Excellent class. Prof injected numerous side bars to make the class electric. Very knowledgeable!

Chad is a good prof, for a lecture. Makes even the economic side of politics interesting. Unfortunatly, there is quite a bit of reading. Other than that, I would say take this class with him.

Rector is a great teacher; he makes any subject interesting, easy to understand, and at times humerous. Alot of reading is required, but his curved grading scale allows you to do well be skimming. He has young TA's who are usually easy graders so the class average is lifted. If you are interested in Poli. Sci., you will do well in this course.

For this class his lectures were just right. He's fun and entertaining; great guy. Hope for a good TA. But for someone so fond of econ. his grading system didn't display a good grasp of numbers. No matter - Rector's the man.

Rector has interesting lectures and is actually kind of funny. The way the grading works is kind of off though. Overall, Rector's pretty awesome.

Awesome Professor.....Really funny and very intelligent.....the grading kinda sucks though....on the whole i would rec. this class to everyone

Rector is a great prof. If you really want to learn about int. politics take him. He is a hard grader and is a bit full of himself, but he is also funny, fair and really knows what he's talking about. Good readings/books. Class avg. is a c+/b-

Lectures are awesome...the first half of this class is cool then it becomes boring...papers start out easy and get a lot harder as time goes by. Mid-term and final are pretty difficult. Dont expect to get above a C+ before the curve

I thought Chad was an awesome professor whose lectures were engaging and entertaining. I never went in expecting an easy A and I didn't get one. I thought the course was really fair in terms of grades and the amount of work put in.

OK, These comments are completely false. I had Rector last semester. Yes his class is challenging, but he is a brilliant man who teaches with clarity and creativity. He engages his students through analogies and models and his readings give a perfect overview. You have to be an idiot to think Rector is not a great Professor

Rector is a good professor that is very animated and very interested in the content of the course. I enjoyed the lectures very much. There is a good amount of reading but they tied in very nicely to his lectures. The TAs grade everything and fortunately, my TA was very fair.

I liked the class and thought it was worthwhile. The reason many students think this class is hard is because Rector actually makes you THINK, not just memorize. Lectures are easy to listen to because of good examples and moderately inappropriate humor. David Malet was a great resource as a TA.

A vegetable could get a B- in this class...If you can't do better than that, there is something very wrong. Seriously, his curves are ridiculous, you can get a 5 out of 10 on a paper and get a B-. He's an awesome professor with a very crude sense of humor that liven's up the class.

Yes, Rector is hard but his class is much more manageable than most make it out to be. The quizzes are automatic 100s if you do the reading, and there are only 2 papers and 2 exams with an awesome curve. It's possible to get a 60 and still get a B-. He makes lectures interesting by relating theories to current events and is well-organized.

Wasn't an easy class but I definately enjoyed going to the lectures. Considering major requirements tend to be a chore this was a bonus. Grading system is very clear, but the papers were graded harder than I expected them to be. 6 pop quizzes, one was on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but one gets dropped anyway so there is some leeway

Rector's lectures are engaging, and the readings he assigns are interesting. Not very approachable, but TA was great. Grading is tough, but there is a huge curve-the average which is like a D in the class becomes a B-. Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

I write this post in fear of sounding like a teacher's pet, but, I must say Professor Rector is by far the best Professor I had my freshman year at GWU. To all of those who complain: God forbid you do the readings and attend lecture. Very easy to get frustrated with him during the course, but afterwards you will be thankful you had him. Not only

Rector has a bad reputation, but I honestly think it is undeserved. The grading scale isn't that tough, and if you understand the material (which you should) it is very reasonable to expect an A or an A-. He's funny and I learned a lot.

Although Rector isn't the most approachable of people ever to teach a class, he is certainly among the clearest. His points are made very clear and his presentations ensure that unless you slept through class or were reading a newspaper, you will understand the material. Pay attention, take GOOD notes, and you will do well, even without the reading

Chad is mildly entertaining. However, teaching IR without mentioning realism/liberalism/idealism is like teaching calculus without mentioning 'x'. Other than that, he explains things easily. The readings are unnecessary to getting a good grade. Overall, a good teacher.

