Brent Corbin
Department of Physics
AD
3.8
Overall Rating
Based on 112 Users
Easiness 1.9 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.0 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 3.9 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Tough Tests
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
32.5%
27.1%
21.7%
16.3%
10.8%
5.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

45.3%
37.8%
30.2%
22.7%
15.1%
7.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

35.3%
29.4%
23.5%
17.6%
11.8%
5.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

41.0%
34.2%
27.3%
20.5%
13.7%
6.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

45.7%
38.0%
30.4%
22.8%
15.2%
7.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

48.8%
40.7%
32.5%
24.4%
16.3%
8.1%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

24.1%
20.1%
16.1%
12.1%
8.0%
4.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

28.0%
23.3%
18.7%
14.0%
9.3%
4.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

26.6%
22.2%
17.7%
13.3%
8.9%
4.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

34.9%
29.1%
23.3%
17.4%
11.6%
5.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

25.7%
21.4%
17.1%
12.8%
8.6%
4.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

23.1%
19.3%
15.4%
11.6%
7.7%
3.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

23.9%
19.9%
15.9%
12.0%
8.0%
4.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

22.3%
18.6%
14.9%
11.2%
7.4%
3.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

32.1%
26.8%
21.4%
16.1%
10.7%
5.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

26.5%
22.1%
17.7%
13.3%
8.8%
4.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

26.1%
21.7%
17.4%
13.0%
8.7%
4.3%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

27.4%
22.9%
18.3%
13.7%
9.1%
4.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

30.6%
25.5%
20.4%
15.3%
10.2%
5.1%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (90)

6 of 9
6 of 9
Add your review...
Quarter: Summer 2019
Grade: A
Sept. 18, 2019

Absolutely loved this class. I never thought physics would be this interesting or engaging, but Corbin proved me wrong. It was difficult at times, which was to be expected, but I learned so much. Would 100% recommend.

Helpful?

0 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Summer 2019
Grade: NR
Aug. 13, 2019

There’s never a boring day in Professor Corbin’s class. Despite my uneasiness coming into this course after so many of my peers advised me that he is the worst, I realize now it was not Professor Corbin with the issues. He is a compassionate man with a great sense of humor. Ask for the help you need and you shall receive. He has a way of explaining things in lecture that make the material easy to understand if you are keeping up with it at home that is, but that goes for any course.

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B+
June 23, 2019

Corbin's difficulty in exams are over-exaggerated. But they are harder than usual exams for sure. The exams are math heavy, and you want to memorize all trig identities and review multi-variable calculus. If your major is math-heavy, I'd say that taking Corbin isn't too bad. If not, (like CS), taking Corbin isn't worth your time unless you love calculus. Don't expect a generous curve though.

Corbin is an amazing lecturer. His lectures are articulate and engaging. Don't fall asleep in the lecture though, since you'll miss out quite a bit.

Corbin's "homeworks" are optional. I personally didn't do any myself and don't feel like I missed out too much. Work on the discussion problems instead, since TAs also write the exam. (the exam is similar to discussion problems). The textbook is really useless.

And physics 1B material is surprising... crammable! All the concepts are based off calculus, so it's not too bad for cramming. Corbin doesn't allow any formula sheets so you have to memorize some formulas though. Understand what the differentials mean and practice integration.

But about grading... you really gotta hope you do better than others in the class. Practice taking integrals. (if you hate math, you shouldn't take 1B with Corbin). People did well this quarter so it kinda sucked. (Somebody got a perfect score on the final according to Corbin).
Seems like that I'd have pulled some form of A if I took this a quarter earlier :(

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Summer 2018
Grade: A
June 23, 2019

Corbin is a really good professor and I gained a strong understanding of the subject. I took him in the summer so the class comprised of 5 or so quizzes and weekly hw. hw wasn't collected but doing it really helps do well on the quizzes. Quizzes were one question and were difficult but understanding the homework will help you do well. The final was pretty hard but as long as you are able to solidly answer a handful of the questions you have a good chance of doing well in the class. Only problem is that it really feels like he heavily favors the kids who always go to his office hours which normally doesn't matter but in a small summer setting gets a little annoying. Otherwise good professor and teaches well (which is all that really matters).

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: C+
June 23, 2019

Other reviews have highlighted Corbin's extensive knowledge of physics, both theoretical and in real-world applications; while this is certainly the case, it is also true that Corbin is an extremely bitter man, and this unfortunately makes its way into his interactions with students.

Corbin has an unfortunate tendency to interject irrelevant remarks into his lectures; whether these involve stereotypes, political commentary, or other non-class-related topics, these instances detract from the overall quality of the course, and leave something to be desired in terms of professorial engagement. He is extremely abrasive in person, and will refuse to accommodate students in any way, even going so far as to refuse to hand back midterms during office hours.

