suberb professor!

easy and entertaining. what a combo! :)

Easy to get a B, hard to get an A.

Cheesy but super funny and also very willing to help with any aspect of law school admissions as he is also a professor at California Western School of Law.

Most boring class ever!!! Exams are easy once you get used to the format. His endless campaign finance reform lectures were so boring. His Supreme Court (Poli 104b?) class was waaaaay better.

Such an awesome guy. He helped me catch up after missing two weeks of class. If you take good notes (and you get to use them on the tests) you'll pull through just fine.

Highly energetic, and the prof's quirkiness definitely helps us get through the 3-hr lectures. The class is highly informative, but you've got to study your ass off and pay attention in class if you want that "A" =).

Pol. of regul. subject matter is VERY boring. Professor is entertaining though. An A is possible to get if you highlight, "tab", and underline all the readings in a meticulously organized manner for the open book/note exams. Go to the lectures.

Smith is a professor that is really easy IF you learn his teaching style. Read the book, don't try to keep up in lecture without your book. UNDERLINE ALL HIS QUOTES. p.s. his lecture outline is VERY HELPFUL.

Overall a good professor. His teaching style is entertaining which helps during the three hour classes. Class material isn't exactly easy, you have to work hard to get that A

Excellent professor who truly cares. He is easy to talk to to and communicates well via email. Fair exams.

Great prof. He knows his material very well.. class is easy if you keep up with reading. Lectures are helpful. Exam represents the material very well. You will learn alot in this class plus its pretty easy so take it!

Smith is a good lecturer who tries his best to make the 3 hour lecture go by w/o everyone falling asleep. The content is interesting, but the tests are harder that you'd expect them to be.

The three-hour, once a week lectures are killer, but he makes them bearable. He writes little on the board, so you have to pay attention. Lots of reading necessary. Subject matter is interesting. Exams are open book/note, and are fairly easy if you can make clear, concise one paragraph arguments.

Must be able to write concisely and just argue well for the in-class essays. Barely have to read the readings; skimming is ok.

This guy knows his stuff very well. I would highly recommend him for this class and all others he teaches at UCSD. I wish all the Poli Sci teachers would follow his example for lecturing, because he teaches information that is relevant for the test and application for other classes as well.

Great professor, interesting class. There is quite a bit of reading, but if you keep up with it and take good notes in lecture, an A is not as hard as people say. The general concepts are easy to grasp, so your grade depends primarily on how well you can convey the information in a clear and consise way.

he's awesome! totally fair! and consistent! really student friendly!

I have taken 4 of Prof. Smith's classes, and he really grows on you the more time you spend in his lectures. Although his scrawling on the board is basically illegible and mostly meaningless, lectures are always relevant, and you can miss a lot if you don't go. Smith is also a very professional, helpful, and student-friendly professor with great communication and an awesome dead-pan sense of humor. One of my fave UCSD professors.

i really liked prof. smith's class. this is the first one i've taken from him, but i would definitely take more. he gives a lot of guidance in the form of handouts, web postings, etc. in-class midterm not super-easy, but fair and representative of material. not too difficult if you went to class and were familiar with reading.

Its unfortunate his teaching style is not for me so I won't be taking any classes from him in the future. The 3 hour night class + the dryness of the subject + night time, makes me snooze. Without a doubt, he's very helpful and understanding, his style is just not my type. But he is a great guy, cracks some occasionally good jokes too.

He's one of the most understanding professors I have had and tries to make his subject interesting. But his lecture style just doesnt fit me. The class was pretty easy and tests are open book/open note.

Like the other people said, its a 3 hr class on dry subject matter. He does his best to make it interesting and tries really hard to make sure you understand the material. Has a lot of practice midterms and useful online stuff. Just do the readings and you'll do fine. Its open notes but it doesn't make the tests easier.

You better be realllllllly interested in supreme court cases if you are going to take this class. go to his office hours and discuss material, he will put it in a language you can understand. don't even attempt to take notes in class, just follow along in the book and underline what he reads outloud.

