Professor Schopen is my favorite professor I've had thus far. He's engaging and it really shows that he does his part to make the class as good as possible. He keeps an open-ended view and gives a broad understanding of the topic. Homework is simple, to the point, and easy to score well on. Midterm and Final are identical- 3 essay questions in class. Essays are fairly straightforward and open book. Extremely glad I took this class- would absolutely look to take something with Schopen again.

You don't really learn much about Buddhism except the theoretical debates about HOW to learn Buddhism. But the professor is a funny and nice person.

I took Schopen for EALC60W. Prof. Schopen's style of teaching was refreshing although I felt a lot of the essay assignments were very difficult. He tells his TAs to be harsh on your first papers so don't go in expecting anything fantastic. Still, if you stick with the course you do learn a lot about Buddhism and your writing will improve. If you like philosophy/history this isn't a bad Humanities course to take.

Man...what a waste of time...we were writing about the study of the study of religions...too many degrees removed from reality.

I just sat in Professor Schopen's class "intro to Buddhism" and was very pleased with both the way he lectures and the insights he is trying to convey.
The Professor primarily does not primarily focus on delivering informations that one could easily obtain from the course-reader (doing the readings is a MUST anyway), but on building up critical thinking regarding "Buddhism" or any other field of academical research.

This guy really, really rambles in lecture. Most of the time it doesn't seem like he's taking you in any direction. Maybe this extemporaneous speaking style works for some classes, but not really for a religous studies class. He assigns a lot of reading and then really doesn't cover it very well.

He doesn't follow any discernable lecture format, is ill-prepared, and doesn't seem to care about students learning the material. What is more, he doesn't even pass out a syllabus, choosing rather to asign reading as he goes. Yes, he is one of the world's foremost experts on Buddhism, but that doesn't come through in his courses. He spends most of his lectures either talking about obscure details that he hasn't provided any background for, or bashing Abrahamic religions. If you're looking for a GE or a religious studies class, take something else.

wow, what an awesome class!!! i really enjoyed the way there was a symbolic and philosophical side to all of the concepts and practices introduced in the class. professor schopen is awesome, and made the class very entertaining. the grading was based on weekly summaries of the class material, just one page papers, really informal, and the final, which is an in-class essay that we got the topics for a week in advance to prepare. professor schopen seemed more concerned with whether or not we learned the material, enjoyed the class, and developed an interest in the subject than he was with making it seem challenging by giving us random exams like some professors do. he is a greast guy, has an awesome sense of humor, and i enjoyed the professor and the class. take it if you can.

i didn't really feel that my writing improved....it's like the class had two totally separate purposes and they didn't compliment each other at all.

I read Schopen's reviews today after finishing a class with him. I was astonished. He seems to get a really bad rap from the other raters here, but I loved "Intro to Buddhism". I took it both as a G.E. and because I was fascinated by Buddhism. From his dry sense of humor, to his brilliantly colored animal, flower, or holiday-themed ties, to his golden sunflower belt buckle, Schopen is a trip that everyone should go on while at UCLA. The man writes on the chalkboard in a shwooping-style-font that I've never seen before. He made up a font for chrissake! Talking to him outside of class is like doing drugs with your best friends, and you'll walk away feeling enlightened. Please take this class, even if you are jut sitting in on it. It'll be well worth your while.