Absolutely exceptional. The material is extremely interesting, and Riley is a wonderful professor. He genuinely cares about the students, and it shows. A really incredible class.

Really enjoyed this class. The mid-term and final can be tricky if you don't take detailed notes and understand the readings well. Make a flash card for each author and try to condense the reading down to one card. Also be concise on exams- no excess "fluff" material/knowledge. Neustadt and Rossiter's theories about the presidency were very interesting. My favorite politics class at UVA so far.

Fantastic stuff...super easy if you pay attention and also very interesting. He's had private conversations with most of the recent presidents including Dubya, who he had dinner with once.

Great class. Riley is really passionate about the subject. Favorite politics class at UVA.

Riley was a charming prof. He knew some of the material was dry but did well with it. He was very approachable and helpful. never doubted i'd do well. the readings were interesting for the most part. Definately a chill class that is hard to not get an A or B in with Riley at the helm

Riley was a pretty engaging professor, extremely knowledgeable with a good passion for the subject. Due to the awkward number of people in the class (around 35-40) as well as the classroom setup, there was a lot less discussion and debate than I thought there would be -- leading to some pretty dry lectures. But overall it was a worthwhile class. Only two grades though, so make sure to take really detailed class notes and study the important readings well.