All the past reviews are true. You will not stop typing or writing during her class, but her lectures are so interesting and engaging. She outlines her lectures for you which makes it easier to follow along but it still is a challenge at times just because of how much she says. Overall, she is fantastic professor who is crazy smart and an engaging lecturer. The class is 30% midterm, 30% final (not cumulative), 30% paper, and 10% participation. It is a very fair grading rubric/scale and the class itself is very interesting. This class is a must take.

This is a super interesting poli sci class, and Larson does a great job explaining the material (there is a lot just a warning). The T.A.'s are super helpful, and mainly go over the readings because Larson doesn't during lecture. You HAVE to go to lecture: she stands in front of the class and straight lectures (no powerpoint) for 1 hour 15 minutes, and you will typically walk out with 6 pages of typed notes every time. She does write a few things down on the board, but that's mainly to help you keep your notes organized. Lecture is podcasted, but without her notes on the board you notes could be somewhat messy.
Breakdown of her class is: 1 midterm, 1 paper, final, participation. The paper is on a topic not covered in lecture, and requires a decent amount of outside research. Midterm and final are all writing: 8 ID terms, 1 short essay, 1 long essay. Same format for both, final is not cumulative. She gives you a study guide for both the midterm and the final, and if you know that study guide every way possible you will do very well on both tests.

Honestly one of the best and most interesting classes taken at UCLA, even though I'm not a Political Science major. Larson is very engaging and she makes the material super interesting. Not a hard class, just go to lecture and don't procrastinate on the paper. She provides you the IDs and the potential essay questions that will be on the midterm and final so you will expect nothing new or random to show up.

I have all the required physical textbooks you need for this class and am selling it as a bundle for $20. I can also link you to previous study guides I have made for both the midterm and final!

Text me if you're interested at **********!

Fantastic professor. Cares so much about students and gives incredibly interesting lectures. On top of that lectures are super organized and fun to learn. Take every class you can from her, she's a fantastic woman

Best professor. Go to every class, write down everything she says, you'll learn a lot of interesting stuff and get an A

awesome class. know your stuff and follow along and you will get an A

TA Ryan was the best

Easily my favorite class and professor at UCLA. Larson's teaching style is clear and easy to follow (plus there are podcasts incase you miss anything) - make sure to pay attention to what she writes on the board as it makes it easier to organize your notes.

The class itself is more like a history class with a bit of psych thrown it which made it really interesting. To do well on the midterm and final you just have to prep the questions on the study guide and learn your IDs and its easy to get a good grade - she won't ask you for anything outside these.

As far as reading goes I did bits and pieces of it, but the study guide for us only drew on one book and two articles so you don't have to get it all done.

Both TAs are great, but my TA Ryan was the best at making sure I aced the paper so take his section if you can.

(I got an A+ in the class and I'm looking to take Larson again Spring quarter because she was so great)

This is definitely a class to take. It is really straight forward. Everything that is needed for the midterm and final comes straight from class, so you MUST go to lecture or get some very good notes. Bring a laptop too because she goes at a rapid pace.

but the class is really good to teach the history of US foreign relations, it is super comprehensive and really helped in the other class I was taking at the time (125A). The class is straight midterm, paper, final and is very easy. Getting an A doesn't take any extra effort beyond understanding lecture. Larson is always available and one of the nicest professors you will find.

This is for 120A - Just wrote a rave review but forgot to mention, BRING A LAPTOP!!! You will have a minimum of six pages of typed notes per class. But don't be scared, the flow of her lecture is very smooth and you can basically write down everything she says no problem.

Simply the BEST PROFESSOR I've ever had at UCLA. She's so passionate and knowledgeable about what she teaches. She speaks very well and is very easy to understand. I can't rave enough about Professor Larson.

CLASS IS AN EASY A!!!
^that's what you're most interested in right? Class is even podcasted so you don't have to go to class but she does write outlines on the board which are really helpful. She's also an awesome enthusiastic lecturer so you're missing out if you don't go! There's a midterm 30%, paper 30%, final 30%, and discussion 10%. The midterm and final are formatted the same way - ID's (define and significance), one short answer, and one essay. Everything you need to know comes straight from lecture so study that extensively! This class is largely based on history, so if you don't like history don't take it! The essay is a topic you get to pick and research on. It doesn't really relate to the class nor is it really discussed much in class but again it is an easy A, my class average on the essay was 97% so I wouldn't really worry about it :D You honestly do NOT need to do the readings for the tests. The only reason you would need the readings is for discussion since TA's ask specific questions on them.

Overall I HIGHLY recommend this class. Probably my favorite class ever at ucla :)