3.4
Quality4.0
Difficulty63%
Would Retake113
Reviews63%
Would Retake
113
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
41
4
24
3
13
2
19
1
16
What Students Say
“Professor Mufti sure is a knowledgeable and interesting person to have a conversation with”
PS061 - 2.0 rating“Mufti is a terrible lecuturer, he just rants with no structure to what he is saying”
PS061 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
36%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.10 avg changeRatings by Course
PS138
5.0
(2)PS51
5.0
(4)PS168
5.0
(1)PS172PS61
5.0
(1)PS167
5.0
(3)Difficulty by Course
PS178
5.0
PS175
5.0
MIDEASTPOLICY
5.0
IR1
4.5
PS134
4.2
Reviews (113)
He leads great discussion on the Middle East.
No Comments
He really knows his stuff.
No Comments
No Comments
No Comments
No Comments
No Comments
His grading method makes it easy for weak students to get by and difficult for strong students to ace.
Mufti loves theory and it's amazing how much integrates theory into the course. His anecdotes are truly amazing and appropriate and he clearly relates them to course material - when time comes for the test, you will recall those anecdotes.
A really engaging, clever lecturer, definitely keeps your attention, open to new viewpoints, good mix of focused structure around the syllabus and contemporary spinoff discussion
Great Professor. One of the best here at Tufts. I am definitely taking any and every course he teaches.
supports war, support globalization/imperialism, has "cred" for his ethnicity but does not deserve it. most people sucked up to him and agreed with what he said. it's a symbol for the whole IR program here- not taught to challenge the powers of
great teacher
Not a great professor- doesn't know how to lead a discussion. Doesn't respond well to opposing viewpoints. Not very clear in his expectations from the class or guidelines for assignments.
Mufti is clearly a brilliant man and his lectures are very interesting. He tries to have class participation even in such a huge lecture, but he tends to ignore a lot of what is said. I'd recommend him but he is quite intimidating and a hard grader. He told our TA that he refuses to give out As.
Very interesting teacher, if you are interested in the Middle East he is the number one. Because he specifically lived throughout the region Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon etc. He is a harsh grader and the tests are very hard. Class is very interesting but sometimes he moves on very quickly. He expects people to know the material before coming to class.
don't make the mistake of taking a class with him. interesting material. interesting lectures. but his methods of evaluating, testing and grading is completely arbitrary. does not in any way test your intellect, tests ur luck and memory
Professor Mufti is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. I came out of almost every single one of his lectures feeling inspired. If IR is your thing, then you HAVE to take the intro class with him. As for grades, most people land in the B range (very few Cs), and if you work hard, it's not at all impossible to get an A.
Awful.
Awesome lecturer. Quite funny too and encourages class participation which can be daunting. Recitation was mandatory and very useful. Exams are relatively hard.
Great lecturer. Awful, awful testing. Midterm is 50% of grade and consists of 2 random IDs. Tests luck more than knowledge. Pass on this class.
Interesting lectures but completely arbitrary grading. Tests consist of 50 IDs which means that students that don't do readings but can memorize 50 blurbs on a sheet do ok (Bs), and those that attempt to do all the readings (and inevitably run out of time) will not. Unnecessarily difficult course for material that is interesting/simple on its own.
He was a very helpful teacher when it came to explaining the material in class and bringing in the readings into the lecture. A pretty fair grader, you can tell that he wants his students to do well rather than fail. 100x better than Taliaferro.
His lectures are terrible. He adds a lot of unimportant information and doesn't help in understanding the material and readings. Half of our readings consisted of learning about WWI and WWII. The exams consist of 4 IDs and 2 essays that counts for 60% of your grade.
Mufti doesn't put relevant information in his lectures nor does he assign particularly relevant readings. He has no structure to his lectures and I often find myself unable to take accurate notes because he skips around/ doesn't complete thoughts. He isn't very accessible nor is he helpful when you do.
Great class, wealth of knowledge, not a fair grader. I received a C when I could easily have received an A. Did all of my readings, which were substantial, but got thrown off by his arbitrary grading practice. Take his class if you have a passion for the subject. Don't if all you care about is your GPA.
