Miodrag Potkonjak
Department of Computer Science
AD
2.3
Overall Rating
Based on 27 Users
Easiness 1.7 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 2.1 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 2.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 2.2 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Tough Tests
  • Uses Slides
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
33.8%
28.2%
22.5%
16.9%
11.3%
5.6%
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.

18.2%
15.2%
12.1%
9.1%
6.1%
3.0%
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.

23.3%
19.4%
15.5%
11.6%
7.8%
3.9%
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.

23.0%
19.2%
15.3%
11.5%
7.7%
3.8%
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.

19.7%
16.4%
13.1%
9.9%
6.6%
3.3%
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.

14.1%
11.7%
9.4%
7.0%
4.7%
2.3%
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.

25.0%
20.8%
16.7%
12.5%
8.3%
4.2%
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.

19.7%
16.4%
13.1%
9.8%
6.6%
3.3%
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
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

AD

Reviews (19)

1 of 2
1 of 2
Add your review...
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 28, 2019

Miodrag is objectively the worst professor I've had at UCLA. He does almost no teaching during the course of the 2 hour lectures. Instead he passes the time by flipping through slides or going over needless administrative items. Almost none of the content that is on the exams can be learned from him. You must hope that your TAs cover the material or that the exams closely follow the pattern of previously posted exams (the only saving grace of this class). His total disinterest in our success in the class is revealed when he does such things as answer his cell phone during the midterm right by his microphone so that the Mong Learning Center reverberates with his voice. Perhaps this is already clear but I highly recommend avoiding him.

Helpful?

4 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Feb. 9, 2023

Genuinely godawful professor. We had to go to in-person Zoom lectures, where there were often technical issues. Also, his mic is really bad so you can barely make out what he's saying. I literally just read any textbook I could find and watched Youtubers because those taught me more in 10 minutes than he did in 10 lectures. There are also zero solutions given for the homework or any previous tests, so you can't even study for the tests properly; it really helps to be able to confirm your answers for even 1 question so you can get a sense of what you're doing, but he can't even do that, I guess. Do not take if you value your time.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: N/A
March 24, 2023

Potkonjak is the worst teacher I have ever had in my life.
The lectures were physically in-person at Mong Learning Center every Tuesdays and Thursdays via Zoom.
No one could understand what he said because he has a crappy microphone, heavy accent, and excessive usage of "um's and ah's. There were also frequent technical issues that interrupted the lectures. Having no technical issues wouldn't have made much of a difference because he's just such of a terrible instructor.
Almost everyone, including the TA's, cannot understand Potkonjak.
One of the TA's said I *may* be able to get an idea of what he's saying if I listen really closely. LOL.
I agree with an earlier review that said watching a 10 minute video is way more useful that what he says for hours of lectures. He's just that incoherent. Sometimes, I doubt that he even cares to teach.

Potkonjak does not like posting any form of answers on Canvas.
The legitimate answers for the homework, practice tests, and quizzes are almost impossible to find.
I've checked them all - the textbook instructor manual, the internet, suggested texts.
Even if you do practice the questions and review the examples from the textbook, you will still likely struggle a lot with the class because the exam/HW questions are very different.
His TA's effectively do ALL of the teaching.
2 hours of weekly discussion were never enough to cover the weekly homework questions and practice midterm/final questions.

AVOID this class like the plague.
If you have already signed up for this class, drop ASAP.
You will be doing yourself a huge favor.
I sincerely apologize if you must take this course with Potkonjak.
You will need every luck that you can.

Some tips, for those that must take this course with Potkonjak in the next term:
- ATTEND THE DISCUSSIONS. Even though the discussions aren't enough time to get the answers to relevant problems, it is way better than not going. You WILL 100% not pass if you do not go to discussion.
- Also, take great notes. The TA's for my term wrote all the notes on the chalkboard.
- Attend the TAs' OFFICE HOURS. Ask to reschedule if you cannot attend their normal Office Hours

Bonus info:
- There are pop-quizzes in the beginning of some classes. Each quiz is one random question from the homework. Everyone gets different questions on the quizzes.
- A skipped midterm will be the extrapolated average of a midterm and a final.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A-
March 29, 2016

