Edwin Ambrosio
Department of Computer Science
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3.8
Overall Rating
Based on 16 Users
Easiness 2.3 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 3.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 2.1 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.1 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
  • Often Funny
  • Gives Extra Credit
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
21.7%
18.1%
14.5%
10.8%
7.2%
3.6%
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.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
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Reviews (12)

2 of 2
2 of 2
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Quarter: Summer 2020
Grade: B
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Aug. 23, 2020

I took this class with Professor Ambrosio during a quarter with COVID 19, so lecture was all online. That being said, I don't really think that CS classes are all that different online or not.

Anyways, on to the review

Professor:
I really enjoyed CS32 with Professor Ambrosio. He's very nice and funny and the two hour lectures didn't feel as long with him. He always makes corny jokes and has random asides to help with the monotony of the class. I always found myself actively listening to his lectures even in an online format where it can be a bit difficult to pay attention.

Lectures:
The lectures are going to be typical CS32 content. This class will cover Dynamic Arrays, Linked Lists, Recursion, STL, etc. Basically a typical course of CS32.
Professor Ambrosio uses Professor Nachenberg's slides to teach so you could honestly just look at those in place of lecture. But Professor Ambrosio knows the slides himself inside and out and is able to explain every part of it with ease. It definitely does NOT feel like Professor Ambrosio simply reads off the slides, he goes over every detail and is thorough with his explanations.

Projects and HW:
Each Project was definitely pretty intense, each one taking 8+ hours on it. If you're taking another class during Summer Session like I did, it's going to be a bit rough, but definitely not as rough as a full courseload during a regular quarter.
That being said, I highly suggest keeping CS32 as either your only class or one of two during Summer Quarter. This is because the finals week for a regular 6 week summer class ends up as the same week as Project 3, and the next week after that you'll have the CS32 midterm 2. At least that's what happened for me.
Projects and HW, it is what it is honestly, depending on how good you are at coding and your time management will determine your success on the Projects and Homework.
Project 4 was especially notable, as we received a 50 page spec and had to make a game using the given skeleton. I think this project is actually impossible to complete unless you really know what you're doing and/or you spend hours and days on it. I spent a ton of time on it, and I don't even think I got that far.
A great thing about Professor Ambrosio is that he has a relatively lenient Project and HW acceptance. If you include something you shouldn't have, say you leave a typedef as an int instead of string, most and I mean MOST other CS professors will just give you a 0, but Professor Ambrosio will rename the code for you with a 20% penalty. This is actually extremely nice of the Professor.
One issue I did have with the Projects and HW were that some specs were noticeably ambiguous and/or wrong, which resulted in some minor alterations to code or descriptions after they're assigned. But honestly not that big a deal, Professor Ambrosio notices them quickly and changes them quickly.

Exams:
The exams in this class I found to be a bit on the hard side. They were pretty long and I found myself working until the very last second for many of them. The midterms and finals were not cumulative, so its easier to study for each.

Extra Credit:
The Professor offered two extra credit opportunities. Points wise, it should account for a ~1% boost to your overall grade.

Grades:
The class was curved, with a C- being a 64%

Overall:
I really enjoyed Professor Ambrosio's CS32. The 9 weeks really didn't feel all that different from a 10 week course and the Professor was engaging and fun to listen to. He also opened up a question forum where you can ask him anything, and I managed to get a lot of information about the industry and the tech field.
If you need to take the class during Summer, I feel that Professor Ambrosio is a terrific choice. He's funny, knows the material very well, lectures well, and is a truly nice guy.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Summer 2019
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Oct. 12, 2019

Each project required a lot of time, prepare to spend 12+ hour for each project. Project 4 was a killer (and also the fact that it is due in the same week as the final), I would venture to guess that most of the class didn't complete the project. So start early and complete as much as possible for project 4.
I would recommend looking over the slide for review since most of what he said is in the slide. The slide is detailed enough that you probably don't need to read the book. I would recommend review those for your exam. Also, you can only bring 1 two-sided cheat sheet to the exam.
You should really,really really go to his office hour as much as possible as he is extremely helpful during office hour and he is willing to go over any question you have and also giving you some hint if you happen to get stuck in your project/homework. I can't stress enough how going to his office hour is going to be helpful for you.
You should also go to the discussion section because sometime when he doesn't finished the required material, he will defer those to the discussion TAs (though he will still talk briefly about it in the next lecture).

