Great course material. Somewhat of a dull class. Definitely Sexy!

Talks way too fast, but lectures are extremely well-organized, and encourage great class discussions. Very helpful, clear, and approachable. Good course readings. Marking is a bit hard. She's funny though, and I always look forward to the lectures. Plus, she's hot.

The best class I've ever taken. I like the way she makes you learn. It's more work than most classes but you also learn more than most classes. I'd suggest this class to anyone. And I liked the small discussion groups.

Good prof. Her lectures are very well organized and she conveys the material well. The in-class discussions are a waste of time though; I haven't gained anything from them.

An excellent prof. One of the few great professors at the University of Ottawa. She is smart, witty, and cute to boot.

She expects a lot from her students (do all of the readings) but if you are interested in the ethics of international relations, you shouldn't miss this class. Hint: Don't say anything bad about feminism.

I found the second semester to be a lot more interesting. Although Professor Best's class is a challenge, it is possible to come out with a great grade and intellectual satisfaction. All in all, I am grateful for the experience.

Good, average professor (wouldn't seek her out again, but wouldn't avoid it either). Heavy on the readings, but she is very clear, and if you put the work in, a good mark should not be a problem. Promotes class discussion, but has trouble reigning in the really stupid remarks ("That's interesting" is her common phrase, even when it REALLY isn't).

Actually, WWI *did* start in Serbia. Look it up.

Very good prof. She presents her concepts clearly and concisely. Made the class interesting with debates, films and slide shows. Her marking was fair and her enegetic personality made the course that much more interesting. Some problems of course. Someone else has pointed out that her facts are sometimes a bit off but concepts are right on.

Fantastic woman, great fluidity to her lectures, really interesting topics. Tries for alot of open forum discussion in class, (often fails b/c no ones done the readings). Would definatly recomend her, although gives very little time for assignments.

I enjoy Dr.Best's lectures. She assigns a lot of homework and readings, but I think if you do the work you will learn a lot. She encourages people to think about the topic and defend their point of view.

she's incredibly hardworking, funny, and brilliant. she definately has expectations that are a little high, but she's making the u of o a better school.

Good class. Learned a lot...organized prof with everything on slides but have to write them down. Shows clips of movies occasionally...

This prof is brilliant and well-spoken. She is a hard grader, but for a second-year course, the comments are helpful. My only concern with this course was the completely incompetent T.A. I had grading my papers and facilitating our discussion groups.

She definately has high expectations for her students. You'll learn so much and the exams are jam packed with the information taught throughout the year.

As the name applies, she is the best. The classes were always very intersting and she is also very knowledgable. This one of my best classes.

Quite possibly the best prof at Uottawa. Extremely knowledgeable and demonstrates a real interest in the material. Hard marker and expects a lot from her students but it is worth it in the end. Don't think I've ever learned more in a class than this one with her.

Good professor...very detailed about what she said. Pretty high expectations and gives out a lot of readings...but you learn something in the end. Has discussion groups in the class to further discuss the topic.

Great Prof. High expectations for students. Nice person, genuinely cares about her job. I worked my butt off and got a OK grade - but I learned a lot. At Ottawa U, other Prof selections for IR and Comparative politics (Miguel DeLarinaga and Tamara Kotar)suck. Highly recommend Prof Best.

Dr. Best is a fabulous professor who truly ignited my interest in International Relations. Prior to taking her course, I dreaded it and only took it as it was required, but through her style of teaching and obvious knowledge in the subject area, it has become the frontrunner for my program designation. I highly recommend to anyone, she is awesome!

She was a great prof!!! I really liked going to her lectures and she made everything clear. A lot of reading, but still awesome. I ended up dropping the class, but I wish I hadn't. I had no interest in the class, but she made it worth my while.

I had Prof. Best for my Honours Seminar in International Relations, and she really opened me up for it, since I learned and understood absolutely nothing in POL2103. Be warned - she assigns A LOT of readings, and expects you to have read them (roundtables in every class for participation marks). Fair marker overall, and no exams for the course.

Stern and authoritarian professor! She always takes attendance and often starts class by doing roundtables in order to see who's done the readings which I found long and often times dense. You'll have to toil for an A in this class. She almost never used powerpoints but treated us to some funny and enlightening videos.

Prof Best is strict, readings are mandatory, classroom participation is also mandatory, and the exam was long. But if you can deal with that, Prof Best is clearly passionate about the subject matter, very effective at explaining, and an enjoyable instructor. If you're willing to put in some reading time, I highly recommend her!

Yeah she is tough but she is fair! Best made me love IR and she really has inspired me to work hard towards my goals! You can just tell she has been through a lot to get to where she is. A true role model!

Professor Best is not an easy professor, but she is committed to the academic growth of her students more so than any other professor in the political science department. If you are willing to commit to effort involved for her classes, I highly recommend her.