GREAT prof, TOUGH grader. And there's a lot lot lot of material to know. It helps to be interested in law to take his class. If you're confused, he has a lot of office hours, so take advantage of them. He may seem arrogant, but he's really helpful.

By far the best instructor I have ever had in my life. I take his classes regardless of my interest in the subject matter. He is extremely helpful and understanding and goes out of his way to make sure you understand. Do the work & you'll ace the tests and get an A. Classes are fun & gr8 prep for law school. All material is made available online.

Smith did a great job teaching. If you keep up on the reading, the class will seem less dry because you can interact with it intellectually. I took summer session when it was a smaller class, so I don't know how the larger classes are, but he was very interactive and very amusing. You can get an A as long as you keep up in class.

Read the assigned readings before going to the lectures and then you will be able to appreciate his lectures. Do not let the open book/notes fool you, if you do not know your material it will not make any difference. You have to know the case laws well enough to analyze and apply to hypothetical cases/laws/situations.

great class with engaging and interesting lectures. make sure to attend lectures becacuse prof. Smith goes over important concept critical for doing well onth exams. grading is based on a midterm (40%) and a final (60%), but improvement is taken into account. Awesome class to take!!

This class is tough so be prepared to do alot of reading. It is also important to attend lecture because he puts the bits and pieces of the cases together in class. The midterm and final are not easy so make sure you devote time to study and meet him in his office hours if you need help because he is a nice guy and willing to help.

Quite possibly one of the best professors I've had, but watch out - there is a TON of reading. Lectures are critical because he clarifies the cases. Prepare to get reamed on the exams if you don't put in lots of study time. He is a tough grader, but it is worth it. Nice guy too.

One of the best polisci professors at UCSD. He's very straight foward, tells you exactly what you need to know. Doesn't digress to the point of other teachers on the same campus. Plus go to his office hours and he will literally walk you through any problems you may have. Smith is awesome to the max!

I enjoyed this class a lot. It really helped to read the assigned readings before class. The tests are open note and open book so try to put tabs on things. The way he lectures makes notetaking difficult, but otherwise Smith is an excellent professor.

I definitely would recommend this prof. I went to class about three times, studied for four hours before the midterm and 6 hours before the final. With this lackadaisical effort, I still managed to get a B in his class. Interesting material over all, just didn't have the time to put forth the work that warranted an A.

Prof. Smith is a funny, organized, and a good lecturer. He leaves little doubt on what will be on the midterm & final and then lets you use open book and any notes. The subject matter can be dense but not too bad.

I love this guy, straightforward, interesting, funny, and organized. Hands down my favorite PS professor. Prepares you well for his tests, getting the A is definitely not hard at all. Also does law school counseling for his students. You also learn so much in this class. :)

He is a law school professor, so for anyone interested in law, do take his courses. He even offers to write letters of rec. the course was very interesting!! But the three hour length of the class was difficult to handle. The tests are easy because it is completely open book/note. Overall, learned a ton and would definitely suggest taking him.

Good class, good professor. He teaches at a law school so he is very knowledgeable about this stuff although he can can sometimes get confusing. I'd take him again though

Very nice professor, willing to help. Class is not "easy" as there is a lot of material to read. Need to actually study even though it's open book. One thing that gets me is he can be incoherent sometimes. He doesn't use complete sentences sometimes, goes off tangent, and his use of pronouns can be confusing. If you get past that, he's a great prof

Great class, really interesting prof. Class consists of a midterm (45%) and a final (55%). Both are open book/note. Not tricky at all, his questions are very open. Just go to class or listen to the podcasts.

He's a very knowledgeable person and he teaches as though he expects us to be as well, which is a refreshing change. Very fair midterm and final, worth 45% and 55% respectively. You can tell he's very passionate about politics and the Supreme Court and it is very contagious.

Such an interesting class but a lot of reading. I'll admit I didn't read and I feel like I got through it okay. The reading is mostly court cases and those can be found in brief form online so I just did that. Definitely brief the cases in your notes. 60% midterm, 40% final, which feels weird because the midterm makes up more of your grade.

