Excellent professor.

He is really funny, easy-going, and the kind of guy whose lectures you want to go to. He gives students the opportunity to participate, he shows YouTube videos and tells funny stories, and he uses a lot of Jon Stewart style self-deprecating humor.

As far as easiness goes, it's fair to say that it's an easy B but a difficult A. The key to doing well is knowing the notes he puts online by heart and really understanding (not just memorizing) his lectures. The points are not given "at random" at all; it will only seem that way if you didn't comprehend the material.

His classes are 10% online quizzes (he'll occasionally have a pop quiz in class, but mostly that just means signing your name on a piece of paper proving you attended), and the rest is the midterm and final. Most tests he gives out involve 20 fill in the blank questions (you get a list of the questions ahead of time online, from the online quizzes) and then 2 mandatory essay questions and 4 essay questions you choose out of 6 options.

There is very little reading, relative to most professors, and to be honest you don't even have to do the reading; you can just skim or "ctrl f" sometimes for the answers.

I don't know what the previous poster was talking about, but I've now taken three courses with Phil, and I can tell you he has the logic of a vulcan. He doesn't show much (if any) political bias, and he says things as they are. To give you an idea of his objectivity, halfway through one of his classes he asked people to raise their hands if they thought he was a Democrat or a Republican. A room full of Poli Sci majors and half the class said Democrat and half the class said Republican.

Cool-headed, he doesn't get upset or offended very easily. For example, if you're messing around on your computer in class, he'll ask you what you're doing on it, make fun of you, and politely ask you to stop.

The most awesome thing about Phil is that he honestly cares about teaching. He has zero interest in doing political research, which might mean that he won't have a long career at UCLA, but it does mean that he's a guy who really focuses all his energy on his students and being there for them. His office hours are packed because the students love him and because they want answers to the online quizzes, so get there early; there'll be a line.

It is true that a few times he has sent out emails asking people he suspects of cheating to come forward. He sends it to all his students to give people he knows for a fact cheated a chance to redeem themselves; don't freak out if you didn't cheat and received the email. (word to the wise, don't cheat)

The previous poster said that Phil made racist comments; I have no idea what he or she is talking about. Phil is very sensitive about people's cultural heritage, and any time he brings up the topic of ethnicity, he let's everyone speak. The poster has the right to his/her opinion, but I have literally no idea where it came from.

If you want an entertaining lecturer who really cares about teaching, take Phil.

Hands down the best professor I had at UCLA. He cares about his students and treats them with respect. His classes are not easy, but an A is totally doable if you put in the work. He manages to make personal connection with every student in a class of over 150 students. I would strongly recommend taking his class if he is still teaching.

Phil Gussin is the best professor I've had at UCLA.

It is clear from the first day that he legitimately cares about his students. When someone clearly doesn't understand a lecture topic, he will pressure them until he can tell that they grasp the concept. He will meet with students after class for as long as is needed. He insists that students call him by his first name, and goes out of his way to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect.

His area of expertise deals with how people process political information, and most of his classes are in this field. The material can get tedious at times, but he uses relevant examples and humor to keep you interested.

As far as difficulty, Gussin's classes are not particularly hard. There has been minimal reading in every class I've taken with him, and you learn 90% of what you need to know in lectures. If you attend lecture, pay attention, and take decent notes, you can easily get an A with two nights of moderate studying before his tests. He is a self-proclaimed easy grader, but you still need to know the material.

I've had some reasonably funny professors, but Phil takes the cake. His off-the-cuff humor and banter with students will have the entire room cracking up at least a couple times per lecture. I've taken three of his classes now, and they've been the only ones I've ever legitimately looked forward to.

His classes fill up insanely fast, but he will do everything in his power to accommodate everyone. I've been admitted to two of his classes despite not even being on the waitlist, and Phil is definitely worth the wait for a spot on the roster. If you need any Political Science classes, do yourself a favor and take a Gussin course. You will be hooked.

Course: PS 141b

BEST PROFESSOR AT UCLA!

CLEAR - He types up the lecture outline for you, you just need to fill in the blanks. He goes slow and makes sure everyone understands what he is talking about

FAIR - His tests are all straightforward; he even posts the questions for his tests up

FUN - Great guy, funny and will not bore u to death like many other professors who talks like they hate their job. Phil loves what he does and he is so passionate

GREAT PROFESSOR, I would take him for every single class at UCLA. Seriously.

Hands down the best professor I had at UCLA. He cares about his students and treats them with respect. His classes are not easy, but an A is totally doable if you put in the work. He manages to make personal connection with every student in a class of over 150 students. I would strongly recommend taking his class if he is still teaching.

Horrible Professor.

The fact is that Gussin is not on the same caliber as other UCLA professors (and I'm not saying this because of his unorthodox teaching style) but Prof Gussin simply is just not erudite and refined enough to be a professor at UCLA. He is hot-tempered, aggressive, very vulgar, and sadly to say, the not that logical.

He kept on trying for everyone to like and respect him during the entire quarter, but he just ends up being a tool instead; he should just teach at a community college or high school. Overall, the class was mostly easy and comprised of his tirades against different segments of our society and politics. I don't think he knows what professionalism is and again, failed on many levels to act like other UCLA professors.

He doesn't know how to test his students; he dumped about 150 questions for the midterm and another 150 questions for the final (broken down individually). Points are given at random and his grading doesn't make sense. The worst part is that after the test, he always sends a massive spam email to every student accusing you of cheating and to just be honest and confess because he knows that we cheated. If you don't confess, you get expelled; the entire class was paranoid, we don't need stupid games like this Gussin while we have so many other tests to study for! He basically accuses the entire class of being cheaters. I confronted him for this. He always says insensitive and yes, racist remarks and then puts students on the spot light (he did this a lot to black and Asian students).

Overall, my worst class taken at UCLA on so many different levels, and if anyone likes him, it's because he is an easy grader.

Phil is a great professor who is GREAT at the thing that interest him the most - teaching. It's unfortunate that he will be leaving UCLA after March, but I look forward on seeing him during my commencement.

Oh, to respond to everyone's comment about the e-mails he sent after each midterm or final about cheating, those E-mails are not mere threats. He only sends them out when he knows that someone, in fact, cheated. I never cheated in any of his class, but just take my word for it that he isn't playing any games with you guys.

Phil...how can one man be so awesome? And criminally underpaid? It's a real shame he's leaving to teach at College of the Canyons after next quarter.

He's teaching the class one more time, so here's how to get an A:

1. Go to every lecture. Download the lecture notes beforehand and type every word he says. When he turns the microphone off (he'll explain what this means), write down what he says and then highlight/circle/star/caps lock what you just wrote in your notes.

2. The reading quizzes are free points. Skim the readings to complete the reading questions to the best of your ability; don't waste time if you can't find an answer to one or two. Go to office hours or stay after lecture for the correct answers so you can do the quizzes. Do not waste your time trying to absorb the material; you won't be tested on it.

3. Exams involve regurgitating everything that Phil says in lectures. The more detailed your notes were, the better you'll perform. Do not even touch the textbooks. Always use the definition + explanation + example format he tells you to use, even if the question doesn't necessarily ask for it.

4. Don't cheat. Don't even appear as if you might cheat. Was that so hard?