Class record · POLI · MCAS

POLI 3406

Irish Politics 1916 to Present · 1 instructor on record · 5 sections

What the course score is made of

94BC evaluations5 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

71stMore challenging than 71% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

94BC — “Intellectually Challenging”5 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

43rdMore work than 43% of BC classesranked against every one we hold

53BC — “Workload”5 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.

Class restricted to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Ireland, a country rich in history, has undergone dramatic changes in the twentieth century beginning with its fight for independence and culminating in its meteoric rise during the Celtic Tiger years. What explains Ireland's distinctive political trajectory and how does it compare to other European nations? How should we understand the Celtic Tiger, the rapid series of social, economic and political transformations that have occurred within Ireland since the 1990s? This course explores these questions by studying the political actors and institutional settings of Irish politics, the nature of political influence and the shaping of political priorities, and the forces that shape policy outcomes. It will address such critical issues as the legacies of colonialism and civil war, nationalism, democratization, the relationship between the Church and State, the Northern Ireland Troubles and the European Union. While the course focuses on the Republic of Ireland, it will adopt a broad comparative perspective, situating the country both within the wider global context and within the political science literature.

The only instructor on record

5 sections · nobody else has taught itFull record

Instructor	Overall	Workload	Challenge	RMP overall
Sean McgrawVisiting Professor · Political Science	965 records	43rd	71st	9613 ratings · all classes

There is no ranking to read here: Sean Mcgraw is the only instructor with evaluation records for POLI 3406, 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 Sean Mcgraw

1 other class

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 1091Introduction to Comparative Politics	27 records	87

Other POLI classes

All of them

Class	Instructors	Course score
POLI 1021How to Rule the World: Introduction to Political Theory	645 records	82
POLI 1041Fundamental Concepts of Politics	1037 records	76
POLI 2360Seminar: Rights in Conflict	923 records	84
POLI 1042Introduction to Modern Politics	519 records	83
POLI 2665The Question of Justice	919 records	80
POLI 2440A Continent on the Move: Immigration in Contemporary Europe	110 records	86

The line

All 13 items · means across 5 records

The Professor4 items

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

9880th 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.

9882nd pctl

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

9984th pctl

The Course3 items

Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.

9679th pctl

Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.

9680th pctl

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

9462nd pctl

Assignments & Feedback3 items

Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.

9363rd pctl

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

9885th pctl

Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.

9782nd 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.

5343rd pctl

Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.

9471st pctl

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

9677th 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

5 sections · newest first

Instructor	Term	Sec	Instr	Course	Work
Sean Mcgraw	Fall 2025	01	94	93	40
Sean Mcgraw	Fall 2024	01	98	94	—
Sean Mcgraw	Fall 2023	01	98	94	—
Sean Mcgraw	Fall 2022	01	96	93	60
Sean Mcgraw	Fall 2021	01	94	94	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.