STATS 102C
Introduction to Monte Carlo Methods
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 100B. Introduction to Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms for scientific computing. Generation of random numbers from specific distribution. Rejection and importance sampling and its role in MCMC. Markov chain theory and convergence properties. Metropolois and Gibbs sampling algorithms. Extensions as simulated tempering. Theoretical understanding of methods and their implementation in concrete computational problems. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2018 - It is very interesting to learn the Monte Carlo methods with Professor Chen. Not only will he talk about the basic concepts, but he will also show us interesting practical cases and ask us to run the code so that we can truly understand them. His class is very clear, even if I have not learned R language and STATS 100B, I can still catch up with the class. And I did get a lot of help from office hours. He patiently answered my questions and wrote a note for me to help me understand better, even if the specified time for office hour was over. I feel that Professor Chen strives to make every student understand what he wants to teach and is very happy to solve problems for you. Since I do not know R language very well, it took me a long time to do my homework at first. But our classmates helped me a lot on Piazza. Sometimes professor will also answer students' questions. The difficulty of the course depends on the individual, but as long as you listen carefully and figure out the homework, you will get the results you deserve in the final exam. I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot from 102C.
Summer 2018 - It is very interesting to learn the Monte Carlo methods with Professor Chen. Not only will he talk about the basic concepts, but he will also show us interesting practical cases and ask us to run the code so that we can truly understand them. His class is very clear, even if I have not learned R language and STATS 100B, I can still catch up with the class. And I did get a lot of help from office hours. He patiently answered my questions and wrote a note for me to help me understand better, even if the specified time for office hour was over. I feel that Professor Chen strives to make every student understand what he wants to teach and is very happy to solve problems for you. Since I do not know R language very well, it took me a long time to do my homework at first. But our classmates helped me a lot on Piazza. Sometimes professor will also answer students' questions. The difficulty of the course depends on the individual, but as long as you listen carefully and figure out the homework, you will get the results you deserve in the final exam. I really enjoyed the class and learned a lot from 102C.
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - I love Mike omg he's one of my favorite professors in the stats dept. He really cares about his students and wants us to deeply understand the material that he's so passionate about (he literally said every method we learned in this class was his favorite lol). I also had him for Stats 20 in Fall 2019 (which is when the homework/tests changed although it was still a great class, most people just complained cause of grading and making you think critically in a different way imo). Mike's 102C is more on the theoretical side than Prof Miles Chen, but there is still programming in R for simulations and sampling. Def brush up on 100B as you'll need it. Mike is helpful in OH and on Campuswire, and we got 1% EC for Campuswire or attending discussions (grading scheme 40% HW 60% final). He gave us 48 hours on our take home final (no internet, only class notes) which was incredibly generous. His homework and exams are just extensions of his lecture slides. Lectures were prerecorded and during our "lecture time" it was basically OH. Would recommend taking a class with Mike if you can!
Summer 2020 - I love Mike omg he's one of my favorite professors in the stats dept. He really cares about his students and wants us to deeply understand the material that he's so passionate about (he literally said every method we learned in this class was his favorite lol). I also had him for Stats 20 in Fall 2019 (which is when the homework/tests changed although it was still a great class, most people just complained cause of grading and making you think critically in a different way imo). Mike's 102C is more on the theoretical side than Prof Miles Chen, but there is still programming in R for simulations and sampling. Def brush up on 100B as you'll need it. Mike is helpful in OH and on Campuswire, and we got 1% EC for Campuswire or attending discussions (grading scheme 40% HW 60% final). He gave us 48 hours on our take home final (no internet, only class notes) which was incredibly generous. His homework and exams are just extensions of his lecture slides. Lectures were prerecorded and during our "lecture time" it was basically OH. Would recommend taking a class with Mike if you can!
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2022 - Great class. Professor Ying Nian is one of my favorite professors in the Statistics department. His lectures are extremely clear and funny while his homework assignments (in R *and* Python!) were very helpful. Intuition was heavily emphasized, along with applications before the mathematical derivations. I would highly suggest any class with this professor!
Summer 2022 - Great class. Professor Ying Nian is one of my favorite professors in the Statistics department. His lectures are extremely clear and funny while his homework assignments (in R *and* Python!) were very helpful. Intuition was heavily emphasized, along with applications before the mathematical derivations. I would highly suggest any class with this professor!
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - This class is so much more of a headache than it is worth. Somehow I would go to lectures and be more confused about various topics than just going into a topic with zero info. Like a typical Wu class, grade breakdown was 7% quizzes based on completion, 45% Homeworks (6 total, one of which was during finals week), and 48% Final. We received zero feedback after the 2nd homework before taking the final. Basically, you have no idea what you do or don't know or where you stand in the class. The final exam was also quite difficult and half of it was nothing like the previous quiz or homework questions. I watched all of Prof Chen's 102c lectures on youtube before the final (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and finally understood the course. It's clear to me the difference in teaching between the two professors, so I would try to take this course under another professor (if possible).
Fall 2022 - This class is so much more of a headache than it is worth. Somehow I would go to lectures and be more confused about various topics than just going into a topic with zero info. Like a typical Wu class, grade breakdown was 7% quizzes based on completion, 45% Homeworks (6 total, one of which was during finals week), and 48% Final. We received zero feedback after the 2nd homework before taking the final. Basically, you have no idea what you do or don't know or where you stand in the class. The final exam was also quite difficult and half of it was nothing like the previous quiz or homework questions. I watched all of Prof Chen's 102c lectures on youtube before the final (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and finally understood the course. It's clear to me the difference in teaching between the two professors, so I would try to take this course under another professor (if possible).
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2018 - This professor actually is the worst LOL. This is my first bruinwalk review and I’ve never felt more motivated to write a bad review. I took this class because unfortunately Chen’s lecture was filled up. Zhou was unbearable. Homework was difficult and his notes were not understandable. His midterm and final were nothing like the material he taught in class. Apparently a girl in my lecture was crying during the final. Please please avoid this guy. If you look at Chen’s grade distribution, it’s like 60% A’s. That is NOT the case with Zhou who only gives the top 20% a variation of an A. If you want to apply to grad school, avoid this gpa killer. You’ll get your GPA lowered and it won’t even be worth it because you won’t learn anything. Seriously, avoid this professor. I’ve never learned less in an upper division stats class and this guy should have never been allowed to start teaching this class again.
Fall 2018 - This professor actually is the worst LOL. This is my first bruinwalk review and I’ve never felt more motivated to write a bad review. I took this class because unfortunately Chen’s lecture was filled up. Zhou was unbearable. Homework was difficult and his notes were not understandable. His midterm and final were nothing like the material he taught in class. Apparently a girl in my lecture was crying during the final. Please please avoid this guy. If you look at Chen’s grade distribution, it’s like 60% A’s. That is NOT the case with Zhou who only gives the top 20% a variation of an A. If you want to apply to grad school, avoid this gpa killer. You’ll get your GPA lowered and it won’t even be worth it because you won’t learn anything. Seriously, avoid this professor. I’ve never learned less in an upper division stats class and this guy should have never been allowed to start teaching this class again.
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