The PoliSci Pod | Episode 2: Captivating Classes

In episode two of the PoliSci Pod, Peer Advisors talk about political science courses and registration as you begin to plan for your fall 2025 classes.

The PoliSci Pod is a podcast created, hosted, and edited by our political science peer advisors. Tune into episodes for peer advisors' advice & helpful hints, department news & event information, and more! Join us to stay connected and informed about all things political science.

Listen to this episode, "Captivating Classes," below or tune in on our YouTube channel.

Transcript

Emma: Hello and welcome to this week's episode of "The PoliSci Pod!" I'm Emma.
Melat: And I'm Melat.
Emma: And we are back with episode two!
Melat: Two! Yay!
Emma: Yay. This episode, we are going to be talking about everything courses. Our favorites, what we recommend, some tips for registering for classes, things like that.
Melat: Very exciting, we love talking about classes. Obviously. So, Emma, what are some of your favorite classes?
Emma: Good question, Melat. Some of my favorite polisci classes would have to be—well, one of them I'll start with, I guess—would be POL 4891 The Politics of Nuclear Weapons, taught be Professor Bell. It's a really good class, it's obviously all about nuclear weapons, the history of nuclear proliferation, current kind-of events, things like that. I took this course and I had never taken a class on militarization, or even just an international relations class, in general. It was really cool. I would say, if you are kind of in the same boat and you want to take it but you have never taken international relations, you definitely can. It's a very digestible class. It's taught really well. Really good mixture of lecture and discussion. Not too like, assignment heavy, essays or tests and quizzes. Melat and I took it together, so that was fun. And there is a big simulation at the end, which is really cool. You get put into groups of other students and you get assigned a country and you basically role-play as that country for two weeks. Is that bad to say?
Melat: No.
Emma: Okay, great. You act as that country for two weeks and you interact with other countries, as well, and try to stop nuclear warfare. And it's fun! It was a really cool class, I recommend it. Another class that I recommend would be POL 3451W, which is the politics of new Europe and the EU. It's really cool. I have always been interested in European history and politics and this class fits right in with that. It's all about the conception of the EU, where the EU stands today, like big challenges towards the EU like Brexit. It is a writing intensive class, but it's not super writing intensive. There are two essays, a book review on a really really good book. Melat and I also have taken this class. Melat says it's the best book she has ever read.
Melat: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I said that statement, so I stand by it.
Emma. Of course. I'm quoting her.
Melat: Yeah, best book. If you really want to read about authoritarianism and the rise of authoritarianism that has been happening throughout Europe. Very, very good book.
Emma: Yeah. It's a very applicable class to this current point in time in the US and global politics. But yeah, I really recommend it! And then another class that I really recommend if you are interested in research at all is POL 3085: Quantitative Analysis in Political Science. I took it because I was really interested in research my freshman year. You get direct guidance on all of the steps of a research project, so coming up with a topic, basic research using R, which is a coding platform, things like that. You do a project at the end, it's totally a topic of your choosing, which is really cool. There is a lecture and a lab section, and you get direct help during the lab section. And it also counts towards the mathematical thinking lib ed, so I took it for my math class and there really was no math. It's really just basic stats, and I had never taken a stats class before and it was easy. So those are the classes that I recommend. Melat, what are the classes that you recommend?
Melat: Yeah, so bear with me when I start saying a bunch of numbers. But the first classes—the first group of classes that I would recommend is for students that are thinking about going to law school. Both Emma and I have either taken them or are considering law school, so these are classes that we think are very interesting, as well. so the first three for my law students—or future law students are POL 3309, 4501, and 4502. 4501 and 4502 are both writing intensive courses, but again, most, I feel like, writing intensive—they're not actually too bad. I recommend these classes because they are all about the Supreme Court. And in 3309 you get a lot of introduction to the Supreme Court politics and just like the relationships between the justices and how that influences their decisions, their ideologies, their background, and just how important they are to shaping the law of, you know, the United States of America. So yeah. And then 4501 and 4502 are really important because in those classes you learn how to write briefs on cases, which I think is really important if you are thinking about going to law school, just because I think a lot of people don't really learn how to write briefs right before going. So this is really great for that and getting those skills that you will need eventually anyways. So yeah, those classes I really recommend. And then another group of classes that I recommend for people that are interested about learning about politics outside of the US are POL 3435—or it might be 3431, I'm not really quite sure—and then POL 3451W, which is the New Europe class that Emma recommended. But the first class, the 3435 or 3431, sorry, is the Politics of the Horn of Africa. So that's really different, like it's not America-centered at all. I mean, there are like western influences on those politics, obviously, like most countries. But, um, it's a very good class to just kind of get perspectives from different types of governments and politics around the world. And then, 3451W, obviously like, every reason Emma said. It's a really good class, really teaches you about Europe, and learning about the trends of Europe also really helps to understand America politics overall, so I think it's a very good class. And then another class that I recommend is POL 3306, which is the presidential leadership class. I just thought this class was really fun. It was fun learning about presidents. I think we all know about presidents, but it's just learning more about them. They are just very intriguing people because like, what made you want to become president? I just feel like that's a very intriguing thing to learn, like the psychology behind these people. So I really recommend that class, the professor is really good, his name is Timothy Collins, and he is just a very funny person, too. And I just like when my professors are funny, so very recommend it. And then, also, the nuclear weapons course that Emma mentioned earlier, POL 4891, I really recommend that for the same reasons. The simulation was really fun. I loved going around talking about nuclear weapons as if I was a country. But definitely guys, do not wage war at the end.