I graduated W a 3.88 at Tufts and this was the only class I got a B in. He gives everybody a B and is incredibly arbitrary with his grading. Did all the readings but really just know the ids and hope that you get very lucky. It is unfortunate that he evaluates so arbitrarily, I'm ok w a B as long as its merited
The first half of the semester is deep in theory. Mufti does a good job of pulling from the readings and clearing things up. Later in the semester, the readings and the lectures became totally unrelated. Studying for the final was scary, as we had to know readings never talked about in class. Unclear, a bit condescending, but smart guy.
Professor Mufti sure is a knowledgeable and interesting person to have a conversation with. However, his lecture is long and quite arbitrary as he often gives too much unrelated information to the tests/essays that matter. Chances are, despite assiduous reading, you will still have no clue for how to perform well on midterm or final.
Professor Mufti's stage presence easily commands a room of 120 students. Though there's a lot of reading and only a few graded assignments, the engaging lectures make that worth it. Make sure you take notes during them, however, or you'll probably hurt for it. It also helps to raise your hand in class, go to recitations, and have a reading group.
Mufti is a really great guy- he knows what he is talking about. Though some of his lectures feel longer than others, I found his lectures pretty captivating most of the time. He calls on people in the lecture as well, but sometimes a bit too much. Lots of reading, sometimes very off track in lecture, grading is reasonable. Overall good professor.
I loved Mufti. He's smart, funny, and a great lecturer, if sometimes disorganized. He's willing to have dialogue with students even in 100+ person classes, which is amazing. His lectures can be somewhat disorganized sometimes, but always full of good information. Grading is mostly done by TA's, which is annoying, but overall a great class
I've taken two classes with Mufti so far --both higher level polisci classes-- and I think he's one of the most knowledgeable and insightful professors at Tufts, especially about the Middle East. Every class is a revelation, and although he's super into realpolitik he will still let you disagree with him and even concede sometimes.
I was scared going into this class because of the reviews on Rate My Professor, but I had such a good experience with Mufti. His lectures are clear and full of information, although he will sometimes get sidetracked by unimportant things. The readings can be challenging, but he does a really good job in relating them to the class material.
People hate intro to IR but I had a pretty good time. Tons of readings and tests are 100% based on readings, but he explains them fairly well in lecture. Overall smart guy and interesting lecturer.
Incredibly jolly, likeable guy, lectures often very entertaining. Much more hard-nosed and ruthless approach to IR (lots of emphasis on war, strategy, etc) than the more idealistic academic framings frequently used. Loves Thucydides so be prepared for surprises regarding that on exams. Its a big class but you have to try to participate.
Among the best professors I've ever had. Mufti's lectures are basically stories. Before you know it, class is over and you didn't take a single note because you were so engaged. I can rarely say that I'm excited to go to a class but I always looked forward to this one. Don't know why people complain about difficulty bc most ppl got B+ or above
I learned so much from this class. It changed the way I think about international relations and political science. I've taken 2 more classes with Prof Mufti since PS61. He is my favorite professor.
Great class but super hard. On the first test literally everyone got a B-. Mufti is a great teacher. I really do think about the world differently now.
Professor Mufti offers really engaging lectures, he sometimes incorporates anecdotes from his own experiences. I think attending the lectures and completing the readings is important to do well in the course. I would recommend study groups. Mufti got me excited about IR and Middle Eastern politics, I would take a class with him again.
Great professor, had a lot of great anecdotes. Knows what hes talking about and really makes an effort to help students
Very smart and well respected man. The class is very lecture heavy and based primarily on white male thinkers (only one woman). Very war and conflict focused. Lots and lots of reading. Recitation makes the class survivable!
He might be a good storyteller, but he is not a good lecturer. The content is scattered, you are required to do a tremendous amount of reading that he might not even mention in class or sometimes superficially mention. His tests were poorly made in my opinion (and consequently poorly graded). His accent sometimes makes it difficult to understand.
hard class with tons of work. Reading everything by yourself is essentially impossible, FORM A STUDY GROUP!!!!! It's hard, but keep in mind basically everyone gets between a B- and B+, at least in my class. Professor Mufti is an incredibly lecturer and has incredibly interesting lectures. It really changes how you see the world.
