PUBPOL-590S

ADV TOP IN PUBLIC POLICY

Offered Fall 2026

PPS · Taught by Zhang, Jonathan · Last offered Spring 2025

Overview

Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.

DepartmentPPS

Terms offeredSpring, Fall

Typical enrollment9–18

Semesters of data4

3.6

Hrs / week

Responses

Enrollment

66%

Response Rate

Evaluation Scores

Overall quality

Teaching, content, and experience combined.

4.3

12345

Intellectually stimulating

Challenges students to think deeply.

4.4

12345

Instructor effectiveness

Explains concepts and facilitates learning.

4.6

12345

Difficulty

Higher means harder.

3.0

12345

Feedback Analysis

Feedback Analysishigh

Analysis based on student evaluations

Based on 169 comments across 6 sections

Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.

Student Reports

How hard is the A?

A is doable but not automatic

The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.

Homework Load

Moderate homework load

Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.

Lecture Load

Lighter lecture burden

Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.

Strengths

• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.

• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.

• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.

Tradeoffs

• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.

Best fit for

Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.

Student Responses

It was challenging for me to think in a less nuanced more simplistic way of connecting the dots between problem and solution but it was helpful. I learned a lot about AI policy needs. I also learned about the global decline of democracy.