greaaaat prof! Excited, demanding, encouraging, inquisitive, amusing, insightful, always is instructing you; you feel like you're on an intellectual pursuit together, not like he's leading you by the hand like so many profs...enjoy his classes, he's a treat =)

He's insanely interesting and his lectures are so informative you'll have hand cramps trying to write it all down or type it all on your laptop. I'm constantly fascinated by his wealth of information and his approach. He relies a lot on participation to advance theories in lecture and asks a lot of theoretical questions. However, any questions you have he's quick to answer. He is slow with email, but that's to be expected by most professors. VERY EXCITING AND INFORMATIVE CLASS.

This is the best lecturer I've ever had.He's amazing as a teacher and very helpful.He is genuinely interested in what you have to say and in helping you along if you don't understand.The readings are hard and his lectures clarify them so much.This class is awesome.I never miss it and I will take any course he offers.

GREAT professor! He's a great lecturer. Keeps your interest. Some of the readings are hard, but he does a pretty good job of clarifying them in the lectures. But you HAVE to do the reading still. If you want to be challaged to think, take this class. He's awesome!

Prof Becker is worth every dollar I pay at USC. The best teacher i ever had

AMAZING TEACHER + CLASS! I definitely suggest taking it as one of the peace/conflict studies concentration classes. It only meets once a week, so you have to go and it's long, and the class is pretty small so his format of simulated conflicts if very effective. GREAT TEACHER OVERALL but lots of reading- although a lot of people dont do it

AMAZING! If you get a chance to take a class from him take it. His lectures are super engaging and he likes class participation. He grades fairly but it's not a blow off class. He really gets you to think and respond and he's worth trying to move your classes around to take a class from him

becker is a great lecturer, very engaging and ineresting. he knows absolutely everything about everything. go to office hours, it helps a lot! while this class is challenging at some points, becker is a fair grader. studying for the midterms may be overwhelming, but do not turn out to be that hard. becker is so worht it! take the class!

He is a great teacher, you will love his class! He is the only teacher at SC who will truly engage you in the material even if it's not your major! attendance is not mandatory but almost everything is from the notes, you do have to read several books but he gives you books that are really worth it, he always listens and helps whenever you need it.

Simply amazing. He is the kind of professor you need to have in college to make you feel that the ridiculous amount of money you spend for tuition is worth the education you are getting. Go to class if you wanna do well.

Do all the homework to save your grade! Most of the classes were negotiation seminars and he didn't teach much. Lack of lectures so that the students were not sure what was going to be on the exam.

Professor Becker is one of the best professors I've had at SC. He makes his lectures interesting and hes very straight forwards with his assignments. I really recommend him!

Great professor who really really knows his stuff. Really methods-based class, so although the content wasn't my favorite, he made the class bearable. Do the extra credit and attend lectures. Never did the reading and I still ended up with an A-. His office hours are also really helpful.

Becker is a great prof who is passionate about what he teaches. The topics covered are current and relevant.. he even deviated from the syllabus to discuss the revolutions in Africa during the time. Visit him in office hours, he always has great stories and tips on how to do well in his class. Must take this class if you're an IR student

I'm not an IR major and prior to this class I was totally uninformed about what's going on in the world. Now I not only know the history and details of fascinating modern issues but I want to follow the news to see how they get resolved. Becker's not a lecturer, he's a storyteller. One of those rare professors who turns pedagogy into an art form.

Professor Becker is definitely knowledgable about the subjects he's teaching; if you ever go to his office hours you will be shocked by the amounts of books he read.. Anyways, I'd suggest you take it if you know the subjects well prior to the class or you are willing to battle with lots of readings. Not recommend for anyone new to IR.

Does not provide any presentation material, so you must rely purely on his lectures in class. This is the 2nd class I've taken with him, and I'm sensing a pattern. YOU MUST READ TO PASS. My God there's so much reading. Weekly quizzes will force you to read also. Tests are essay formatted. Confused? No problem. Easily accessible, and there for you.

Pretty long lectures but they are extremely interesting. Not always very clear but he gives you a very clear study guide with all the essay questions at the end. Don't have to go to class if you wanna do the ridiculous readings (aka you should really go to class).

AWESOME LECTURER. People are terrified of this class for no reason at all. Readings are fine, reading quizzes are a little hard. Lectures are great, he's hilarious. Tests are usually research questionID'sessay. RQ's are so easy, ID's are pretty obvious, and he gives you the essay. It really took an average amount of effort to get an A.

Professor Becker's lectures have definitely been some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking I've experienced in college. While the amount of reading is a little heavy, you don't need to do all of it as long as you attend every lecture. The essays are long but easy, and I've definitely used what I've learned in class outside of school.

Becker is an AMAZING lecturer. He's extremely fair when it comes to grading and helping you prepare for exams. its so impressive how he can speak for the full class and never make it boring. If you go to class and listen to what he has to say you'll do fine. The "unorganized" people complain about is the fact he doesn't use slides.

Professor Becker is really talkative and knows A LOT about the topic he is teaching. The class was a GE seminar so don't miss his classes. His lectures are slightly unstructured and readings are really helpful to understand what he's saying in the lectures. Go to office hours he'll tell you what to write on your paper. Reasonable grader.

Challenging class, but Becker is an amazing lecturer. He just stands up there and talks about ongoing political dramas, it's pretty impressive. Don't have to do the readings if you come to class and take good notes.

Wonderful professor. Approachable and considerate. Learn to take good notes and do the important readings carefully.

He's pretty cool. Although I was not an IR major. his lectures were super interesting and he really knows his stuff. Gives a lot of applicable information for those who just like learning new stuff. Not very accessible through email, but you'll get a good grade if you study. Gives study guides and possible test questions before!

