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USEM 1570 University Seminar
Last taught: Fall 2026 Add to Schedule
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Review Summary Updated April 05, 2026

This seminar is widely considered an incredibly low-stress credit that practically guarantees a strong grade. You will only handle light weekly readings and three short papers with very lenient grading, typically allowing you to write on self-chosen topics as long as they loosely connect to the material. Class sessions consistently wrap up much earlier than scheduled, focusing instead on relaxed, free-flowing discussions led by a highly entertaining and approachable teacher. If you need an easy schedule buffer or a straightforward GPA boost with minimal workload, this course delivers exactly what you want.

18 Reviews

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Spring 2015
5.0
Average

Steeves is the man! Highly recommend this class. He is a kind man and an extremely generous grader

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 1.0
Spring 2015
4.3
Average

Rick Steeves is an amazing professor. This class meets once per week for about 90 minutes. As long as everyone in the class in contributing, the discussions are very interesting and often take interesting tangents. Three papers and he is a generous grader. If you need two credits, highly recommend this USEM.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2014
5.0
Average

I love Rick Steeves. He reminds me so much of my grandpa, and he is always funny. The course itself is interesting, but he makes it so much better by reducing the morbidity of the subject and making it enjoyable. He asks you to read a few articles a week and 2 novels at some point. It really isn't much, and they are all good reads. Read the material if you want to contribute to class discussions and write interesting papers. My papers were all 3-5 pages about something I found interesting in class. Take this course and enjoy it!

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
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Fall 2014
4.3
Average

I took Death, Dying, and Bereavement, taught by Richard Steeves. GREAT class. Wrote three 1500 word essays over the course of the semester, minimal reading, and only meets once a week. Easy A, little work, and topic is very interesting at times. I highly recommend this course.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Spring 2014
4.7
Average

Take this class; it is interesting and an automatic A

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Spring 2014
5.0
Average

Great course! A lot of the other students in the class this semester were pre-med, but this class has something for everyone. We touched on literature, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy as well as biology. You take a field trip to a funeral home and have a few guest speakers. Rick is just the right amount of crazy that makes coming to class incredibly enjoyable. Grades are based on attendance and 3 short papers. For the papers, you pick any topic you want as long as it fits into the unit you're studying. Rick grades super leniently, too.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2012
5.0
Average

Death, Dying and Grief:
Absolutely LOVED this course. Such an interesting topic. The course itself is not difficult -short readings each week, but don't really even need to fully read them for class -but interesting enough you probably want to! 3 short 4-5 page papers and class participation make up your grade. Go on a field trip to a funeral home which was really interesting! Professor Steeves is such a goofball, SO nice and wants you to do well. Grades super leniently as well. HIGHLY RECOMMEND this course to everyone!!

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2010
4.3
Average

Easiest and most interesting USEM out there. You have interesting readings, guest speakers, and even take a field trip to a funeral home. You learn a lot and the class is all discussion based. Don't stress about missing the readings one week because discussion likely wanders (to sometimes crazy topics) and you can participate still. Every four weeks you write a paper on whatever you want (no topic, just whatever interested you), and I got a 97, 98, & 99 on the three papers. Anyway, Steeves is pretty cool and funny and brings in a skull and a nice guy, and we got to take the class in Pavilion 8 which was sweet! I highly recommend this USEM!

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 4.0
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