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ECON 2020 Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics
Last taught: Fall 2026 Add to Schedule
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Review Summary Updated April 05, 2026

This course carries a very light weekly workload with virtually no homework, but your final grade rests almost entirely on a handful of high-stakes exams. Midterms and quizzes are typically straightforward and mirror provided study guides, while the final is consistently longer and much trickier, making it highly inadvisable to rely on the Dutch knockout policy to save your grade. Lectures mainly consist of reading through slides and can feel dry, but the instructor is consistently praised for being approachable, deeply passionate about the material, and genuinely willing to help students succeed. To earn a top mark, you will need to self-study diligently, work through all practice problems, and closely review the textbook, as exam questions often probe specific concepts and phrasing not fully emphasized in class.

33 Reviews

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Fall 2016
1.7
Average

Doyle seems like a nice guy but even he can't make the material interesting. The tests are poorly worded and constructed and will wreak havoc on your grade. Discussion is a waste of time because TA's sometimes don't speak English well or present information contradictory to what was taught in lecture. If you do take this class, know that while it is very easy to choose not to read the textbook, doing so (especially before tests) is the only way to scrape out a decent grade. Be prepared to be constantly stressed about the horrible questions and grading on the next test.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 2.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2016
2.3
Average

Professor Doyle is very nice and helpful outside of class. The main problem is that the concepts are easy but we dont do any practice problems and the book doesn't have any either. Tests are very problem oriented. If you dont want to major in econ then i dont think this class is for you

Instructor 3.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 2.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2016
3.7
Average

Doyle is a pretty standard professor. Take home portions of tests (about 30% of each of the two midterms) were poorly worded but in class portions were very easy - attend lecture for clicker questions and basic understanding but the textbook is straightforward and to be known in depth - that's where the quiz and test questions come from.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2016
3.3
Average

Overall recommended. It won't be too hard if you do the reading since he just runs through the ppt in class and the textbook is easy to read. I don't know about Coppock's class but I guess this class is more easily graded. Lectures are not really fun but the real world implications he makes during class makes it still worth to go. He's one of those professors who are not too diligent in making great lectures but are nice and willing to help if you come over to them.

Instructor 3.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Fall 2015
3.7
Average

Overall good course. Doyle is a really nice professor, and I found him to be effective for the most part. Most of class lectures were Doyle reading off of PowerPoints and explaining some things in greater detail, but going to class is usually optional because he posts the PowerPoints online. Occasionally there will be a clicker quiz but these are few and far in between. The content is very interesting and practical in real life application, and Doyle does a good job connecting many of the concepts taught in class with the real world. Also, Doyle doesn't give homework at all, which is a huge plus is you have a big workload in other classes. That being said, my grade kind of got screwed because of the difficulty of the three tests - which is to be expected from an Econ course. The three tests are basically worth 90% of the grade so very little room for error on any of them. There is the Dutch Knockout but I wouldn't rely on it. Overall it was a good course, and I would recommend it, Econ/Comm or not.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 0.0
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Fall 2015
3.0
Average

Material was really interesting and presented in a semi-interesting way (Doyle mainly reads off his power points but sometimes would apply the concepts to current economic situations). Grade is based off primarily two midterms (first had an average of 67, the second an average of 78) and a final. Some questions were straight forward, while other felt like they were designed to trick you instead of test your knowledge on the subject, which is why I think some of the averages were low. He did curve this course by a couple points to help students out, but I had him for micro as well and he curved that course down so I guess it depends on the class's performance that particular semester. Overall would recommend Doyle as a professor if you needed to take the class, but as for an "easy" class I would take something else.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 1.0
Fall 2015
3.0
Average

Doyle is an interesting professor. He's a really nice guy and has a lot of professional experience, so he's able to relate Macro to the real world (which is like half the battle in a Principles class). But his powerpoints are really weak, and he runs through them. He also puts them on Collab, so that's an incentive not to show up to the 9:00 am lecture. He uses Coppock's textbook, so it begs the question: why not just take Coppock? But Doyle has an interest in banking (he teaches 3030 as well, supposedly a cool class), and he's a fair grader. His TAs were pretty weak though. Overall good class.

Instructor 3.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2015
3.7
Average

Overall, good class. Challenging but usually in a good way. Doyle's a nice guy and kept a good level of energy for how early my class was. Beware of the tests though. They can be deceptively easy at times. Dutch Knockout. Would recommend but not as an "easy" class.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2015
3.7
Average

Professor Doyle is very nice and helpful, but lectures are essentially just reading off the slides. The class is not difficult if you keep up with the readings and take notes on the power points (all posted to Collab). Grade is made up of two midterms and a final as well as some points from clicker questions and the discussion section. The TA's give quizzes online so there is no point of going to discussion. He will email everyone in advance for when class will have clicker questions. Macro is a very interesting subject and easier to understand than micro.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 3.0
Recommend 4.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 6.0
Fall 2014
2.3
Average

If you're good at self studying, this is the class for you. He doesn't give you any homework so all you really need to do is just read the textbook and understand. He does have clicker questions, but he tells you when to expect them so you only have to show up to those classes if you want the (participation) points. On the other hand, if you're not really motivated, it's really easy to get behind on the readings and have them pile up on you when the test comes around. To succeed in the class, the discussions are key because that's where you'll get the most practice solving problems. Try to read the chapter before discussion. Office hours with Doyle don't help that much. Also, do the practice problems Doyle posts on line, you may see some familiar ones on the tests.

Instructor 3.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 2.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 3.0
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