Really nice and respectable professor, he will explain a lot if you go visit him during offie hours. The only thing I do not really like is that he will rarely give anyone above a 93 and he won't give a good reason why. Otherwise, I very much enjoyed his class.

Great professor, go to the lectures and youll never have to read (aside from case briefs). Hes super interesting, makes the course content interesting, and doesnt use PowerPoint. Note taking is kinda hard but hes super accessible and easy to get ahold of. Will definitely take a class with him again

Becker was pretty cool, and IR310 was easy. Lectures are interesting but he doesn't use slides. As long as you go to lecture, you don't need the textbooks (five of them and $$$), nor do you need to read them, as he covers the readings in class. Grading was pretty much just the exams (IDs and long answers) and a long research paper at 15-20 pages.

Best professor I've had so far at USC. Really nice, really smart, and really good at lecturing. I especially like his 324 class, which I recommend. If you go to class and listen to the lectures/take good notes, you don't have to read unless it's a case. Just do well on the paper and visit his office hours! I also took 344 and got an A.

Becker is absolutely wonderful. He'll always put the extra effort into his work, especially with his office hours, as he will help guide your essay work if you talk to him outside of class. Lectures cover the readings, so you don't necessarily need to read at all. Talk in class, go to office hours, and you'll do well.

This class was my favorite I have taken at SC! His lectures make class worth the money you're paying for it. You're graded by a few tests and papers but he gives a very clear explanation of what he wants and is very accessible outside of class. Overall, an amazing professor.

If you care about environmentalism, Prof. Becker is your guy! He is super passionate about the subject makes everything really interesting and relevant. He welcomes different opinions and is a charismatic person. Reading not necessary. Slides posted after class. Lectures mandatory, but worth going to! Easy midterm and final. One long research paper

Prof Becker genuinely cares about his students and is really accessible outside of class. There is a lot of reading and you do need to show up to class but theyre interesting and well worth it. Would highly recommend him and would defo take class with him again.

Professor Becker is a real gem. I took his accelerated course over summer, which meant 3 hour lectures 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Yet, he managed to keep the 3 hour lecture engaging. He is very very knowledgeable and goes above and beyond to make sure you are comfortable and can do your best. A hilarious dude! Highly recommend for IR.

Professor Becker is the best IR professor I've had at USC (other than Lamy); I have take multiple of his classes. His lectures are amazing and he is always willing to work with you outside of class. He makes it really easy to want to learn the material. grade is composed of a midterm, paper & final. He is a lenient grader.

Professor Becker is very interesting in lectures and very caring, wanting his students to succeed in the class. There was a lot of reading in the course but generally if you went to lectures, that mattered more than the actual readings. There's two papers throughout the semester but the course material is generally engaging and the exams were fine.

You don't need to read, just attend lectures and you'll be fine. Every lecture was super interesting. Really nice guy and genuinely wants his students to succeed.

Personally I just didn't like the GESM I chose because it wasn't interesting, but he's a good teacher. He loves to engage and be close to his students and he tells a lot of stories. Great story teller. I didn't take notes at all and I was able to pass the midterms. He has a midterm and a final that are open-ended.

Teacher is very enthusiastic about material and has a lot of experience. Lots of reading, and reading material is incredibly dry if you're not an aspiring IR major, but the tests and papers are over the lecture, not the reading. Teacher seems like a lovely guy, very friendly. Camera on desired, but not required. Tests are essay-based, 2 papers.

lecture heavy! you have to be a fast note taker but nice professor

He's a really friendly guy and tells a lot of stories in lecture. Have to look for important details/material within those stories so it's sometimes hard to pick up on the necessary info. Super nice though and will help outside of class.

Nice guy. He likes to tell stories and keep lecture interesting. The papers were hard and the class could be boring if you are not interested in IR, but he is accessible and helpful if you reach out. Also, the readings are really long, but you can skim them as long as you take notes in class and you'll be fine.

Go to his lecture, pay attention, and you shall have a good grade (his lectures are very good!). No need to read. The 15-page paper is tedious, but come to his office hours and ask for feedback! He's a very nice and accommodating professor: he made the midterm open book and even extended the paper deadline, knowing students are struggling!

Professor Becker is a gem. He has great sense of humor, he encourages and help his student and he has invaluable IR knowledge. However the worst aspects of this class is 1. he grade by few things and 2. He cramps an exceedingly unnecessary information. It was incredible hard to follow but he has a good heart. Recommendations: Take notes on the PXP

Dr. Becker is a great lecturer and a super smart guy. Would def recommend this class if IR is harder for you, since it's more case heavy and business centered. He is super knowledgeable and his testing is easy if you can memorize things and use context clues to guess what will be on the tests. Two tests and one 15 page paper make up the grade.

Amazing. Favorite professor at USC, he is so knowledgable about literally everything in the field of IR. Such an informative and interesting professor and class. He always challenges us to think critically. He could be more clear about course expectations, feedback, and how to succeed with the essays. Could be more accommodating with extensions

Great professor, great class, easy essays but a torturous final ... IDs without giving a list of terms just takes so much time and effort to prepare, essay question for final is given in advance, which is not bad Would recommend as a GE if the ID questions are more transparent

Tough GE but if you enjoy geopolitics/IR I'd definitely recommend. Lectures are very info packed but he posts specific study guides that lay out exactly what's on the exam. He's a cool guy to interact with too, and has office hours twice a week.

Dr. Becker had to have been one of the best professors I've had at USC. The class itself is pretty difficult for a GE, but his lectures were always interesting, and he gave really good feedback in office hours for my essays and thesis ideas. I always plugged the homework into NotebookLM but there's a LOT to memorize for the exams GO TO OFFICE HOURS