Teaching

I teach undergraduate and graduate courses on international relations, political economy, and the politics of immigration. Beyond the classroom, I have the privilege of mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in independent and collaborative research.  Please see below for a list of courses I have taught at Texas A&M, as well as at Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Richmond.

Texas A&M

• Principles of International Affairs (U) [Syllabus]

• International Politics in Theory and Practice (G) [Syllabus]

• Politics of Immigration (G) [Syllabus]

• International Affairs Capstone Seminar (G) [Syllabus]

Carnegie Mellon

• International Relations Graduate Seminar (G)

• Political Economy of International Migration (U)

University of Virginia

• Introduction to International Relations (U)

• Introduction to International Political Economy (U) [Syllabus]

University of Richmond

• Introduction to International Relations (U)

(U) Undergraduate (G) Graduate

What students have said about my teaching

• "Prof. Helms has a very organized and interactive teaching style, gives a lot of meaningful feedback, is very approachable and deeply interested in his students - it is definitely a great course, and I learned a lot." (Politics of Immigration, Spring 2026)

• "This is one of the rare courses for which I did >90% of class preparation. The motivation for that is Professor Ben Helms's ability at keeping the class engaging and having stimulating conversations. This is by far the most (productively) talkative class I have ever been in." (Politics of Immigration, Spring 2026)

• "Knew how to direct the class and provided amazing feedback for all assignments that not only applied to my writing within the class, but also feedback I could apply to my writings in other courses. Would definitely recommend him!" (Politics of Immigration, Spring 2026)

• "Prof. Helms fostered an inclusive environment with the classroom atmosphere being both intellectually rigorous and open." (Principles of International Affairs, Spring 2026)

• "Professor Helms fostered such a great discussion environment and always made me feel comfortable enough to ask for help on understanding concepts. He is such a great professor and slowed down during office hours to help make sure I really understood the material." (Principles of International Affairs, Spring 2026)

• This course was an integral reason for why I've fallen in love with international affairs! I was extremely nervous to switch majors into International Affairs, but this course gave me the confidence and grew my love for both the major and all the topics we discussed throughout the year. I'm excited to apply what I've learned in real life." (Principles of International Affairs, Spring 2026)

• "Professor Helms made each class engaging and thought-provoking, and I genuinely appreciated how he broke down the final project into clear stages and provided feedback at every step to keep us on track...I truly enjoyed this course and learned a great deal - knowledge and skills that will undoubtedly support my future academic and professional endeavors." (International Politics in Theory and Practice, Fall 2025)

• "Dr. Helms was an incredibly helpful and effective professor for this required course, offering a diverse range of course content and integrating significant amounts of class discussion that contributed greatly to my understanding of course concepts and ideas." (International Politics in Theory and Practice, Fall 2025)

• "Dr. Helms was an engaging and friendly professor who made the course material easy to understand. I really appreciated the flow of the course and how it naturally built upon itself when new concepts were introduced." (International Politics in Theory and Practice, Fall 2025)

• "This class was often very engaging and required me to assess the reading rather than simply summarize it during class discussions. The paper assignments were also helpful in this way -- they required both critical thinking and concept application as well as problem solving." (International Politics in Theory and Practice, Fall 2025)

• “Dr. Helms contributed to our capstone paper and project in ways I have never witnessed in my five years of studying. Dr. Helms has the heart and passion to inspire and push others to a level that they had never imagined. I always questioned my ability to write at an academic level and my ability to contribute to such a big project. Dr. Helms provided me with all the resources to produce an outstanding qualitative interview protocol and even allowed me to take part in leading my own interviews...Dr. Helms was always on-call, ready to review my drafts or answer any questions." (Capstone Seminar, Spring 2025)

• “Dr. Helms was great at giving us direction and providing structure, but he also encouraged us to take responsibility for our own project/learning." (Capstone Seminar, Spring 2025)

• “This course has been excellent, especially organizationally, and of all the classes I've taken, it definitely feels like it has prepared me for my future courses the most." (Principles of International Affairs, Spring 2025)

• “I admire how easily he is able to break down complex concepts and make everything seem simple. He makes class content easy to understand." (Principles of International Affairs, Spring 2025)

• “This course was designed in a way to make learning exciting and effective. Professor Helms cares about his students and wants us all to do good in his class. He is very understanding and always willing to provide feedback." (Principles of International Affairs, Spring 2025)

• “Really great instructor. I liked how Prof. Helms guided the class and accommodated everybody when needed. Prompting class discussions to push us to think by ourselves was also very helpful." (Politics of Immigration, Fall 2024)

• “Dr. Helms was a great professor. The readings he picked were all very engaging and relevant to the content we were covering in class. He was always available and willing to meet with students to provide feedback and help on projects or just to chat about anything we found particularly interesting in class...Overall, I really enjoyed this course and Dr. Helms as a professor." (Politics of Immigration, Fall 2024)

• “He is honestly one of my favorite teachers at A&M. This is my favorite class that I've taken at A&M so far." (Principles of International Affairs, Fall 2024)

• “Prof. Helms was amazing! Super organized, teaches well, and is always open to help. Material was very good and informative, I learned a lot!" (Principles of International Affairs, Fall 2024)