Class was nice. First introduction to IR left me informed and wanting more.

There is no doubt that she is interested in the subject matter and that she wants her students to share that interest as well...even at 7:30 in the morning. Tests are based heavily on the lectures, which cover about the same material as the book, so attendance is important.

She is great! If you just study her overhead notes, you will do ok on the tests. I'm not IR major, but I enjoyed this class.

Very clear, interesting lectures. The subject matter is very unique, and I was learning something new every class. Her tests are very fair and well constructed, you just need to study.

If you are an industrious enough student, attendance is NOT required for this class. Reading through the textbook chapters attentively gives a more thorough overview than the class summaries, though the class does let you know exactly what you will be tested on. That said, McKibben is a great professor, I'm taking another class from her! (Pol 122)

Don't know why someone ranked her so low in Pol 3. She is awesome. She makes a 7:30am class bearable! That is how good she is!! The class is way easy. I got a B. Aced the tests by just paying attention in lecture. I stopped reading the book two weeks into the class. I'll be taking 122 with her and hope that the 122 rankers are just disgruntled.

I had her at my very first quarter here at UCD, and she was my absolute favorite! Even though the class was at 7:30 AM, she made the material super easy and clear to understand, anyone can get an A! Plus the TAs were super helpful as well!

Great professor ("BIG YAY!") who made the class easy to follow and had a ton of review sessions and fair exams. Definitely a must attend since she doesn't post slides online, but you don't need to follow too hard in class to understand. Definitely take her for this class, very interesting and engaging!

She is very peppy and makes lectures interesting. I hardly heard anything she said because too busy frantically copying down the slides (not posted online). Doing readings is not really necessary (explained in lecture). Midterm and Final graded really hard!

She is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what she teaches. Makes an 8am class interesting! She is very clear in the material she presents and leaves time for questions. It is not a hard class as long as you know the theories and can apply them to real life. Go to lecture even if it is not mandatory.

Clear, helpful, and makes a class that could be dry fairly interesting. Moderate amount of reading; does not give study guide for mid-term, so beware. One term paper, and a final that she reviews for thoroughly.

Very friendly professor. Her lectures are great. The grade is based off of an essay, midterm, and final, so it can be a challenge to get an A. The TA sections were very helpful. You don't actually need to do all of the readings. Just skim over the chapter and learn the main concepts.

Class is interesting and she's good at explaining things. However, you do not need to show up to class to get a good grade. Just go over the chapter summaries on smartsite and go to discussion and you can get at least a B. Essay was kind of boring, I guess it depends on what subject she gives you that quarter. Good class overall.

Minus the fact that I took this class at 7:30am, I must say that it was very interesting. Prof McKibben really tries to engage with students and makes it worth the early mornings. Discussions are very enlightening and helpful! MidtermFinal tough but with studying easy pass. A lot of terms so this course requires some study time...

I found McKibben's lectures clear and articulate. She posts notes online. Make sure you go to discussion, because participation is 10% of your grade. There's 10 discussion sessions, so each one is 1% of your final grade. Consider that. Her exams are definitely difficult, make SURE you do not just memorize the terms but really understand them.

The class is fairly easy if you try to make sure you understand the concepts well. 1 midterm, 1 paper, and 1 final, so chances to raise grade aren't great in numbers. There is plenty of reading, but not all is required. Good professor though!

Pretty straight forward class. An A is definitely doable if you take good notes and commit your notes to memory for the midterm and final. The tests are very fair and there are no surprises on them, but you do have to study. The term paper is a bit tedious, but your TA will be more than willing to help you with it if you go to office hours.

Good professor. Her class was early (7:30) in the morning, so with that in mind, she was very enthusiastic with the subject and helpful with questions and office hours. Lectures seemed forever because of the morning time, but she was great. I'm thinking of switching my Poli Sci emphasis to International relations because of her class.

MCKIBBEN IS AWESOME! The class is early in the morning which is admittedly awful, but she definetly makes it as easy as humanly possible. If you show up to lectures and listen, you barely have to study for tests. GO TO REVIEW SESSIONS!!! She tells you EXACTLY what you need to know so you don't spend hours memorizing unnecessary facts.

She is an amazing professor, her lectures are crystal clear, ask questions because she is always willing to clarify nicely. It can be dreadful to wake up to a 7:30 am, but she definitely makes it worth it. Her class consists of 1 midterm 1 paper and 1 final. Go to her review sessions because she tells her students what will be on the test.

She is an incredible professor! By far one of favorite pool sic professors. She puts all her lectures (very detailed) on the website, so if you miss class you're okay! One midterm, one essay, one final. The class period before the midterm and final, go to class because she tells you exactly whats on the exams.

Her lectures are really early in the morning and also really heavy. However, she does a good job explaining difficult concepts using simple terms. Prior to the midterm and the final exam, she tells you exactly what will be on them, thus making the rest of the taught and studied material (practically) irrelevant and useless.

Probably the best teacher I had freshman year. Awesome lectures with clear notes. Tests are completely based on lecture material, so study your notes hard. Don't study the textbook--just read the textbook chapters once for context. The paper was pretty hard and time consuming, and since it's worth 30% of your grade, make sure to put effort into it!

