Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Positions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted.

Class record · ECON · MCAS

ECON 9900

Third Year Thesis Workshop · 14 instructors on record · 40 sections

What the course score is made of
91BC evaluations40 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute
RateMyProfessorsno ratings — does not contribute

That is the class itself, averaged across everyone who taught it. Who taught it, and how each of them scored, is the board below — that is what a student picking a section is actually choosing between.

What the challenge rank is made of
82ndMore challenging than 82% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
96BC — “Intellectually Challenging”40 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question for this class only — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score.

What the workload rank is made of
46thMore work than 46% of BC classesranked against every one we hold
57BC — “Workload”40 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload for this class only as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

Third-year students in the Ph.D. program must participate in the Thesis Workshop, which meets once each week during both fall and spring terms. Third-year students are required to present a thesis proposal during the spring term.

The board

14 instructors · ranked on this class onlyCompare the top 3
Filters the rows below. Positions are always against the whole class, so a rank does not change when the list is narrowed.

Scores are real averages. The order also accounts for how many records back each one — the count is under every score — so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. 2 of the 14 rows carry a mark saying so.

RankInstructorOverallWorkloadChallengeRMP overall
1Richard SweeneyEconomics1004 records100th74th603 ratings · all classes
2Theodore PapageorgiouEconomics1003 records78th86thno page
3Arthur LewbelEconomics995 records30th93rdno page
4Mariana LaverdeEconomics Provisional fewer records1002 records78th100th1002 ratings · all classes
5Robert UlbrichtEconomics Provisional1002 records25th87thno page
6James AndersonEconomics Provisional1001 record25th100thno page
7Pablo GuerronProfessor · Economics Provisional1001 record25th48thno page
8Rahul DebProfessor · Economics Provisional1001 record100th602 ratings · all classes
9M Utku UnverEconomics985 records45th76thno page
10Julie MortimerEconomics Provisional fewer records951 record25th79thno page
11Susanto BasuEconomics965 records78th79thno page
12Michael GrubbEconomics954 records78th69thno page
13Mehmet EkmekciProfessor; Director of Graduate Studies · Economics914 records39th69thno page
14Jaromir NosalEconomics Provisional882 records78th79th864 ratings · all classes

All 14 instructors listed.

How this board is orderedPositions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted. The comparison here is the class itself: a thin record is read against how this class was rated overall, not against the university.

Every instructor with an evaluation record for this class is on this board — it is not a top ten, and nothing is hidden behind a “show more”. Overall is the instructor's blended score for THIS class only, and its one contributing source is Boston College's evaluations for the sections in the row's record count — nothing on this board is an average across the other things they teach. Workload and Challenge are RANKS against every class we hold, not scores: BC's questions all sit near the top of the 1-5 scale, so a raw number would put almost every row in the high eighties and tell you nothing. Challenge is BC's “intellectually challenging” item, which students answer positively about courses that stretched them — it is not a measure of difficulty or grading. Neither column is ever marked better or worse. 7 of 14 rows are marked provisional: fewer than 3 records stand behind the number. That is thin evidence, not a bad instructor — the record count is in every row. The RateMyProfessors column is an instructor's overall figure across everything they teach; that site has no course dimension, so it is shown for information and kept out of the ranking.

The line

All 13 items · means across 40 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9778th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9881st pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9779th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9876th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9677th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9681st pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9675th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
9578th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9781st pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9783rd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
5746th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9682nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9782nd pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Game log

40 sections · newest first
InstructorTermSecInstrCourseWork
Arthur LewbelSpring 202601100100
Mariana LaverdeSpring 202601100100
M Utku UnverSpring 20260210010060
Susanto BasuSpring 20260210010060
Michael GrubbFall 202501879320
Theodore PapageorgiouFall 2025011009320
Rahul DebFall 20250210080
Robert UlbrichtFall 20250210080
Arthur LewbelSpring 202501100100
Theodore PapageorgiouSpring 202501100100
M Utku UnverSpring 20250210010040
Susanto BasuSpring 20250210010040
Michael GrubbFall 202401100100
Richard SweeneyFall 202401100100
Jaromir NosalFall 2024029010060
Mehmet EkmekciFall 2024029210060
Arthur LewbelSpring 20240110010060
Mariana LaverdeSpring 20240110010060
M Utku UnverSpring 2024021007340
Robert UlbrichtSpring 2024021007340
Michael GrubbFall 202301100100
Richard SweeneyFall 202301100100
Mehmet EkmekciFall 2023029080
Susanto BasuFall 2023029080
Arthur LewbelSpring 20230110010040

Showing the first 25.

How to read this boardInstructors are ranked on their record in this class only, never on their average across everything they teach. Scores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Workload is BC's own five-band figure, not a number of hours, and is shown as a rank. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero.