Approach
Learn the tools.
Know when to replace them.
Across lectures, simulations, primary sources, and hands-on data work, students learn not only how to use current research tools—including AI—but how to judge when those tools fit, where they fail, and what to learn next.
-
01
Start from the world
Begin with a peace agreement, crisis, institution, or dataset, then use theory to explain what happened.
-
02
Test what you are told
Build the habit of asking what evidence would support a claim—and what evidence would change your mind.
-
03
Turn readers into researchers
Move from understanding existing work to posing an ambitious question and designing a study that can answer it.
UCLA Political Science
Courses
Undergraduate and graduate courses in international relations, political violence, and applied research.
World Politics
A broad introduction to conflict and cooperation in the international system. Students connect theory to historical and contemporary cases and learn how political scientists evaluate evidence.
Global Politics in Data
A hands-on course built around real datasets and practical questions. Students use accessible tools, including language models, while learning to frame questions, choose methods, and interpret results responsibly.
Violent Non-state Actors in World Politics
Examines how armed groups recruit, organize, govern, and fight—and how researchers measure the causes, dynamics, and consequences of militant violence.
Studies on Terrorism
Engages current research on the origins, strategies, ideologies, and organizational structures of terrorist groups, as well as the promises and limits of counterterrorism.
Mentoring
From a big question to a workable study
I ask students first to articulate the question that genuinely motivates them. We then work backward toward a project they can execute now—grounded in substantive knowledge, an appropriate design, and a willingness to revise.
Peer feedback and regular deliverables help turn early ideas into research that can travel beyond the classroom.