One midterm 45%, and the final 65%. He has a "bump up" policy so if you do better on the final and you're on the borderline of a grade, he bumps it up for you. Overall, a great professor at UCSD. Very passionate teacher...loves his job.

I took him for 104a, b, d, and i because glenn smith is tight! Gives you choices on what to answer in the midterm and final, but you have to know what you're talking about. Podcasts, so attendance isn't necessary but lectures are so funny. I study last minute and show up for midterm and final only and got an A for poli104a and still learned a lot.

He is really funny and makes 3 hour classes tolerable. If you want to go to law school, his courses are great since he is a law professor. He really enjoys what he is talking about and uses a lot of examples from cases.

covers the material really really well. Difficult to take notes b/c his method is to just talk. but he does put up rough outlines & writes down notes on important topics. exams representative of what he taught. really enjoyed the class. will be taking him again soon

Loved his class last quarter SO MUCH, I decided to take another class from him this quarter. He's funny and makes 3 hour lectures enjoyable. You have 2 exams and they are both open book/open note, just make sure you can navigate your books/notes and you'll be fine. He's such a nice guy!

awesome professor! took him for POLI 104A and taking his POLI 104B this quarter. very funny. no lecture slides which kind of sucks but his lectures are pretty straight forward. do your readings and there's no way you can fail.

I recommend taking his courses! I've taken 4 of his courses and they are pretty easy. 1 Midterm and 1 Final. Open book/Open Note exam. He podcasts. Take notes and read the case summaries online and you'll do great!

I took him for 104D and 104I as well. He video podcasts. Open book/open note midterm & final. Reading isn't important since he goes over it in class. The class is pretty easy and the material is very interesting.

NOT easy, but very engaging and interesting. Smith is very helpful. lots of studying needed to understand the material. GREAT for pre-law students. got A in both classes, but only because i was so invested/engaged in the course. not an easy A class, but def possible.

This class was HARD. There was an insane amount of reading and the tests truly gaged your understanding of the material, not just your ability to memorize it. He explained topics thoroughly but he talked so fast I would skip class to listen to the podcast so I could pause and go back.

His class is a lot of work but if you keep up with the readings you should be fine. I got a lower grade on the midterm than I had hoped but I still managed to pull an A after I went to office hours and he offered extra credit so he is very reasonable. The questions are not difficult or out of nowhere, it just takes time to get used to his format.

3 hours with him is incredibly boring. I don't know why his ratings are so high. If you understand the judicial system going in, you'll be fine. Midterm and final almost entirely comes from the book.

He's literally the most amazing teacher. I've taken him for this class as well as 3 104 classes (this was my favorite; Regulation is surprisingly fascinating) He clearly tells you what to study, explains principles really well, interesting readings, gives old exams&grading guide as study material. Use of real court cases to study is super helpful.

Amazing professor. Have taken him for 4 classes; always uses interesting relevant materials, explains principles, posts old exams to study. Lectures are long but if you read the material in advance it's really interesting. Make sure you listen to podcasts & go over old exam papers before an exam. Hold weekly office hours and gives great feedback.

His lectures are SO LONG. It's really hard to stay awake sometimes Readings are recommended BUT not required because he basically goes over them during lectures ( I personally didn't read that much but got an A in this class) It's open notes exam so make sure you take good notes and definitely go over those court cases (oyez is awesome!)

Glenn Smith is a good teacher and he knows what he is talking about. He gives a lot of examples for everything he explains (sometimes can even be too much), but he does it to make it clear and easier for everyone. The classes are very long and you can get distracted easily but if you do the readings and listen to him you will pass. He is pretty fun

Under 20 pages of reading per week and no papers and you can learn a lot about constitutional law. Great professor!!!

Professor Smith is an absolutely amazing professor. He is so funny and humble for how intelligent and knowledgable he is. It was a joy being in his class this quarter and I learned SO much. I know so much more about law than I did a few months ago. He is one of the most genuine professors. I can't wait to take another one of his classes.

Glenn Smith is a professor who has a deep understanding about all things constitutional law. 104A is basically a class that covers a few topics, but is extremely deep within those subjects. The class is graded only by a midterm and a final, but are open note and open book. You should review a day before though. Lectures can be dry to some.

