PUBPOL-790
SPECIAL TOPICS IN IDP
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Instructor
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
DepartmentPPS
Terms offeredFall, Spring
Typical enrollment6–20
Semesters of data5
4.4
Hrs / week
155
Responses
222
Enrollment
70%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.5
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.6
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.7
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
2.9
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 354 comments across 16 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
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
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Student Responses
Developed vocabulary on alternative visions of development.
Fall 2024 · Schewel, Kerilyn
To think about non-economic measurement of development, rethinking about development itself, and also learn from each other's perspective regarding this
Fall 2024 · Schewel, Kerilyn
I read about different topics
Fall 2024 · Schewel, Kerilyn
Approaching the idea of development Reevaluating the current development mechanisms Development Economics
Fall 2024 · Schewel, Kerilyn
This has been my favorite class by far in Sanford. From the literature to personal reflections and class reflections, this class was a learning journey that I really enjoyed and benefited from. I learned about post-development theories and case studies from current and past examples.
Fall 2024 · Schewel, Kerilyn
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Stromseth, Jonathan | 4.5 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 36 |
| Spring 2025 | Gereffi, Gary 4.3Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.3Difficulty2.8Would retake100%Based on 10 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.7 | 3.1 | 4.1 | 46 |
| Fall 2024 | Conger, Taylor | 4.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 31 |
| Spring 2024 | Gereffi, Gary 4.3Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.3Difficulty2.8Would retake100%Based on 10 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.5 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 69 |
| Fall 2023 | Conger, Taylor | 4.6 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 40 |
Instructor
Also teaches
PUBPOL-820 GLOBALIZATION/GOVERNANCE3.9