The course can occasionally be dry but it the generalities you can pick up from doing the readings are lasting and informative. It is difficult to all of the dense, lengthy, and many readings. However, giving each a shot will give you an understanding of the subject matter and will leave you with a landmark to return to if you want to learn more

FYI, this is for POLI SCI 529 - Arab-Israeli conflict. Professor Kydd has jokingly performed the Nazi salute, chuckled at terrorist actions, and made fun of dire circumstances. I know he doesn't have any ill intent toward anyone, and I want to make clear that he is in no way a bad person. He just isn't my type of person.

Super dense readings and sometimes required 5+ readings to be done for a day. Little information was given about the final, even up till finals week, and the paper had little direction but ask questions if needed. Noted this class is 50% graduate work, do the readings, study for the final, and attend lectures!! Easy A if you really put in the work.

Kydd obviously is very knowledgeable about this content. Some people found it hard to pay attention because he is a bit dry but the content is interesting. Do the readings and take notes on what he says during lectures. You can copy down the slides later. STUDY FOR THE FINAL. If confused about the outline for the paper, get clarification with TA.

His lectures tend to be pretty dry, I'm sure the content matter doesn't help. He makes it funny occasionally but it got hard to pay attention at times. Weekly quizzes, a 4000 word research paper, and a long final exam. Definitely more work than a typical 300-level course and instructions on the paper are not very clear/helpful.

This guy understands terrorism well because he is a terrorist. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

Professor Kydd is clearly a knowledgeable professor regarding the subject material, however, there are several critical issues that hamper his ability to be an effective teacher of this material. His syllabus as well as the paper guidebook are poorly written to the point of confusion and his lectures are some of the worst I've had as a senior.

Great professor. Doesn't usually teach this course. Fairly standard. Lectures are interesting with occasional but amusing parentheticals. Quizzes were simple. No homework. Exams reminded me of AP exams but much easier. For some reason other students found this course difficult. It's not. Just do readings; show up and pay attention to lectures.

I enjoyed the class even though there were an awful lot of readings. Some weeks there were over 200 pages assigned. Even so, the course was structured very well and lectures were interesting and engaging. Professor Kydd knows his stuff and knows how to make it relatable to students. If you put the work in you will get a good grade and learn a lot.

Really enjoyed his class, you can tell he is super passionate about the material and teaches it in a way that's relatable to students. Also posts his lectures in case you miss class which is extremely helpful. I love Professor Kydd's classes and hope to take another one of his courses in the future!

You get a problem set every week and they are graded basically like a test. The class is incredibly difficult. Final exam is worth 40% of your grade and he refused to give out a practice exam or anything. All he said was go over his lecture slides, of which there are hundreds.

This class literally could not have been worse. The lectures were so dry it was impossible to pay attention. The homework wasn't bad but were literally irrelevant to the final. The final was worth 40% and the only direction we were given was "study the slides" of which there are over 400. No practice problems and not based on homework. Awful.

class graded mostly on final exam very stressful

Andrew Kydd is a lot of things but a strong professor is not one of them. His research is his main focus and all of his duties as an actual professor fall to the wayside. For 347 you won't know 85% of your grade until final grades are put in. His tests are based on extremely minute details from the readings and lectures and the averages are a 50%.

Had him for PS347 (Terrorism) and for Conflict Resolution. Both classes were crazy heavy on reading, and you are graded solely on your Final Paper and Final Exam in both classes. Do yourself a favor, and work on the paper early, so you can focus on the exam. Lectures are dry, and not mandatory as the slides are posted. Have a good TA

Kydd is an awesome really intelligent professor who the UW is lucky to have. PS 347 (Terrorism) was really interesting and he puts a lot of work into the content and his lectures. There were a lot readings but nothing that wasn't unreasonable- and make sure to do them for the final and discussion. Only one research paper, no midterm, easy final.

horrible lectures puts you to sleep incredibly difficult to talk to outside of class acts like he's too smart to deal with undergrad students won't make exceptions for anything unless you get his supervisor involved

Gave really interesting lectures and is an expert in his field. Definitely take the time to go to his office hours he is brilliant!

Kydd has a dry sense of humor and even drier lectures but knows what he's talking about. All of his classes seem to be structured the same - big final, big paper, big participation. The finals mainly on readings, with some lecture material. The motto was "it's all fair game." Just do a steady stream of studying and you're fine.

