Students found the course content to be theoretical and foundational.
Course Staff
Students found the professor was caring, and that he wanted to see students succeed.
Course staff was very willing to answer questions on Piazza.
Lectures
Students found lectures somewhat disorganized, and relied heavily on the textbook.
The professor has a good balance between explaining intuition and rigorous proofs.
Problem Sets
Students found the problem sets to be fair.
Students relied on the textbook and collaboration with peers to complete them.
Students spent anywhere from 5-9 hours completing a pset.
Exams
Students found the exams fair, and used practice problems and Artin’s textbook to prepare for them.
Students did not feel like the lectures prepared them for the exams.
Resources
Students use the Artin’s Algebra textbook, which they found to be very helpful
The professor also posted lecture notes, which students used.
Grading
Students felt that grading was reasonable.
Students expect that most get As or Bs in this course.
Advice to Future Students
“Try to stay on top of the readings and don’t fall behind!”
“If you are confident in your knowledge of 18.701 material I highly recommend taking this class! It was very interesting and a natural continuation of the material.”