His grading scheme is fundamentally flawed, as it presupposes that (almost) every single student will fail the course without a massive curve. Students will routinely obtain grades of 40-50% (on average) on exams, resulting in a curve being necessary to avoid repercussions from the department.

I received a passing grade in this course, but would definitely not take it again with this professor. While he may be competent at teaching the material, his personality, overall teaching style, and level of engagement leave much to be desired, making the overall experience highly negative.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
June 6, 2019

I have mixed feelings about this professor. He definitely teaches, unlike a lot of the physics teachers here, and I learned an insane amount from him, but his tests are complete trash. An example of a question was (paraphrased): you hang a harp from a ceiling and make a string vibrate at fundamental frequency. You push a drum on a cart directly underneath it. Based on the frequency of the drum on the way to the harp and away from the harp, what is the tension in the string?
The takeaway here is that if you're in it to learn, this is the class to take. If you're in it for the GPA, do not take this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 5, 2019

I took Corbin's 1B and had him for 4 weeks in 1CH, and he teaches the Mathematica part in 105A/B series.
He definitely has his own explanations on some physics concepts, and that really helps when you are learning because you could think differently. Take his lectures and read the textbook, two different pathways will always be better than one.
He is a bit stubborn and always insists that he's right. I couldn't run his example code in Physics 105A on my computer, then I asked 4 of my classmates and they couldn't run it as well. But he insisted that there's something wrong about our computers. That's weird.
In his lectures, he is quite engaged and will talk lots of his personal experiences related to some physical phenomena. I could feel that he loves physics a lot.
Homeworks are neither collected nor graded. They will be assigned at the beginning of the quarter and are not so related to the tests. Doing them would definitely help you know the materials, though might not save you on the exams.
Midterms are hard and I have to say that actually there's no way to prepare for it. Just do as many as you can and try to know the basic concepts better.
Final is fair, we had some problems that are similar to the examples we've discussed on the lectures so I think people did good on it.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: C
April 28, 2019

I have literally never worked so hard for a class in my life with such shitty results. Corbin is a great teacher but be prepared to f*cking kill yourself if you want to get a decent grade in his class. Lectures are dope, but the tests make you want to die and completely destroy any faith you had in your abilities. Honestly, I don't even think it matters how much you study (I studied for the final for 2 weeks straight, 6 hours a day and still got a C), it's more about your natural capability to think the way corbin does. OH does help though. I love the guy but his class is ass.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
March 28, 2019

Please. Ignore everyone who says "if you want to learn physics then take Corbin". unless you really don't mind feeling extremely horrible about yourself and killing yourself to learn physics. Not gonna lie, I feel like I learned some stuff... but I don't think its worth the pain you go through. I failed all my other classes to get a B in this class uh not worth it. Totally could've done better this quarter if I didn't stress over this class, trying to study for test questions I couldn't even imagine. But I guess if you're a physics major, and you really don't care about your grade, like -- REALLY -- DON'T care about your grade -- then go for it my dude. If you know this is the class you're gonna prioritize, and you don't care about your grades in other classes either. do not recommend unless you've already learned this material, don't mind making physics your main focus, and don't mind never not studying.
pros- no homework
cons- nothing can prepare you for all of this

Helpful?

2 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
March 27, 2019

While Corbin is an engaging lecturer, he is a bitter man. If you are fine with a professor who clearly does not like it when you ask questions, speak to him, or look at him, then still don't take him because it's just not worth it.
Corbin makes his class hard so that many people go to his office hours(think 20 people in a small office) so he can inflate his own ego by artificially creating demand for himself.

Corbin will not give back exams in office hours, only before (8 am)lecture. And as someone who has experienced panic attacks, regular, quality sleep is an even more important element of my health. His inflexibility in returning graded materials is just one example of his lack of empathy towards his students.

Corbin is short tempered and easily disgusted by interactions that come with being a professor. He will appear irritated and disgusted if you approach him or ask a question. He is excellent at making others feel stupid.

Corbin utilizes a flawed testing philosophy. His tests are 3 hour tests given in 50 minutes, and many of his questions require memorization of random information given in lecture(like the velocity of sound in a wire, or the solution to a forced, damped oscillator, or the solutions to the differential equations describing RC circuits). His tests highly skew towards memorization.

Corbin does not prepare his students for his exams, which contain problems 100x harder than any homework problem, and deliberately so, since he endorses this ridiculous testing philosophy when he says "You need easier problems before you do the harder problems." But this isn't training wheels, its asking someone to do a trick on a skateboard after they just practiced riding a sled. He never gives any problems or materials that compare in difficulty to the exam, and neither do the TA's. You must go to the review session graciously provided by Tao Beta Pi before each midterm if you want some examples of hard problems(maybe 3-5 given), or find someone with a test bank(which he is not clear about his policy on test banks since he has no syllabus).

