Professor Torres was great! Even though she is new at teaching, she successfully managed the class well, was open to everyones questions, and was very understanding. The class consisted of a few readings a week necessary for discussion section which was mandatory, a group presentation on a topic you get to choose in the beginning of the course, and a group final paper. Presentations were fun and simple, she brought food and coffee for guests, students, and professors who came to visit and you just needed to present your topic and findings to any guests who came up to your poster. I only had a minimal background in R but was able to manage the class relatively well. If you get a good group for your project then you will do fine.

Dr. Torres' class is amazing. Highly recommend for anyone who is interested in political science research. The class is entirely project based with one major poster and paper due at the end of the quarter. The workload is very dependent on how comfortable you are with R, how ambitious your project is (you get to choose it), and how good your group is. I went in somewhat familiar with R, I had a pretty grounded project, and a good group. The workload was low with all these conditions.

Professor Torres has been one of the most helpful professors I've had so far here. She is a great listener and cares for what you have to say. As someone who didn't take one of the pre-reqs, I was a bit worried that I'd lag behind, but she reassured me that I'd be okay and I was. Of course, I put it in a little more work outside of class to learn R better, but it's incredibly worth it and rewarding.