This class is interesting. Lectures are not mandatory and lots of people did not go. Readings are crucial for the final exam. Also a 4000 word term paper but you have plenty of time to work on it and get help. Solid class.

Lectures are boring and are not even on the exam; the entire exam is based off of readings so if you don't like to read long articles than don't take this class.

I thought this class was super interesting and not very difficult to get a good grade in. I went to every lecture even though you really don't need to go to pass the class. The final was based completely on readings so do yourself a favor and actually make the flashcards they tell you to. The material is interesting tho so you should go to lecture

Professor Kydd seems like a fair professor in comparison to others at UW Madison. He knows the material well but sometimes seems to skim over large parts of important history. His lectures and the readings coincide nicely.

I took his Nuclear Weapons And World Politics class (Political Science 377) and really enjoyed it. If you enjoy history and politics you'll find his lectures super interesting. The class is heavy on the reading, but they all connect on similar theories. Class is graded on discussion participation (attendance) and a final paper and test. 10/10

Is Professor Kydd an amazing lecturer? No. But he clearly knows his material and does a good job giving you all the information. Lectures and reading basically mirror each other, and discussion further drives home the concepts. No midterms, one final, and one paper. Go to class and take notes and you'll be fine.

Professor Kydd is very knowledgable about the subject. He isn't very clear on what will be on the final though. I was anticipating the final to be completely about the readings (that's what he told us) and it was actually about the lecture slides. So study both or you might be sorry.

Very interesting class, definitely learned a lot. Discussion attendance is a major part of the grade, which helps balance out the lack of a midterm or homework. Pretty heavy readings. Final is short answer questions. One 15 page paper. Heavily based on readings.

Very pleasantly surprised. A far more interesting class than I thought it would be based on some of these reviews. Get an early start on the 15 page paper and you should be good to go.

Had Kydd for a Terrorism Seminar and a variety of other courses. He is much better in a small course where its a discussion as opposed to him lecturing. Really knowledgeable about the topics and found ways to engage the class from many different angles. I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar.

he was a horrible professor. class was so boring. he admitted his tests were unfair and students should remember specific sentences from the text book. the information is pretty easy to understand and very interesting, but he will kill all of you interest in international relations/studies immediately.

Andrew Kydd is one of my favorite professors. He may be monotone, but he has a dry sense of humor that can keep you entertained. He genuinely enjoys what he is teaching and it shows. Attendance is low in the class which might mean people don't like him but I still do. Essay tests, if you show up to class and know Poli Sci you should be fine.

definition of mediocrity

I liked this guy, but I was a minority. Yes, he drones a little bit in lectures, but he has a great sense of humor if you're paying enough attention to catch his jokes. Tests are hard, but if you do the readings and take good notes in lecture, chances are you'll be fine. Some amount of critical thinking is required to answer some questions.

SO BORING. I gave up on the lectures about 3 weeks into the semester. Posts all the slides online. Multiple Choice exams that can be tricky and difficult. I did much better on them than people that actually went to class. Books are useless. Final 15 page paper. I do not recommend it unless you enjoy monotone voices.

everyone thought he was boring but I liked him a lot! the tests were challenging and were discouraging to some but i thought the level of difficulty was what college should be (i don't know why people think getting As, or Bs as a matter of fact should be easy). he was interesting, thought provoking, and by far one of the best profs i have had!:)

Nice guy, interesting lectures. Lots of readings that can be mildly interesting. However, his tests are IMPOSSIBLE. I am a straight "A" poli sci student and failed one of his tests. I would avoid taking his class because of the tests. The tests were so ridiculously hard, the TAs APOLOGIZED to us for the tests being so hard!

Kydd is a solid teacher who honestly knows/loves his subject. For the most part, his lectures were interesting, which is difficult with a power lecture. The textbook is interesting and easy to read. His exams, however, are absurdly difficult. The TAs even apologized for his exam and the average of midterm 1 was around 64%...

this guy gives the most ridiculous tests. they are very unfair. i studied extremely hard for the tests and still did poorly. he's also pro-palestinian and doesn't hide his views while teaching

I loved IR with Prof. Kydd! Interesting, though-provoking lectures. Decent, relevant, & necessary textbook. Very knowledgeable guy (especially about game theory and the cold war) also funny and approachable. My favorite class so far at UW.

so booorrriiinngg...and the tests were difficult. Don't take 103 with him, you'll probably get a better grade with a different professor

A well spoken, clear and thought-provoking prof. Accessibility not a problem, though I never actually saw him outside of class. Tough tests, though.