10 Of The Best Professors At York University
Let's face it - gettingthroughyour university degree without sometimes wanting to pull your hair out in frustration ain't easy. You could try your best - and fail - to understand all your readings, show up on time to every class, and spend hours studying for an evaluation that makes little sense to you in the end. What can make the difference in a situation like this? Without a doubt, having a stellar professor is often the only difference between excelling with an A or dropping out of a course entirely.
With the help of Ratemyprofessors.com, we've compiled some of the best of the best educators at York University across a number of disciplines, including psychology, physics, and English literature. Have you been fortunate enough to take a class with any of these York professors?
Michael Rochon // Business
Described as: Respected, hilarious, and a tough grader
Level of Difficulty: 2.7 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.7 out of 5
Overall Grade: A+
Total Ratings: 269
According to his past students: Professor Rochon is known for delivering amazingly helpful lectures while still maintaining a sense of humour. His students appreciate him because, although he is a tough grader, he draws on plenty of real world experience to make concepts easier to understand, and shows genuine concern that his students all excel to the best of their ability.
Random testimonial: "Stats 1 and 2 are the hardest courses in the program. Had Michael for both. He was clear, classes were extremely helpful, passionate about the material, had real world experience to share on each topic and cared that we understand the material. Great teacher and person. I wish he taught more courses at York."
Myriam Mongrain // Psychology
Described as: Gives great feedback, amazing lectures, and clear grading criteria
Level of Difficulty: 2.3 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.6 out of 5
Overall Grade: A+
Total Ratings: 222
According to her past students: Professor Mongrain gives you everything you need to succeed in her class - all you have to do is show up and pay attention, which shouldn't be too difficult considering she makes lectures fun, engaging, and humorous. She also makes a point to record her lectures in case you can't make it to class and is known to give second chances to improve a mediocre test score or your final grade.
Random testimonial: "Awesome professor. Tests are not that hard as long as you show up for the lectures, which were always super interesting. [She] gave plenty of examples for things discussed in class. Basically the ideal professor and easily my favourite professor this year by far. She set the bar pretty high for any other professor that I may have for psychology in the future."
Vera Pavri // Natural Science
Described as: A respected and inspirational science professor
Level of Difficulty: 2.4 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.6 out of 5
Overall Grade: A+
Total Ratings: 153
According to her past students: Professor Pavri makes her coursework easy to understand and explicitly states what her expectations are - a definite plus for anyone who's ever experienced a professor who was frustratingly unclear with what they wanted to see from you in your assignments and exams. She's also known for being very welcoming and kind, so don't be afraid to approach her with any questions or for extra help during her office hours and email.
Random testimonial: "Vera Pavri is definitely one of my favorite professors. Her lectures are clear and interesting, and this is coming from someone who HATES NATS and only took it for the credit. The way she lectured made it more interesting and she's genuinely a nice person. If you have her as a professor, you're in for a treat."
Rebecca Jubis // Psychology
Described as: Assigns a lot of readings, but delivers clear, understandable lectures and drops hints on exam material
Level of Difficulty: 2.5 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.3 out of 5
Overall Grade: A
Total Ratings: 403
According to her past students: Students in her classes acknowledge that a lot of the course content can be pretty boring, but that Professor Jubis finds a way to make it interesting and engaging. She can have a bit of a straightforward, no-nonsense approach, but if you truly care about putting in the work (and not procrastinating on your readings!) you'll do well on her multiple choice exams.
Random testimonial: "She's absolutely awesome! Had her for Intro Psych and I made sure I took Research Methods with her too! I would without a doubt take ANY course taught by her. 95% of the test is based on lectures and she tells you what short answers will be on! Very clear lectures. She's super likeable! My favourite professor ever by far!"
Walter Perchal // Social Science
Described as: Inspirational, truly passionate about his subject matter, and thus respected by students
Level of Difficulty: 2 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.5 out of 5
Overall Grade: A
Total Ratings: 250
According to his past students: You definitely have to work for the grade that you want, but Professor Perchal's students admire him for challenging them to think critically and aspire to make a true difference in the world. Students often even line up to have a chance to talk to him one-on-one after class and claim to leave his course seeing the world differently, with a more open mind - something we all ultimately hope to get out of our university education at the end of the day.