In short: Corbin is mean, clearly bittered by the annoyance of students over his many years of teaching. His teaching structure is designed to be sat through quietly while you grasp at straws, hoping to remember something for the ridiculous exams. He is just a waste. There is no reason to take this professor over any other, no matter what anyone says, your quality of life will be greatly improved if you take anyone else. It is a waste of human interaction on this earth to take this professor. And this is coming from someone who got a B in his class. It's just not worth it.

Helpful?

3 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Summer 2019
Grade: A
Sept. 18, 2019

Absolutely loved this class. I never thought physics would be this interesting or engaging, but Corbin proved me wrong. It was difficult at times, which was to be expected, but I learned so much. Would 100% recommend.

Helpful?

0 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Summer 2019
Grade: NR
Aug. 13, 2019

There’s never a boring day in Professor Corbin’s class. Despite my uneasiness coming into this course after so many of my peers advised me that he is the worst, I realize now it was not Professor Corbin with the issues. He is a compassionate man with a great sense of humor. Ask for the help you need and you shall receive. He has a way of explaining things in lecture that make the material easy to understand if you are keeping up with it at home that is, but that goes for any course.

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B+
June 23, 2019

Corbin's difficulty in exams are over-exaggerated. But they are harder than usual exams for sure. The exams are math heavy, and you want to memorize all trig identities and review multi-variable calculus. If your major is math-heavy, I'd say that taking Corbin isn't too bad. If not, (like CS), taking Corbin isn't worth your time unless you love calculus. Don't expect a generous curve though.

Corbin is an amazing lecturer. His lectures are articulate and engaging. Don't fall asleep in the lecture though, since you'll miss out quite a bit.

Corbin's "homeworks" are optional. I personally didn't do any myself and don't feel like I missed out too much. Work on the discussion problems instead, since TAs also write the exam. (the exam is similar to discussion problems). The textbook is really useless.

And physics 1B material is surprising... crammable! All the concepts are based off calculus, so it's not too bad for cramming. Corbin doesn't allow any formula sheets so you have to memorize some formulas though. Understand what the differentials mean and practice integration.

But about grading... you really gotta hope you do better than others in the class. Practice taking integrals. (if you hate math, you shouldn't take 1B with Corbin). People did well this quarter so it kinda sucked. (Somebody got a perfect score on the final according to Corbin).
Seems like that I'd have pulled some form of A if I took this a quarter earlier :(

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Summer 2018
Grade: A
June 23, 2019

Corbin is a really good professor and I gained a strong understanding of the subject. I took him in the summer so the class comprised of 5 or so quizzes and weekly hw. hw wasn't collected but doing it really helps do well on the quizzes. Quizzes were one question and were difficult but understanding the homework will help you do well. The final was pretty hard but as long as you are able to solidly answer a handful of the questions you have a good chance of doing well in the class. Only problem is that it really feels like he heavily favors the kids who always go to his office hours which normally doesn't matter but in a small summer setting gets a little annoying. Otherwise good professor and teaches well (which is all that really matters).

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: C+
June 23, 2019

Other reviews have highlighted Corbin's extensive knowledge of physics, both theoretical and in real-world applications; while this is certainly the case, it is also true that Corbin is an extremely bitter man, and this unfortunately makes its way into his interactions with students.

Corbin has an unfortunate tendency to interject irrelevant remarks into his lectures; whether these involve stereotypes, political commentary, or other non-class-related topics, these instances detract from the overall quality of the course, and leave something to be desired in terms of professorial engagement. He is extremely abrasive in person, and will refuse to accommodate students in any way, even going so far as to refuse to hand back midterms during office hours.

His grading scheme is fundamentally flawed, as it presupposes that (almost) every single student will fail the course without a massive curve. Students will routinely obtain grades of 40-50% (on average) on exams, resulting in a curve being necessary to avoid repercussions from the department.

