Great Professor! Clear concise lectures. Posts his lecture notes online...very interesting class

A very clear and concise lecturer, posts good notes online. Books were not helpful in the least. Jon Frienberg is ****. TAs not very helpful, sections very awkward (read: useless and awkward.)

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i also took him for 142k. hes a very intellegent man, and his lectures are interesting

Great Professor, if you are intrested in topic. Probably not good for taking to fulfill a GE, but if you are going to major in PoliSci or IR he is a great professor. Takes your little intrest and expands on it greatly. Plus open to counter arguments.

Straight forward class, his lectures are very clear. Better yet he posts all lecture notes online. TA's are helpful if you have questions.

Big, entertaining Russian guy. Didn't expect the lectures to get my attention, but they did. He's intelligent and explains the material well, but the exams are a bit difficult due to all the information that you need to remember.

He is a really great and fun professor--is real about what he is teaching, enjoys it, and is willing to help any student who needs it. The book was definitely not necessary, so save your money if you take his class.

Online notes were extremely helpful, basically wont have to go to lecture if you read the notes onlines. Professor was very subjective in lectures. TA, Mike (not sure if still TAing) was really good.

LOL. This guy is huge. He is Bulgarian, not Russian. (He gets offended when you call him Russian) I also had him for POLI 12. He seems more at easy with teaching now. Before he seemed arrogant and distant but now he is funny and engaging.

don't take the class! prof makes lecture fun and class is very interesting. why not take it? because his tests are friggin hard, reading load is the biggest ive seen, and you have to read everything to do well. i got a 82% overall which was a B+; the guy curves his class. wtf...

awesome professor...brilliant man...hilarious...makes class interesting...highly recommended

Good lecturer and his super detailed online lecture notes were super helpful, especially if you don't go to class.

Gave clear, good lectures, but class turned into a history lesson after game theory. Also, a lot of reading and tough tests. On the day of the final an 8-10 page paper was also due!

Tough course, but interesting. Hard to make it to 9 AM lectures all the time. If you go to class or read his lecture notes on the internet, and do the critical readings (Schelling, National Security stuff) you should be fine. outlines most everything else well. Paper was hard and ambiguous in nature

Funny, interesting lectures, very organized, great online notes, fair tests, difficult essay topics

It seems to me that Saddam Hussein would pat this Russian fellow on the back for attracting hot Asian girls and liberal TAs back to Warren. He is the bomb; not in the way you think.

He is Bulgarian, not Russian! Great guy, good lectures, funny jokes, and very opinionated.

This Russian fellow has an air of supremacy that commands the attention of all the fresh off the boat Asians off Angle Island. He is a great guy with a sense of humor that makes the materialistic Asian girls in the class blush; his copyrighted photographs are breath-taking.

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A great lecturer and a very organized class but the man's arrogance and hubris is breathtaking. If you are looking for a good intro to international relations theory this is the professor to take, but if you are looking for a semblance of objectivity in international relations in reality, you are best going elsewere as he is hopelessly partisan.

Slantchev has a very detailed and interesting lecture. He incorporates events from the past 100 years very well, and brings a fair approach to IR. The class tests can be difficult, but if your willing to learn there is no better teacher.

The lecutures were very interesting. His understanding and explanttion of the material was extermeely comprehensive. However, this is a lower division class, not necessarily for a major and there were 2 hard eight page papers plus a midterm and final! The couse hands your ass to you on a platter and says "Welocme to college, SUCKA!"

It was a really interesting class and he teaches it really well. It wasn't so fun having 2 8 page papers when you only thought they were each going to be 3 pages or so. Otherwise, it's a great class.

Slantchev is funny! He was the only one of my lower div poli profs that I liked; he actually made class interesting. Exams are easy (very short, only about an hour long, multiple-choice/short answer). He has an accent, but it's not bad. Essays are long and tough, but on interesting topics. Extremely helpful website with very detailed lecture notes.

