As a Psych major pursuing a Computing Specialization, this was my first coding course. Hands-down, this was the most applicable course I've taken at UCLA so far. While it is definitely challenging, it is extremely rewarding because you learn so much; Professor Mike and the TAs are super supportive and understanding, as well. Prior to this course I already had some experience with using R for basic data organization, graphics, and statistics, but I still found the course soooo helpful and interesting because it really helped me begin to understand the deeper intuition behind everything in R. Homework-wise, some of the assignments were very long and difficult, but as long as you made an honest effort you would get 100% on them (they're completion-based). Exam-wise, the tests were challenging and relatively unpredictable (some had a harder MC while others had a harder free response section, sometimes questions involved super specific syntax stuff and weird edge cases), but he re-scaled them so that the averages were low Bs (and Professor Mike gave us super cute rubber ducks to give us emotional support during exams :). I would be lying if I said I was never frustrated in this class, but ultimately I found a love for it. The professor, TAs, and LAs are ALWAYS available to answer your questions on Campuswire, and there is an amazing emphasis on mental health over grades. If you re-frame this course as a learning experience rather than just another letter on your transcript, you'll probably have some fun and definitely come out of it feeling proud of yourself!

I would overall recommend this class because I feel like the way the class was structured was really beneficial for learning without worrying about grades and gpa. The homework was graded on completion(with clear effort) and homework was worth a large percentage of your overall grade. The homeworks were manageable and really did allow me to exercise all I learned in class. The professor is truly very kind and understanding, and this class never gave me stress because it felt like a safe learning space. :)

The content of this class is tough (easier if you already have coding experience). Homework and exams were difficult, however Mike places a huge emphasis on learning and not on worrying about grades. As a result, even with low exam scores and difficult homework, the class is curved very generously at the end. I would highly recommend taking this class with Mike as you can prioritize learning over grades, something a lot of classes nowadays lack.

This class gave me the worst anxiety and panic out of my four classes for the quarter. As someone who has never coded before, the learning curve is quite steep as Professor Tsiang shoves in a lot of content. Additionally, homework takes a long time and nearly drove me to tears several times. However, I would say Tsiang genuinely cares for the students in this class. Besides OH (which he offered both in-person and online), he was also chronically on Campuswire answering our questions and had his LAs arrange a study session before each exam. He won't give answers straight away but it's still helpful nonetheless.
At the end of the day, I would choose Professor Tsiang again as my introduction to R as I did learn a lot from this class, but I would caution upcoming students to take this during a less-busy quarter so they don't feel overwhelmed all the time.

My experience is during the covid period. I think the past reviews don't do this class justice. Mike is a great lecturer and everything is clear. I have a very bad coding background but I have taken coding classes before so my experience could have been a lot worse. This class is difficult but yes, you do learn a lot of information. There is a very nice curve at the end so just focus on learning and not on your grade.

Overall, Mike is a great teacher. His notes, lectures, slides were super helpful and really easy to understand. However I felt like it was really hard to ask questions in person and even on campuswire. He would respond really passive aggressively and make students feel discouraged a lot. Overall its a good class

Alright, well this review is going to be slightly different from the others.

I’ll start off by saying I struggle a lot with any programming, math, or stats related courses.

But I actually really really liked Michael and the head TA, Jake. Jake is hands down the smartest TA I have ever met at UCLA. He also dedicated so much time to the students in the class. In addition to his regular office hours, sometimes
he would hold 6-8 hour office hours or additional office hours 2-3 times a week. I never felt like a bother when I asked him a question and he really helped me to understand the material. The truth of the matter is that there are a lot more people posting negative reviews than there were that showed up to office hours. The beginning of the quarter had a large turn out, but towards the last few weeks there was hardly anyone there. Sometimes it was just me and one other person.

Here’s the truth: if you want to be good at programming you’re gonna have to struggle, at least at the beginning. Yes, I freaking died this quarter. I got stuck a lot. I struggled to keep up with assignments and I had to ask for help often. But I have never learned so much from a class at UCLA as this one. By the end of the quarter I really noticed a change in the way I approached problems and how I thought about them.

I know there are a lot of BS classes out there that are hard for no reason and we often find ourselves as students asking, “When the hell am I ever gonna use this?”. But this is NOT one of those classes. R is one of the most desired skills in the job market right now. This class has the potential to provide more internship opportunities, job opportunities, and higher salaries. That might sound dramatic, but proficiency in R and data analysis really is so high in demand for all industries right now. And the better you get at approaching difficult problems the better you will do in stats/ programming interviews. Classes like this one is what makes our tuition money worth it.

