Strathman gets flack bcuz people aren’t ready to dig in and rly learn the material. His lectures are really engaging and focuses hard on authors bcuz it forces you to learn the theories, you won’t get away with surface level effort. 142 is the best class I’ve taken so far, it was a difficult but worked hard and earned my grade & you can too

The hardest that I have ever worked to get a c in a class. The tests he gives question you about things that he barely went over in lecture and that werent really even mentioned in the readings. He is also extremely arrogant and views his students as inferior, constantly insulting their intelligence. Avoid the wrath of strath!!

The professor gives you no guidance in terms of preparing you for the final as well as the midterm, the questions are incredibly vague and they focus one topics that are barely covered in lecture or reading. Only one or two students got an A on the midterm and final, the class average for both was around a 58, one of the worst teachers at ucsb!!

One of the worst polisci professors that I have ever taken, avoid this guy at all costs. On his tests he expects very specific writers to be introduced, and even if you get the concept on the test correct and introduce a reading that relates to that concept you will still loose point because you didn't introduce the reading he arbitrarily chose.

He really is an amazing professor. I actually learned so much from his class. The work is hard but doable, go see him or your TA's they help so much! It also helps to work with a group on the readings so that you are able to get the most through notes.

Best IR prof at UCSB. Took 121 126 & 127 in person. His lectures are dense but v thorough and give you a comprehensive undergrad level understanding of IR. For exams+papers, be prepared to cite authors & reference key concepts that he mentions in lecture without notes. Grades based on critical thinking+applying concepts, not just effort. Great guy

Despite the number of readings assigned by Professor Strathman, hes an awesome professor. I have taken 4 classes with him, and he never fails to make me feel passionate about my field of study. He is TOUGH but in a good challenging way. If you do poorly on an exam hes usually willing to help you out if you have improved over the quarter. Great guy!

Will spend a whole lecture defining/ talking about how to use a concept to fix a problem, only to say in the last minute that this strategy is stupid and doesnt work. Then give you a final asking the right way to fix the problem when the only way you have learned about how to approach it is wrong. Never replied to my emails a/b mental health :))

Kind of wants you to read his mind. Lectures are interesting but only a quarter of the actual work is required to do well. He grades based on whether he thinks you have improved, and tests are insanely difficult.

I recommend avoiding taking his class if possible. There is a lot of reading and midterm and final are based on the reading with no study guide on what exactly from the reading should be focused on. Also there is a strict answer key to the short answer and essay questions and you are timed while doing it.

TONS of reading that are not covered by lecture or section, so you're on your own. sections consist of "games" to teach you concepts like prisoners dilemma/IR concepts, so u don't rly go over readings/material at all. grade is made up of 3 strategy brief papers, participation in section, and a final exam. lot of work for not much reward

This professor grades super super harshly. Take this class if you are willing to actively do every reading and watch every lecture.

They are other POLS professors at UCSB, and I would not recommend taking classes taught by professor Strathman.

Strathman is very passionate in IR, and it shows. His lectures are very interesting. But he falls short in the grading department. For the midterm and final he expected you to know all the readings and be able to readily cite them in order to get credit, but he did not make that known to us before the midterm.

Prof Strathman is very knowledgeable on Foreign Policy but makes his classes impossible to pass. You'll have about 100-200 pages of dense reading per week, lectures that are hard to follow, and no study guide for any of the tests. He looks for specific answers to his tests that he doesn't explicitly voice, and the TA's never know what's going on

Theres a midterm, paper, and final test. I went to every single lecture, took notes, and read and still managed to fail the midterm, the class average was a 67% (says more about him than me). Test preparation is extremely unclear, what he said to study was not on the test (no study guide either), TA's didn't know what was on the test either.

A great lecturer, but each lecture is stuffed with info. Randomly checks attendance. He is approachable and encourages questions. His tests are notoriously difficult, but if you do the readings and study extensively beforehand you should be fine. Sometimes curves grades based on your ability to improve throughout the course. Take him if you love IR

Strathman is an incredible professor! His course was structured so that there were just readings until week 8 then a simulation and essay for the final. Always do the reading - exams are author focused. Pay attention in lecture. At first his structure seems confusing but once you get it down it flows really well! Always avaliable to help!

Strathman is my guy! One of the best Political Science professors I have taken at UCSB. He is passionate about the material and is very knowledgeable. He does assign a crazy amount of reading though. Make sure to stay on top of it and to study well in advance for the midterm and final. Not an easy course by any means but you will learn a lot!

He's such a nice guy. He's really passionate about the subject and always willing to talk to students. The biggest complaint is the amount of reading he assigns which is required to pass his test (especially the 2nd half). Its inhumane for someone taking only 1 class let alone 3 or 4. But at the end, you will feel like a foreign policy expert.

Strathman is by far the best professor I have ever had at UCSB. Take any and every class with him that you can. The political science department is lucky to have him!

Best professor Ive had at UCSB. Classes are very challenging but he is so knowledgable and effectively educates students. After each class I leave genuinely thinking about the lecture material because its so interesting. The classes effectively incorporate history and opposing views too, making it unbiased and enjoyable to learn. Highly recommend!

Amazing lecturer! Speaks somewhat fast at times, but you can ask him to slow down. His lectures are never dull despite the subject. He's a very outgoing professor and extremely knowledgeable. However, there is a ton of reading involved which is the worst.

Best professor I've had at UCSB! His lectures are fast-paced but are extremely interesting and will give you lots to think about afterwards. This class is amazing because he has you making your own foreign policy strategies for a grade rather than just regurgitating information on tests. You'll learn a lot, but it's difficult to get an A!