Averages use numerical answers, including the ratings submitted with new reviews. Written comments are shown separately. Missing responses are shown as “Not collected.”
- Available for help outside class8 evaluations
- 4.87 / 5
- Course well organized8 evaluations
- 4.47 / 5
- Stimulated interest8 evaluations
- 4.79 / 5
- Assignments helpful7 evaluations
- 4.50 / 5
- Attendance necessary8 evaluations
- 4.68 / 5
- Course intellectually challengingHigher means more challenging8 evaluations
- 4.45 / 5
- Weekly effort1 is very light; 5 is very heavy7 evaluations
- 2.57 / 5
- Instructor prepared1 evaluation
- 4.93 / 5
- Clear explanations1 evaluation
- 4.81 / 5
Written reviews 35
Student experiences, shown as submitted.
35 of 35 reviews
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Beware of the eye contact, but Steichen was BY FAR the best teacher I have ever had. I do not care what the class is, if you have the opportunity to have him as a professor…TAKE THE CLASS. He is quietly but insanely inspirational, and truly cares about each of his students. Pro tip: seriously take advantage of office hours.
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Best professor I have ever had in my life. So genuine and caring You will do well as long as you try, so don't let the first week scare you. He is so accessible outside of class and genuinely tries to form relationships with his student. Makes difficult material engaging and easy to understand. Cannot emphasize enough how awesome he is.
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Goat teacher. If you keep up with readings and pay attention in class you will get an A. He hosts review sessions before every test that could not be more helpful. Genuinely wants you to learn and enjoy the curriculum. Go to office hours. Cant emphasize enough how chill and goated he is.
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Prof Steichen is hands down the best professor I have ever had at BC. He genuinely cares and is actually interested in the topics he teaches which makes class 10x more interesting. As long as you stay engaged and do the assignments you'll do fine in this class
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Truly one of my favorite professors at BC (coming from a science major who never anticipated taking Theology before coming to BC). Lectures are extremely captivating and filled with meaningful thought exercises. The final is a 20-30 min conversation with him, and it was one of the most meaningful and enjoyable finals I've done at BC. Truly great.
Read 30 more reviews
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Genuinely my favorite class I've taken at BC. As someone who is not religious, I dreaded the theology core and did not enjoy the other half of it. I genuinely looked forward to this class and it has had a lasting impact on me.
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I took his theology class after dropping perspectives and this was my favorite class of the semester. Prof. Steichen is very knowledgeable in the topics discussed in class, but also keep the class engaged and relatable. He discusses things that BC students would relate to in the context of theology, class is not very difficult either.
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Professor Steichen is the best. He is a fairly generous grader but pay attention to the comments he makes on your papers and exams. Gives captivating lectures and genuinely makes you want to participate. Very approachable. Gives pop quizzes on the readings but they are easy if you do the reading questions
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Prof Steichen is one of the best professors at BC. I took him for perspectives and it was such a great class. He cares a lot about his students, and the class is not hard if you put in effort. You have to do the readings bc he does give pop quizzes
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Bro thank god I stayed in his class. He was scary at the beginning of the semester and I think he was trying to scare away whoever was not willing to put in work for the class. He hyped up the hot seat assignments and quizzes to be difficult, but they were quite literally the easiest thing ever. Super sweet guy and genuinely cares about his class.
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This was my favorite class of the semester, it reintroduced me to my faith and answered a lot of questions that I previously was skeptical of. Prof. Steichen is a genuinely amazing professor and you can tell that he cares about teaching. You won't do well if you don't do the readings, so do them! Take this class, you wont regret it!!! Also, hi John
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By far the best professor I've ever taken at BC! Completely changed my perspective on God and Christianity. He carries a deep passion for what and who he teaches, making each class feels more like a conversation rather than a lecture. While his class seems intimidating at first, he truly just wants students to engage and put effort in
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Professor Steichen is one of the best professors I've had at BC so far! He genuinely cares about the material and it shows. Highly recommend taking God Self Society with him for your theology core. Not as hard as you may think at first, but you do need to put in effort, but this isn't difficult since the material is interesting.
