Charles Gochman - University of Pittsburgh

Professor: Charles Gochman
Department: Political Science
College: University of Pittsburgh
Rating # 1
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • 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:
Gochman doesnt get as much praise as he deserves. Hes a super sweet guy and hes trying his best to adapt to the online format. This is my second semester with him and hes been super helpful whenever I have any questions. He does lecture a lot but he always records and puts his lectures on Canvas.
Rating # 2
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Very monotonous and boring, have to rely on TA for clarification on topics. There was ample opportunities to ask questions, but he continuously went off on tangents rather than actually relating the question to the material. Luckily, he does lay out everything you need for tests. For such a conceptual class, professor was too cut and dry.
Rating # 3
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: B
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 1.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I really enjoyed this class. People give him crap but I think he was just having trouble adjusting to the online format. He is very knowledgeable and kind. His class made sense and I learned a whole lot. The students in the class complained a lot and unnecessarily. It is graded by 3 exams but they only covered 3 chapters each. I would take it again
Rating # 4
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Grade was 25% participation, other 75% based on 3 exams, each of which only had 20 multiple choice questions and an essay. You absolutely need to read the book, his prerecorded lectures were very long and hard to pay attention to. Participation grade wasnt available til after class was over and brought my grade down, so make sure you participate.
Rating # 5
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Gochman seems like a great guy, but his class in the online world was a disaster. The final grade was heavily based on participation which was arbitrarily graded by the TA. Pre-recorded lecture videos were excessively long and the recitation participation grades were never made available for students to see.
Rating # 6
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
I liked the way the class was set up but the recitation teacher was absolutely horrible. Participation in recitation can make or break your grade. Prof Gochman was great to have, but the exams were a bit tough. Also, get ready to read a lot in this class.
Rating # 7
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
The most annoying thing about this class was the recitations. They were over Zoom (obviously) and you had to participate in every class for credit. The only problem with basing such a large part of our grade off that is that getting a substantial word in online can be pretty difficult. Definitely brought my grade down lower than it should've been.
Rating # 8
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A+
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Professor Gochman gets undeserved flak. He is not a bad professor he is difficult to understand. It is just with COVID 19 many students don't show up to class or participate, so people are not doing well. Read, ask questions, and show up to class. Additionally, he is good to talk to in-office hours. Note: there are 3 tests and the TAs grade them.
Rating # 9
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
As a person, he's great; he knows what he's talking about. Instead of giving lectures and explaining the material during class time he would send us 1h-2h videos on sundays (which was very inconvenient), the textbook is great but it's a lot of reading to do in one week. He also expects his students to read the NYT everyday. Just a lot of work.
Rating # 10
Overview:
  • Course: PS1501
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Gochman is a flawed lecturer: he rambles into tangents, is very very slow, and speaks with a cadence that will lull you into sleep. However, hes very knowledgeable about the IR field and his tangents can be helpful at times. He overexplains everything, but you also get a thorough understanding of these concepts. Not the worst prof but not great
Rating # 11
Overview:
  • Course: PS1509
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
WORST professor I have ever had. I have never been so upset by a professor's grading criteria. His class was based on 3 assignments. Our first midterm was graded the day classes ended. He graded the test and paper harshly and neglected to give any feedback. He is horrible at teaching. Could not explain a simple concept without making it confusing.
Rating # 12
Overview:
  • Course: PS1536
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Gochman was very nice and a good guy, but an awful professor. Grades were for the first midterm were not handed back until the week of finals and feedback was nonexistent. He is very intelligent, but lectures were more him rambling than anything coherent that could be used as notes to study for an exam. Avoid at all costs.
Rating # 13
Overview:
  • Course: PS1509
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Hands down worst professor I have had at Pitt. He talks at about half the speed of a normal human because he is constantly looking for the longest, most complex word he knows. His style of teaching is to take simple concepts and explain them in the most complex way possible. It was amazing if he was able to get through five slides in an 1:15 class
Rating # 14
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Oh boy, where do I even start.. Gochman--very nice guy with extremely boring and disorganized lectures. Spent A MONTH on the first chapter because he forgets where the last class ended at. Can't pay attention myself but READ THE BOOK and did well. It will cover most of the tests but there will be questions on obscure "Current Events" NY Times. Bad!
Rating # 15
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 2.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
If you don't have the book you're screwed. He rambles so it's so hard to pay attention in lecture. You have to read the book to get any information because the slides are so brief. Slow grader. I hated this class, but it wasn't the worst thing.
Rating # 16
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Gochman's time management skills made it difficult to really learn the material. We were 3 weeks behind the syllabus for the majority of the course; he gets off topic very easily and spends half of each lecture reviewing the previous one. That being said, he's an engaging speaker and there's easy quizzes and writing assignments to boost your grade.
Rating # 17
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Gochman is okay. Lectures are hard to follow because he gives SO much tangential information it's almost better to not pay attention and then just read the concise version in the book. Tests are pretty easy, but you have to keep up with current events. Didn't learn as much as I anticipated, but the class is not a ton of work, so that's fine by me.
Rating # 18
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
goes one slide/ lecture. Lectures boring. Would avoid if you like political science. Not bad for gen ed takers though.
Rating # 19
Overview:
  • Course: PS0500
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Professor Gochman was one of the nicest professors I have had here. His lectures are a little boring but you can tell he cares so much about what he is teaching and takes a lot of pride in what he does. If there is a political science class he is teaching I would highly recommend him as a professor.
Rating # 20
Overview:
  • Course: PS1509
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
I really do not feel like I learned much from this class. The lectures were repetitive within themselves and between classes, and he got off topic a lot rambling about unrelated things or other research he's done. We were also only returned our midterm about two weeks before the final - not helpful.
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