Out-stand-ing. Very good teacher. Funny. Engaging. Tells it how it is but presents it in a very objective way. Alot of readings but most of them are very interesting. Tests and 2 Essays have tough grading scale but are not bad. Great class.

I don't understand all of the negative comments about Professor Rector. I would seriously say he is one of the best professor's I have had at GW. Honestly, the negative comments written, must have been written by first semester freshmen who had not yet taken UW20. You think Rector's class sucks...wait until you take UW20.

Great prof. really involves upwards of 200 students in his lectures. work load is heavy and TA's grade impossibly. If only he could grade tests and essays.

Professor has very good lectures and attendance is not mandatory but random pop quizzes will make you attend classes. Very entertaining. There is no real curve in the class however, so it can be difficult. Midterms and Finals are very hard with lots of knowledge required. Expects strong understand of general concepts. Get good TA, grading sucks

Rector is a unique professor. In his lectures, he acts as though he is reading off an invisible notecard, because his ideas flow in a way that makes them easy to understand and interesting. However, what Rector gains in lectures is lost by the fact that he assigns pop quizzes that can be missed if you are even two minutes late to class. Frustrating

People either love or hate Rector. He's very outspoken, makes a lot of jokes, and tries - sometimes obnoxiously - to make students like him, though he is often funny. The two papers (ten pages total) take some work, but the TAs offer writing tips and there's a fairly large curve. No multiple choice on the tests - you'll be writing the whole time.

He's a great lecturer but his class was really hard. theres a huge amount of reading to do and two papers, which are pretty difficult. The TA, Davey is GREAT TA. He's nice and funny guy and he's very informative. If you miss out on lecture, you can count on the TA to provide you with the info you need

Prof. Rector will grab your attention the first day of class with his direct, confrontational, but clear style of teaching. People say grading is very strict and it is, however, it is always clear what you are being marked down for. Overall, a fun class to take but you really need to stay on top of the work and readings.

I don't get all the hate against Rector. Sure, his last name is unfortunate, but he's a hillarious lecturer and he makes a 9:30 class much more tolerable. Like others said however, be wary of the TAs; I got the easiest one for everything but the final, and I ended up getting a B when I know I earned an A. Just take good notes & hope for the best.

Incredible professor, absolutely brilliant. I looked forward to every class. The pop quizzes are very basic and simple, but know what the readings are about. Exams are fair. I would take any class with Rector

Very insightful. Very funny. Go to class. Browse over the readings. Understand the writing assignment. Dont write it the night before its due. Got an A. My favorite class at GW.

I loved this class. He's a fantastic, entertaining lecturer. The grading system is sort of bizarre, but it actually seems to be very fair. Oh, and don't pay attention to the hate on Davey, he's a great TA.

His lectures aren't horrible, but you never know what is or isn't important. He spends days on topics that aren't asked out in discussion or on a test/paper. This class's grading is based on what the TAs want though, so beware - my TA sucked and made me hate the class. Don't blame Rector for TAs that are stupid.

Part of the reason why Rector has been getting so much negative feedback is the fact that his class relies on your own analysis of big concepts. To do well you have to grasp the big picture and also have a good relationship with your TA, who grades all of your work in the course. Challenging, but not as difficult as other reviews may imply.

Great lecturer and interesting subject, but the insane grading scheme almost gave me an aneurysm. The TA seems to grade you based on a secret rubric that you are never informed of. Monstrous curve though. Great reading list (with the notable exception of Rector's book). Overall probably too difficult for a intro class but still an interesting class

Attendance is not mandatory but he is a really engaging lecturer. v funny and clever. He wasn't that hard of a grader on the two tests and one paper that we had. I went to every class and didn't do the majority of the readings and came out with a B+. definitely worth taking with him if you have an interest in international orgs.