This guy is the most condescending, politically incorrect professor to roam the face of the earth. He's sort of funny at the beginning, but after 6-7 weeks of him calling everything "trivial" and only referring to a select few students as his "best students", you begin to get fed up with his monotony. You can't really understand anything he says as well, although I sort of feel bad about saying this because he seems to be trying really hard to get the english out.
But, the weirdest things he does is make completely random and completely offensive comments about women. Some quotes include: "How often do you beat girlfriend?", "Who do you think is most beautiful girl in class?", as well as suggestions to bring guns to first dates and, perhaps the most incorrect suggestion of all, to "go kill yourself" after you do something wrong.
But, all in all, I would take this class again with this professor. Miodrag doesn't just sell you a class; he sells you an experience. The mio-drug pot-cognac experience.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 6, 2024

Take this class if you want torture. The class is one of the worst I have taken. It was on zoom but the professor had a really strong accent which makes it impossible to understand. Microphone issues exacerbated that problem as well. Also, he never provide any answers to posted problems. The TAs were the only redeeming factor in this class. They were on the class discord and answered any questions we had in real time. Sometimes they admitted that they didn't understand the professor either, but they did try their best to cover them in the discussions. TA's and YouTube carried my grade in this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: C-
March 27, 2023

This class was terrible for me, but I commute (1hr) and didn't have any friends in the class—this is probably an easy A for the average CS student, provided they have a good study group and make it to discussions. Once midterms start, the commute eats up a lot of time and ends up eating into study time for other classes, it seems obvious to go to all the discussions and office hours, but it's easier said than done when you commute an hour each way. While I don't expect professors to cater to me, I am super thankful for the professors who post all of their resources on bruinlearn—Professor Potkonjak is not one of those professors, while he provides past year tests, there are no answers, and searching online will lead you to maybe 3 tests (for the whole class) with less than helpful answers. The slides are useless for preparing for the tests, there are no example solutions provided, and overall the class is terribly unorganized, it seems that very little effort was put into this class on the professors end, which really sucks. I am going to retake over the summer now, because I thoroughly enjoyed learning about digital logic, and have no doubt that I could do better in this class with a different professor.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: N/A
March 24, 2023

Potkonjak is the worst teacher I have ever had in my life.
The lectures were physically in-person at Mong Learning Center every Tuesdays and Thursdays via Zoom.
No one could understand what he said because he has a crappy microphone, heavy accent, and excessive usage of "um's and ah's. There were also frequent technical issues that interrupted the lectures. Having no technical issues wouldn't have made much of a difference because he's just such of a terrible instructor.
Almost everyone, including the TA's, cannot understand Potkonjak.
One of the TA's said I *may* be able to get an idea of what he's saying if I listen really closely. LOL.
I agree with an earlier review that said watching a 10 minute video is way more useful that what he says for hours of lectures. He's just that incoherent. Sometimes, I doubt if he's even cares to teach.

Potkonjak does not like posting any form of answers on Canvas.
The legitimate answers for the homework, practice tests, and quizzes are almost impossible to find.
I've checked them all - the textbook instructor manual, the internet, suggested texts.
Even if you do practice the questions and review the examples from the textbook, you will still likely struggle a lot with the class because the exam/HW questions are very different.
His TA's effectively do ALL of the teaching.
2 hours of weekly discussion were never enough to cover the weekly homework questions and practice midterm/final questions.

AVOID this class like the plague.
If you have already signed up for this class, drop ASAP.
You will be doing yourself a huge favor.
I sincerely apologize if you must take this course with Potkonjak.
You will need every luck that you can.

Some tips, for those that must take this course with Potkonjak in the next term:
- ATTEND THE DISCUSSIONS. Even though the discussions aren't enough time to get the answers to relevant problems, it is way better than not going. You WILL 100% not pass if you do not go to discussion.
- Also, take great notes. The TA's for my term wrote all the notes on the chalkboard.
- Attend the TAs' OFFICE HOURS. Ask to reschedule if you cannot attend their normal Office Hours

Bonus info:
- There are pop-quizzes in the beginning of some classes. Each quiz is one random question from the homework. Everyone gets different questions on the quizzes.
- A skipped midterm will be the extrapolated average of a midterm and a final.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A+
June 23, 2019