Making international law exciting and interesting at 8 am in the morning is a tall order but somehow Dr. McKibben taught each class with organized enthusiasm. Her lectures are concise. She is very clear in her grading criteria and supplies great study guides. Only graded on a midterm, an 8-10 page paper, and the final.

Her lectures were very thorough and although the readings were a bit long, they provided more context with each lecture. Grading system was just a midterm, a paper, participation and final. Instead of a study guide she just tells you what topics to study which were exactly on the test! I had her at 8am and she made learning IL exciting. No regrets!

Her study guides are literally the test. Her lectures are very organized. Unlike most poli sci professors, she doesn't assume you know terminology. Rather, she defines new terms and explains complex concepts in an understandable way. Her paper expectations are very clear. Always offers great extra credit opportunities.

Even though her class is really early in the morning, her lectures are really clear. She is really bad at grading promptly however. The TA's all graded our papers and midterms on time, but she wouldn't let us see our grades until about 2 weeks later. And she doesn't post your grades on canvas. Grades are just 1 midterm, 1 paper, and one final.

Dr. McKibben was a great professor and she clearly knows what she's talking about. Her lectures were straight forward and clear, and she never had a problem with clarifying up anything confusing. She posts all her lecture notes online. Make sure to go to lecture before the exams because she explicitly tells you what to study and what not.

I took both POL 122 and 123 with her. Her classes aren't the most interesting, but her presentation is very consistent. She has study guides for both of her exams. I did none of the reading but showed up to class and listened and took notes. Easy A or B (paper was hard). I took a second class of hers because I knew it would be reliable and it was.

I wish I could take more classes with her. She was incredibly nice, very passionate about the subject and gave very clear standards which made it easy to ace the midterms. You don't have to read much as long as you go to class. She is very organized in lecturing. One of my favorite Professors at Davis <3

Great teacher but the lectures will confuse you a bit

Mckibben was great! Tests were super easy because she tells you exactly what's on them. 1 midterm, 1 paper, 1 final. Lectures were interesting, but I honestly went to only half because they were posted online.

Dr. McKibben is a solid professor. Clear lectures and tells you exactly what you need for the tests. The only thing is it's tough to get an A because you're only graded on 3 things (Midterm, Paper, Final) that each count as 30%. Overall, good class.

Dr. McKibben is an incredibly fair professor in every sense of the word. Lectures are nothing but straightforward, and she lets the class know beforehand exactly what will be asked on exams. The analytical paper was not difficult per se, but it did require a lot of research but nothing unreasonable. The course material itself was also interesting.

Lecture was informative but sometimes a little dry. Discussions were mandatory but not very helpful. Go to review session before MT and Final as she goes over things that will be helpful to you

She is the best poli sci professor Ive had at Davis. An amazing lecturer who only tells you what you need to know. Makes topics easy to understand. GO to review sessions, she tells you EXACTLY what will be on exam at the end. The paper is LONG and takes a lot of research, but does not grade it hard. Overall, TAKE Dr. Mckibben if you can!

A solid choice for a professor. Her lectures are very straightfoward, although the topics can be dry at times. 1 essay, a midterm, a final, and EASY quizzes. While technically, mandatory is not required (everything is posted on canvas), its extremely helpful in remembering the sometimes dense material. A very nice person too!

Dr. McKibben Is AWESOME! Theres one midterm, essay, final, and a bunch of inquisitives which are easy. This was my first POL class and I am impressed and very well might take more courses in the future. Work and you will do well.

She was the sweetest professor. Even though the lectures weren't mandatory and were at 7:30 am, I went to every single one. She is really caring and open to questions. She posts all her slides and there is one midterm paper, test, and a final test. If you get a good TA and put in some work, you'll get an A.

Prof. McKibben is a great professor. She has a sense of humor, and her lectures are posted on Canvas, however, the notes that she makes during class aren't posted, just her original ones. Her assignments are straightforward, but it's really up to your TA. Took the class twice, and if you have a bad TA, you're in trouble. Do good on the essay!

Professor Mckibben is super knowledgable and straight forward about what she expects. She always tells you exactly what will be on the midterm/final and what she expects on the essay. Lectures are a bit heavy so I recommend going. As many said before, it really is up to the TA what grade you will receive so I recommend going to office hours!

She's a good lecturer and is extremely clear; her office hours are also super helpful. You need to read the textbook for the first half about theories, but don't need to read for the latter half (except political economy). Her tests are straightforward. Just know the basics and fundamental reasoning, it should be easy. 1 midterm, 1 paper (5-7 pg)

It was a 7:30 am class, so I was late for every lecture, but when I was there it was definitely worth pulling myself out of bed. shes an excellent lecturer and great at stimulating discussion and answering questions.

