Class record · HIST · MCAS

HIST 4495

U.S. Foreign Policy I · 1 instructor on record · 4 sections

What the course score is made of

83BC evaluations4 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

62ndMore challenging than 62% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

92BC — “Intellectually Challenging”4 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

25thMore work than 25% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

40BC — “Workload”4 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.

Fulfills the US History requirement for History Majors This course is the first half of a two semester survey of the history of U.S. foreign relations from the Revolutionary War through the present day. Students will examine conflicting interpretations of America's role in the world and trace how that role has changed as the nation grew from thirteen isolated, parochial communities on the Atlantic coast to the greatest military and economic superpower in history. Important topics include the territorial expansion of the American empire, the development of - and debate over - constitutional powers, and the struggle for American markets in Asia and elsewhere.

The only instructor on record

4 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Seth JacobsProfessor · History	874 records	25th	62nd	8636 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Seth Jacobs is the only instructor with evaluation records for HIST 4495, 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 Seth Jacobs

4 other classes

Class	Instructors	Course score
HIST 1068America and the World II	620 records	84
HIST 2475America's War in Vietnam	14 records	91
HIST 4496U.S. Foreign Policy II, 1945-Present	14 records	87
HIST 2476The Cold War in the Third World	11 record	82

Other HIST classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
HIST 1001Europe in the World 1	2077 records	72
HIST 1002Europe in the World II	1541 records	75
HIST 1113The African Diaspora and the World I	1239 records	76
HIST 1012Atlantic Worlds II: Race, Religion, and the Struggle for Democracy	1134 records	75
HIST 1093Modern History I	930 records	79
HIST 1094Modern History II	824 records	81

The line

All 13 items · means across 4 records

The Professor4 items

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

9132nd pctl

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

8613th pctl

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

8719th pctl

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

9448th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9469th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9146th pctl

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

9034th pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

8621st pctl

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

8936th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

8314th 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.

4025th pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9262nd pctl

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

8521st 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

4 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Seth Jacobs	Fall 2025	01	88	88	40
Seth Jacobs	Fall 2023	01	85	79	—
Seth Jacobs	Fall 2022	01	87	85	—
Seth Jacobs	Fall 2021	01	89	81	40

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.