This professor may have a speech impediment and a thick accent but at the end of the day you can understand him if you really listen. However, I'll agree that this class can be difficult to get anything of worth from the lectures. He often goes on long tangents. When he explains topics you have to really focus to get what he's trying to say but if you do then you'll be ok. I had the luxury of a great TA so I just had to wait until discussion to understand everything. There are 5 quizzes which are homework based so do the homework (it's pretty short and not too time consuming). The first midterm was really easy and the second fairly difficult. The killer is the final. If you are able to do 2.5/5 problems solidly then you'll do well. If you do a BUNCH of practice finals and understand the different types of problems that always show up on those practice finals and understand in general how to approach them then you will be good. Looking over your notes and quizzes isn't enough unless you are really smart. The final is the worst part of this class, I have to emphasize that practice problems will save you. And the TAs are your best friend in this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A+
June 8, 2019

Miodrag's teaching style involves him explaining his slides and the students participating. He watches the students reactions to his lectures to see if he should repeat something or go more in depth. In class he would say pretty sexist and outrageous things (check our the pot-konjak tumblr page for more), to try to make us understand a design decision or implementation. He also really liked a democratic system and we would spend a good amount of time every class voting on things like the dates of tests and quizzes, the topics on them, how much they would be worth, what would be unreasonable for him to put on an exam However, the material itself is very difficult, and his test questions often require a full system implementation (for example I remember something like design a system that finds the min and max of 4 16-bit numbers but you can only use 1 ALU and 2:1 muxes). Going to discussions and office hours is pretty critical to doing well in this class, as he really likes tricky problems that seem massive and complicated but actually have design shortcuts. His office hours will involve him only letting one student in at a time, and completely roasting you for being dumb, but he actually explains things pretty logically. Overall this class was a pretty unique experience here at UCLA and I would recommend.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
March 30, 2019

Never have I ever had a class where I was in such obliviousness. The class is very unstructured and I have burned out brain cells trying to connect what he's saying in lecture and very unhelpful and the lecture does not help at all with anything. The only savior I had was my TA office hours and the discussion section, but even then that was hard. I do not recommend taking this class if you want to actually learn logic design because I learned absolutely nothing and still understand absolutely nothing, but if you're doing this for the easy B, because he does curve generously(which is only fair considering how nerve-wracking this class is), then take it.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B+
March 28, 2019

Miodrag is objectively the worst professor I've had at UCLA. He does almost no teaching during the course of the 2 hour lectures. Instead he passes the time by flipping through slides or going over needless administrative items. Almost none of the content that is on the exams can be learned from him. You must hope that your TAs cover the material or that the exams closely follow the pattern of previously posted exams (the only saving grace of this class). His total disinterest in our success in the class is revealed when he does such things as answer his cell phone during the midterm right by his microphone so that the Mong Learning Center reverberates with his voice. Perhaps this is already clear but I highly recommend avoiding him.

Helpful?

4 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: B+
Feb. 9, 2023

Genuinely godawful professor. We had to go to in-person Zoom lectures, where there were often technical issues. Also, his mic is really bad so you can barely make out what he's saying. I literally just read any textbook I could find and watched Youtubers because those taught me more in 10 minutes than he did in 10 lectures. There are also zero solutions given for the homework or any previous tests, so you can't even study for the tests properly; it really helps to be able to confirm your answers for even 1 question so you can get a sense of what you're doing, but he can't even do that, I guess. Do not take if you value your time.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: N/A
March 24, 2023

Potkonjak is the worst teacher I have ever had in my life.
The lectures were physically in-person at Mong Learning Center every Tuesdays and Thursdays via Zoom.
No one could understand what he said because he has a crappy microphone, heavy accent, and excessive usage of "um's and ah's. There were also frequent technical issues that interrupted the lectures. Having no technical issues wouldn't have made much of a difference because he's just such of a terrible instructor.
Almost everyone, including the TA's, cannot understand Potkonjak.
One of the TA's said I *may* be able to get an idea of what he's saying if I listen really closely. LOL.
I agree with an earlier review that said watching a 10 minute video is way more useful that what he says for hours of lectures. He's just that incoherent. Sometimes, I doubt that he even cares to teach.

