Clites is an extremely nice and understanding professor. Midterm was 3hrs timed and was super challenging, I definitely didn't do well and I don't think anyone found it easy. The content overall is pretty challenging, and Clites pushes the limits by incorporating a lot of Matlab content in the problem sets. Admittedly I'm sure what he taught us in Matlab is super useful, but the learning curve is steep and in the moment I didn't really appreciate spending like 6 frustrating hours on the Matlab component of the problem sets. In spite of the difficulty, Clites is a genuinely awesome professor and probably cared more about teaching than any other professor I've had. If you get the chance, I would absolutely recommend you take Clites.

Best professor at UCLA. He is the best professor I have had at UCLA and one of the nicest most helpful professors I have had the pleasure of having. His lectures always start with introductory powerpoints and then he switches over to handwritten notes where he explains topics very clearly. He is also really funny and open to questions throughout the lecture. The textbook is available online and if you need any extra help or have questions he is always willing to help during office hours or if you just reach out for a private meeting. He also offered non-class-related office hours which were super interesting and fun. The most challenging part of the class was either the tests (not challenging content but took way longer than expected) or the MATLAB work. We had homework almost every week and DO NOT WAIT TILL THE LAST MINUTE OR EXPECT TO CATCH UP WITHOUT HELP for MATLAB. The MATLAB work builds off itself so if you miss the first one, it makes the next one more challenging. The biggest thing is to reach out to him if you are struggling because he cares about his students a lot! If you need help with an extension he is willing to work with you as long as you are open and honest.
If you can TAKE THIS CLASS WITH CLITES!!!

Values student learning above all else. Incredible prof, highly recommend.

Nicest and most helpful professor that I've had. He posts lecture slides before and after class, walks you through all of the steps, and really likes using real life examples. It's a lot of application, and he likes to use Matlab more than other professors that teach this same class. I took this course with no Matlab experience and was able to do okay. He drops the lowest problem set score and lowest quiz score which is really helpful because some of the programming gets pretty annoying. Beware that the 24 hour take home final asks for you to create your own scenario where you can use a second differential equation, and it can't be from one in class. I think that's what ultimately led me from an A to an A-. Take it with him and talk to him during office hours, you won't regret it!

Amazing professor and amazing class. I really learned a lot. Only issue is that the take-home final took forever to complete, but I would definitely take him again because everything else was great

Probably one of my favorite professors at UCLA. Super caring and making sure we learned the material well. Only 8am class that I've ever looked forward to. Tough part is the MATLAB but I felt like I got a super good fundamental understanding of diff eqs.

Professor Clites is an excellent professor and his lectures were engaging and hardly felt boring. He wants you to succeed and understand the topic and will hear you out if you have any issues that you have to deal either via emails or during office hours. The homework, while time consuming, is beneficial to learning the material and so is going to lecture in person. However, the biggest roadblock in this class is definitely the MATLAB portion. If you have no prior experience using this coding language you are in for rollercoaster at times. Be sure to attend all available office hours as I found this is helped my tremendously. Also, the midterm and the final was a more of a test of intuitive thinking using Diff equations rather than copy paste examples.

Clites definitely shows that he cares about his students and manages to make the lecture feel a lot more like a small classroom. He ties most lessons to his research and to real life applications, which makes things a lot more interesting but also more challenging. His notes can be small and kind of difficult to read sometimes, but overall best math prof I've had at ucla

Overall, I feel like this class has a heavy workload. The problem sets take a good amount of time each week and the class is not very friendly for those who have not done ANY coding before. MATLAB is emphasized in this class through problem sets and shows up on the midterm and final exams. Learning the different methods to solve differential equations is not that bad, but with the quick pace, wide range of topics covered, and extensive use of MATLAB, this class stressed me out.

Dr. Clites is quite possibly my favorite professor that I've ever had at UCLA. He genuinely cares about his students and their education, and he approaches this class (which is always considered one of the hardest lower division classes for MAE students) in a unique way that really helps us apply the concepts discussed in the class. Be a little prepared for doing coding (MATLAB) over some of the more difficult theoretical concepts in the class. Overall, this class was truly amazing, and the amount of effort Clites puts into his lectures and his homework is unparalleled. (He was also on Forbes' 30 under 30 list... honestly such a great guy.)