Professor Ross is one of the best professors at UCLA. We are blessed to have a professor at his calibre. Sadly, he's taking a sabbatical year next year. I took his Southeast Asian politics class, and I learned a wide range of issues about Southeast Asia. His lectures are extremely concise and clear. The readings are appropriate and interesting. Be warned that his tests are not easy. You will need to study hard for it to do well, but his grading is very generous and fair. If you are interested in comparative politics, I highly recommend you to take this class.

Prof. Ross is organized and approachable. Lectures are straightforward, but be warned, he uses up every second of the hour and 50 minutes of class. You have to keep up with readings, trying to cram them all in last minute is near impossible. Although I received an A, this was definitely one of my harder courses. The midterm study guide and final study guide had 2 pages worth of terms that we had to know, and he only tests on about 8 of them. The major portions of the exam are short answer so you have to be able to write a decent-sized paragraph for each term. This wouldn't be hard but for the sheer volume of terms he gives and information you learn from both lectures and the readings. Part of the final is also an essay. Overall tough class, but a good grade is very attainable.