Professor Best is not an easy prof by any means, but she is deeply invested in the success of her students. Her commentary on papers is fair, and if you meet with her, she will work with you to develop your analytic skills more so than any other professor I've had in the department.

Didn't like her at first, but she got better over time. I disagree w/ many of her opinions, but class is enjoyable & the content is straight forward. People complaining about how she told noisy people to leave, you need to grow up. It isn't her responsibility to make you listen, it's yours! Be quiet, or leave so other people can learn.

People are ripping on her for being a tough Prof, sure she's challenging and there is a lot of information but I'd rather have a professor that makes me work than one who doesn't care. Classes and readings are made to make you think, everything is given equal attention and you have to formulate your own opinions. I will be in her classes again.

Very passionate about the subject, but so many readings, a lot of which are super difficult. She's funny and makes class enjoyable, but be ready to work.

Prof. Best is tough, but if you listen to what she is saying, your understanding of the underlying principles of poli sci greatly increases. She gives a ton of reading that is highly theoretical, but important. Also, she is strict in the class. She wants to teach, and the students to learn. Distractions are not welcome. Overall, awesome prof.

Ms Best is a tough prof. But shes also really straight forward. She makes it clear what she expects from her students, and sticks to that. Still, her tests are hard and you really have to work for your grades. Overall I think shes funny, engaged, challenging and interesting. She is tough, but you learn a lot in her class :-)

I had professor Best for a 4th year seminar. She is one of the toughest professors I have had. She made us read a lot and participate in class a lot. She's a very tough grader and a demanding prof in general but I learned more in this class than in any other class. She forced me to grow as an academic, therefore it was worth all the hard work.

She is a great prof, takes the time to make sure everyone understands. Participation is a bigger part of your grade that is combined with your attendance grade (15%). Her TA's were good graders. The online quiz's were tough, there was 10 but she doesn't mark your lowest two quiz scores. She was funny, inspirational, and she made the debates fun.

I think she gets a bad rep sometimes because she was tough last year or something. I thought she was a fair and intelligent prof. Always tells stories about her kids which was cute and the lectures weren't like incredible but I was fairly engaged the whole time and did well. Readings are incredibly important for doing well.

Professor Best makes students, even first years, work hard to understand the whirlwind of information that she introduces in the run of a week. There is a lot of not easy reading, often times it was up to thirty pages per lecture. However, if you put the work in, go to class, and ask questions the true value of the class becomes known.

Honestly one of the most demanding profs I have taken, but if you put in the work and effort to understand the concepts, you come out of her courses with a whole new perspective on poli sci. I took Pol 1101 and Pol 3176 w her and they both are demanding and rewarding. Take a course specially for her, but get ready to actively engage.

She says what she thinks and voices her opinion. Some may say she is condescending but she's just passionate. She loves her job and it shows. She's very much of a no nonsense type of teacher. Do the work, show up and you'll be fine. I'm not one to usually get straight As and Bs but i got a good grade with her. She talks allot though.

I took Prof. Best's graduate methods seminar and I absolutely do not regret it. She is demanding and gives a lot of assignments, but her course is well structured and really allows you to build up your research project bit by bit with lots of insight from her and classmates. She is very humane & passionate, and genuinely cares about everyone's work

I have taken a couple of classes with this professor and I think this one in particular (IPE) was really well done in terms of material and presentation and I certainly learned a lot. I don't know what all the first-years are complaining about with "Intro to Political Science" POL1101 but I guess that course is meant to weed out some people.

I am very confused at how polarized comments are, as I have found Jacquie to be one of the most caring, humane and helping profs I've had. She showed genuine interest for each of our research projects and was both engaging and respectful. Her course truly helped us design a research project step by step. Perhaps detractors were scared of hard work.

Definitely not an easy class but the readings are interesting (there is a lot of them) and she is good at encouraging a conversation. I really enjoyed the class.

Some people may be used to just cruising by in a course but Professor Best is honestly one of the most helpful and challenging profs you can have in a good way. Well respected because she knows her stuff while making you learn the material. Highly recommend her class if you want to actually get something out of a course.Goes for any of her courses.

nice introductory course

Very nice prof, she cares about her students, and she's very reachable outside of class. Classes were engaging, but if you even miss one class it becomes a big deal. It's very easy to fall behind and the midterms/finals are hard, but her little assignments are rather simple.

this is a HEAVY class. DO NOT take this class with this professor if it's not mandatory. genuinely a very sweet prof but the amount of readings we had to do was concerning and took up a lot of time for me. all things aside the topics discussed are really interesting. skip class? she will actively announce how annoyed she is about it on brightspace

The course (POL3103) was really nicely done. The topics we covered were very interesting and flowed well together. It was tough, but if you stay on top of readings (or do a last minute sweep of the readings for the topics in the lists she provides), you will not only do well, but actually learn. I recommend this class. Only issue is bad feedback.