Potkonjak does not like posting any form of answers on Canvas.
The legitimate answers for the homework, practice tests, and quizzes are almost impossible to find.
I've checked them all - the textbook instructor manual, the internet, suggested texts.
Even if you do practice the questions and review the examples from the textbook, you will still likely struggle a lot with the class because the exam/HW questions are very different.
His TA's effectively do ALL of the teaching.
2 hours of weekly discussion were never enough to cover the weekly homework questions and practice midterm/final questions.

AVOID this class like the plague.
If you have already signed up for this class, drop ASAP.
You will be doing yourself a huge favor.
I sincerely apologize if you must take this course with Potkonjak.
You will need every luck that you can.

Some tips, for those that must take this course with Potkonjak in the next term:
- ATTEND THE DISCUSSIONS. Even though the discussions aren't enough time to get the answers to relevant problems, it is way better than not going. You WILL 100% not pass if you do not go to discussion.
- Also, take great notes. The TA's for my term wrote all the notes on the chalkboard.
- Attend the TAs' OFFICE HOURS. Ask to reschedule if you cannot attend their normal Office Hours

Bonus info:
- There are pop-quizzes in the beginning of some classes. Each quiz is one random question from the homework. Everyone gets different questions on the quizzes.
- A skipped midterm will be the extrapolated average of a midterm and a final.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A-
March 29, 2016

This guy is the most condescending, politically incorrect professor to roam the face of the earth. He's sort of funny at the beginning, but after 6-7 weeks of him calling everything "trivial" and only referring to a select few students as his "best students", you begin to get fed up with his monotony. You can't really understand anything he says as well, although I sort of feel bad about saying this because he seems to be trying really hard to get the english out.
But, the weirdest things he does is make completely random and completely offensive comments about women. Some quotes include: "How often do you beat girlfriend?", "Who do you think is most beautiful girl in class?", as well as suggestions to bring guns to first dates and, perhaps the most incorrect suggestion of all, to "go kill yourself" after you do something wrong.
But, all in all, I would take this class again with this professor. Miodrag doesn't just sell you a class; he sells you an experience. The mio-drug pot-cognac experience.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: B+
Dec. 6, 2024

Take this class if you want torture. The class is one of the worst I have taken. It was on zoom but the professor had a really strong accent which makes it impossible to understand. Microphone issues exacerbated that problem as well. Also, he never provide any answers to posted problems. The TAs were the only redeeming factor in this class. They were on the class discord and answered any questions we had in real time. Sometimes they admitted that they didn't understand the professor either, but they did try their best to cover them in the discussions. TA's and YouTube carried my grade in this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: C-
March 27, 2023

This class was terrible for me, but I commute (1hr) and didn't have any friends in the class—this is probably an easy A for the average CS student, provided they have a good study group and make it to discussions. Once midterms start, the commute eats up a lot of time and ends up eating into study time for other classes, it seems obvious to go to all the discussions and office hours, but it's easier said than done when you commute an hour each way. While I don't expect professors to cater to me, I am super thankful for the professors who post all of their resources on bruinlearn—Professor Potkonjak is not one of those professors, while he provides past year tests, there are no answers, and searching online will lead you to maybe 3 tests (for the whole class) with less than helpful answers. The slides are useless for preparing for the tests, there are no example solutions provided, and overall the class is terribly unorganized, it seems that very little effort was put into this class on the professors end, which really sucks. I am going to retake over the summer now, because I thoroughly enjoyed learning about digital logic, and have no doubt that I could do better in this class with a different professor.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: N/A
March 24, 2023

Potkonjak is the worst teacher I have ever had in my life.
The lectures were physically in-person at Mong Learning Center every Tuesdays and Thursdays via Zoom.
No one could understand what he said because he has a crappy microphone, heavy accent, and excessive usage of "um's and ah's. There were also frequent technical issues that interrupted the lectures. Having no technical issues wouldn't have made much of a difference because he's just such of a terrible instructor.
Almost everyone, including the TA's, cannot understand Potkonjak.
One of the TA's said I *may* be able to get an idea of what he's saying if I listen really closely. LOL.
I agree with an earlier review that said watching a 10 minute video is way more useful that what he says for hours of lectures. He's just that incoherent. Sometimes, I doubt if he's even cares to teach.