Emma: No.
Melat: Don't wage war. We might have waged war and might have not done well, so.
Emma: 'Cause you were Russia.
Melat: Yes, I was Russia.
Emma: And I was the US.
Melat: Yeah, we were enemies and it was really sad.
Emma: Yes, it was sad.
Melat: But yeah, those are the classes I recommend.
Emma: Now, Melat, what are some tips or tricks that you have for registering for classes that you think students need to know?
Melat: That's actually a really good question. I think the first most important tip for registration would be to register on time. I know procrastinating is fun, I also like to do that, it's my favorite hobby. But don't register—or I mean, don't procrastinate registration. It's very important. Not getting into classes is actually devastating, especially if you were really looking forward to that class and were like excited for it. It's really sad when it fills up before your registration time. Especially for those of you that are seniors, the capstone is really important, so really really make sure that you register on time. If your registration date is today at 3:00, be there at 3:00 in your shopping cart, ready to register. With that being said, another tip that I do have is that you always come with a plan on registration day. So that means you come with a planned out schedule. Make sure you plan out your schedule on Schedule Builder and then you send it to your shopping cart prior to your registration date so then you have that. It's always good to know what rough schedule you would want. if you want to drop out of a class, you can always do that later in like the coming day, later in the semester, or even after next semester begins. So just making sure you have a seat and registering is important. Always have multiple plans, have backup classes just in case your classes get filled up, so you're not surprised and then also you are not just like "what do I do?" and freaking out. So those are my top two recommendations for registration. But Emma, what are some of your recommendations for students?
Emma: Yeah, really great queston. Along with Melat's advice, which I think is really really good, I would say something that I always struggle with around registration time is actually reading the description of classes. I typically just look at the title and the date and time that it's offered and then I'm good to go. But I've a few times taken a class and it's not at all what I thought it was going to be like or what was going to be talked about. So I really recommend reading those full-length descriptions on Schedule Builder, as well as, for you POL classes, looking at our PL Syllabi Bank, which is linked on our website under the Courses tab. There is syllabi in there going back to 2012, every class the syllabi that students directly get. So it gives a really good insight into what a class is like, if it's really lecture heavy or discussion heavy, if your attendance is graded or participation is graded. Even just like how many tests or quizzes there are, if there are Blue Book exams, if there are take-home exams, things like that so you can kind of plan our more of what your classes for the semester will look like. You know, oftentimes I've considered taking two writing intensive classes, so looking at actually how intensive a writing intensive class is, how many essays there are, are things like that can be helpful. So that's what I would recommend. Some other things that we recommend, generally, would be to run an APAS before you register to see what you have left, and then also after you register to run an APAS to see if whatever you have leftover is blue or green because that means you're good to go with your requirements. Especially if you are planning on graduating that semester, making sure there is no red left on your APAS, and that it's all either blue or green is a good sign. And then, as always, I mean maybe this is biased, but always check in with your advisors if you have any questions regarding classes. They are like the number one person to go to to make sure you are on track with your requirements. Also, your peer advisors are a really good resource if you don't know what classes to take because odds are they have taken a lot of classes or they've heard a lot about what different classes are like. So they are a really good resource, as well. But those are all my tips and all I have to say. Do you have anything else to add, Melat?
Melat: Um, not really. But just to add on to talking to your advisors, even if you think it's a small thing to come to an advisor with, like if you have a made schedule, you can just come in here and show us your schedule and we can look at it and tell you if it is good. I always say that it's better if you get confirmation that something is good and you know, looking perfect, especially if you are graduating and you're a senior, rather than just thinking that something is already perfect and then you find our later in the semestter that it's not. Just restating that it's important to meet with your advisors. Yeah.
Emma: Yeah, definitely. That's one of my favorite things to meet with students and talk about is potential classes or a class schedule. It's always fun to talk about classes and look at them. but yeah, those are our tips and tricks and some of our favorite classes that we have taken. If you have any questions, you can always email us or reach out. Well, this is episode two of the PoliSci Pod, thanks for listening.
Melat: Thank you so much, we love you!
Emma: We love you!
Melat: Our fans!
Emma: Okay, see you next time.
Melat: Bye bye!