Plan to avoid taking this professor in the future. If you're enrolled in this class...good luck.

I actually enjoyed both PS50 and Professor Thies. Comparative politics is an extremely interesting yet complex topic, but Thies is very well-versed in the material and presented it in a clear and engaging way. I didn't find his lectures to be boring at all, although the slides were not very helpful so showing up to class and taking good notes is pretty essential. I did not love my TA as a person but the sections were still a good expansion and clarification on the readings and class material. The weekly quizzes did kind of suck but if you actually do all the readings you'll be ok. He doesn't try to trick you with the exams; the concepts that you'll be asked to write about are the ones that he spends the most time on in class, and I thought both the midterm and the final were very fair. I'm surprised that I actually got an A+ in this class, but it's all thanks to the curve. I know a lot of people say to avoid this class with Thies at all costs, but I strongly disagree -- I learned a lot of valuable information, I thought Thies was a solid professor, and it's REALLY NOT impossible to do well if you actually put in the work and learn how to articulate your ideas clearly when you write.

Thies is a good lecturer, but he doesn't post slides with very meaningful info on CCLE. He's also kind of condescending in his emails, which is funny at first but it makes him look like kind of a jerk after awhile. The material for the first 6 weeks or so is pretty interesting, but after that it gets pretty dry. The reading quizzes are absolute BS, as he claims that if you read you'll be able to do well on them, but they're set up by the TA's who make them super hard. The mean over the quarter was below 60. Section participation is also mandatory, like you actually have to speak in section or you don't get full credit. The midterm, final, and paper are also all graded very hard, and he doesn't tell you anything about what's going to be on the midterm or the final, even if you ask questions about it. That being said, the curve was incredibly generous, as I got fairly above the mean on just about everything and ended up with an A-. If you put in the work to be in front of the mean you'll be fine, but as a class it wasn't particularly enjoyable.

This is the most frustrating class I have ever taken at UCLA. Please note that I'm a polisci major, found the material and readings extremely interesting, but I absolutely hated the class because of the professor. Thies' exams are essay format and graded by multiple TAs, which leads to disparity between expectations and grading, as it is all subjective to your TA. The professor is often rude to students who ask questions, brags about how he writes exams the night before they're given, and grades exams and essays about 20 points below what each student deserves. The testing materials and assignments truly ruin this class, which is a shame because comparative politics is an interesting subject. I thoroughly outlined and took notes on all the readings and truly understood the material, and I failed the midterm. Why? Because Thies instructs his TAs to grade much harsher than is accurate so that he can curve the class at the end. Because the class is curved (which is, by the way, completely illogical for an essay-based class), you have no idea how you're progressing. I ended up with an A- after feeling anxious and incompetent the entire quarter. If you're polisci, do yourself a favor & take this amazing subject with a half-decent professor. If you're taking this as a GE, drop it immediately. I would have switched majors if I took this as my first polisci class.

Class wasn't that bad. Material was interesting especially if your a Poli Sci major. Thies is very knowledgable and seems keen to answer your questions. However, grading is VERY specific and if you don't regularly do the readings your screwed.

He's been teaching this class for a decade, and it shows. Insanely boring, and he clearly doesn't give a shit anymore. Interesting material rendered totally inane.

It really wasn't as bad as everyone said it was. It definitely helps if you're a PoliSci major or if you actually like studying politics, but still, the reading load isn't much worse than other humanities/social science GEs, the midterms and final really weren't that bad, and I didn't have to spend an abnormal amount of time studying to get an A. As a Poli Sci pre-req, it isn't a bad option, but if you're taking it as a GE and all you care about is your GPA, then yeah, probably look elsewhere.

I was nervous coming into this class because I heard that it was hard, and it definitely was but it was an incredibly rewarding experience.

Professor Thies is very knowledgeable and you learn so much about the dynamics between countries and why countries are shaped the way they are today.

His tests were hard but he had a curve so if you study really hard and do the readings, it is a fairly easy A.

Sometimes taking the harder professor is a much more rewarding experience than going for an easy dud. This was one of those great experiences!

Grade got: A

There is no denying that Michael Thies knows a lot about Comparative politics, however, his exams were often purposefully more difficult then they needed to be and often required a massive amount of detail. In other words, this is not your standard UCLA intro poli sci class that can be taken rather lightly. If you take poli sci 50 with Thies you will need to read and review his lecture notes, I didn't find lecture that helpful but still attended quite frequently. Thies also does not seem like he is that interested in teaching and is often quite grouchy towards students when they ask what he considers dumb questions. If I were considering taking this class I would hold off until it was offered by someone other than Thies.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. I'm a poll sci major, even if you work hard in this class you will not get an A. The only good thing is that he knows his stuff is really hard so the class is curved a lot. Wish i didn't take it