Plan ahead for courses where students have earned lower grades.
Lowest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.
Historical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Only courses with at least 100 letter grades are ranked.
This course surveys American legal history from English background through the Civil War, focusing on the origins of modern civil and constitutional rights.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Richard Keyser: The course requires intense weekly reading, note-taking, and preparation for timed essay exams and take-home papers.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025INTRODUCTION TO EAST ASIAN HISTORY: JAPAN surveys major cultural, social, political, and economic developments in Japanese history from ancient to recent times.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course relies on exams and a term paper rather than homework, with heavy reading and significant participation weight. Grading is described as tough, with some noting high standards for top grades.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2024HISTORY 101 covers American political, economic, and social development from the founding of the colonies to the Civil War.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Gloria Whiting, John Sharpless, Justine Walden: Workload varies by instructor: John Sharpless assigned heavy reading and difficult blue book essays, while Gloria Whiting used quizzes and papers. Justine Walden’s quizzes focused on specific textbook details unrelated to lectures, creating high difficulty.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to the historical, social, and legal experiences of Latinx communities in the US, focusing on migration, conquest, and diverse group histories.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2024–Fall 2025Traces the intellectual, political, and social history of the university as an idea, institution, and community from the Middle Ages to the present.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Matthew Farrelly: Reviewers characterize the workload as light, typically involving one weekly homework assignment, a final paper, and a slideshow, though one review notes the course is reading-heavy with in-class discussions.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025Covers the history of Greek civilization from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course features mandatory attendance, quizzes based on lectures, and papers. Workload varies from easy to difficult, with some students finding grading reasonable while others report tough grading and strict deadline policies.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025HISTORY 133 is an introductory global examination of war and peace from ancient times to the present, focusing on military cultures and technologies.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2023–Fall 2024This introductory survey covers African society, culture, polity, and economy from prehistory to contemporary developments using multidisciplinary perspectives.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of James Delehanty, Neil Kodesh: Workload includes heavy reading and essays or exams, but reviewers note these are manageable if students complete the assigned work.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026HISTORICAL STUDIES introduces historical studies at the research university with an emphasis on interpretation and critical thinking.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Assignments include weekly readings, one-page papers, and a long research paper. Workload varies from minimal attendance to mandatory participation and strict deadlines under historical instructors like Claire Taylor.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026HISTORY 119 introduces Europe's global expansion from 1400-1815, examining economic, political, and cultural encounters with the Americas and Africa.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Lee Wandel, Suzanne Desan: Workload includes seven required books, long specific tests, and multiple papers or exams. Students note that attending lectures is crucial because slides alone may not convey the main points, and the material can be conceptually heavy.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2025HISTORY 115 covers the history of Medieval Europe from the later Roman Empire to the end of the Middle Ages (410-1500).
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Students must read multiple books weekly and complete five essays, which constitute half the grade, alongside participation and attendance requirements.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025HISTORY 102 covers American political, economic, and social development from the Civil War era to the present.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Allison Useche, Athan Biss: Workload expectations vary by instructor. Athan Biss required strict attendance, frequent pop quizzes, and tough essay grading, while Allison Useche involved reading approximately six primary sources weekly.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026HISTORY 136 explores the relationship between sport and major trends in American social, political, and economic history.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Isaac Lee: Isaac Lee's course was rated as low difficulty, suggesting a manageable workload for students during his teaching term.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2024Introduction to East Asian civilizations covering China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Mongolia from prehistory to the present.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Anatoly Detwyler: Workload involves mandatory attendance and substantial reading, with straightforward quizzes based on those readings rather than complex exams.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026HISTORY 229 explores transnational and comparative history topics involving at least two continents.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2025HISTORY 223 is a variable-topic course exploring European history, with specific content determined by the instructor's expertise.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Francine Hirsch: Francine Hirsch assigns a heavy reading load that some students find excessive.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2024–Spring 2026A survey of interactions between people and natural environments in America, covering ecological change, conservation, and public policy.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of William (bill) Cronon: Reviewers note a heavy reading load but manageable overall workload, with fair grading and clear exam guidance. Some students found the essay-style exams and tough six-page papers challenging, preferring paper-based synthesis over fact-cramming for exams.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025THE HISTORIAN'S CRAFT teaches students to conduct original historical research and convey results through archival engagement and communication.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Khaled Esseissah assigns hundreds of pages of reading per class with no rubrics, leaving students unsure of assignment expectations.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026HISTORY 120 covers the political, economic, social, and cultural history of modern Western civilization from 1815 to the present.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Laird Boswell, Mary Roberts: Students report a moderate amount of reading, including novels and short texts, but generally find the workload manageable if they attend lectures and complete the assigned readings.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026A broad survey of American Indian history centering Indigenous peoples and nations within U.S. policy and culture.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The workload is light, involving minimal reading of only two monographs and a small amount of reading overall, with lenient grading.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Fall 2025Introduction to East Asian History: China surveys major developments in Chinese history from 1500 B.C. to 1949, emphasizing patterns, themes, and equal time for classical/traditional and modern eras.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Zhaoshen Wang: Workload consists of a few straightforward research assignments, an easy midterm, and a final project, with extra credit available.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025HISTORY 137 critically examines over fifteen war films globally, testing the Truffaut Rule and evaluating movies as historical sources.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2025–Fall 2025HISTORY 130 introduces major themes in world history such as empire, trade, and migration.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of H. Warner: The course involves significant reading, though one reviewer found assessments easy while another described quizzes as impossible and self-directed.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026HISTORY 139 traces the formation of modern Middle Eastern states and societies, examining the impact of global phenomena on regional politics, culture, and daily life.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course requires only two papers and discussion participation, with no tests. Reviewers characterize the difficulty as very low.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Examines the development of prisons from antiquity to the present in the US and Europe, focusing on marginalized populations and carceral tactics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2025–Spring 2026Examines the historical relationships between metropolitan change, economic transformation, and the construction of race to understand their impact on inequality and marginalized communities.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Readings are described as easy and supplemental, with a final project offering significant creative freedom.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026EDPOL/HISTORY 412 examines the history of education in America from colonization to the present, covering topics like common schools, teacher training, and desegregation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is reading and writing intensive, requiring multiple papers and a final paper instead of exams. While most reviewers describe the readings as intense, one student reported skipping them entirely and completing work during class.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026HISTORICAL STUDIES: INTRODUCTORY introduces elementary-level historical studies with an emphasis on interpretation and critical thinking.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2024–Spring 2026HISTORY 500 is a reading seminar offering advanced exploration of selected topics through small group discussion and intensive engagement with historical materials.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Examines the impact of colonialism, war, and capitalism on Asian immigration to the U.S. and how racial, gendered, and class formations structured these movements.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course demands substantial weekly reading, described as dense or repetitive. Assessments vary by term, including exams with advance study guides, papers, and weekly homework.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025