LS 229Selected Topics in Criminology

70% liked it50% easy44% useful

From 20 ratings and 11 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

• I liked it but the professor made the whole class based on his own research and books so he was very strict when it came to marking. It was two major units, one test each and one paper. no final exam. I did okay in this class only because I never skipped it, the professor talked the entire time no slides, notes or microphone so it was hard to pay attention. If you take notes and don't miss class you will do okay

  Jun 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

• interesting, in-depth analyses of the more tame crimes. it's more textbook reading than lecture, although lectures are important as well for extra details as the professor is very particular. it's actually the one class i managed to pay full attention to regardless of the absence of slides and proper instructions on learn. you need to be really disciplined to take this course because you'd have to make your own timeline of when to complete readings. he only gives due dates of assignments and midterms, so it's really up to us to stay on top. textbooks, you can easily find online and in omni, so it won't cost too much (all required textbooks are written by the lecturer)

  Sep 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

• 3 Quizzes worth 20% each. (20 multiple choice questions each test). They are way too specific to test the content taught in this course in a reasonable way. The quiz questions were based on the profs research and I thought that too many questions were a 50/50 guess or subjective. It is very easy to lose marks and 10% of your grade in 5 minutes. Also, the content is a prerecorded lecture of his voice only which was incredibly monotone, which was not engaging and made me question why I took this course.

  Jul 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

• This course for me was very interesting and intriguing. The only issue is professor Desroches is a notoriously hard marker and is almost too specific with what he wants you to do for the essay and exams. He had a specific layout in which me and my friends followed for the essay which we cited his books dozens of times but still received sub par grades. Also, the course requires you to buy multiple textbooks which just happen to be his own textbooks which is quite convenient for him... Good course but difficult professor.

  Dec 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

• Listen to the lectures, read the books, and take copious notes. I took this course online in Winter 2023. I found the final exam easier than the quizzes (and did do better on the final) as the quizzes tested you on details about Desroches's studies while the final tested you on the broader ideas. If you are not interested in diving deep into certain crimes and prison phenomenon chosen upon the course instructor/designer's discretion, and Desroches's analysis of the topics, then I would suggest taking a different course. But if you are into criminology and investigating the motivation behind deviant behaviors in general like me, you will still enjoy this class.

  Sep 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this