If you intend in any way to involve your career or studies with Europe or the EU itself, this course will be very useful. It is also challenging, both in terms of the design of the course and the content itself. The EU is an incredibly complex topic and it will confuse you. The course is also heavily dependent on writing. There is a final essay (~8-10 pages) as well as two take-home exams (essay-based, open-book) that will require numerous hours to complete.

This course is an in-depth introduction to the European Union. Its history, structure, theoretical understandings, contemporary issues, etc. If you do your part in learning, you'll come away with a solid foundation for further study of the EU. There is quite a lot of reading to do, but that is par for the course for most upper division social science classes. It's possible to skimp a little bit on the reading, but Dr. Baysal expects class participation, so chronically not reading can hurt you. Being able to pull information from your memory rather than the textbook also makes the take-home exams faster.

Dr. Baysal is a great professor. She is relatively new, I believe Fall 2019 was her first time teaching this class, so I'm confident she has improved as well. She is knowledgeable about the topic, personable, respondent to questions, and accommodating in cases of extenuating circumstances.

Do not take this class if you don't really want to. The target demographic for this class is people who want to learn about the EU and know about political science, international affairs, etc. If you don't fit into those categories, you will probably find it difficult to care about some of the course content, and the thousands of words you are required to write in the exams and final paper will 1) be difficult to come up with and 2) probably not be that fun for you. That all being said, this course is a must-take for anyone planning further study of the EU. If you want to learn, you can really get a lot out of it.