Mlada Bukovansky - Smith College, Northampton, MA

Professor: Mlada Bukovansky

Department: Political Science

College: Smith College, Northampton, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mlada is super smart and you will see that in her lectures. My main issue, however, was that it was mostly lecturing for more than hour each class at 9 am. She gave us two papers and a quiz throughout the semester; the second paper is long but is doable and her feedback from the first one will definitely help you construct a better essay!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

She is incredibly talented when it comes to IR and I love every class I have taken with her so far (two classes). It is challenging at times but she is not the kind of professor that wants to trick you into a bad grade. Grades fairly, interesting prompts, assigns heavy readings. Moreover, her special sense of humor keeps the lectures interesting.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Mlada is a wonderful lady, but not the best professor. She would focus a lot on lecturing straight from textbook content so it was a very redundant course. Don't really feel like I've learned anything from the course. Knowledgeable on international politics and pretty accessible outside of class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I did not learn anything in this class, it was just lectures about the readings

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GOV252
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Mlada is a very sweet woman, however, she's a bit disorganized and not that great of a professor. She's my adviser, but I wouldn't rush to take classes with her. She takes a while to return papers, and tends to get off topic in class discussions. While I enjoyed International Orgs with her, I can't help but feel like I didn't learn anything new.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Not the biggest fan of Mlada as a teacher, though she is kind, open and passionate about her subject. This class was taught solely out of the textbook. We would read for class, then go over what we read IN class. It was redundant. Otherwise, her paper assignments were interesting and helped me take away something from the class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I loved Mlada's gov 100 class, even though some other people didn't like it. I know ppl don't like the class cause it was fast paced and reading heavy, but that has more to do with the curriculum than the professor. Just take notes and if u dont know what to write ur essay on go to office hours, and rewrites! do exactly what she says on rewrites

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mlada's nice, but not the most interesting lecturer. (Fell asleep twice, wanted to many times...) Leads discussions fairly well. Readings are discussed in class to great extent, and they aren't excessive. Lenient grader. You don't have to attend /every/ class, just prepare for the midterm with her study guide- it covers everything.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I love Professor Bukovansky! Her lectures are interesting and not just a rehash of our readings, but build upon them. There's a significant amount of readings, but since everything is cumulative, you do need to finish the readings. A fair grader and allows you to rewrite if you think you can improve. Very helpful in office if you have questions!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I love Mlada; I'm not going to lie, I've fallen asleep in her class more than once, but I think that has more to do with awkward scheduling on my part then on her teaching. She posted her lectures on moodle, and I think she was nice, funny, and a fair grader.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Such an eloquent speaker. She basically knows everything about IR, esp since she focuses on IPE. Very approachable and a fair grader. The requirements for her class are straight forward. She is not out to confuse or trick you. Great professor

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Most boring class i've been to. Fall asleep each time. She's a really nice person though.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

probably the best lecturer I ever had at Smith. She is so smart and engaging! I would write down what she said word for word because there was no better way to put it. Not boring at all.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GOV252
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Int'l Orgs with Mlada Bukovansky is one of the best classes I've taken at Smith. We had great discussions, great readings, and the writing assignments were interesting. She is a very fair grader and it is really easy to become enthusiastic about the subject. Lectures aren't always the most exciting, but she is good with directing discussion.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

She's great!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I enjoyed the topic, and she it very nice but her lectures were often dull, and I found myself checking my email during class quite a bit as the semester went on, simply to keep myself awake. Also, she assigned both a final paper (6-8 pages) AND a final exam. Who does that?!?

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 251INTNLORG
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

For the most part, the readings she gave were very interesting, but her lectures were often dull. This might have been because of the content itself, and not her lecturing skills. Despite the copious amounts of caffiene i had to take to stay awake on Friday afternoons, i enjoyed the class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GOV241
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This class bored me to tears. She's not a very interesting lecturer, she can't handle class discussions, and she goes off on tangents a lot. She is really nice, though, and is very approachable.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GOV221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Ridiculously smart, and so damn endearing. If you have a sense of humor--self-deprecating in a way that is rare and refreshing, knows her stuff. Lovely. Great.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GOV221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: N/A
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mlada is a genius lady and knows what she's talking about. She's one of the "I want everyone to do well" professors but she won't let you get away with bad writing...she's tough, but very fair. Plus she's really funny.