His lectures were pretty boring, especially if you did the reading. I stopped attending after a few times. He seems like a very nice guy. There's only a midterm and a final, which is a little scary, but as long as you do the reading (and have a good grasp of it) it is possible to get a good grade.

I loved his class. There were lots of reading but he goes over it in lecture. I like his jokes and he is so knowledgeable. He is also incredibly nice. The midterm and finals are open book open notes so that's a big plus. Overall, it's very very doable if you are familiar with the reading

Professor Smith is super funny and you get to really learn a lot from his lectures. But, if you don't do the readings, gg for you.

I went in to Smith's Constitutional Law course as Donald Trump, and came out as Barack Obama. He is insanely knowledgeable and challenges you in the right way. He is very funny in a dad joke kind of way. Midterm and Final make up your entire grade, and are both open note. DO THE READING. I have taken multiple courses from him, he is amazing!

Glenn is great. The only thing is that no one likes 3 hour lectures. He is funny and really good at explaining concepts. He prepares you exceptionally well for his exams.

Professor Smith is one of my favorite professors at UCSD! He literally wrote Constitutional Law for Dummies - there is no better professor to take a course about constitutional law. His courses are detailed and difficult, as he teaches them like he teaches is law school courses. If you are a POLI major, I would highly recommend!

Attendance is not mandatory - as he podcasts everything. The class is graded on one midterm (30% of your grade) and one final (70% of your grade). Both are in class assignments, short essay form, where you answer questions based on hypothetical laws or legal arguments. They are open book and open note (no electronics though).

This class was a lot more in depth than I expected. If you plan on going to law school, you should probably take this class. If you are not, then probably avoid this class. 90% of grade comes from two moderately difficult tests. Smith himself is a nice and funny guy.

I enjoyed this class overall. Prof Smith is funny and nice, although lectures can get dry after a while. I actually read the textbook and thought it helped me on the tests. The midterm and final were reasonable, just make sure that you actually study because you will not do well if you rely solely on your notes. Test questions are at times wordy.

This was a very challenging course for me. Graded on few things and the final is worth 60% of the grade (cumulative exam). Very caring professor though, pretty hilarious, and easy to get ahold of which is key for difficult concepts. Cool guy. Podcasts his lectures so I never had to come to class, but WATCH. Also, OPEN TEXTBOOK EXAMS, BUT NO E-BOOKS

Grade: 40% midterm 60% final. Whatever you do, I have one word of advice: READINGS. DO ALL OF THEM. The open-note exam policy is pointless if you haven't grasped the concepts Prof. Smith wants you to pinpoint and how they are relevant to cases. Read EVERY page he assigns and make sure you understand. He is reachable during O.H. if you're confused.

Whats really cool about him is that his passion for law rly radiates in his lectures. The content was super interesting so that was an added plus. Make sure you do EVERY SINGLE READING b/c although his exams are open-note you genuinely have to understand every aspect. Go to lecture if youre confused-- he pinpoints exactly what he wants you to know

Do the readings and you'll be fine. My class had two case simulations, and those cases showed up on the midterm/final. Go to class on the day of the simulation and listen carefully. Other than that, attendance isn't mandatory and lectures are podcasted. Easy course overall.

Professor Smith is a fantastic lecturer and a very funny guy. You have to do the reading and there is plenty of it, but his tests are very straightforward. He is the best professor teaching the 104 series.

Glenn Smith is, simply put, an angle of a man. Truly passionate about constitutional law, he genuinely cares about the education of each of his students. Participate in his class and he'll appreciate it. I am taking him in a course simulating the Supreme Court, smaller than his usual lectures, and he is very accommodating. Funny too!

Prof. Smith is one of the best professors at this university. He genuinely cares about teaching and he loves his job. His classes are not for the faint hearted, so if youre looking to go to law school or grad school, his class is perfect. He isnt unfair about his grading but is specific and makes you think. The 104 series is amazing with him.

Midterm is 45% and final is 55% of your grade, so pay attention. Textbook super helpful, lectures even more so. If you're thinking about law school his classes will let you know if you want/can/should go to law school.