Slantchev is awesome...lectures are really clear and are often pretty comical guy. Definately not the easiest...but hey, i learned something.

A very interesting course presented in an easy to comprehend manner. The Two eight pagers worth only 30 percent of the grade were a pain but did help out as test prep. Not the easiest course but still interesting and worth taking

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This professor gives the most interesting lectures! He is a fabulous lecturer and I would recommend him to anyone. It is a rather difficult class. His study guides don’t do all that much to help with the exams. He does however give full on-line lecture notes. So if you know the lecture notes flawlessly you will do well in the class.

Best teacher ever. I was not interested in international relations until i took this class. His lectures are really interesting and easy to follow and if you miss anything in class his online lecture notes are extremly helpful. Very fair class and easy to get an A as long as you make some sort of effort.

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I think the class was challenging as in you had no idea what was going to be on the tests. The essay was pretty straightforward, as in if you kinda know anything policy making and other alternatives. oh yeah, his online notes are helpful.

I had him for National and International Security Strategy and Intro to International Relations.

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hes an enthusiastic professor ill give you that, but funky exams and lame TA's ie get decked 50% of your essay portion cause u answer a IR question with a differnt legitimate solution the professor gave.. yea ok... i had to take everything back to the professor to regrade and even then...too much hassle and effort

It was hard to take notes with the way that he lectures but he posts his lectures online which is very convenient. Essays weren't that bad. Tests were... eh but if you study they shouldn't too bad. He cares for students and their learning. He was an alright professor but i honestly wouldn't take him again.

The BEST Poli Sci prof I've had so far-and I've had a lot. He's AMAZING--and world-renowned, I found out. Ya, he's tough, but so what. His paper topics are actually interesting and applicable to the real-world. I hate that part of his tests are multiple choice tho. It's Poli Sci, not math. Oh well!

B-Slant, or Slant Nasty as he is called on the streets, is my homeboy. He makes Nash Equilibriums cool again.

Good lectures that are well organized. Can be difficult if you don't go to class or at least catch up fully online. Should be an easy B with moderate effort.

Didn't expect game theory to be part of the class so I found that somewhat boring. But the latter part of the class was very interesting and Slantchev exhibited his comical nature during these lectures. Seems like a nice guy. Study guide and lecture notes are very helpful. 1 Midterm, 1 paper (pretty fun topic actually)and a final.

Slantchev is one of the nicest, funniest professors at UCSD, but his class is virtually incomprehensible to anyone with no prior understanding of game theory and the associated mathematics. Although HE himself is extremely nice, the class is, to the average math-hating poli sci major, ridiculously hard.

Seems v disorganized. Midterm was ridiculously long and graded hard (time breakdowns on it were for an 80 min class, not a 50 min class which it was). Were supposed to have a 5-8 pg paper due week before the final, but due to him messing up the dates on the rdg schedule, was changed to being due day of the final and changed to 8-10 pages.

Slantchev is very intelligent and a great professor. I highly recommend taking his class. He is one of the only unbiased professors I have had at this school (fact based lectures, not theory). However, he is extremely challenging. Do all the reading and refer to his lecture notes online.Be prepared to work, but you will learn a lot.

BRANISLAV SLANTCHEV IS THE MAN! I learned sooooo much from this class. It was by far my favorite class at UCSD. I have never enjoyed learning as much as I did with him. He was funny, engaging, and made GAME THEORY fun!

Very interesting class, covers alot of material in 10 weeks. VERY large reading load so be prepared. Puts extensive notes online (200+ pages) but if you want a good grade you have to go to class. Sometimes hard to understand. Midterm, final and 10pg paper.

I never expect to have a political science professor as good as Dr. Slantchev ever again, and very few professors as good in any other field. He is one of the most effective lecturers I've ever seen, and the amount of helpful resources and notes available on his course websites is ridiculous and probably saved my grade in the class. Incredible!