Best professor I've had at Tufts. Had him for PS 61 and was intimidated, but his lectures in PS 172 honestly changed my life. In office hours, he is so kind and understanding -- he really cares about his students and wants to help you learn the material. His firsthand knowledge of the Middle East makes his lectures fascinating.
Took him for PS 61 & 172, he always requires a LOT of reading, but if you do it you'll be fine. His test questions are actually greatly formulated to show what you've learned. Additionally, he is a super funny and engaging lecturer.
Tons of reading every week. Lectures are often not relevant to the readings. Do not recommend taking his Intro to IR if you are not crazy about the subject matter or you just want an easy A/A-
Don't know what he was talking about for the whole semester.
Get ready to read a lot. Prof Mufti is has a great sense of humor and his lectures are very engaging. He is a fair grader, but students must come prepared for every class.
Very nice. Brought so much to the dense content with his engaging anecdotes and perspectives. Great at facilitating deeper thinking with questions during lecture.
Phenomenal teacher. Mufti is tough and can be intimidating at first, but he genuinely cares about his students and that they learn the course material. Yes it can at times be a lot of work, but it is by no means unmanageable. He is a brilliant professor and I learned so much, there's a reason he has a reputation at Tufts.
Mufti is so smart and a great entertaining lecturer. You need to do the readings for it and you don't get a ton of feedback back from the essays/exams. Find the best TA and switch into their section because the TA is your best friend. A great class though
Brilliant man. Amazing lecturer. Best I've had. But exams are graded ridiculously. So hard.
Doing the readings on time will help you synthesize information from the lectures. Pay attention in lecture, as key concepts will be on the exams. Just be thorough in your memorization and ability to connect concepts and you should be ok!
I cannot begin to express how truly inspirational and insightful Mufti is. He speaks off the cuff most of the time and you can see that he is incredibly experienced in anything he talks about. I will die on the Mufti hill, such a genuine and reasonable professor, midterms and subject matter can be difficult (VERY reading heavy) but so worth it!
Mufti is (IMO) one of the best polysci professors you can take at Tufts. His lectures are fantastic and insightful, office hours warm and helpful, and readings well chosen. DO ALL THE READINGS - he will test you on them. Any Mufti class is graded harshly but fair.
Professor Mufti is a charming and witty character who expects a lot of his students in terms of reading, participation and engagement with the material. At the same time he is always available to help those who seek it and the process will leave you intellectually richer. His lectures are filled with bottomless knowledge and his trademark humor.
He's a nice guy and his lectures were riveting. However, I found his grading to be excessively tough. This is the kind of class where it is easy to get a B but difficult to get above an A-. Nevertheless, the workload is very fair and the class discussions and ideas we explore are illuminating. Class is worth taking if interested in the Middle East.
Mufti is probably the best lecturer I've had at Tufts; he is incredibly knowledgeable about the subject area and is also hilarious. There is a good bit of reading, and you have to develop a knowledge of all of them; he will test you on them. You will come out of his class knowing a lot.
Assigns random essay after (he deems) "unsatisfactory" reply from tired and bored lecture crowd to question. Said essay is due 2 days before midterm, yeah, that's him in a nutshell... wait to take PS061 when he isn't teaching.
Mufti is a terrible lecuturer, he just rants with no structure to what he is saying. He also has an awfully disrespectful habit of interrupting his students when they participate and laughing out loud at responses he disagrees with. He doesn't teach or help students learn Don't take this class when he's teaching, spare yourself the boring lectures.
Professor Mufti is knowledgable and interesting, but I have found it hard to follow his lecture. Readings can sometimes be random and excessive, and we are randomly asigned an essay before the midterm week. He is a nice person in general but his lecturing style doesn't fit me quite well.
WORST PROF. he doesn't teach the lectures with powerpoints- simply talks and talks and talks. don't know what hes saying. assigned a random essay a day before the midterm simply to torture us. its a lecture but he makes it feel like a discussion. love IR, don't love this class. wait for a better prof then take intro to ir for ur sanity.
