The official course title was “POL SCI 139 - Special Studies in International Relations: Technology and International Relations”
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🧑‍💻 Notable mentions about the course:
▪️no textbooks required (assigned readings are via Canvas)
▪️Weekly discussion boards
▪️attendance NOT required (somewhat commuter friendly course)*
▪️*records audio only and posts slideshow/PowerPoint lectures separately
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NOTE: I don’t like to promise people that this class is an easy A, as I met people in “easy A” classes, but they did not do well because they either had too busy of a schedule or struggle in writing essays. With that said, I think that Pike classes are among the easier and more engaging classes to take at UCLA, which offers greater accommodation to students who work and/or takes 3+ classes and wish to go to law school.
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This is my first class taken with Dr. Pike and students are not wrong that he sits alongside one of the best political science professors at UCLA! I was a bit skeptical about the course at first because I personally enjoy American Politics courses or Race, Ethnicity, and Politics concentrated courses, but Professor Pike makes the lectures interesting and engaging. I like when he often inserts his bit of humor to lighten up the mood and make the lectures more fun. If you are a bit nervous coming up to professors to talk about grading, IR topics, research, and such, he is very approachable and kind.
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The readings may at times feel pretty Eurocentric (a common complaint about research within IR among political science students), but during lecture Professor Pike does make everything feel relevant and important…though everything is important. I personally felt that he broke down everything in an easy to understand manner (with the help of real life examples/scenarios), especially for students like myself who doesn’t place much focus in studying IR theory and feel nervous on taking IR classes.
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I am unsure whether if it were the circumstances of this quarter, but he allowed students to contest their grades, especially when the syllabus failed to reflect what student’s expected in to be marked down for. After multiple students bringing this issue to his attention, he agreed to regrade essays that were marked down for “not referencing enough readings” (which was the thing that the syllabus didn’t mention). I did not have this issue but I felt the TA marked me down too much for being a bit vague on my topic sentences (something Professor Pike didn’t do in the other midterm essay he graded) in my thesis in the essay they graded, so I contested it with professor Pike to have a second opinion and he was kind enough to look it over and regrade it. I can’t speak for his other classes, but I thought that he was awesome in offering students for their midterm to be graded on “unfair” criteria not mentioned in the syllabus or TA-Professor grading discrepancies.
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🗣️ Discussion Boards: I felt they were pretty easy and sometimes I wasn’t able to do the readings but if you attended lecture, you were able to answer them a bit easier. They are not strict in citing pages as long as you demonstrate you are engaging in the course material and ask thought provoking questions to students (required for replying to student’s posts), you will be fine.
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📖 Readings:
Readings are posted online via Canvas. There usually was about 4 readings a week, 2 for the first class of the week and 2 for the second class of the week. They were pretty straight forward and many readings are 30+ pages long, and can be done either before of after lecture, whichever works best for students.
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📝 Midterm/Final: both were take-home essays where you had to choose two essays among the few prompts given. The prompts are not provided ahead of time, nor is there a study guide provided. The essays expect students to cite the readings and not what is in class (although I personally felt the lectures were still helpful in attending since they summarize/guide students in what to focus on in the readings), therefore the it is important to not miss a single reading if you wish to walk away with an A in the class (unless you decide to cram and skim the readings during the exams) 📚👀.
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📈 About extra credit:
He did offer extra credit if 50% or more of the class did evaluations. I don’t know how much but it sure is more than what most political science professors offer. If he doesn’t offer this in his future classes, it wouldn’t hurt to ask about it.
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Important things to note ‼️🙇🏻
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📚 About getting an A+…
I believe his policy changed about grading from talking to my roommate who took this came exact class a few years ago, but now he awards A+ grade to the top 6 students in the class! 🫠 I believe this policy applies to all Pike’s 139 classes. If you are looking for a guaranteed A+, I would keep this in mind since TA grading and his own grading can influence your standing in this. A student in the GroupMe for this class mentioned how they previously took Pike and they were in the 99% range and still didn’t receive an A+. Because the class is easier, it is also makes it harder to get an A+. This quarter has been more hectic so I believe the top 6 students had at least a 97% or above.
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🌼 Spring 2024 disclaimer:
This quarter was pretty hectic and Professor Pike was among the few professors that did accommodate students when they were emotionally and academically impacted with the protests. He gave extensions and made the final optional (for those that wish to boost their grade if they got a mediocre grade from the midterm), so keep this in mind when reading reviews about him for Spring 2024 in the way he graded or weighed certain assignments since his original syllabus changed. Based off my experience and other student’s feedback from when they took Pike during COVID-19 and the TA union strikes, he is among the few professors that cares and understands that these things do impact students in a various ways and does make changes I felt were reasonable.

Pike is a super chill professor that wants you to do well. Audio in lectures is recorded and slides are always posted. Your grade is based on three "policy briefs," which are essentially mini reports, weekly discussion posts, and a final annotated bibliography. Readings aren't always necessary and expectations are always set clearly. You don't have to spend over 3 hours a week outside of lecture to get an A. I'd definitely recommend Pike and this class!

Pike's classes are easy to follow and his little jokes keep the class light-hearted and entertaining. I have taken multiple classes with Pike and he is for the people, he has no intention of hurting people's GPA and grades generously. Overall I would take any type of class that Pike was teaching, but this course was particularly interesting. He navigated talking about politically charged topics in an appropriate and respectful manner.