Is overtly qualified and does not come off holier than thou, but the class is hard. He is wonderful at lecturing and explaining and was a very fair grader. Rule above all: communication is key. Great, knowledgeable professor.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Alvin Thomas
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
This class could be interesting but Dr. Thomas changes his explanations of key terms when students ask clarifying questions in class. His rubrics are wordy and unclear. When I asked questions I did not get clear answers and then got points taken off on big projects. Dr. Thomas also thinks highly of himself and it is very clear in his lectures.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Dr. Thomas was a good lecturer and I could tell he truly cares about his students. However, he is an extremely tough grader and most of your final grade in the class is dependent on 2 big projects. The grading criteria for these projects is not clear, leading to a lot of confusion about what Dr. Thomas' expectations were.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
Very well educated and passionate about what he teaches but very harsh grader and there is only a few assignments and 2 big projects instead of a final overall not an easy course despite description.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
He's clearly really knowledgeable about the topics he teaches about but oof, the assignments... the main thing I really disliked was the group presentations, which 1. took up about half of class time for people to present and 2. often ended up with one student doing the bulk of the heavy lifting.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Alvin Thomas
HDFS 699
Independent Study
1–6 creditsIndependent study for directed projects arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
HDFS 990
Research and Thesis
1–12 creditsResearch and thesis individual study arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
HDFS 999
Independent Study
1–3 creditsIndependent study course offering directed study projects arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | HDFS 699 | Independent Study |
| Spring 2027 | HDFS 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | HDFS 999 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | HDFS 592 | Research Experience in Human Development and Family Studies |
| Fall 2026 | HDFS 699 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | HDFS 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | HDFS 999 | Independent Study |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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