I took this class founds a Freshman and at first it difficult. Luckily the curve is very generous and it isn't hard to do well. The lectures are very humorous and Rector really knows his stuff. Worth taking especially if you already are interested in the topic. Quizzes are super easy and most of the readings are actually pretty interesting.

Let's tell the truth: this class isn't difficult. Skim the readings, go to lecture, use the vocabulary and concepts from lecture in your essays and on written exams, develop a good relationship with your TA, and don't get freaked out by the weird grading. If you do that, there's no way you can come away with less than a B+.

Rector is an excellent lecturer: he's informative and entertaining. This is not a class you can skip, since the coherency of the cource centers around the lectures, not the textbook. Rector does assign a lot of readings, and you have to keep on top of it to do well! The grading scheme is a little weird but overall seems fair. PSC3 is worth taking!

He is funny and smart. The class is difficult, but very interesting.

Prof. Rector is an awesome teacher. He's knowledgeable, has a really effective teaching style, and never fails to be entertaining. I definitely got a lot out of PSC3 with him. Like many of the other comments reflect, his tests/assignments are challenging, but he curves accordingly.

Prof rector is entertaining and knows a lot. You know that he is in character during lecture but it keeps class interesting. Your grade completely depends on your TA and I had Kerry and she was great! Huge curve in the class and don't get discouraged after your first paper, you go up from there.

Great lecturer. Good Teacher. Heavily Curved.

Lecture very entertaining and interesting, but it all depends on your TA and the essays you write for papers and on tests...my TA hated how i writed and always got a bad grade....stay away

Rector's class really isn't that bad. He's an entertaining lecturer, which is really something you should be looking for in a huge intro class like PSC003. Grades during the semester are very harsh, but keep in mind that there's a huge curve (he gave A's to anything above a 70 this semester).

Great lecturer, knows his stuff. Like the comments before, your grade really depends on your TA. I had Medlir. Tough grader, pretty fair, and definitely knowledgeable. Read the assigned readings! Will help tremendously on papers and essay exam questions. INSANE curve at the end of the course. Probably favorite class of my college career.

He's an awesome lecturer, especially for such a huge intro course. He makes everything interesting and understandable. The TAs' grading can be tough, and you MUST go through the assigned readings if you want to do well. But there's a huge curve at the end of the semester!

Love this teacher! Such a great lecturer! Also loved the class. Lots of reading but it prepares you for other Political Science classes very well. Get Kerry Crawford as a TA. Trust me on this. You will all thank me later once you get in her discussion, even if its an 8 am!!

Rector is a great professor, his lectures are clear and entertaining. His TA's, however, are a bit inadequate. I had to ask my TA put me in a group for a required debate, and she ultimately never did. Prof's awesome, Tests are hard, and some TA's are incompetent

Rector is extremely funny and entertaining. The people who got poor grades were the ones not going to lectures or not doing the readings. Do the work and show up and you'll be fine. The TA's do grade kind of harshly though.

Great professor. A lot of assigned reading, but you don't need to do it all to get an A. Easy tests, easy papers, clear teaching. Take this class.

if you actually go to class and listen to his lectures you'll get an A. He is an excellent lecturer and makes the subject really easy to understand! There are a lot of readings but you really just need the main idea from each. Exams are IDs/Essays and the papers are very straight forward.

really great lecturer and easy to understand if you go to class. expects tons of reading, and the papers/2 exams are pretty hard, however there are several components to your grade and a curve. had ta's teach the class several times and they were not very good. does not provide notes online so you have to write quickly! go to lecture to do well

Take him! Good class, take detailed notes, I'd definitely recommend him. Makes topic interesting. I found it to be an easy A. Readings are not necessary just skim them.

Great professor. My favorite class by far. He's funny and keeps lectures crystal clear. TA's are great if you have any trouble with the material (which is fairly straightforward) There's a lot of reading but if you understand the major points you don't need to do it all. If you're a good writer, you'll do well on the papers. Take this class!