GVPT354 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
John McCauley GVPT354 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/19/2024	Very interesting topic, covering and providing the foundations for the minor in international development and conflict management. This class is definitely a paper-heavy course, with no exams but 4 1/2 papers and very easy weekly reading checks. Would definitely recommend this class for Gov majors. It will be the most writing you do for the minor. However, I used some of the papers I had written in class to land internships in DC, so it didn't matter to me. You can take notes if you want, for concept retention sake, but they aren't really needed for any of the assignments. Dr. McCauley is definitely one of the best professors you'll ever take at UMD, and his in-class presentations attest to that. Everything covered in class is reinforced through actual in-country experiences, jobs, and assignments he's done throughout the years in his career, and he might be abroad mid-way through the semester for you like he was for our class (he went on an assignment to Benin). You'll definitely enjoy this class, so take it at some point of your time at UMD.
John McCauley GVPT354 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 12/06/2023	DO NOT JOIN THIS CLASS IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS!! I made international development and conflict management my minor this semester and I am dropping it so fast after this course. All McCauley talks about are his trips to underdeveloped countries for two hours straight. He told us that he went through assignments after the TA's already graded them and put them down to an 89 if they were a 90 because if students see a 90 they stop trying in the class. I personally did not like that and did not like his teaching style. I disliked the class ALOT but it might be because I was not a government or politics major/minor and policies do not excite me.
John McCauley GVPT354 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/01/2022	Wow. Not only did McCauley learn the names of everyone in our 60 person class and make sure to talk to those that came to class a bit early, but also genuinely knew so much about the topic of development and aid. He works on development professionally, so I feel there is no better source of information on how it works. It is an almost two hour lecture and I am engaged the whole time (rare; he is just that great). The class was easygoing, but that is not to say I did not learn much; we had readings due every week (that we had a short quiz on) that covered a variety of topics and we completed multiple issue and conflict briefs on topics of our choice. We had every opportunity to explore our areas of interest. Rarely am I ever given this much freedom in a class, and I appreciate Prof McCauley for that! Take a class with him if you can, you won't regret it.
Matthew Regan GVPT354 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/10/2022	Super nice guy, funny, easy to talk to. Lectures aren't essential to pass the class, but the information is super useful down the line. Would recommend.
Daniel Tuke GVPT354 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/10/2022	Professor Tuke is such a nice guy. He really cares about the subject which makes him super interesting to listen to. He's very lenient and easy going which makes the class that much easier. Great guy, great class.

John McCauley
GVPT354

Expecting an A
Anonymous
04/19/2024

Very interesting topic, covering and providing the foundations for the minor in international development and conflict management. This class is definitely a paper-heavy course, with no exams but 4 1/2 papers and very easy weekly reading checks. Would definitely recommend this class for Gov majors. It will be the most writing you do for the minor. However, I used some of the papers I had written in class to land internships in DC, so it didn't matter to me. You can take notes if you want, for concept retention sake, but they aren't really needed for any of the assignments. Dr. McCauley is definitely one of the best professors you'll ever take at UMD, and his in-class presentations attest to that. Everything covered in class is reinforced through actual in-country experiences, jobs, and assignments he's done throughout the years in his career, and he might be abroad mid-way through the semester for you like he was for our class (he went on an assignment to Benin). You'll definitely enjoy this class, so take it at some point of your time at UMD.

John McCauley
GVPT354

Expecting a B+
Anonymous
12/06/2023

DO NOT JOIN THIS CLASS IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS!! I made international development and conflict management my minor this semester and I am dropping it so fast after this course. All McCauley talks about are his trips to underdeveloped countries for two hours straight. He told us that he went through assignments after the TA's already graded them and put them down to an 89 if they were a 90 because if students see a 90 they stop trying in the class. I personally did not like that and did not like his teaching style. I disliked the class ALOT but it might be because I was not a government or politics major/minor and policies do not excite me.

John McCauley
GVPT354

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/01/2022

Wow. Not only did McCauley learn the names of everyone in our 60 person class and make sure to talk to those that came to class a bit early, but also genuinely knew so much about the topic of development and aid. He works on development professionally, so I feel there is no better source of information on how it works. It is an almost two hour lecture and I am engaged the whole time (rare; he is just that great). The class was easygoing, but that is not to say I did not learn much; we had readings due every week (that we had a short quiz on) that covered a variety of topics and we completed multiple issue and conflict briefs on topics of our choice. We had every opportunity to explore our areas of interest. Rarely am I ever given this much freedom in a class, and I appreciate Prof McCauley for that! Take a class with him if you can, you won't regret it.

Matthew Regan
GVPT354

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/10/2022

Super nice guy, funny, easy to talk to. Lectures aren't essential to pass the class, but the information is super useful down the line. Would recommend.

Daniel Tuke
GVPT354

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/10/2022

Professor Tuke is such a nice guy. He really cares about the subject which makes him super interesting to listen to. He's very lenient and easy going which makes the class that much easier. Great guy, great class.

Reviews for GVPT354