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Summer 2020
Grade: B
Aug. 23, 2020

I took this class with Professor Ambrosio during a quarter with COVID 19, so lecture was all online. That being said, I don't really think that CS classes are all that different online or not.

Anyways, on to the review

Professor:
I really enjoyed CS32 with Professor Ambrosio. He's very nice and funny and the two hour lectures didn't feel as long with him. He always makes corny jokes and has random asides to help with the monotony of the class. I always found myself actively listening to his lectures even in an online format where it can be a bit difficult to pay attention.

Lectures:
The lectures are going to be typical CS32 content. This class will cover Dynamic Arrays, Linked Lists, Recursion, STL, etc. Basically a typical course of CS32.
Professor Ambrosio uses Professor Nachenberg's slides to teach so you could honestly just look at those in place of lecture. But Professor Ambrosio knows the slides himself inside and out and is able to explain every part of it with ease. It definitely does NOT feel like Professor Ambrosio simply reads off the slides, he goes over every detail and is thorough with his explanations.

Projects and HW:
Each Project was definitely pretty intense, each one taking 8+ hours on it. If you're taking another class during Summer Session like I did, it's going to be a bit rough, but definitely not as rough as a full courseload during a regular quarter.
That being said, I highly suggest keeping CS32 as either your only class or one of two during Summer Quarter. This is because the finals week for a regular 6 week summer class ends up as the same week as Project 3, and the next week after that you'll have the CS32 midterm 2. At least that's what happened for me.
Projects and HW, it is what it is honestly, depending on how good you are at coding and your time management will determine your success on the Projects and Homework.
Project 4 was especially notable, as we received a 50 page spec and had to make a game using the given skeleton. I think this project is actually impossible to complete unless you really know what you're doing and/or you spend hours and days on it. I spent a ton of time on it, and I don't even think I got that far.
A great thing about Professor Ambrosio is that he has a relatively lenient Project and HW acceptance. If you include something you shouldn't have, say you leave a typedef as an int instead of string, most and I mean MOST other CS professors will just give you a 0, but Professor Ambrosio will rename the code for you with a 20% penalty. This is actually extremely nice of the Professor.
One issue I did have with the Projects and HW were that some specs were noticeably ambiguous and/or wrong, which resulted in some minor alterations to code or descriptions after they're assigned. But honestly not that big a deal, Professor Ambrosio notices them quickly and changes them quickly.

Exams:
The exams in this class I found to be a bit on the hard side. They were pretty long and I found myself working until the very last second for many of them. The midterms and finals were not cumulative, so its easier to study for each.

Extra Credit:
The Professor offered two extra credit opportunities. Points wise, it should account for a ~1% boost to your overall grade.

Grades:
The class was curved, with a C- being a 64%

Overall:
I really enjoyed Professor Ambrosio's CS32. The 9 weeks really didn't feel all that different from a 10 week course and the Professor was engaging and fun to listen to. He also opened up a question forum where you can ask him anything, and I managed to get a lot of information about the industry and the tech field.
If you need to take the class during Summer, I feel that Professor Ambrosio is a terrific choice. He's funny, knows the material very well, lectures well, and is a truly nice guy.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Summer 2019
Grade: A
Oct. 12, 2019

Each project required a lot of time, prepare to spend 12+ hour for each project. Project 4 was a killer (and also the fact that it is due in the same week as the final), I would venture to guess that most of the class didn't complete the project. So start early and complete as much as possible for project 4.
I would recommend looking over the slide for review since most of what he said is in the slide. The slide is detailed enough that you probably don't need to read the book. I would recommend review those for your exam. Also, you can only bring 1 two-sided cheat sheet to the exam.
You should really,really really go to his office hour as much as possible as he is extremely helpful during office hour and he is willing to go over any question you have and also giving you some hint if you happen to get stuck in your project/homework. I can't stress enough how going to his office hour is going to be helpful for you.
You should also go to the discussion section because sometime when he doesn't finished the required material, he will defer those to the discussion TAs (though he will still talk briefly about it in the next lecture).

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 2
3.8
Overall Rating
Based on 16 Users
Easiness 2.3 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 3.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 2.1 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.1 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
    (12)
  • Often Funny
    (9)
  • Gives Extra Credit
    (10)
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