Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Prof Kennan is the GOAT. There hasn't been another with the clarity in thinking that I have seen in him. He will never spoon-feed you the answer, but he'll never leave you stranded either. Incredibly generous with time and very funny!Rate My Professors ↗
Absolutely brilliant. His lessons always have a grand narrative behind them, and he never gives away the story, always moving the student forward in suspense until the point is made. No handholding through the difficult prose either. A great experience for the serious learner.Rate My Professors ↗
His lectures are thought-provoking. He's actually very nice, despite of what everybody says. Don't be deterred by his manners, he's very approachable and helpful, if you try.Rate My Professors ↗
the most horrible prof. He is notorious for hating undergrads...Useless office hours...He doesn't understand why undergrads can't understand easy stuffs which in fact is hard for most of students, though. Besides, no curves with extremely difficult exam...averaged about 30 out of 100Rate My Professors ↗
the most horrible prof. He is notorious for hating undergrads...Useless office hours...He doesn't understand why undergrads can't understand easy stuffs which in fact is hard for most of students, though.Rate My Professors ↗
Bad. Just Plain Bad. Smart, yeah, but acts as if you should know most of what he's teaching already and figure out without any difficulty what's pretty hard material. Grading is too strict. The text is easy to follow but does you no good because his exams and homeworks have questions that come from absolutely nowhere. Impossible to prepare.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
ECON 703 surveys mathematical techniques for economic analysis, emphasizing linear algebra and optimization.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2019: 3.82 GPA, 85.7% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.74 GPA, 84.8% A/AB (n=33 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.94 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025ECON 750 covers theoretical and empirical analysis of labor markets, mobility, earnings, employment, and household labor supply.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
John Kennan is described as insightful, demanding, and possessing exceptional clarity of thought and memory. Reviewers note he is generous with time and funny, though his feisty demeanor and refusal to spoon-feed answers may challenge some students.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sampleECON 990 is a thesis course for graduate students to conduct independent research and writing under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
ECON 999 offers directed study projects for graduate students arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleTeaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_6cc81efed20fdd18431b7a0c",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "jfkennan",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "John Kennan",
"email": "JKENNAN@SSC.WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 8,
"quality": 3.12,
"difficulty": 4.12,
"quality_count": 8,
"difficulty_count": 8,
"profile_id": "rmp:579363",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/579363",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:31:24.829828+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_f3e0c6c26013f3c2a4376321": {
"review_count": 2,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 2,
"difficulty_count": 2
},
"course_58c6777bcc200d28ee8b067d": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_f8287db34795266858335482": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 3,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_91a1df85c82e29635060a630": {
"review_count": 3,
"quality": 1.33,
"difficulty": 5,
"quality_count": 3,
"difficulty_count": 3
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.5054898453904255,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_58d8909ca658c12f27565532",
"course_id": "ECON 990",
"title": "THESIS",
"credits_min": 2,
"credits_max": 9,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_d0e6cf6b4c558dcbc7be6613",
"course_id": "ECON 703",
"title": "MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS I",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": 3.685
},
{
"course_uid": "course_f3b3e27c031810a625b126ad",
"course_id": "ECON 999",
"title": "INDEPENDENT WORK",
"credits_min": 2,
"credits_max": 9,
"gpa": 4
},
{
"course_uid": "course_f3e0c6c26013f3c2a4376321",
"course_id": "ECON 750",
"title": "LABOR ECONOMICS",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.685
}
],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/JOHN_KENNAN"
}