Suchitra Vijayan Rate My Professor Page

Several reviews note that while she is intimidating in class, she is incredibly generous with office hours. One verified review reads:

"I went to her office hours terrified. She spent two hours walking me through the bluebook citation for a complex treaty. She wants you to succeed, but you have to prove you did the work."

1. The "Unstructured" Complaint The most frequent criticism on RMP is that her lectures can feel stream-of-consciousness. Students expecting a rigid, color-coded syllabus sometimes feel lost. suchitra vijayan rate my professor

“I left class every day not knowing what the main takeaway was supposed to be. Interesting stories, but no clear rubric for the final paper.”

2. Heavy Reading Load Vijayan assigns dense, often academic or legal readings. Several reviewers warned that skipping the reading is not an option, as she will immediately identify bluffs. Several reviews note that while she is intimidating

3. Tough Grader While she is described as kind one-on-one, students report she is a "tough but fair" grader on papers. She focuses heavily on sourcing, nuance, and argument structure. A "B" in her class is considered an achievement.

This is the #1 complaint. Vijayan is viewed as a harsh grader on written assignments. Students frequently report receiving B- or C+ on papers they believe were A-worthy. "I went to her office hours terrified

As of the current academic cycle, Suchitra Vijayan’s RMP profile shows a mixed score—typically hovering between 2.8 and 3.5 out of 5, depending on the semester and university (she has taught at institutions like NYU, The New School, and other NYC-based colleges).

Let’s break down the tags:

The distribution is distinctly bimodal: roughly 40% "Awsome/Amazing" scores (4.5-5.0) and 40% "Awful/Difficult" scores (1.0-2.5), with 20% middling.

Name: Suchitra Vijayan Primary Affiliation: Executive Director of The Polis Project; previously taught at New York University (NYU) and other institutions. Areas of Expertise: International Relations, Human Rights, Political Theory, South Asian Studies, and Creative Nonfiction. Notable Work: Midnight’s Borders: A People’s History of Modern India.