Professor
Nushin Arbabzadah
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Took this class my fall quarter as a freshman, and it was great! Very chill class. Although there were lectures, most of the content wasn’t too important (other than the speech structure). The grade was made up of just 3 short speeches, which the prof gives lots of time for. She is really helpful in letting you run your speech ideas/structure by her and giving feedback. My class was pretty small (ab 20-25 ppl). Everyone agreed that the class was fun/easy and a majority finished with an A.
Fall 2021 - Took this class my fall quarter as a freshman, and it was great! Very chill class. Although there were lectures, most of the content wasn’t too important (other than the speech structure). The grade was made up of just 3 short speeches, which the prof gives lots of time for. She is really helpful in letting you run your speech ideas/structure by her and giving feedback. My class was pretty small (ab 20-25 ppl). Everyone agreed that the class was fun/easy and a majority finished with an A.
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2015 - Nushin is the best professor I have ever taken. I recommend anyone taking her before they graduate. I have taken two classes with her and it has literally changed my life. The material is important and relevant to what is happening in the world today. There is one midterm which is worth 35% and then a final paper worth 65%. It's an easy class in the sense that everything is interesting and you actually want to learn, but don't expect to just sit through class and still getting an A. Nushin is a fascinating person and I love that she shares her personal experiences, growing up in Afghanistan.
Spring 2015 - Nushin is the best professor I have ever taken. I recommend anyone taking her before they graduate. I have taken two classes with her and it has literally changed my life. The material is important and relevant to what is happening in the world today. There is one midterm which is worth 35% and then a final paper worth 65%. It's an easy class in the sense that everything is interesting and you actually want to learn, but don't expect to just sit through class and still getting an A. Nushin is a fascinating person and I love that she shares her personal experiences, growing up in Afghanistan.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - At times, professor Arbabzadah was unclear, however, she was a relatively easy grader and the work required for the course was minimal. There were 2 midterms and 1 final- both were easy. The midterms consisted of 2-3 essay questions that were fairly easy to answer as long as you reviewed the material beforehand. The final was a paper that we were given the prompt for at least a week in advanced. As long as some effort is put in, it's pretty easy to do well in the class. She's also very kind and accommodating of students with special circumstances (like being sick, etc...). Overall, I'd take another course with her because even though she was confusing at times, she was helpful and it was easy to catch up by just going back and taking notes on her powerpoint slides. I definitely recommend taking a class with her!
Fall 2021 - At times, professor Arbabzadah was unclear, however, she was a relatively easy grader and the work required for the course was minimal. There were 2 midterms and 1 final- both were easy. The midterms consisted of 2-3 essay questions that were fairly easy to answer as long as you reviewed the material beforehand. The final was a paper that we were given the prompt for at least a week in advanced. As long as some effort is put in, it's pretty easy to do well in the class. She's also very kind and accommodating of students with special circumstances (like being sick, etc...). Overall, I'd take another course with her because even though she was confusing at times, she was helpful and it was easy to catch up by just going back and taking notes on her powerpoint slides. I definitely recommend taking a class with her!
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Spring 2018 - I am a third year STEM major and this was my first time taking any comm class in my entire life, as I needed upper div units and this class fit my schedule nicely. I also didn't know a single person in the class nor was I ever able to go to the professor's office hours because I had class during that time. Your entire grade is just one midterm and one final paper that is 1.5 spacing 12 pages, which turns out to really be around 15 pages double spaced. This sounds pretty daunting because messing up on either of the assignments can really lower your grade. On the other hand, the midterm was very fair. The professor herself posts all the lecture slides after each week. At the end of each lecture slides there are "Test yourself" questions and basically if you can answer all of these, and the answers are all straight from her slides, then her midterm is extremely fair because her midterm questions are very similar, if not almost the same as the "Test yourself" questions in the slides. For our final paper, the professor took 6 quotes online from peoples' views on terrorism and we had to verify how accurate it was using the material we learned from lecture, 2 pages per quote. I was never able to go to the professor's office hours and the one time I tried to go to the TA for help, there was a long ass line for people wanting a regrade on their midterm. So I just went to the professor a few minutes before class started and she was more than happy to answer any questions you were uncertain about for the final prompts. As for the professor herself, she is extremely passionate and her lectures are very organized, and also incredibly nice. Lastly, besides the midterm which you really only need to start studying 5-7 days before at the most, and the final paper that isn't assigned until end of week 8, you really don't have to do anything else in between, along with not having to buy any books, unlike a lot of other north campus classes.