Your grade in the whole class is basically determined by your midterm and final (35% and 45% each). There are no powerpoints during lecture, and he goes off topic so often it's impossible to keep track. Be ready to read 100-200 pages each week and actively discuss them in class. Would not recommend taking.
Not a great professor for this intro class. Expects students to participate in lecture with 150+ people, and when students do participate, he is typically condescending in his responses. Cancels office hours very often and jumps around topics. Pretty much teaches the class HIS interpretation of the readings. Interesting guy, horrible professor.
This person has no lecturing skills for an intro course. He should go to ENG3 and learn what an outline means. What he will give u is just a bunch of details unsorted. U will never know when it's the next section, and why he is saying everything from examples to key points in the same tongue. I don't know how he got 3+ rating for previous teaching.
Completely biased account of history. All readings are written by men, and the interpretations he accepts are only the ones he agrees with. He very clearly puts no effort into his syllabus/curriculum, sources, or the authors he pulls texts from. Don't take this class if you want a well-rounded view of IR.
Extremely challenging class, but Professor Mufti is an incredible professor! He's a great lecturer, just make sure to take notes and utilize all the resources available -- TAs office hours etc. Its notoriously a weed-out class-- expect and embrace the challenge. Don't sign up unless you are certain IR is for you.
You can tell he's super smart, but he forgets that its an intro class. This is a major weed-out class, so expect an avg of 250pgs+ a week. Mufti expects you to know things we don't cover in class. He's a tough grader and prides himself on it.
My TA for this class said: "If I had taken this class as a freshmen, I would have dropped International Relations as my focus." Malik forgets that this is an intro class. Your grade is weighed by 2 tests, which can test you on anything that you have read or heard in lecture. I would highly not recommended anyone take this course.
possibly the worst teacher I have ever experienced. So boring i felt like sleeping in every class. Also very very very soft spoken so is impossible to hear and just comes off as underconfident. Honestly havent had a worse experience with any teacher ever.
I honestly don't know how he has so many high ratings. Maybe he is a better teacher in higher courses, but I have never felt so unsure and bad about myself academically. I swear this man lives to tear you down in front of 200+ students. It ruined my love for the subject--- maybe I'll become a stem kid...
Prof. Mufti's class is frustrating and discouraging. His lectures are boring and make it hard to stay engaged, and his feedback can be unnecessarily harsh, often making students feel unsure about themselves academically. He also assigned a last-minute essay before the midterm... Self-study is more effective than attending class.
AVOID!!! Extremely rude and refuses to do anything remotely helpful for his students, there are no power points, he speaks really quietly, rushes through lectures, constantly cancels office hours and his outlines are vague and unhelpful. Wait to take this class until he is not teaching it because it is NOT worth it with Mufti's character.
Lectures can be interesting sometimes. Lots of reading perweek (I found that AI summaries are so helpful and a timesaver). All your grading is done by TA. I love my TA because readings & lectures can be confusing, but my TA explains everything clearly w/ easy terms. Find best TA & switch to their section. Graded on midterm, final, participation
He's actually very intelligent, but like everyone else is saying, he is not an intro-level teacher. I think I am more likely to take one of his higher level courses having taken this class as it's pretty easy to tell that he is a real expert in the Middle East. Lots of reading, lots of off topic discussions, but overall he's just a chill guy.
Very knowledgable and smart person indeed. Sometimes likes to go off tangents but nothing crazy. Generally follows the syllabus. Get ready to read.
Lectures were interesting sometimes but usually very skippable. If you're interested in the Middle East, definitely take a class with him. The class was too test-heavy for me (the final is worth 45% of your grade), and the exams are graded quite harshly. Recitation was my saving grace. You will only enjoy this class if you put in a lot of effort.
His teaching style is not designed for an introductory course. If you can, delay taking this course to a later part of your college career, do NOT take it freshman fall. Extremely reading intensive and lectures are usually more cyclical than informative.
