Malik Mufti - Tufts University, Medford, MA

Professor: Malik Mufti

Department: Political Science

College: Tufts University, Medford, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PS172
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Among the best professors I've ever had. Mufti's lectures are basically stories. Before you know it, class is over and you didn't take a single note because you were so engaged. I can rarely say that I'm excited to go to a class but I always looked forward to this one. Don't know why people complain about difficulty bc most ppl got B+ or above

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PS61
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Incredibly jolly, likeable guy, lectures often very entertaining. Much more hard-nosed and ruthless approach to IR (lots of emphasis on war, strategy, etc) than the more idealistic academic framings frequently used. Loves Thucydides so be prepared for surprises regarding that on exams. Its a big class but you have to try to participate.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

People hate intro to IR but I had a pretty good time. Tons of readings and tests are 100% based on readings, but he explains them fairly well in lecture. Overall smart guy and interesting lecturer.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I was scared going into this class because of the reviews on Rate My Professor, but I had such a good experience with Mufti. His lectures are clear and full of information, although he will sometimes get sidetracked by unimportant things. The readings can be challenging, but he does a really good job in relating them to the class material.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PS172
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I've taken two classes with Mufti so far --both higher level polisci classes-- and I think he's one of the most knowledgeable and insightful professors at Tufts, especially about the Middle East. Every class is a revelation, and although he's super into realpolitik he will still let you disagree with him and even concede sometimes.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I loved Mufti. He's smart, funny, and a great lecturer, if sometimes disorganized. He's willing to have dialogue with students even in 100+ person classes, which is amazing. His lectures can be somewhat disorganized sometimes, but always full of good information. Grading is mostly done by TA's, which is annoying, but overall a great class

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Mufti is a really great guy- he knows what he is talking about. Though some of his lectures feel longer than others, I found his lectures pretty captivating most of the time. He calls on people in the lecture as well, but sometimes a bit too much. Lots of reading, sometimes very off track in lecture, grading is reasonable. Overall good professor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Mufti's stage presence easily commands a room of 120 students. Though there's a lot of reading and only a few graded assignments, the engaging lectures make that worth it. Make sure you take notes during them, however, or you'll probably hurt for it. It also helps to raise your hand in class, go to recitations, and have a reading group.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Mufti sure is a knowledgeable and interesting person to have a conversation with. However, his lecture is long and quite arbitrary as he often gives too much unrelated information to the tests/essays that matter. Chances are, despite assiduous reading, you will still have no clue for how to perform well on midterm or final.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The first half of the semester is deep in theory. Mufti does a good job of pulling from the readings and clearing things up. Later in the semester, the readings and the lectures became totally unrelated. Studying for the final was scary, as we had to know readings never talked about in class. Unclear, a bit condescending, but smart guy.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PS61
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I graduated W a 3.88 at Tufts and this was the only class I got a B in. He gives everybody a B and is incredibly arbitrary with his grading. Did all the readings but really just know the ids and hope that you get very lucky. It is unfortunate that he evaluates so arbitrarily, I'm ok w a B as long as its merited

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MIDEASTPOLICY
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Great class, wealth of knowledge, not a fair grader. I received a C when I could easily have received an A. Did all of my readings, which were substantial, but got thrown off by his arbitrary grading practice. Take his class if you have a passion for the subject. Don't if all you care about is your GPA.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PS61
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mufti doesn't put relevant information in his lectures nor does he assign particularly relevant readings. He has no structure to his lectures and I often find myself unable to take accurate notes because he skips around/ doesn't complete thoughts. He isn't very accessible nor is he helpful when you do.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PS61
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are terrible. He adds a lot of unimportant information and doesn't help in understanding the material and readings. Half of our readings consisted of learning about WWI and WWII. The exams consist of 4 IDs and 2 essays that counts for 60% of your grade.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PS61
• 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:

He was a very helpful teacher when it came to explaining the material in class and bringing in the readings into the lecture. A pretty fair grader, you can tell that he wants his students to do well rather than fail. 100x better than Taliaferro.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PS134
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Interesting lectures but completely arbitrary grading. Tests consist of 50 IDs which means that students that don't do readings but can memorize 50 blurbs on a sheet do ok (Bs), and those that attempt to do all the readings (and inevitably run out of time) will not. Unnecessarily difficult course for material that is interesting/simple on its own.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PS172
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Great lecturer. Awful, awful testing. Midterm is 50% of grade and consists of 2 random IDs. Tests luck more than knowledge. Pass on this class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PS061
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Awesome lecturer. Quite funny too and encourages class participation which can be daunting. Recitation was mandatory and very useful. Exams are relatively hard.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PS178
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Awful.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PS61
• 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:

Professor Mufti is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. I came out of almost every single one of his lectures feeling inspired. If IR is your thing, then you HAVE to take the intro class with him. As for grades, most people land in the B range (very few Cs), and if you work hard, it's not at all impossible to get an A.