Random testimonial: "I've studied abroad and at York U; honestly, I have NEVER had such an amazing, inspirational, gem of a professor! His teaching style is to prepare us for the future, for the real world. He's very upfront, the class was a real eye-opener and I would recommend it to EVERY student. The best professor hands down, no comparison. No words can do him justice."
Hamzeh Roumani // Computer Science
Described as: Down to earth personality, and communicates confusing material effectively
Level of Difficulty: 2.5 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.8 out of 5
Overall Grade: A+
Total Ratings: 128
According to his past students: Computer Science isn't always the most engaging subject, but Professor Roumani makes it a point to spend class time actually interacting with his students rather than regurgitating information you can just get from the textbook/readings. He has a reputation of being a tough grader but students say they leave his course feeling like they've learned so much, even if they didn't get away with an easy A.
Random testimonial: "His class is like watching a movie. You have the whole class listening to him and smiling at how simple he makes even the most complicated things. He is THE BEST professor at York U. No doubt the best. He has the right to make hard tests, because he teaches too well."
Stan Jerzak // Physics
Described as: Enthusiastic, readily available and approachable for help, encourages questions/discussion
Level of Difficulty: 2.4 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.8 out of 5
Overall Grade: A+
Total Ratings: 154
According to his past students: He has the brilliant ability to break down a subject as difficult and abstract as physics into understandable content. Professor Jerzak will answer and encourage even your "stupidest" questions, as one student noted, and that he is very in tune with the needs and attention span of his students. He may even modify tests based on student comprehension in lectures, but just don't try to goof off in class - he won't entertain meaningless chatter while he's trying to lecture to the students who genuinely want to learn from him.
Random testimonial: "He is my favourite professor at York. He cares so much about students and will go out of his way to make sure you understand all concepts. He is open to feedback and often gives extra marks on tests for valid complaints. Tutorials are key! Don't skip them. He will tell you what's on the test, listen carefully throughout the lecture and don't talk in class."
Dalton Kehoe // Communication Studies
Described as: Easy-to-follow teaching style and syllabus; caters to students of different learning styles by incorporating various forms of media both in class and online
Level of Difficulty: 2.6 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.2 out of 5
Overall Grade: A
Total Ratings: 235
According to his past students: Since his courses are blended (partly online), Professor Kehoe is said to do a good job breaking down online content into easy-to-follow digestible sections. In person, he uses humour as well as incorporating videos and other media to keep students engaged. You will need to memorize a lot of content to get that A, but he will make sure to explicitly provide what his expectations are in order for you to do well in the course.
Random testimonial: "The professor explains the course material in great detail in a way that not only inspires to learn more, but also allows the student to understand the material to the point where studying becomes more of a review, and knowledge from the course becomes everyday knowledge. However, it's important to note that the text book and attendance help as well."
Len Karakowsky // Business
Described as: Extremely hilarious, engaging and lively, making course content translate into an easy A
Level of Difficulty: 2.2 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.4 out of 5
Overall Grade: A
Total Ratings: 159
According to his past students: All his students seem to have one thing in common to say about Professor Karakowsky - he's funny. Like, really funny. His students will show up to class just to be entertained by him, even though you can probably get all the information you need to get a passing grade from the textbook alone. He is also a very fair grader and open to adjusting marks with valid justification, such as your TA marking you too harshly.
Random testimonial: "Funniest professor at York! Haha! He is like a stand-up comedian, the class is so entertaining you wouldn't want to miss any lectures. The course is a very easy one and he explains it well, and also engages in class activities. Tells you specific topics to study for exam. Worth taking his class just to get a good laugh!"
Peter Paolucci // English
Described as: Tough marker, but gives extensive feedback and is readily available for extra attention after class, through email, office hours, and even Skype
Level of Difficulty: 3.3 out of 5
Overall Rating 4.2 out of 5
Overall Grade: A
Total Ratings: 128
According to his past students: Professor Paolucci's course definitely won't be your easy A, but you'll come away from his teaching feeling like you've learned so much. He is willing to provide extra assistance and constructive criticism for those who seek it. He also continually pushes you to create and support your own views rather than regurgitating the opinions of others - a skill absolutely essential to an English degree.
Random testimonial: "Not only was he one of the most amazing, well-versed and well-rounded professors I ever had, he was also extremely helpful and didn't hesitate to provide me with an evaluation letter when I needed a non-science professor for my American Medical School Application. I had no idea how complex and profound Shakespeare was until Dr. Paolucci's course."
Have a favourite professor at York University? Sound off in the comments!
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