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Prof. Steichen cares a lot about this class and helping everybody understand the material. Really interesting material; lectures can get a little long. He's a little insecure about his class not being taken seriously so he does pop quizzes to make sure everyone does the reading fyi. Offers plenty of feedback on papers. Great choice for theo core.
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LOVE HIM! My fav prof. at BC. As someone who is not very religious I have learned a lot about religion. The class is straightforward. 3 papers, pop quizzes so do the readings, midterm exam and final is a one on one with him. Great guy and prof!
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My favorite professor I've had at Boston College. Inspired me to pursue philosophy more. Truly cares about you, wants you to understand material, encourages you to be the best you can be. There are not enough nice things to say.
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He takes the class seriously but cares about his students doing well and understanding everything. Don't be scared off by the fact that he says this class isn't an easy A, if you put in any effort you'll end up enjoying the class and doing well. Really nice dude.
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Bro needs to chill with the eye contact and unbuttoned shirt but otherwise hes goated
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I am so grateful to have had taken this class and I was just thinking about it and had to go on and say something. People like this professor are a rarity, and truly such gifts to this world. This class was life changing without a doubt. Yeah there is work and readings but you honestly get in this class what you put in. BEST PROFESSOR EVER
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Decent amount of reading and notes required, but lectures makes the workload worth it.
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This will forever be my favorite class taken at BC. Steichen is such a great professor who wants the best for his students. The class is definitely not as hard as he makes it seem on the first day, but you do need to put in effort to do well. Very interactive classes that encourage you to think deeper about your faith. TAKE THIS CLASS. TRUST ME.
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Don't be intimidated by the syllabus, this class is a lot easier than he makes it sound. Class is majority lectures, which can be a bit much some days but overall interesting material. He's super easy to access outside of class and a relatively easy grader. As long as you do the readings and assignments you'll be fine.
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Very rarely do you get a professor who actually wants to teach — Professor Steichen is one of the rare cases. He is so passionate about teaching his students, and in his eyes, his students are all brilliant. I looked forward to going to his lectures every time, and I'm so sad that the semester with him is over. Best. Class. Ever.
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I'm 100% convinced that anyone who doesn't like this class is the type of person who was looking to slide by and get an easy A in their theo core and was salty that they actually had to participate in their education. Great teacher, great teachings, interactive classroom, learned a lot. 10/10 class.
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Great guy. He comes across as scary at the beginning of the semester but is just meant to scare away people who don't want to be in the class. He will give you an A if you show up to class and try. My favorite professor ever, I mean it. He genuinely cares for all of his students.
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Extremely boring. The way he talks puts half the class to sleep. At best gets away with his looks, at worst he's wasting my tuition.
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He has extremely 2000s music taste. Also one of the best professors I've had. 11/10, wish he taught another course.
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He tried to scare us off through the syllabus, but it genuinely ended up being my favorite class I've ever taken.
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Take the class. Great class and even greater professor.
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He is great! Very passionate and actually wants his students to learn. There is a lot of readings but if you actually do them you'll have a great chance of getting a good grade.
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Best professor I've ever had ever. Amazing person and unbelievable teacher. I look forward to class every day I have it. Not only is it a great class but it's changed the way I look at the world. Life changing experience.
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Genuinely the best professor I have had. He taught God, Self, and Society. He is genuinely so passionate and dedicated to what he teaches but also strives to help his students succeed. This course will truly leave you being a better person than when you came in. I 1000% recommend taking any of his courses. This man truly is a legend.
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Literally best class I've taken in college and I don't know how anything else could beat it. I started out not wanting anything to do with theology and wound up in the class late because a different class fell through and now I'm literally obsessed with the class. Most amazing teacher ever, whatever they're paying him they need to pay him more.
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Had him for god, self, & society. He's amazing. He comes across as his class will be the hardest you will take your whole time at BC, but that's not the case and hes trying to scre people off that he knows wont try in his class. He's super down to earth and really inspirational. The readings are a lot at the beggining but do the reading questions.
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Stud. Actually cares about you learning and is super accessible out of class. Lots of reading but Perspectives is worth 6 credits anyway. Beware of reading quizzes.