Despite lectures being at 7:30 AM, Professor McKibben's class was one worth attending. The subject matter was interesting and clear and she often let us out early. She wants very specific answers on midterms so be careful. I had a great time in her lectures because of her but overall a mediocre class experience because of my bad TA. Would recommend

She's super nice and a good teacher. Her lectures are very interesting but it was just so difficult getting up at 7 am to go to her classes. If her classes were little later then I wouldn't have missed a single lecture

Even though the class was at 7:30 AM, her lectures were simple enough and not too heavy on notes. She went into depth on topics that were questioned. InQuizitives due almost every lecture/other day, but were easy enough. 2 Papers, 1 midterm 1 final. She does do a curve (slight) on the finals.

The lectures were at 7 am by no fault of her own. Other than that, the class is a pretty solid option for international relations. My TA was fair and provided good feedback on my work. Tests were manageable, but make sure to study the lecture slides!

First off the class was too early. Also she made the final seem as if the world was nearly ending The review for the final was ungenerously lengthy for a final that required minimal effort. I could've taken that final a week before and still have gotten an A perhaps even in the beginning of the quarter. But overall I think she was an OK professor.

Class was at 7:30am, which is not great, but she wrote the textbook you use and lectures are pretty much the same content as reading. Stopped showing up for lecture around week six and still did fine on the 2nd essay and final. Participation in discussion is credit, but it's pretty easy (only need to speak once). Overall pretty easy class.

Overall Dr. McKibben is knowledgeable, CLEAR, and professional. No real standout issues other than the fact that grading criteria for papers was kind've vague, but that has to do more with the TA's. If you are into IR you will like the class. Tests were easy if you studied the slides and textbook.

Waking up to go to class at 7:30 is the most challenging part of this class, but they're not mandatory. Honestly, your grade in this class is entirely determined by your TA. I highly recommend going to your TA's office hours or emailing McKibben if you have any questions. She's super into the class and really a nice professor.

Prof. McKibben is a pretty engaging lecturer even at 7:30 in the morning. There's a lot of reading from the textbook, and the lectures pretty much go over a condensed version of the same points. 2 papers that are a bit time consuming but not graded harshly. Extremely straightforward midterm + final that only ask basic, informational questions.

Her midterm and final are beyond easy. Practically just definitions and if you have a general idea of the material you can get out within 30 min for both of them. The only bad part is that it's 7:30 in the morning and she doesn't record her lectures which are pretty useful and entertaining sometimes.

I absolutely love Professor McKibben. I have taken her for both POL 122 and 123. She does lecture a bit differently (kind of fast-paced), but she is extremely clear of what she expects of you. If you go to the reviews, she tells you exactly what is going to be on the tests. The papers are long, but if you put in the work, you will do well.

Professor McKibben was phenomenal. She has review slides/sessions, and that content is spot-on for what shows up on her exams. The paper for POL 122 was long, 10-12 pages, but doable if you properly research ahead of time and give yourself enough time to write. She is open to student feedback, having extended our paper deadline by 72 hours.

absolutely love her! lectures engaging and most of the time don't last the entirety of the class, 3 midterms (noncumulative midterm 3 acts as final), a paper, and 3 "debates". exams will be hard if you don't study but she tells you exactly what will be on the test, all you have to do is go through and memorize slides/lecture material.

I took her class at 7:30am, and did not mind waking up and going to this lecture because I found the class interesting. She was super willing to answer questions and wants you to succeed! There were a couple assessments but she was SUPER transparent about what to study and how to do good in debates/final paper. Highly recommend taking her classes!!

I took her POL 122 and POL 123. Her POL 123 class was fantastic. Super interesting, unique, not too difficult. Final is non-cumulative. Both classes had a term paper worth 34% of your grade. POL 122 has more law related skills. POL 123 is more conflict-based. Easy exams, she tells you what to study. Slow replies to email. Office hours at 8am.

Clear, informative lectures and straightforward expectations. Exam material came directly from concepts discussed in class and she published thorough study guides. In class debates were pretty informal and offered a way to get easy points. Besides two exams, there was a 10-page argumentative essay which was simple enough and graded fairly.

Professor Elko was clear and straight forward in lecture. Her slides included just about everything you needed to know for exams (quick MCQs and 1 paper). Shoutout to our TA Ally! She made great review slides and really knew her stuff (plus pretty funny). This course felt set up so anyone could succeed.

Dr. Elko was a great lecturer who made coming to class at 7:30 not so bad. The course material is so interesting and you can learn without being overburdened by work. Her exams are very straightforward if you use her exam reviews, and the research paper is graded very generously. We were also let out early pretty much everyday which was so nice :)

The exams are incredibly easy. If you read the slides and the textbook and memorize terms then you're completely fine. 2 midterms 25 questions multiple choice and 1 5 page essay. It's very clear and straightforward and Elko cares about making sure that students comprehend the subject and can ask questions.

This was my 2nd class with Elko, and though I enjoyed the 1st one more, this one was still great and I learned a lot. The content of this class was much more challenging than 122 though. 3 exams, 1 10-12 pg paper. Very clear grading expectations, generous extra credit on exams, and overall great and knowledgable professor, I love her!

Clear grading criteria to do well. Elko is a nice professor who gives good room for asking questions. She assigns a lot of readings, but puts all the important info on the slides. 3 exams are each 22% and one essay is 34% of the grade. No trick questions, exams are exactly what she says they'll be ahead of time. Easy class as long as you try.