It just seems like Mufti thinks he's too good to teach Intro to IR. He goes on niche tangents during lectures that don't relate to content and your grade is entirely dependent on the midterm and final. Also, the grade distribution for the midterm was honestly concerning (only 4 people got an A). You're better off waiting for a different professor.
Please don't take his class; he has no clue about the lectures. He comes to the class and starts talking about random things and jumps from one reading to another based on his own choice. He thinks he knows everything. Awful professor!!!
Very shady class! Unclear grading mechanism, very subjective and most of the content is highly irrelevant. Lots of ambiguous readings. And the final is worth almost 50% of the final grade. Would definitely not recommend this class.
Don't believe everything you see on this page. Mufti is a good lecturer and provokes interesting conversation in class, but beware, the workload is completely unreasonable for an intro level class. Your TA can SAVE YOU. You should try to participate at least 3 times in lecture as it is recorded sometimes, and definitely is during recitations.
This class isn't great, but it's bearable. Relatively straightforward to get 80-90, but it's almost unfairly difficult to get above that. Mufti is knowledgeable, but rude at times and not super open-minded with interpretations. If you do the readings (make study groups!), participate in recitations, and go to your TA with questions, you'll be fine.
Mufti is an interesting lecturer but has been kinda rude in class. Your grade is determined by only midterm, final, and participation. I needed a makeup for the midterm for a family emergency, which is listed as one of the only reasons you could have one on the syll, he was very rude about it and felt like he wanted to make me feel guilty abt it.
Please don't listen to the bad reviews. Yes, he's a tougher grader and yes there's a lot of reading, but he's an excellent teacher. If you listen to the lectures and have attended them all, you'll have no problem with the material in this class. It's only when kids skip lectures and recitations that they start complaining.
Trust that the negative reviews for this professor are mostly due to a one-page surprise essay he assigned when it became clear no one had done the weekly reading (graded as extra credit, took 20 minutes). He's a great professor and a real walking IR encyclopedia, so good-natured and critical, hilarious lecturer. Lots of readings though.
Mufti was tough work, definitely a lot of time spent on readings and not a lot of time talking about them in lecture. TA was very helpful (depends who you get). You'll be fine if you keep up with all the readings.
The people writing awful reviews about Mufti make me sad because he is a treasure to Tufts. His teaching style is better reflected in a high level course, but he is not at all an awful professor or someone to run away from. If you dislike reading a lot and listening carefully, he might not be for you (not an easy A but ultimately so so rewarding).
People don't like him because he doesn't have bullet points to guide you through his lectures. However, he's a genius and really witty in his lectures. The tests and grading were brutal, the TAs are your best friends when preparing. I did virtually none of the reading all semester and was okay since TAs summarized main points at recitation.
He is a very knowledgeable professor with a lot to talk about, but often he strays off course to topics unrelating to the course and expects us to know too much with such little time. He is goofy and silly at times, but his expected readings and minimal grades are very harsh. Not a good professor to take an intro course with.
DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!!! Mufti seems like a really nice guy but his lectures can be super tangential and confusing, you have to do like 200 pages of reading a week, and the entire grade is based on the midterm and the final, which he admits are graded super harshly. I dread this class every week.
Inspired me to study IR, he's very set in his ways and you have to be at all lectures with all readings done but it'll be one of the best classes you'll take
Incredible amount of reading (200 pages/week), but he goes over them in lecture so you can just skim them. Lectures are somewhat boring and he goes off in tangents, but attend them anyway.
Random essay that is not on the syllabus. Lectures are mostly based on discussions and are not structured. Get ready to read a lot (He won't talk about half of them during lectures). TAs are good and professional tho. He's definitely knowledgeable in his own field and a nice person overall, but I would recommend avoiding his PS61.
Mufti was awesome. I was never bored in lecture. Tough grader, but you dont need to do all the reading. Material was awesome.
Professor Mufti is a decent professor with great experience and knowledge of particular topics. This said, for an intro class, he is not ideal. The class was reliant on a midterm and final only and he assigned a paper merely due to his mood. The class was carried by my TA who was very good.
