Boring course material, but you can tell that Professor Mason is passionate about the subjects. Everything you need to know is in his slides or other very short readings. There was a field trip for this class but you can do extra work to make up for missing it. Labs are done individually and almost everything is done online. Pretty easy classRate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
Joseph Mason
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
Quality 4/5Difficulty 1/5
Honestly, Professor Mason really grew on me. His long lectures initially bored me--and class content wasnt quite what I expected--but he has SO MUCH passion for his research, and it really shows. I learned a lot and got an A with minimal effort/stress. Although I'm unsure if I would take a class with him again, I enjoyed this one!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Mason is a super nice guy, very approachable. However, lectures were a somewhat dry and the stuff he talks the most about will not necessarily be what appears most on the tests so remember the little things. Lab attendance is mandatory, lecture is not, but I recommend going. Shows a lot of pictures that he took himself, which is coolRate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Super nice guy!! He's super passionate about what he's teaching, and he explains everything in a digestable way. I have no background or experience in geography and took this as a science credit. While this class was difficult for me because I didn't know much previously, I still did well & learned a lot!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
My experience was so different from previous ratings. Joe was impossible. Office hours are a waste. Lectures were horrendously dry; slides weren't helpful. In-class exams were the designed to trip you up and often pulled from info he covered for maybe two minutes total. I took this class because I love the west but I would run the other way now.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Good professor, you can tell he likes lecturing on the topics. Fair grader and gives good feedback on things you did wrong on assignments. Field trip for class was a bit annoying, but fun if you have someone to hang out with. Half of labs you don't even have to go in, never stayed the 3 hours.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Joseph Mason
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
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Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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