The course itself has good potential and the ability to do your own research was really beneficial for me in applying and preparing for grad school. If you're a self-starter and self-sufficient, you'll be fine, but your experience is largely dependent on who you can get to be your supervisor.

Andre Smith should not teach this class, ever. The actual class portion of this course was awful and utterly useless. Andre simply repeats the same things over and over again that aren't relevant, does not give useful information, is late to class, and cancels about 50% of seminars rather that do something useful. I cannot think of a single pro to taking this course with him; however, I think at the moment he's the only option.

Ask other students about their experience being supervised by the professors you're interested in working with if possible. Some are excellent teachers but leave something to be desired as a supervisor, and vice versa!