I thought I would leave a review for this class in the view of the series of negative reviews that are being left on BruinWalk now.
From the start of the quarter, Professor Clark emphasized that the course would be intense and served as a preparatory math class for graduate school. With that in mind, the class met its goals. Lectures were math intensive, using formal notation and rigorously defining the math behind concepts that were covered in Econ 11 and 101. Topics included constrained utility maximization, decision under uncertainty, and game theory.
There were three problem sets, assigned in the latter part of the quarter and due every 2 weeks. These were each worth 20% of the grade and were very challenging. However, Professor Clark made himself extremely available to ask questions, offering several hours of office hours every Friday and impromptu ones after almost every class.
The final was worth 40% of the grade and was significantly easier than the problem sets. Overall, this was a very difficult class, and you should really only take it if you are comfortable spending 10-15 hours on each problem set and have an interest in math, but if that is the case, it was a very good one. Professor Clark made a strong effort to work with his students while not compromising the goals of the class, which was commendable.

First off, I just want to point out that this class is significantly more difficult than your average econ electives, and requires a lot of math. Professor came 15 minutes late to every class and talked at 3 times speed, and wouldn't record any of his lectures, which was not helpful. To be fair, he did hold additional office hours (around 3-4 times a week to help with problem sets and other questions).

For people who is thinking of econ grad school and math econ majors, I would strongly recommend this class. Economics boils down to math, and I strongly believe that there is no other econ class at UCLA that offers this perspective.

The grading is as follows: 60% problem sets (around 85% mean), 40% final (no midterm); curves a lot

I definitely feel like improvements can be made to this class from the teaching perspective, but personally, I enjoyed this class (even though it was very difficult), because it did feel like I learned a lot compared to my other econ classes.

This what going to school is for. Great class to take if you are an economics major who feels like they are wasting their brain power doing easy things. People won't like this guy because he teaches in a mature way and treats you like an adult.

People who say this guy is terrible have not spent any time thinking about how cleverly designed his homework problems are. Requires grind to pass but seems like you will get a good grade if you pass. Perfect class

Definitely does not hold your hand. Class gets curved nice as hell though and homework is worth 60% and you can work with other people.

This professor is the worst professor I have had. This is the first time leaving a review for a class and I do not understand how an individual could make a class so complicated and frustrating. During Office Hours, he would get mad at students who asked clarifying questions. In class, it was no different. The problem sets are extremely tough, and the answers are ever tougher to sort through. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. The comments left on problem sets are ambiguous, unclear, and unhelpful.

If you enjoy taking classes that provide 0 utility to the betterment of your career, take this class. Do with this what you will. I wish I was exaggerating, but strongly advise you to look elsewhere for a more useful class.

Worst professor I have ever had the displeasure of interacting with. Showed up to class 15 minutes late every day, gave incredibly uninspiring presentations in a low voice despite requests to speak up, and frequently became visibly irritated and crabby when students asked questions. The moment that truly encapsulated this professor's ineptitude and really summed up the nightmare that was this class came after the deadline for the first homework assignment when he went in front of the lecture and had the audacity to say that those who scored below the average should just drop the class (this was after the deadline to drop without a transcript notation). Bear in mind the first homework was only worth 20% of the overall course grade, but instead of taking the time to point out there were plenty of other opportunities to improve as a means of encouragement or using the moment as a way to remind people of office hours, the professor just pushed us to give up and made no effort to contribute to the success of the class. I've never in my three years had a professor so brazenly show a lack of interest in performing their job responsibilities. Horrific class — by far and away the worst of my academic career.

Celtics Shaq, 9/11, 2024 Klay, Lakers Russ, Nets Paul Pierce

chills bro chills

Worst professor ever. First review ever on bruinwalk. had to log on to say just please never give him a class again. He is the absolute worst I have taken in 4 years at UCLA.

Extremely unorganized and confusing lectures. Homework was unnecessarily algebra-heavy and added nearly 0 value to the actual concepts taught. Each problem set took well over 15+ hours and did not resemble what was gone over during his already poor lectures. The problem sets grading is also unclear as you get docked off points for things you were supposed to do but weren't explicitly asked to do in the problem. Would not recommend.

This is the first time in my four-year college experience that I feel compelled to leave a review, but I believe it’s important to share my honest thoughts about this class. PLEASE AVOID THIS CLASS AND THIS PROFESSOR because he is the most confusing, unclear, and unprofessional instructor I have encountered during my time here.

First of all, during lectures, he always speaks in a very low voice, faces the blackboard, and writes notes at an extremely fast pace, making it nearly impossible to follow along or understand the material. I often had to use my phone camera to zoom in and take pictures of the board just to keep up because he provides no alternative resources—he refuses to record lectures or use slides. The summary notes he provides are overly complicated and filled with jargon, making the material unnecessarily difficult to grasp. Additionally, the problem sets are far more challenging than what is covered in class, and they don’t align well with the lecture content. The average score on our first problem set was only around 79/100, which speaks volumes about how bad of a professor he is. Beyond the academic issues, the professor’s lack of professionalism was disappointing. He was frequently late to class—like late by 15 minutes???—and never apologized for that, which I found really unprofessional with all due respect.

This is the very last elective for my econ major requirement and I cannot tell you how much I regret taking this class because this class completely ruins my last quarter at UCLA, so I strongly advise avoiding this class/this professor unless you are extremely good at math/econ (especially math) and do not have to go to lectures to learn the material.