Historical instructor

SCOTT STRAUS

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.44/5 from 80 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

PS191 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
He was fantastic! I took a POLSCI seminar class with him at UC Berkeley; he always encouraged everyone to participate and ask questions, was extremely kind and understanding, explained concepts in a clear manner, and led thoughtful discussions on difficult topics. He was also very understanding if anyone every had to miss class. Love him!
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PS124H · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Straus provides clear and organized lectures, he will not try to confuse you. Guidelines for grading were clear, also open to student questions and comments. Thoroughly engages with the topic (human rights), was able to do my final research paper without feeling lost. You can tell he enjoys discussing the subject matter. Great professor!
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pol124g · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I take at uc berkeley. Best teacher ever. He speaks clearly and eloquently. He clearly cares about the material and it shows. Hes not intimidating to speak to. Best experience ever.
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pol124g · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
Told us to study “main points” and midterm was on the details. Mediocre professor with hard test.
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PS439 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Straus is one of the best professors I have taken from. His 8 week course on genocide had 4, 30 min lectures a week. Lots of reading but you can skim it and just take notes on the big pictures. The material on genocide is SO fascinating, also disturbing but has made me more well-rounded about the world. Would 100% recommend this course.
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PS439 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
My favorite professor at UW-Madison. His course on Genocide was one of the best classes I've taken. His lectures are so interesting that you want to pay attention and take notes without it feeling like a chore. Skimming the readings and paying attention in class were enough to understand the material and do well in this course.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with SCOTT STRAUS

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

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Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance
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