Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Seems knowledgeable on the topic. Lectures and problem sets are extremely confusing, much more difficult than the exams. All solutions provided throughout the course are incredibly hand wavy making it difficult to find errors. Course is hard but the curve is extremely generous meaning you will likely get a high grade even with minimal understandingRate My Professors ↗
Incredible! Deep, thorough, and colorful lecture slides worthy of a textbook. Complex, original, and rewarding homework problems which I now genuinely miss. Lengthy and generous office hours. But be ready to study! His quarter is apparently hardest among all the PhD classes, and it seems like the undergrad version, ECON 521, isn't much easier.Rate My Professors ↗
Ben was great. I find it stunning that a comment about wishing ill upon someone (like a miscarriage) is taken so lightly. The comment below a few months was flagged and passed review - unbelievable! This suggests that ratemyprofessors is really not a serious about flagging and has no serious review.Rate My Professors ↗
Econ 521 is a difficult class with tricky concepts, and it was tough to get everything from the lectures. But Professor Bernard gives excellent office hours where he goes through strategies and examples in detail. He genuinely wants to help students learn as long as you make the effort. This class is super interesting - would definitely recommend.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Bernard was one of my favorite professors in my time at Madison. The lectures are not required per se, but attendance is necessary to success. While complex and fast, the lectures were always interesting and Ben did a great job to develop problem solving skills and high levels of perseverance through difficult but interesting homework.Rate My Professors ↗
Ben is available to students who couldn't make his office hours. This course WILL require all of your time if you're undergrad/master's student wanting to apply to grad school. Ben's slides are pretty much entirely self-contained, if you are missing something for homework, you can almost always find it in his slides. Great new prof to theory.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
ECON 521 teaches game theory and economic analysis, focusing on multi-agent decision problems involving coordination, cooperation, and conflict.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Benjamin Bernard delivers complex, fast-paced lectures that develop problem-solving skills, though attendance is necessary for success. He provides excellent office hours with detailed strategies and genuinely wants to help students who make the effort.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025ECON 681 is a Senior Honors Thesis course focused on faculty-guided original research.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Graduate microeconomic theory covering firms, consumers, markets, and equilibrium.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Benjamin Bernard delivers challenging, thought-provoking problem sets and deep lectures that reward significant effort. Reviewers praise his passion, accessibility, and high-quality materials, though some note his lectures can be too fast. He is highly recommended for PhD students seeking rigorous engagement with microeconomic theory.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
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