This class is pretty chill, and there were only 6 projects for us this quarter. However, Professor Huang is a pretty bad lecturer and honestly a lot of his lectures just consist of him showing us code and playing around with it but not really making any conclusions or points about what he is doing. However, the tests were generally fair and he does give pretty generous extra credit to add to both your midterm and final exam grades. I think I (hopefully) ended with an A with no real prior coding experience. The one main flaw of this class, however, is that it is quite unorganized, unclear, and project specs are quite confusing. Huang's TAs are also not too useful and are really slow with responding to emails, at least in my experience. If you want a nice, smooth introduction to C++ or Comp Sci in general I would advise against this class and try taking Stahl or Smallberg instead. They seem like much better lecturers.

Huang does not know how to teach. I don't think he has a clear outline of his material because they're just all over the place. He is inconsistent about projects and exams. Honestly think this class is a joke, especially with the extra credit quiz and final exam because he puts everything off until the last minute and doesn't care to clarify shit. The class itself is supposed to be easy but he makes it way too complicated than it should be. AVOID HIM AT ALL COST!

Oh guys, for god's sake, before getting my grade this class makes me feel super miserable. Reading 400 pages of a textbook right now, trying to prepare and praying to god.

Nice and easy prof.
Note: the jump from his CS31 class to CS32 is noticeable

Very lenient, chill guy. Extends due dates, made our exams online and open note/compiler, and gave generous extra credit. Projects and tests were manageable, but previous coding experience helps a TON. His lectures are confusing and he went on tangents, so you may not learn that much from him. Overall good class tho.

Bruce was such a fun professor and he's a really nice guy who cares. However, I didn't really learn that much from lectures and more drew from previous knowledge. He was super fair with grades and gave very generous extra credit. His CS31 class was generally on the easier side so IDK how well it prepares you for CS32 since I didn't take it (but I did hear people who had Bruce struggled more). Discussions aren't mandatory which was nice, but doing the optional worksheets on my own time definitely helped.

Huang is the best! He's an excellent professor with engaging lectures and lots of experience in the field (IBM executive). When I took this class, it was very very easy. There's a midterm, a final, and 7 projects. The projects are mostly very straightforward, except for the 3rd, which was much more complex than the others. He does have a bit of an accent, but he's easy to understand after a couple days.

I really like professor Huang. I think he takes a great approach to teaching an introductory computer science, coming from somebody with no experience. He is, however, very intelligent which makes it difficult to bring simple questions to class because he can't simplify them. The tests and projects are challenging, but if you have good time management skills you will be fine. This is not work that can be done a few days before the deadline.

*Note: this is in regards to CS 32, NOT CS 31
There was no option to rate this professor in terms of the CS 32 course.

Summer 2025 CS32 was an online, asynchronous course with 2 exams, 4 projects, and some checkpoints (homework graded by correctness).

Firstly, the lectures are long and agonizingly dull. The professor does not use his own powerpoint, rather choosing to borrow another professor's and just vaguely reiterate what's on the screen. Many students have opted just to read the slides without listening to the professor.

The lectures themselves are far, far longer than what it would be if they were in done in person or over zoom.

But what's really egregious are the projects. He iterates again and again to read all instructions carefully and that any small errors would take off points. And yet the SPECs (project requirements, expectations, and instructions) are extremely vague, to the point where each project leads to dozens and dozens of follow-up clarifications on Piazza. Fascinatingly, the prof expects us to read each and every one of the questions in Piazza and apply his arbitrary rules before turning the assignment in. He makes no announcement even when multiple people ask the question, and says it was our job to scour all of Piazza instead of actually doing HIS job and clarifying instructions in the specs or in an announcement in the first place.

There was a post on Piazza by students calling out other criticisms, including the "troubling lack of communication with students" (he never EVER responds to emails), "being graded incorrectly by the autograders on checkpoints, despite providing correct or near-identical answers", "fairness and consistency of grading", and not abiding by the syllabus and its deadlines.

IF your only goal with this class is to graduate or to get a grade boost, take it DURING summer, ASYNCHRONOUS, and only if you have some time on your hands.

If your goal includes actually learning the material, applying it later in life, or obtaining a good connection with the professor, don't take it with this guy.

*Disclaimer: this was most likely the first time this professor has taught this course. however it was online, asynchronous, and the material was made easier than CS 32 is supposed to be. also he has had many years of teaching experience, so I'm taking the liberty to be completely transparent, something he has trouble implementing in class.

TLDR: Horrible professor that does not care about your learning experience. Does not do any of the work REQUIRED as a professor and the whole class really hated him, for good reason. Waste of the 1.0 stars that this website forces me to give him.

I wish you luck.

I took this class after receiving a recommendation from one of my CS major friends. Although I was very intimidated by the fact that this class is taught in C++, Dr. Huang helped eliminate some of my worries. I agree with the fact that he is super kind and knowledgeable in CS as a whole, but what some users failed to mention is that he sometimes has poor communication. Dr. Huang certainly does his best to be accommodating to students, but depending on what else he has going on in his life, he will sometimes take weeks to respond to emails. Although he can take a while to respond, he has always resolved my issues and concerns regarding the course. All in all, I highly recommend Dr. Huang!