Spring 2018 - I am a third year STEM major and this was my first time taking any comm class in my entire life, as I needed upper div units and this class fit my schedule nicely. I also didn't know a single person in the class nor was I ever able to go to the professor's office hours because I had class during that time. Your entire grade is just one midterm and one final paper that is 1.5 spacing 12 pages, which turns out to really be around 15 pages double spaced. This sounds pretty daunting because messing up on either of the assignments can really lower your grade. On the other hand, the midterm was very fair. The professor herself posts all the lecture slides after each week. At the end of each lecture slides there are "Test yourself" questions and basically if you can answer all of these, and the answers are all straight from her slides, then her midterm is extremely fair because her midterm questions are very similar, if not almost the same as the "Test yourself" questions in the slides. For our final paper, the professor took 6 quotes online from peoples' views on terrorism and we had to verify how accurate it was using the material we learned from lecture, 2 pages per quote. I was never able to go to the professor's office hours and the one time I tried to go to the TA for help, there was a long ass line for people wanting a regrade on their midterm. So I just went to the professor a few minutes before class started and she was more than happy to answer any questions you were uncertain about for the final prompts. As for the professor herself, she is extremely passionate and her lectures are very organized, and also incredibly nice. Lastly, besides the midterm which you really only need to start studying 5-7 days before at the most, and the final paper that isn't assigned until end of week 8, you really don't have to do anything else in between, along with not having to buy any books, unlike a lot of other north campus classes.
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2021 - The professor is amazing! She is very knowledgeable and engaging. The sources she brings are very diverse and thought-provoking. It forces you to think for yourself with the information you are provided but also makes clear that terrorism is complicated and not a black and white answer or issue. I feel more knowledgeable after taking this class not only about terrorism but also about humans. The class is structured with 2 midterms and a final. The midterms are usually an event like an article about an attack and the questions will make you use your knowledge and understanding of the material to analyze the article or event. The final is quite lengthy. It is around 10 questions that cover material from weeks 1-10. It is meant for you to synthesize and kind of bring all that you've learned together to produce balanced well-informed answers. I really enjoy working on it actually because it gives you a chance to really test yourself on whether you actually learned as much as you think you have. The questions are released at the end of week 8 [and due finals week] and I submitted an outline first for some guidance. The outline was absolutely helpful as outlines are but the professor directly edited and advised me on some aspects that really helped me produce the best work that I could have. Thank you for that professor :)!!! Go to office hours, email her about how to improve or what to focus on to really get the best you can out of each assignment. One of the best classes I have taken. Good luck!
Spring 2021 - The professor is amazing! She is very knowledgeable and engaging. The sources she brings are very diverse and thought-provoking. It forces you to think for yourself with the information you are provided but also makes clear that terrorism is complicated and not a black and white answer or issue. I feel more knowledgeable after taking this class not only about terrorism but also about humans. The class is structured with 2 midterms and a final. The midterms are usually an event like an article about an attack and the questions will make you use your knowledge and understanding of the material to analyze the article or event. The final is quite lengthy. It is around 10 questions that cover material from weeks 1-10. It is meant for you to synthesize and kind of bring all that you've learned together to produce balanced well-informed answers. I really enjoy working on it actually because it gives you a chance to really test yourself on whether you actually learned as much as you think you have. The questions are released at the end of week 8 [and due finals week] and I submitted an outline first for some guidance. The outline was absolutely helpful as outlines are but the professor directly edited and advised me on some aspects that really helped me produce the best work that I could have. Thank you for that professor :)!!! Go to office hours, email her about how to improve or what to focus on to really get the best you can out of each assignment. One of the best classes I have taken. Good luck!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Professor Arbabzadah has such a deep understanding of what she teaches that it makes it so enjoyable to hear her speak. Though I loved going to her lectures, it is very manageable to skip and still do good on the exams as she uploads slides for every lecture. A downside is that her content may be just a little confusing at times. She might not be clear on what the exam entails, or she might display information in a super confusing and contradicting manner. However, the class is easy. She goes over any required reading in class, the exams are super simple, and the workload is very minimal (three exams, 33% each).
Fall 2023 - Professor Arbabzadah has such a deep understanding of what she teaches that it makes it so enjoyable to hear her speak. Though I loved going to her lectures, it is very manageable to skip and still do good on the exams as she uploads slides for every lecture. A downside is that her content may be just a little confusing at times. She might not be clear on what the exam entails, or she might display information in a super confusing and contradicting manner. However, the class is easy. She goes over any required reading in class, the exams are super simple, and the workload is very minimal (three exams, 33% each).