TARA GRILLOS
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  • Bio
  • CV
  • Research
  • Teaching
My teaching experience includes work with street children in Honduras, rural community members in Kenya, Purdue undergraduates and Harvard Master's degree candidates from around the world. I believe that each of these groups has as much to teach as they have to learn. I am dedicated to an interactive teaching approach that encourages students to take ownership over their own educational priorities.

​Currently, at Purdue, I regularly teach Introduction to Environmental Policy (POL 223) for undergraduates and, at the graduate-level, Causal Inference (POL 605) and Experimental Methods in the Social Sciences (POL 606). I have also taught the Public Policy Pro-Seminar (POL 620), the Environmental Politics Seminar (POL 623), and Field Research Methods (POL 606). Previously, at Harvard, I served as a Teaching Fellow for several Master's level courses, including Analytic Frameworks for Policy (API 302), Game Theory & Strategic Decisions (API 303), and Advanced Microeconomic Analysis (API 109).

​Below are a few examples of what students have said about me in anonymous course reviews:
“One of the best teachers I have ever had and it is by far my favorite class at Purdue. I would recommend anyone to this class strictly because she teaches it."
​-Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Environmental Policy

"A phenomenal teacher. The best we had this year. I just think she devotes so much time to our learning and I really appreciated her commitment. Well done!"
-Master's Student, Advanced Microeconomic Analysis

"She is one of the best professors I have had so far, and truly made the class enjoyable. She is extremely helpful with her feedback and truly wants to make sure her students understand the material... I believe she goes above and beyond!"
-PhD Student, Experimental Methods in the Social Sciences


"I was excited to come to class every day, and that is a direct reflection of Prof Grillos' enthusiasm and preparation."
-Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Environmental Policy

"She is truly a born teacher. She was able to explain concepts clearly and effectively and was extremely considerate of our opinions, strengths and weaknesses." 
-Master's Student, Game Theory and Strategic Decisions

"She provided outstanding feedback on drafts of our final project... I have never gotten so much detailed and helpful feedback on a paper from a professor."
-PhD Student, Public Policy Proseminar

"Her lectures are always engaging and she made learning the content a lot of fun. I love the emphasis she places on interactive learning."
-Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Environmental Policy

"Extremely clear explanations of difficult material... one of the most effective TF's I have had."
-Master's Student, Game Theory and Strategic Decisions

"I thought this class was fantastic. Professor Grillos... learned what each of the students was interested in and took the time to answer questions about their particular question/field sites, which was appreciated and helpful (even when she was not answering a question about my topic specifically). The assignments definitely helped me think through methods that I would not have otherwise."
-PhD Student, Field Research Methods

"I really enjoyed how this class challenged me to think critically and look at policy options from different perspectives."
-Undergraduate Student, Introduction to Environmental Policy

"Dr. Grillos is an excellent professor. She is good at making students use critical thinking skills by having them connect different readings to each other but is able to also bring complicated theories down to a basic level."
-PhD Student, Public Policy Proseminar

"This was the most enjoyable class I took for this semester. The professor was attuned to the academic needs of the students and provided meaningful feedback on our assignments that helped us progress through the course."
-PhD Student, Field Research Methods


Tara Grillos
Dept. of Political Science
​Purdue University
[email protected]
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  • Welcome
  • Bio
  • CV
  • Research
  • Teaching