So I gave him 5s in everything because it honestly is easy to get an A, an he's a really helpful and clear guy- but like most SFS classes, you can get as much or as little out of it as you want. Repeats Intro IR a lot, with a few more interesting readings. I only did readings for the three weeks I wrote papers and did great. Learned v.little though

Bennett is a clear and interesting professor. For an intro government class, it wasn't particularly hard. The readings aren't necessary as long you attend class (or get the lecture notes from offline). You really don't learn much though. If you know IR going in, you'll do really well, and if you don't you will still pass.

What an awful class. Every day, this man droned on and on about the same tired theories with about as much passion as a soggy banana. I don't know how he is in smaller settings, but never take a large class with this man unless you are an insomniac.

To be honest, Bennett is a very nice guy, but he's extremely boring for an 8:50 A.M. class. If I ever hear the Prisoner's Dilemma or Stag Hunt again...I might shoot myself. TAs grade ok, I basically got A-s on everything. Class would be a lot better if a few of the SFSers would shut their traps and let Bennett speak... (this coming from an SFSer)

Lectures are very interesting however do get very boring. There is a ton of reading (60-90pgs a nite) assigned from textbooks and articles. The midterm was a lot easier than I expected it to be as it covered the broad topics. Final was only 2 essay questions given in advance (list of 10 given to study). Grading was very fair, class avg was B+

Interesting professor with a lot of backround (he boasts about his studies in the IVYs on the first days as well as his jobs in the DOD). Loves to talk about Iraq, so the class seemed more like a current events course. TA's were very helpful in applying the theories to actual events and therefore they made a lot more sense. Kind of boring, but eas

Professor Bennett knows his stuff (he has worked with many of the political scientists we discuss, and he uses some of his own material in the course), and his lectures are clear. Lecture outlines are online. 1 paper, 1 midterm, 1 final. Good teacher.

the man. has a lot of good stories and explains everything well. one thing that sucks is the mcnair auditorium, but its not his fault. grading is fairly easy and he gives you a set of questions to study prior to the final.

A fantastic prof! If you are interested in the topic this guy is hard to beat. A brilliant and very nice - also, quite easy on the eyes!

He is a fanstastic professor. Brilliant and interesting also accessable. Plus, easy on the eyes.

Good Teacher

Nice guy, knows his stuff, worked for DoD before and gives real life examples from his experience to the theories you go over. Lectures can range from putting you to sleep to sitting on the end of your seat depending on the day. 1 paper, fairly easy, and relatively easy exams. I'd reccomend him.

He really knows his stuff and teaches it well. He does assign a lot of reading, but it's really not required to do well in the course. You can get a lot out of his lectures, but it can be hard to pay attention sometimes.

Bennett really knows his stuff and is able to make IR concepts understandable and accessible, but he isn't the most thrilling lecturer. Not a lot of work for the class: midterm, paper, and final. Assigns a lot of reading, some of which is actually interesting, but you can get by without doing a lot of it.

Professor Bennett's lectures are not the most exciting, but he is really knowledgeable and does a great job of introducing IR concepts. The first half of the course is mostly theoretical, but the second half is application to the real world. There is a lot of reading, but not all of it is necessary. The class is only a midterm, a paper, and final.

The second half of the course, focusing on the application of the concepts from the first half, is interesting. The first half is really boring. Most of the readings are unnecessary. The first few weeks of reading are most useful.

Great class, highly recommended. He is very knowledgeable (but not conceited about it) and lectures are easy to follow. Class is graded VERY fairly, and designed so that you really learn the material in studying for exams. The subject material is very interesting, and the readings, although sometimes a bit lengthy, are very relevant and helpful.

Fair, friendly, and knowledgeable. My TA was also well-selected and a fair grader. The downfall's that there's little contact with Bennett himself. There are a lot of readings that are nowhere near necessary for a good grade, although many are interesting. Lectures are all right, although he can be a little dry and overuses certain phrases.

Assigns way too much reading. Lectures were interesting but he gives a lot of information at once. TA's weren't that great and all had very different ways of grading.

The reading is very time-consuming and necessary. The lectures aren't illuminating but I really enjoyed them. Overall a very good class. It gets better after the theoretical first-half.