Genuinely the best, most rewarding class I've ever taken at Tufts. Lectures are extremely insightful, and Mufti's knowledge and personal experience make for an unmatched experience. Mufti asks a lot of students, and you have to be prepared to participate a lot and write a really good seminar paper. Overall amazing class.
Honestly– ignore every single rating from last semester. If you truly like IR and are ready to read, then you will learn a lot from Mufti, who is one of Tufts' most engaging, knowledgable, and entertaining lecturers. He is goofy. You will HAVE to read 100 pages a week. You WILL fight for your grade. But Mufti is the GOAT.
Lowkey it's fine there's a tonnn of readings but I found them interesting and there's generally a lot of concepts you have to know like the back of your hand but if you actually do the reading you'll actually learn and you'll have no problem remembering stuff. Def study HARD for the midterm.
Mufti is one of the best professors. He's very knowledgeable and makes every lecture engaging. Originally, I was nervous that personal bias would be expressed, but he structures the class in such a way that the focus is always on analyzing individual actors and their decisions from a rational perspective, so personal opinions don't get in the way.
My favorite class so far. Mufti manages to take such a contentious topic and discuss it in a purely analytical way that no other professor has been able to do in my experience. Amazing lectures and discussions always focused on understanding rational actors' interests (never personal opinion or morality). Total grade is 2 exams + partcp.Must take.
Highly recommend this class. Lectures are always interesting and open for class discussion. Really analytical thinking is promoted. No personal biases shown.
Mufti seems like a smart man but I feel he finds more pleasure in debating topics than teaching. On the class itself, I found it incredibly boring, essentially memorization of common sense. Most of the class is irelevant to your grade. The good news is you can just check out and then cram for the midterm and final.
Mufti's engaging - funny, insightful and will challenge you to defend your position. That being said, he is also harsh with his grading (almost for the sake of it - he could be nicer but clearly doesn't want to). Definitely an intense experience (given there's only a midterm and final) - would advise taking him for a less heavy semester.
Like all Mufti classes, Arab-Israeli Conflict was fascinating. It challenges students to think deeper about the nature of conflict and the strategic perspectives of both sides. Getting an A challenging but doable. The best way to succeed is to never miss classes, do the readings, and be attentive to his description of the expectations for the exam.
Apart from the grading system, this is a great class. You will learn a lot, and it's hard to get a bad grade, but very challenging to earn an A. Mufti is a great lecturer; there are no slides, so it works well if you've done the readings and prefer to listen to podcasts. The way the TAs grade is often unclear and mysterious.
Mufti is an incredible lecturer with lots of wisdom and stories to share. If you keep up with lecture notes, recitations, and readings, you should be fine and will learn a lot. His grading system is harsh and TAs are often inconspicuous with the grades they give, though I believe the class is worth it if you love IR and are excited about the topic.
Professor Mufti is a captivating lecturer and an expert in IR. That being said, if you don't possess an actual passion for IR and are not ready to read– which is 100% how I set myself up well for both participating in lectures and studying for the 2 exams– you will not get anything above a B. Participation in recitations is 20%.
Final exam worth 45% of grade. Surprise essay during midterm season. Tons of reading, but that's expected. I've heard great things about Mufti in higher level classes, but he didn't seem to care much about this one since it's intro level (mostly freshmen). Not super respectful to students. Disorganized structure, often went on random long tangents.
Don't be scared by the reviews Mufti is an incredible professor. Brings so much knowledge to class and is a true expert in the field. It is a reading heavy and difficult course but is absolutely doable and you will come away knowing SO MUCH! Can't recommend enough, my favorite class I have taken at Tufts.
Mufti brings a certain levity to class. Funny, clear, and very knowledgeable. He is not very accessible outside of class (cancels some office hours; not open to emailed questions about test material), but I respect it. Tests are straightforward and on the readings (do them or have a friend do them, if you want to do well). Study groups are a must.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
36%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.10 avg changeRatings by Course
PS138
5.0
(2)PS51
5.0
(4)PS168
5.0
(1)PS172PS61
5.0
(1)PS167
5.0
(3)Difficulty by Course
PS178
5.0
PS175
5.0
MIDEASTPOLICY
5.0
IR1
4.5
PS134
4.2