Paul Murphy - Grand Valley State University

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Paul Murphy - Grand Valley State University

Professor: Paul Murphy

Department: History

College: Grand Valley State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

Course: HST329
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Professor Murphy was very understanding when I asked for clarifications or guidelines during the semester of this asynchronous class. There were four papers and extensive readings. I recommend watching the lecture videos while typing notes and then start reading and annotating the weekly texts.

Rating # 2

Overview:

Course: HIST206
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He grades based on opinions. If your opinion is not the same as his, he takes points off, unless you can back it up with sources, although he still says it is wrong. His grading is EXTREMELY inconsistent and makes no sense. He grades super hard for everything. Very hard class and super biased. It was his way or the highway for everything!

Rating # 3

Overview:

Course: HIST206
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 2.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Murphy made an effort to apply concepts to the world today and explained lectures well. The online class had a TON of homework, but that's just bc its an SWS and condensed to 6 wks. He's inconsistent with grading. I got an 84 on a paper that took me 4 days to write and 96 on the next one that I wrote in 2 hours. Just write a good thesis statement.

Rating # 4

Overview:

Course: HIST206
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

There was so much reading. I took this online over the summer and spent my entire day, all week, reading and doing homework for this class. His grading was extremely harsh for vague questions and often took points off assignments with the comment "I think you are wrong" when I cited my sources?? Lectures are boring and dont make sense. do not take!

Rating # 5

Overview:

Course: HIST206
Grade Received: B-
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Every class is a boring lecture that puts you to sleep. Theres hours and hours of reading every week. The essay questions he gives are so vague that it's hard to get a good grade on them. Overall, don't take this class. I felt like I had no more free time because all of my time and energy was being put into this class and I got nothing out of it.

Rating # 6

Overview:

Course: HST307
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Murphy is hands down one of my favorite professors. He is incredibly knowledgeable and he gives very interesting lectures. He is a hard grader, however most professors in upper level history classes are. He makes up for his hard grading criteria by being flexible and accessible. You will leave the class having learned a lot!

Rating # 7

Overview:

Course: HST206
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor overall. Since it's an SWS class, all of the graded assignments are essay based. The same is true with the exams. He gives a list of terms to study, and he will choose a few of them to write about for the exam. Grades pretty fairly. This class may be a little challenging if you're not a decent writer. Great guy.

Rating # 8

Overview:

Course: HIST206
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He's a cool dude. He will lecture for the entire hour, but they're usually interesting. When it comes to papers, it's a nightmare. He wants us to use weird writing techniques, his prompts are extremely vague, and his handwriting is impossible to read. Overall it's an "eh" class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

Course: HNR213
Grade Received: A-
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He lectures the entire hour and asks the class many questions. Most of the time I had no idea what he was asking for. He assigns a lot of papers and is very vague in the prompts. He required us to do one speaking presentation and the rest was just writing. His handwriting is extremely hard to read and isn't very good at giving advice.

Rating # 10

Overview:

Course: HST206
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I'm only a month in & I regret not dropping this class. SO much reading & he grades the papers incredibly hard with his vague prompts. He also has this weird obsession with thesis statements and contradicts the English prof's suggestion on how to write! Timeline for work is unreasonable. This class hardcore stresses me out & it's painful to be in!!

Rating # 11

Overview:

Course: HNR213
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Took him for honors and it was one of the worst classes I've taken. He didn't use Blackboard so you never knew your exact grade until the final grades were put in and couldn't be changed. When it comes to his essay prompts, you NEVER know what he expects. All notes he writes on the whiteboard irrelevant. Handwriting is equivalent to a 2 year old.

Rating # 12

Overview:

Course: HNR213
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Murphy filled in for a semester and handled it very well considering he had never taught the class before. Class was reading and writing heavy. He is a tough grader, but very willing to work with students on how they can improve. If you ask for an extension, you will more than likely get it. Handwriting is impossible to read.

Rating # 13

Overview:

Course: HST206
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The papers killed me. There were so many papers I had next to no free time on my hands anymore. Also, the reading was crazy like over 150 pages each week. He willing to give extensions on due dates and generally cares about the class and their well being.

Rating # 14

Overview:

Course: HST328
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Murphy is a good history teacher. His paper prompts are vague, but you can ask for clarification. He also grades roughly, and you cannot read his notes. HST 328 is overall pretty difficult if you have never worked with law before. Get ready to read multiple cases and chapters of books for most classes. Papers are nothing out of the ordinary.

Rating # 15

Overview:

Course: HST318
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He's a chill dude. He grades somewhat harshly, but getting the grade you want is very doable if you put in at least a little effort. His handwriting is borderline illegible, but the notes he writes on the board aren't very important anyway. If you ask for an extension on an assignment he will almost always give it to you.

Rating # 16

Overview:

Course: HIST206
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Murphy is one of those professors that you need to meet with to do well, because he is understanding and will work with you on his papers. He is not a tough grader, though. He told me straight up that if I summarized a book instead of analyzing it like I'm supposed to, Id get a solid B. He does lecture all class period though, which was hard for me

Rating # 17

Overview:

Course: HST206
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Murphy is a fantastic prof. His SWS classes involve a lot of reading and notes. He is a tough grader, but if you go to his office he lays out everything you did well and wrong and how you can fix them for the second and final draft of each essay. I would highly recommend him.

Rating # 18

Overview:

Course: HIST103
Grade Received: C+
Overall Rating: 2.5
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

This class was difficult and easy at the same time. Only tests are midterms and final exams. You are graded off of 3 essays which he grades very difficult on. Tests and midterms are all writing definitions and essay questions. Every other day are just lectures the whole class period.

Rating # 19

Overview:

Course: HIST103
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.5
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He is very enthusiastic about history, but he doesn't know how to teach it very well. No power points. He reads off of a piece of paper in his hand every lecture. PAY ATTENTION to what HE is saying. Reading the online textbook did not help me very much at all. Exams are in paragraph form. Make sure to base answers around class discussion.

Rating # 20

Overview:

Course: HST206
Grade Received: B-
Overall Rating: 3.5
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I love Prof. Murphy! This class wasn't the hardest I've taken but he does make you work for your grade. Sometimes his prompts for papers are confusing or very vague so don't hesitate to ask him what he means, he's great at helping!

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