An incredible teacher with an incredible knowledge of the concepts of IR. His lectures can at times be boring at 10:15 AM but you walk out of the class understand the world in a whole new way. Reading is excessive but entirely unnecessary, 2 exams and 1 6-8 page paper. Definitely take him!

Overall not a bad guy, can be a tough grader but found that if you give him what he is looking for you will do well. Preparation for the final exam based off his study sheet guarantees an A

Very good professor. He is always well prepared and his lectures are comprehensive. The readings are excessive and not that important until the final exam. The TA's are great though and if you do the readings, both lecture and discussion are quite interesting. Not a fan of the large class size but Bennett does his best to make the class exciting

Good guy, very helpful and very comprehensive. You'll really learn, just don't get wrapped up in trying to know every detail. The midterm all lecture based, the final is all reading based. But overall I learned and lot and really enjoyed the class.

andy's a nice guy--the class is interesting and not that hard if you try. i took verbatim notes and never read, just memorized my outline for the tests and did fine. go to class, and you'll be fine.

Bennett is a really sweet guy who knows a lot-he's BRILLIANT! Reading was too much and a bit repetitive. Lecture seems confusing unless I'd done the reading beforehand. Overall wasn't too hard. There's always a cool/funny analogy in his lectures to help us understand an idea. Very willing to help outside class, helpful with paper and anything else.

Bennett is solid and knows the subject really well. Explains the concepts, too, and is always willing to take questions. A lot of the reading feels pretty optional to me because he goes over some of the same material during lecture.

One midterm, one paper, one final. Lots of required reading (you can get by without it). Grading curve is a bit strict, but overall I highly recommend him. He knows his material and explains it well.

Don't let the "a lot of reading" part stop you from taking Bennett. He is a pretty awesome guy and I actually miss taking IR with him. He knows his stuff, takes time for Q&A during lecture, and gives great examples! Gives you 10 questions from which he will pick 3 for the final. And out of those 3, you just have to answer 2. He is great!

Bennett's lectures are fast paced but very interesting because he knows what he's talking about so well. They get a little repetitive by the end of the semester..so he tries to change things up a little. Material is very interesting.

Very knowledgeable and his tests were super straightforward. largely theoretical but then again it is an intro class. TAs matter

Be careful with this class. The material is interesting but it's so easy to get caught up in all of the readings. You can do fine as long as you pay attention and attend classes. Midterms and final were AWFUL though. The amount you have to put in gor exams is just ridiculous.

Would recommend. Bennett is funny and obviously knows a lot about IR, which makes lectures move very quickly. Large amount of reading, though not all of it is necessary. Gives all possible questions for the final a week ahead. Grade is dependent on your TA and consists of 1 long paper, midterm, and final.

Contrary to what the people on this site say, I loved professor Bennett. He was a funny, engaging lecturer who is really passionate about the material. It's hard to get an A in his class, and I respect that. He really wants you to learn and put in the work. I also liked all the readings. Take this class if you really want to learn IR. Not an easy A

Great Professor, good at teaching. I enjoyed his class immensely when he visited our University, University of Oslo, at the Oslo Summer School 2011. I definitely recommend his classes to any doctoral student looking for insights in Case Study Method. GREAT TEACHER, Enthusiastic Lesson, and Good People Skills. I am a BIG FAN of Prof Andrew Bennett.

Nice guy, solid lecturer, and extremely knowledgeable. Tough to get an A but honestly B+/A- seem to be not hard to do. Don't take as an elective if not an SFSer/Gov major, as this is what we love. TAs are moderately difficult but know their stuff and are available for feedback. Content-heavy class as it's an intro class so hard work pays off.

I thought Bennett was a great professor. A difficult class to get an A in for sure, but absolutely worth the effort to learn as much as you will about IR. Great class for those passionate about the subject.

Bennett is a nice and very intelligent guy; attempts to keep lectures engaging but they do get a bit dry due to material sometimes. Gradeexperience is very dependent on TA but it's not hard to get an A-B+ in the class, as he makes everything very clear and open (gives final questions beforehand). Solidly good guy and a pretty good class.

Lectures can be a bit dry and seem to go on a while. Since it's a big class, not much interaction with Prof. Bennett. TAs do most of the grading. Just final, midterm, paper. TAs can be particular in some ways but will try to help if you ask. Generally fair grading but you have to work for it.

