
I absolutely love him. He is really nice and is very very charismatic. The class is huge but he still has the ability to command attention, and not by force. He is amazing, I hope to do classes with him every semester.
Vinnie is fantastic! He is funny and animated - his maps are a trademark! [Laughs]He is understanding, helpful, compassionate, and wicked smart! There is no way you walk away from a class with him without learning, gaining interest, and feeling it absolutely necessary to take another class with him!!
One of the best classes I've ever had.
Clearly overrated. Thinks he is the greatest, which reflects in his teaching. Is a perfectly nice guy outside of class. Very knowledgeable, but seems to like to hear himself speak in class a lot. Weekly quizzes are often unfair. Blogging assignment is impossible. Didn't provide any feedback on the blog all semester-no way of knowing if you're ok.
damn good professor
DON'T take a class with him if you are a politics/history person. He repeats himself and very basic information that normally would be basic knowledge in a class like this and encourages questions from people who are lacking previous knowledge of the subject. This makes lectures boring and irrelevant. It takes him very long to reply to emails.
AMAZING PROFESSOR. Attendance isn't mandatory, but over 90% of students show up anyway, because he is such an interesting figure. Really appreciates what he teaches and LOVES teaching it. Got a standing ovation on the last day when he told an amazing story about a life experience. One midterm, one final. Easy. TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!!!!!!
extremely calm and wise. He is extremely well read on everything involved in what he teaches. He is mostly concerned with teaches his students to adopt their own sense of thinking while using logical evidence to back up their opinions
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE HIS CLASS! He Is funny and very very intelligent. Definitely take a class with him.
Amazing professor. Very knowledgeable in his field, very open to any sort of questions on any topic in class - More interested in developing YOU as a person to be able to think intelligently in the world than in just shoveling knowledge down your throat. TAKE THIS CLASS! :D
The word "Amazing" officially begins with a V-innie!!!!!!!!! AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING...did i already say Amazing? ...oh yeah, and "Awesome" too. His pepper is too hot to be edible. 'Nuff said.
He's a totally fabulous teacher. Very entertaining and informative. He doesn't give a final, except that you have to create a website on a topic of your choice. It's a lecture class, so if you don't want to/can't come, it's no big deal. Quizzes every Wednesday based on news articles; those and the website are your grade. Highly recommended!
Such a great teacher! Has a lot of really interesting things to say and is really funny. The course requires a lot of reading, but lectures were so enjoyable. I definitely recommend him!
He is an incredible professor, no question about it. His lectures are riveting and his quizzes are fair if you do the required readings. He's quite the character and loved by everyone... with good reason! TAKE A CLASS WITH HIM IF YOU CAN!!!!
best professor ever
Vinnie Ferraro wants to be loved. He befriends students, and provides lots of out of class assistance, but just is not that good a teacher. I found his class the least useful of my entire four years at MHC.
You'll like this class. You'll definitely like this class. If you're like me, and had no interest in politics before taking the class, it's likely that the readings assigned by Vinnie will help you developed an interest. He's funny, witty, and make you read a lot. But as a lecturer he's good but not exactly brilliant. But take the class, take it.
You'll definitely enjoy the class - he's funny, witty and interesting. The readings are interesting and if you're like me, who didn't have much interest in politics before taking the class, you're likely to develop an interest from the readings. Vinnie's got style, and he's a reasonably good professor, but not exactly brilliant.
He is awesome. Inspires us to study deeply, enthusiastic. Recommend everyone who are interested in politics
My favorite professor at MHC. He is passionate and makes you passionate too. He inspires you to think, both inside and outside the classroom. He incorporates students' comments into discussion and forces you to develop the points you raise in class. A kind and brilliant person who wants his students to learn and implement change.
Although Vincent is a very funny and enthusiastic guy this was probably my hardest class. It is definitely not a 100 level class. You have three quizzes that are based purely on what he says in the lecture. The Midterm and Final are both take home essays and are not very difficult. If you are not into politics this class is hard to understand.