Potkonjak does not like posting any form of answers on Canvas.
The legitimate answers for the homework, practice tests, and quizzes are almost impossible to find.
I've checked them all - the textbook instructor manual, the internet, suggested texts.
Even if you do practice the questions and review the examples from the textbook, you will still likely struggle a lot with the class because the exam/HW questions are very different.
His TA's effectively do ALL of the teaching.
2 hours of weekly discussion were never enough to cover the weekly homework questions and practice midterm/final questions.

AVOID this class like the plague.
If you have already signed up for this class, drop ASAP.
You will be doing yourself a huge favor.
I sincerely apologize if you must take this course with Potkonjak.
You will need every luck that you can.

Some tips, for those that must take this course with Potkonjak in the next term:
- ATTEND THE DISCUSSIONS. Even though the discussions aren't enough time to get the answers to relevant problems, it is way better than not going. You WILL 100% not pass if you do not go to discussion.
- Also, take great notes. The TA's for my term wrote all the notes on the chalkboard.
- Attend the TAs' OFFICE HOURS. Ask to reschedule if you cannot attend their normal Office Hours

Bonus info:
- There are pop-quizzes in the beginning of some classes. Each quiz is one random question from the homework. Everyone gets different questions on the quizzes.
- A skipped midterm will be the extrapolated average of a midterm and a final.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A+
June 23, 2019

This professor may have a speech impediment and a thick accent but at the end of the day you can understand him if you really listen. However, I'll agree that this class can be difficult to get anything of worth from the lectures. He often goes on long tangents. When he explains topics you have to really focus to get what he's trying to say but if you do then you'll be ok. I had the luxury of a great TA so I just had to wait until discussion to understand everything. There are 5 quizzes which are homework based so do the homework (it's pretty short and not too time consuming). The first midterm was really easy and the second fairly difficult. The killer is the final. If you are able to do 2.5/5 problems solidly then you'll do well. If you do a BUNCH of practice finals and understand the different types of problems that always show up on those practice finals and understand in general how to approach them then you will be good. Looking over your notes and quizzes isn't enough unless you are really smart. The final is the worst part of this class, I have to emphasize that practice problems will save you. And the TAs are your best friend in this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: A+
June 8, 2019

Miodrag's teaching style involves him explaining his slides and the students participating. He watches the students reactions to his lectures to see if he should repeat something or go more in depth. In class he would say pretty sexist and outrageous things (check our the pot-konjak tumblr page for more), to try to make us understand a design decision or implementation. He also really liked a democratic system and we would spend a good amount of time every class voting on things like the dates of tests and quizzes, the topics on them, how much they would be worth, what would be unreasonable for him to put on an exam However, the material itself is very difficult, and his test questions often require a full system implementation (for example I remember something like design a system that finds the min and max of 4 16-bit numbers but you can only use 1 ALU and 2:1 muxes). Going to discussions and office hours is pretty critical to doing well in this class, as he really likes tricky problems that seem massive and complicated but actually have design shortcuts. His office hours will involve him only letting one student in at a time, and completely roasting you for being dumb, but he actually explains things pretty logically. Overall this class was a pretty unique experience here at UCLA and I would recommend.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2019
Grade: B
March 30, 2019

Never have I ever had a class where I was in such obliviousness. The class is very unstructured and I have burned out brain cells trying to connect what he's saying in lecture and very unhelpful and the lecture does not help at all with anything. The only savior I had was my TA office hours and the discussion section, but even then that was hard. I do not recommend taking this class if you want to actually learn logic design because I learned absolutely nothing and still understand absolutely nothing, but if you're doing this for the easy B, because he does curve generously(which is only fair considering how nerve-wracking this class is), then take it.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
1 of 2
2.3
Overall Rating
Based on 27 Users
Easiness 1.7 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 2.1 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 2.2 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 2.2 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Tough Tests
    (9)
  • Uses Slides
    (7)
ADS

Adblock Detected

Bruinwalk is an entirely Daily Bruin-run service brought to you for free. We hate annoying ads just as much as you do, but they help keep our lights on. We promise to keep our ads as relevant for you as possible, so please consider disabling your ad-blocking software while using this site.

Thank you for supporting us!