Do not take this professor. I just took him and he is utter hell. I hate most bruinwalk postings, but this guy is literally the worst professor I've taken at UCLA.

There is no paper topic yet, which, in most classes is a good thing because it gives students the possibility to make the paper more free ranging, analytical and easier to write. However, this is Michael Salman. He already has in his own head a pre-conceived notion of what the paper is supposed to look like, without telling any of the students and marks down papers which do not fulfill his requirements, even though he gives no clear cut requirements in the first place.

He is also extremely pompous and loves to hear the sound of his own voice despite the fact that it was a seminar and despite the fact that on the first day of class he said he will let the students do most if not all of the talking. He is also very hostile towards opinions which deviate from his. Do not take him unless you are willing to kiss an extreme amount of ass and lose self dignity and even then earn only a B.