This class requires a lot of reading. If you fall behind, good luck catching up. DO the readings and stay on course with the course website schedule of readings. He is a very clear in his lectures and is a great professor. Got to earn that A though! Midterm, 10pg. Paper, Final.

Amazing lecturer, very interesting material, the grade will be reflective of the effort put in, make sure you know his lecture notes that he puts online, do not refer to the sample midterm for anything more than format similarity and focus on what was covered in class, as that is what will be on the exams. I would give him my highest recommendation

One of the best classes I've taken at UCSD. National Security Strategy itself is something that I find incredibly interesting. The lectures are posted on his website... but be wary that the lecture notes online = like reading a book. it is better to just go to class. i have never put so much effort / time into a class, but it is SO rewarding!

Best professor I've ever had. I learned more from Slantchev in one quarter than from all my other professors combined. Take this class!

Not an easy class, but amazing professor!!! The class is overall very interesting! Would definitely recommend.

Not an easy class to learn, not an easy subject to teach. Great content and rigorous reading load, which is made clear from the start. A must-take class for anyone interested in international politics, nuclear power, war, and the Cold War. A historical approach with modern application. A great professor.

His class was the best poli class I've taken at UCSD so far! He makes it super interesting and has a very close background to the material. Even though I skipped class a lot and the beginning half of the class scared me (it was all game theory), and I barely skimmed the readings, I ended up with A's on everything!

Absolutely love this professor! He is extremely passionate about his subject. He occasionally talks way to fast (if you are a foreign exchange student with limited English, this may not be the teacher for you). As long as you can stay focused this professor is GREAT. Absolutely hilarious. This class completely changed the way I view history / war.

Slantchev is GREAT. One of the best teachers I ever had, I wish he could teach me every class. He is funny and clear. Classes are 50 minutes long and he makes you pay attention the whole 50 minutes. There are A LOT of readings and you MUST do them if you want to pass, but is worth it. The exam is not difficult if you went to classes.

Pretty entertaining and easy-going lecturer. He could go on for days about the material and it's clear that he enjoys teaching students. The reading isn't too bad and he does post class notes ahead of time. Killer essay assignment though...

Slantchev is a great professor, and his lectures are really interesting, but this class difficult nonetheless. Grade is based on a midterm, a paper, and a final. And those three are not easy assignments. I would recommend this class if you are really interested in IR; But if you are just looking for a poli class, go elsewhere.

Dr. Slantchev has been my favorite professor at UCSD and I am not even a POL major. He is extremely knowledgeable and his lecturers were always entertaining, informative, and filled with dry humor (which I love). Attendance is not mandatory as he posts his lecture notes on his website but you are doing yourself a disservice by not attending.

My Favorite professor in the Poli department for sure. I learned so much from his lecture! But I am also sure that I would never take his class for credit again. Pretty hard and unclear midterm and final. Essay is ok.

Definitely my favorite lecturer in UCSD. Clear, engaging, and interesting. Material is tough but interesting, so not the class for an easy A. 100% attend class and take thorough notes, if you miss lecture you've gotta read the 20+ page summary he posts, and the summary is a lot more bland than lecture. But be prepared, the essay is ten pages.

One of my favorite professors at UCSD, but definitely one of the harder polisci classes. Game theory in beginning might catch you off guard, but you only need to know key terms from this topic. Lectures were super interesting, and he has a lot of personal knowledge about the topics! Exams were difficult & curved. Won't answer his email though :(

Absolutely amazing lecturer, one of the most interesting classes I've ever taken. The final grade was based off a midterm, a 10-12 page paper, and a final though, so there was a lot of pressure to do well on those few assignments.

The class requires you to use your ears more than your eyes. Attendance is not required, but don't let that fool you. Lectures are not recorded so you'll need to be present to know what material to focus on. Only available online material are transcripts since he uses blackboard instead of slides. Take notes on what he says, not only what's written