Professor Smith is the most amazing professor! His classes are hard, but if you put in the work it pays off. What he talks about in lecture is whats on the final, so take good lecture notes and study the sample questions and you'll be fine. He has a generous curve and I got an A+ in two of his classes. He is also so caring, funny, and accessible.

Definitely do not take him if you do not want to go to law school. Definitely do take him if you do.

I've earned As in all three Smith classes I've taken even though I never attended lecture. The only thing I did was the assigned readings in addition to reviewing his former exams that he provides. My biggest complaint about the courses has to be the TAs. Their input is rarely useful and they sometimes fail to give full points correct answers.

Greatest professor!! Worked at California Western School of Law for 40+ years and taught POLI104A for over 30. Encouraged questions, I'd often chat w him abt constitutional issues. I highly recommend all readings to get most out of class. Tests require you to apply case law so require thought; midterm is usually worth 45% of grade and final is 45%.

Professor Smith is great! I took 104A in my first quarter ever of college and it was daunting at first. I attended almost every lecture and he emphasizes the topics that will be tested during lectures. Overall, this class challenged me in a good way and Professor Smith could not have been more dedicated to his students through the course.

If you just listen to what Prof. Smith emphasizes you shouldn't have too hard of a time.

Taken SS1. Energetic and lively teacher. If you're interested in court politics as well as the law this is an amazing class. If interested in law school, he can talk about it outside of class and potentially write a letter of rec. Lots of reading and in class discussions. Graded on midterm and final, with course on a generous curve.

I've had Smith for 3 classes (including 104A), and he is easily the best professor in the department. Accessible, easy to communicate with, clear with grading and expectations. You truly get back what you put into the course. Great dude, too. Records lectures and cares a lot about his students. Take him.

Although the lectures are long and there are few slides, Prof. Smith emphasizes the subjects he tests. You don't need to textbook to do well (I didn't end up reading because the lecture is plenty of info). Just go to lecture or watch the recordings online (tip: split them into two chunks over the week) and take good notes (exams are open note).

Professor Smith runs a rigorous course, but if you stay on top of the readings and engage with the material, you can do well. unstuck study was a lifesaver for exam prep - highly recommend using it.

Your grade is just the midterm and final, but both are open note. I stopped doing the readings after the midterm because it's lowk a lot, but you could get away with not doing them as long as you pay attention to the lectures (they're podcasted too) and take good notes.

Professor Smith is amazing and a great resource if you really care about constitutional law! His lectures are long, but if you break them up through podcasts or just lock in to watch them, he explains most things very well. A lot of reading, but if you work hard, you'll do well. He does written, in-person exams. Also very accessible!

Prof. Smith is knowledgeable + a fun lecturer, but lowk talks too much. 3 hour lecture could take 1.5. Very interesting content, but lots of reading each week. Midterm (40%) + Final (40%) but open-notes/open textbook, and super easy short paper (20%), which is basically a grade boost. Didn't attend lecture after midterm, just did the req. readings.

Lectures are not mandatory/graded. Great guy and do the readings and you'll get the A. Each week theres a suggested reading amount syllabus. Midterm and Final are open note and open text and the exams are not like normal exams so he gives sample questions ahead of time. Easy paper for grade stability. Also quick to email back!

Prof Smith is super knowledgable and passionate about constitutional law. Lectures are long but podcasted, and as long as you emphasize what he emphasizes when you study, the tests should not be too hard. Only graded based on a midterm (40%), short paper (20%) and final (40%) which are all written, open book, and open note.

If you ever want an introduction to law classes as an undergraduate, I reccomend this one. Smith is a very kind professor, he's willing to answer any question regarding the material during lectures, and responds to emails quick. If you do the readings and pay attention to what he emphasizes in the lectures, youll do just fine.

Professor Smith was great. Would recommend attending his office hours even if you don't have any pressing questions. You have to really focus during lectures on what he's saying without many visual checkpoints like a powerpoint, but if you can pay attention to the key points of his lecture you'll do fine in the course.