Dino Christenson
1 course · 22 reviews
All Reviews
Prof Christenson is a great lecturer, and I enjoyed attending his classes. He cold-calls in class by going down his attendance roster randomly, so make sure that you show up to class having done the readings. The exams are pretty straightforward and based on the textbook. The lecture is a reiteration of the chapter, but usually entertaining.
5/4/2026
Love Dino, great professor. Gets too much hate, all you have to do is read and show up to class and you will do very well.
4/20/2026
This class was overall fine. His lectures were usually interesting, and grading was generous. That said, his socratic cold-calling makes lecture attendance almost required, although technically it is not. He also bans all single-use plastics and styrofoam in his 200-person lecture, which is something. Subsection is a complete waste of time.
12/23/2025
As long as you read the textbooks you'll be fine. tests weren't very hard as long as you have a basic understanding of American politics. lectures can be hit or miss but you have to attend because he uses cold calls students from the attendance list. but dont stress he doesnt expect you to get the answer right it's just a way to take attendance.
12/17/2025
dino is cool but his lectures are pointless and hard to take notes,his exams are heavily based on the textbook(which is long as HELL) pretty hard to study for exam. weekly quizzes are completion grades BUT DO THEM! go to subsection and lecture for participation bc those points rlly matter. he coldcalls so do read before class
12/14/2025
Not a great professor, he has boring lectures but makes it mandatory to go because of his socratic method (you never know when he will call on you). If you have some basic knowledge of the US government, you can do fairly fine but still would not recommend (he is hot but that doesn't make up for his bad teaching)
12/12/2025
He is a good professor, the class is very test heavy but they are pretty easy as long as you read the textbook, it's purely over the textbook. He uses the roster to randomly call on people for attendance but the overall class isn't bad at all. His lectures are kind of fast so its hard to take notes, but just read the textbook!
12/4/2025
He is a really nice professor if you go to his office hours, super caring. Tests are hard, with lots of details and complicated questions. Interesting lectures. Readings can sometimes be tough.
11/15/2025
Dino is a chiller. He gives clear, concise lectures that cover pretty much all of the class content. Go to class, scan the textbook, and you'll be fine.
11/14/2025
I love polisci and was excited for this course, but the lectures just aren't cohesive and make it impossible to take notes. He's super nice and funny, but just spouting random sentences with weird slides. I had to read the entire textbook for tests because he gives you nothing in lecture and no practice quizes or another quizes at all.
11/4/2025
4-6 hrs/week
Easy class to take with a study group. Basics from high school just a little more in-depth.
6/13/2024
Professor Christenson is a nice person, but not a great lecturer. You can skip lecture completely, as long as you read the textbook you'll be fine. Tests have a strict time limit but they're all multiple choice, so as long as you have a general sense of the content his class is a pretty easy A, just don't expect to actually learn anything.
1/19/2024
Great professor, if you go to lecture he obviously cares about his students
1/17/2024
He does really care about his students, but his lectures can get boring at times. The exams are heavily based on the textbook, so if you read the textbook you should do fine in his class.
12/7/2023
He's a great guy, really wants students to do well in class. His lectures mostly cover base material so I heavily recommend reading the assigned chapters in textbook. Just read and study for the exams and you'll do just fine!
12/6/2023
Honestly not a super hard class, his lectures just suck. He pretty much reads off the slides and doesn't really say anything insightful or interesting. He's probably the worst professor in the poli sci department at Washu. The class is basically, a repeat of AP Gov. Try to take this class with Reeves if possible.
4/14/2022
Not bad if you complete all the assignments and participate in small section. Reading the textbook and taking detailed notes are a must! He is generally a nice professor.
3/6/2022
Christenson is one of the worst teachers I've ever had. Coming into college, I was interested in a political science major...I am now mostly turned away from this career as I had such a displeasurable experience in his class. His lectures are difficult to pay attention to and his tests cover lots of material not discussed in class. Just bad.
12/17/2021
Can't stress this enough - MAKE SURE TO TURN IN ALL OF THE WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS AND ATTEND EVERYTHING. They are for completion and worth 40% of your grade. If you do these you only need a 88% test average for an A which isn't bad because the tests are fine. Prof is decent and will help outside of class. Not my favorite class but not a bad one either
12/10/2021
He was a pretty average professor. He is knowledgeable and passionate about politics but his lectures can be boring. You don't really need his lectures as the tests are based on the reading but Professor Christenson seems like a nice guy who would be willing to help outside of class. He is new to WashU + this class so he may improve with experience
12/9/2021