Bennett himself is a good professor with a deep knowledge of his material, which can at times be a little dry by nature, so the lectures are occasionally a bit difficult to stay awake in. That being said, the grades are 100% up to the TA's , so it's pretty hit-and-miss. It's a big class, so don't expect much (any) interaction with Bennett himself.

Lectures can be a bit dry but very useful. Take careful notes. Always do the homework and show up every day, as he has daily quizzes on the homework. Because classes are so huge, most of the grading is left to your TA. Bennett is very well respected in the field of IR, and he's a great guy, but unless you're really into IR, he can be pretty tough.

Professor Bennett is an incredibly knowledgeable professor and clearly is passionate about the material. Lectures can be long, but pale in comparison to some marathon reading assignments. It doesn't feel like busy work though if you're into IR

I really enjoyed Professor Bennett's IR class. His lectures are very clear and informative. There's only one essay, a midterm, and a final. Make sure you go to every class, and you must do the reading. If you are interested in international politics, you should definitely take this class.

Lectures are long, so it's hard to be focused for that long. But the class challenges to apply theories to current events, which was always useful and interesting. The first half focuses on theories and the last half is about studying the application of theories to historical IR cases. Good professor overall; it's the content that can be difficult

Bennett made me love international relations even though I was dreading this required course. His course is easy to follow, and he puts lecture notes up so it's easy to catch up if you miss class. That said, I'd recommend you attend class as much as possible because the discussions are interesting & helpful & Bennett is really responsive to Qs.

Professor Bennett has a wealth of knowledge to offer students. His lectures are long, but the content is solid. For IR, Bennett is not a bad choice. The IR theory is cut and dry, and his real world examples provide nice breaks from dry content. His specialty is US-Russian relations.

Pretty boring but it's a well structures class. The grading is largely up to the TAs. However if you do the readings and go to lecture you will do well. Good intro class, no fireworks but not bad at all.

Professor Bennett is super intelligent, and he's great at explaining core IR concepts clearly and almost always has great examples to illustrate them. Has a ton of experience in government and academia and will always answer your questions well. Lectures are pretty dry sometimes, but you can't expect much more from an intro class.

I really liked taking IR with Bennett. He's very knowledgeable in the field. He really knows what he's talking about and is very passionate about the topic. The midterm is 30%, 6-8 page paper is 30%, and the final is 30%. Everything is graded fairly but by the TAs. A lot of topics are covered. Reading was helpful but novels weren't necessary.

Prof. Bennett did the best he could to make a 200-person lecture work for every student. While the lectures were sometime dry, if you pay attention you learn some interesting things. Have to read the textbook and do the clicker quizzes, and grading is mostly up to the TAs.

When I read these reviews I was worried about the difficulty of the class, but honestly Professor Bennett was a solid choice for IR. It wasn't an especially difficult class, and the grading was done by TAs anyway. And he's pretty flexible about your grade and super willing to discuss it with you. I liked him a lot.

One of the reasons I dislike ratemyprofessors. Professor Bennett is an expert in his field and a wonderful professor. While his lectures were fast-paced, they were well-organized, thorough, and direct, a breath of fresh air compared to the many rambling professors I've had. Can answer any question. Readings are nesc. for quizzes, not comprehension

Bennett is a solid choice for IR. 90% of the grade is the midterm, paper, and final exam. The midterm is notoriously difficult and lives up to its reputation. The paper is easy if you start early enough. He gives you the prompts on the final beforehand, and is easier than the midterm. Iclicker quizzes force class attendance, but that's only 5%.

He is a decent professor. He is clearly very knowledgeable, and is moderately helpful during office hours. Lectures are a bit dry and faced-paced, but the content is not unmanageable. He relies a lot more heavily on the Frieden, Lake, and Schulz book than any of the others. Be sure to get a good TA, they will determine your experience the most.

Bennett is an expert at the art of drafting dissertations and he knows a lot about methodology and research design. Most of the course was spent listening to his lectures and exchanging feedback with other students on their theses. Classes weren't exactly the most engaging, however.

Professor Bennett's lectures can be boring sometimes but he's very knowledgeable (albeit opinionated) and organized which I really appreciated. Much of the stress in the class originated from my problematic TA who graded my paper a full letter grade lower than it should have been. Thankfully Bennett regraded it and gave very helpful feedback.