Also, this class isn’t a weader. It became more difficult because they wanted to better prepare students for upper division statistics courses and teach them more.

If you’re taking this class, don’t be afraid, especially of Jake. Go to office hours and don’t be intimidated by Michael or Jake after the first office hour session. Yes you’ll have to dedicate a lot of time to this class, but you will learn a lot. If I could finish this class, then anyone at UCLA can. I am really happy I took this class.

Tsiang is an excellent lecturer and his emphasis on learning makes the class worthwhile. If you are a stats major, this class is IMPORTANT. The amount of material that is covered to prepare you for the 101 and 102 series is insane. I wish I tried a bit harder to understand the concepts because honestly I got my ass kicked in 102A. So put in the time now! I went from scoring 30s and 70s on the homework (graded on completion) and then I got my shit together and started getting 100s. PUT IN THE TIME! Tsiang pays attention to your progress, so don't focus too much on your midterm/final/homework scores. As long as he sees you are trying to understand the concepts, you will be alright!

I know there are a lot of grading schemes/grading breakdowns for Tsiang but here's summer 2021:

20% Homework (HW 4 had an extra credit opportunity but had no idea if it was actually given)
30% Midterm
35% Final exam
10% Final project
3% Discussion Attendance
2% Campuswire Participation (Opportunity to get 1% extra credit through lots of contribution)

Later on the quarter, Tsiang canceled the Final Project and made the grading scheme
35% max(Midterm, Final Exam)
30% min(Midterm, Final Exam)

Grading Distributions for exams were
Midterm 1: Q1: 74.75, Median: 84.50, Q3: 92
Final: Q1: 67.50, Median: 78.33, Q3: 84.50

If you have coding experience, this class should be relatively easy (especially the first half). I would highly suggest taking at least PIC 10A before taking this course. Without any sort of coding experience, unless you are very on top of it, this class will leave you confused. I think Tsiang is honestly a great Professor. I didn't attend discussion nor lecture so I cannot comment on his teaching style, but he is very timely with his responses to questions, gives ample studying materials, and is looking out for the wellbeing of his students (I know that other reviews contradict that last statement - maybe he changed but at least in my eyes he was very good about this). His typed up notes are amazing and if every prof released something like that, we would have nice things. The TA seems nice and probably is good but someone else's review could better justify that. ALSO THERE IS A MASSIVE CURVE. I don't know the exact one but so long as you score about Q3-Median, you can probably get an A-. I scored 91 and 85 respectively for the exams and got an A. Also, don't stress about Homework. Definitely try because it is good practice for the exams but they are free 100s (even if you can't do it 100%). The exams were very fair and doable. The timing wasn't bad at all and I also had about 20-30 minutes afterwards to check stuff. Overall, I'd take another class with Tsiang

Took this class over session C and to be honest was a little hesitant after reading reviews / hearing opinions of past students. I’m so happy I didn’t drop it and took the course with Dr. Mike. I should mention that R was my first programming language, and prior to this course I had only worked with R in a very superficial manner in another course. I think the class was split between students who had more programming experience and those that didn’t, so (as someone who compares themselves to others) it felt like I was behind the curve at times. I brought this up once or twice with Dr. Mike during office hours with other students and he always reminded us that we were doing fine and to specifically stop comparing ourselves to others. He also would remind us that it was normal to master some of the concepts in the course, as attempting to learn a programming language in 6 weeks is an especially difficult task. Dr. Mike always made himself available for questions on the course, however what I appreciated the most was that he would also be willing to talk about things outside of the course material: grad school, upper div stats courses, life, really anything.

HW’s assignments are graded upon completion, but there has to be an effort to solve the problems. The questions can be pretty difficult if you’re new programming BUT if you’re actually trying to learn the material they genuinely did help drive the concepts home (at least for me personally).

The midterm and final were definitely hard, however there was a strong curve in the class based upon the grade distributions and other factors. I got a 75% on the midterm however that translated to an A/A- after the curve.

All in all the course was difficult but rewarding. Dr. Mike was extremely passionate and empathetic toward his students and I would 100% take another course with him again. I would definitely recommend going to office hours each week to discuss HW’s and Exams as it gave me the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and ask questions. I never felt like my questions were “stupid” or anything, which is a big fear of mine.