Class record · ENVS · MCAS

ENVS 4941

ENVS: Senior Research Seminar I · 1 instructor on record · 8 sections

What the course score is made of

72BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Fall 2025

—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

34thMore challenging than 34% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

88BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 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

39thMore work than 39% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

50BC — “Workload”8 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.

This year-long seminar is for seniors who are majors in the Environmental Studies Program. To assist with the transition from college to the next stage of ones career, the seminar focuses on the further development of applied multidisciplinary research, accessible writing, project coordination, and public speaking skills. Students spend the first semester engaging with scholarly materials and developing a proposal for a research project, and during the second semester the students complete their research project, potentially collaborating with a campus or community organization to address an environmental problem.

The only instructor on record

8 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Tara Pisani GareauProfessor of the Practice; Director, Environmental Studies Program · Earth and Environmental Sciences	808 records	39th	34th	663 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Tara Pisani Gareau is the only instructor with evaluation records for ENVS 4941, so the number is a record, not a position. The RateMyProfessors figure is their overall score across everything they teach, not their score in this class.

Also taught by Tara Pisani Gareau

6 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
ENVS 4943Environmental Seminar	511 records	75
EESC 1501Global Implications of Climate Change	210 records	75
SOCY 1501Global Implications of Climate Change	310 records	78
EESC 2202Environmental Systems: Ecosystems	28 records	61
ENVS 4942ENVS: Senior Research Seminar II	18 records	71
EESC 1704Climate Change and the Corporation: Risks, Rewards, and Responsibilities	25 records	69

Other ENVS classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
ENVS 2256Environmental Law and Policy	2443 records	88
ENVS 1075Understanding and Protecting Our Oceans in the Wake of Global Change	317 records	75
ENVS 4943Environmental Seminar	511 records	75
ENVS 3360Research Methods in Environmental Studies	28 records	74
ENVS 4942ENVS: Senior Research Seminar II	18 records	71
ENVS 3355Sustainable Cities	27 records	87

The line

All 13 items · means across 8 records

The Professor4 items

Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.

9030th pctl

Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.

9131st pctl

Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.

8824th pctl

Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.

8921st pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

8214th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

8517th pctl

Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.

8927th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8313th pctl

Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.

8626th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8933rd 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.

5039th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

8834th pctl

Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.

809th 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

8 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2025	01	88	80	60
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2025	02	75	67	60
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2024	01	84	80	40
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2024	02	80	78	40
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2023	01	72	69	—
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2023	02	77	70	—
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2022	01	82	57	40
Tara Pisani Gareau	Fall 2021	01	85	78	60

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.