Michael Tolley is a Political Science professor at Northeastern University rated 4.33/5 on Rate My Professors by 46 students, with 3.3/5 RMP difficulty and 78% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Michael Tolley professor reviews and ratings: 4.33/5 from 46 RMP ratings at Northeastern (78% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Textbook was only used once or twice, attendance was not mandatory until last few weeks. Very interesting and entertaining teacher. Grades were 3 short essays, midterm, final, and project. Only complaint was current events seemed to overpower classes and cloud judgement at times.POLS1150 2026-04-08 19:21:00 +0000 UTC
Lots of writing, very critical grading. Tests were hard to score well on, and every question was worth 1% of your grade.AMGOVERNMENT 2026-03-23 19:13:21 +0000 UTC
Tolley is great. Super nice and kind, very approachable both in and out of class. His lectures are interesting, and he does a good job engaging with people. Def the best professor I have had. With that said, the class is very hard and the first test was brutal for me. I recommend going over the slides/cases in painstaking depth to study for tests.POLS4500 2025-12-16 01:54:09 +0000 UTC
great professor who is knowledgeable and cares about what he teaches! even though the 8 am lectures are tough, they are worth going to. you will get something out of it and tests are very doable as long as you are covering the course material.AMERICANGOV 2025-12-04 04:51:30 +0000 UTC
Goat. He really only teachers American Gov at 8AM, but in my opinion it's 100% worth waking up for. All of his exams are based exactly on the lecture slides and totally doable if you attend most classes. He's kind and wants to make sure you get something meaningful out of his class.POL1150 2025-11-24 22:48:53 +0000 UTC
Professor Tolley is one of the best professors at Northeastern. He's really passionate about what he teaches and cares about his students. He wants you to come to his office hours and to ask for advice. He individually reads our assignments and throughly looks through them. His class is easy as long as you follow along in readings or lecture.POLS3302 2024-04-19 18:43:22 +0000 UTC
P. Tolley is one of the smartest men I know. I transferred in recently, and now understand why tuition is high. Follow the outline he puts on the board daily, take the notes off that, and you will do well. He is very organized, so you will find no surprises. I love C. law, and learned so much from him. He was an english major, so PROOFREAD!LAW01 2011-12-22 19:36:42 +0000 UTC
Great Guy. Definitely worth it if you are interested in law. He tests pretty much only on the notes, so I sold my book after the midterm. and did fine. Go to class and pay attention, it will be worth it.POLU500 2009-05-06 00:39:11 +0000 UTC
excellent professorCONLAW 2006-03-22 13:45:16 +0000 UTC
If you are interested in Law, his constitutinoal class will give a great background. I learned a crazy amount in this class. His lectures aren't bad and as long as you read and take notes you are good.POL500 2005-12-15 16:15:16 +0000 UTC
Hello and good morning Good guy.RENQUISTCOURT 2005-08-30 18:57:12 +0000 UTC
Prof. Tolley is one of the only professors I really remember from NU. They aren't easy courses, but you'll remember his class nearly every day when you read the paper and realize how much the Court impacts your life. You can even email him once you've graduated with a question and he'll answer it.CONLAWCIVLIB 2005-05-04 20:19:20 +0000 UTC
Best professor I have ever had in my life. Truly inspiring man.CIVLIBERTIES 2005-03-13 03:13:30 +0000 UTC
He definately has his own style, but I have learned more from him than all other professors combined. He basically outlines what the exams will be if you come to the classes, and his eloquent speeches are so compelling that the time flies!CIVLIB 2004-06-14 14:33:04 +0000 UTC
excellent professor. i learned a lot in this class. it helped to have interest in it, though. he tests mainly on lectures, so if you don't go to class youre probably screwed. nice guy and helpful too.POLU150 2003-12-28 21:58:57 +0000 UTC
Michael Tolley is rated 4.33/5 on Rate My Professors from 46 ratings. 78% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Michael Tolley's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.3/5 on Rate My Professors.
Michael Tolley has taught POLS1150, POLS3302, POLS4500, POLS4505, POLS7257, POLS4701 at Northeastern.
Data updated October 2026.