I received a passing grade in this course, but would definitely not take it again with this professor. While he may be competent at teaching the material, his personality, overall teaching style, and level of engagement leave much to be desired, making the overall experience highly negative.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
June 6, 2019

I have mixed feelings about this professor. He definitely teaches, unlike a lot of the physics teachers here, and I learned an insane amount from him, but his tests are complete trash. An example of a question was (paraphrased): you hang a harp from a ceiling and make a string vibrate at fundamental frequency. You push a drum on a cart directly underneath it. Based on the frequency of the drum on the way to the harp and away from the harp, what is the tension in the string?
The takeaway here is that if you're in it to learn, this is the class to take. If you're in it for the GPA, do not take this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A
June 5, 2019

I took Corbin's 1B and had him for 4 weeks in 1CH, and he teaches the Mathematica part in 105A/B series.
He definitely has his own explanations on some physics concepts, and that really helps when you are learning because you could think differently. Take his lectures and read the textbook, two different pathways will always be better than one.
He is a bit stubborn and always insists that he's right. I couldn't run his example code in Physics 105A on my computer, then I asked 4 of my classmates and they couldn't run it as well. But he insisted that there's something wrong about our computers. That's weird.
In his lectures, he is quite engaged and will talk lots of his personal experiences related to some physical phenomena. I could feel that he loves physics a lot.
Homeworks are neither collected nor graded. They will be assigned at the beginning of the quarter and are not so related to the tests. Doing them would definitely help you know the materials, though might not save you on the exams.
Midterms are hard and I have to say that actually there's no way to prepare for it. Just do as many as you can and try to know the basic concepts better.
Final is fair, we had some problems that are similar to the examples we've discussed on the lectures so I think people did good on it.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: C
April 28, 2019

I have literally never worked so hard for a class in my life with such shitty results. Corbin is a great teacher but be prepared to f*cking kill yourself if you want to get a decent grade in his class. Lectures are dope, but the tests make you want to die and completely destroy any faith you had in your abilities. Honestly, I don't even think it matters how much you study (I studied for the final for 2 weeks straight, 6 hours a day and still got a C), it's more about your natural capability to think the way corbin does. OH does help though. I love the guy but his class is ass.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
March 28, 2019

Please. Ignore everyone who says "if you want to learn physics then take Corbin". unless you really don't mind feeling extremely horrible about yourself and killing yourself to learn physics. Not gonna lie, I feel like I learned some stuff... but I don't think its worth the pain you go through. I failed all my other classes to get a B in this class uh not worth it. Totally could've done better this quarter if I didn't stress over this class, trying to study for test questions I couldn't even imagine. But I guess if you're a physics major, and you really don't care about your grade, like -- REALLY -- DON'T care about your grade -- then go for it my dude. If you know this is the class you're gonna prioritize, and you don't care about your grades in other classes either. do not recommend unless you've already learned this material, don't mind making physics your main focus, and don't mind never not studying.
pros- no homework
cons- nothing can prepare you for all of this

Helpful?

2 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
March 27, 2019

While Corbin is an engaging lecturer, he is a bitter man. If you are fine with a professor who clearly does not like it when you ask questions, speak to him, or look at him, then still don't take him because it's just not worth it.
Corbin makes his class hard so that many people go to his office hours(think 20 people in a small office) so he can inflate his own ego by artificially creating demand for himself.

Corbin will not give back exams in office hours, only before (8 am)lecture. And as someone who has experienced panic attacks, regular, quality sleep is an even more important element of my health. His inflexibility in returning graded materials is just one example of his lack of empathy towards his students.

Corbin is short tempered and easily disgusted by interactions that come with being a professor. He will appear irritated and disgusted if you approach him or ask a question. He is excellent at making others feel stupid.

Corbin utilizes a flawed testing philosophy. His tests are 3 hour tests given in 50 minutes, and many of his questions require memorization of random information given in lecture(like the velocity of sound in a wire, or the solution to a forced, damped oscillator, or the solutions to the differential equations describing RC circuits). His tests highly skew towards memorization.

Corbin does not prepare his students for his exams, which contain problems 100x harder than any homework problem, and deliberately so, since he endorses this ridiculous testing philosophy when he says "You need easier problems before you do the harder problems." But this isn't training wheels, its asking someone to do a trick on a skateboard after they just practiced riding a sled. He never gives any problems or materials that compare in difficulty to the exam, and neither do the TA's. You must go to the review session graciously provided by Tao Beta Pi before each midterm if you want some examples of hard problems(maybe 3-5 given), or find someone with a test bank(which he is not clear about his policy on test banks since he has no syllabus).

In short: Corbin is mean, clearly bittered by the annoyance of students over his many years of teaching. His teaching structure is designed to be sat through quietly while you grasp at straws, hoping to remember something for the ridiculous exams. He is just a waste. There is no reason to take this professor over any other, no matter what anyone says, your quality of life will be greatly improved if you take anyone else. It is a waste of human interaction on this earth to take this professor. And this is coming from someone who got a B in his class. It's just not worth it.

Helpful?

3 2 Please log in to provide feedback.
6 of 9
3.8
Overall Rating
Based on 112 Users
Easiness 1.9 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.0 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 3.9 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Tough Tests
    (46)
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