Amazing
I have studied with Vinnie over the past two years and he is a wonderful professor. He is incredibly knowledgable and genuinely cares about his students. He maintains a casual tone in his classes which some incorrectly assume means less academic rigor, but attend his lectures and talk with him and you'll be intellectually challenged and motivated.
Vinnie teaches his students that the pursuit of knowledge is not a burden, but a worthy goal. Some find his classes stressful because the learning process is not as painful as they have grown to expect. His lectures are not for the cynics and jaded of heart. Keep your mind open and you will learn more than you thought possible with so much peace.
Ferraro is a great professor and you will learn a lot. Straight forward directions. Half of your grade is your quiz average and he drops the 2 lowest grades. Once you figure out what kind of questions he asks on the quizzes they are relatively easy. He is pretty lenient with the final project grades. Take this class!!!!
Best class I've ever taken
International political economy is the name of the class. I LOVED every moment of it. The readings are manageable, the papers are interesting and his passion for political economy is contagious. EVERYONE should take this class
He is cool. He is also the type of Prof. that gives student a break bc he knows how hard we work and that sometimes MHC can get really really overwhelming.
This class will not disappoint you. Vinnie is a brilliant, humble man and an amazing lecturer. He makes world politics interesting and dynamic in a liberal arts setting. Despite his MIT degree, he always emphasizes how MHC women are the best intellectuals of the generation to change the world. Very inspiring and awesome!
Vinnie is the most amazing teacher. I would definitely take his class again and respect him as a teacher and as a person.
Professor Ferraro's lectures exciting and very informative.
Vinnie is incredibly well-liked all over campus--and as soon as you take a class from him, you'll know why. He's smart, funny, and pushes you to consider other points of view in a way that doesn't invalidate your own. He respects your opinion, as long as you can back it up. Will take more classes from him in the future.
IT IS MIND-BLOWING HOW BRILLIANT THIS MAN IS. Knows so much about the world. Class is easy. Weekly quizzes (10 multiple choice) and a final project (either website or blog). The best professor at MHC and I don't even like politics!!! But this class was awesome!!
WILL NOT DISAPPOINT. Amazing lectures, you won't be bored. Very helpful and funny prof as well, always there to talk or give advice. If you have the chance, take his courses. One of the best professors I've had the pleasure to know in my 4 years as an undergrad.
An inspirational lecturer to say the least. We had to maintain an online blog, aside from his weekly quizzes.
His lectures were pretty pointless in my opinion...I only attended class on the days we had class. He sends you an e-mail of all the readings that will be on the quizzes. The only thing was, there was so many articles to read and he really wanted you to know the dates of things. but he's funny and approachable during class! Would recommend!!
MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR ON EARTH!!!
Take this class. Without a doubt the most inspirational professor I have ever had. He was one of the reasons I chose to come to this college. You won't be disapointed.
Welcoming and informative. Plays music before class sometimes. Class consisted of lectures and a weekly quiz. Lectures were enjoyable and engaging. Quizzes were easy if you read the blog posts and documents. Overall one of the best professors, especially at Mount Holyoke. Would 10/10 recommend taking his class even if not majoring in politics.
A little intimidating at first, but this is a man who you will not forget. Amazing lectures that will leave you thinking long after you left the classroom.
I'm the 100th! Hands down to the best professor I've ever had. Hope he's enjoying his retired life! I miss you Vinnie!
Still my favorite professor to date.
Vinnie is the best professor I've had by far. His lectures were the most interesting I've ever sat in. You can tell he really cares about his job and it shows in his energy. The workload: no homework, 3-4 really easy mc quizzes, and two straightforward essays. Easy A if you go to lecture and actually listen and take notes.
You want an orator? This is your man. One of Mount Holyoke's gems. He's an incredible professor who inspires everyone around him. Follow his blogs. And ask him questions. He knows so much about the world and respects his students so much. Great intro class!
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
50%
Textbook Required
84%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.19 avg changeRatings by Course
116
5.0
(1)116270
5.0
(1)IR270
5.0
(4)POL270
5.0
(2)POL115
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
POL160
5.0
POLIT240
4.0
FOREIGNPOLICY
4.0
WORLDPOL116
4.0
POL123
4.0