Chris MacKenzie - University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Professor: Chris MacKenzie

Department: Social Science

College: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I've never written a review for a prof but Chris MacKenzie deserves one. I have never met a teacher/prof who is more understanding, caring, and actually looks out for you. Soci 101 is a really interesting class and having a prof who can accommodate to your needs, and is a genuinely caring person when you talk to him, made this course better for me.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SOCI250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Really interesting lecturer and fair grader. Only thing is he doesn't post anything from lectures online so you HAVE to go to class

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Found the lectures pretty dry, and assigns way too many readings. His tests are not reflective of anything talked about in class and all examples or any connections done in class are extremely outdated, nothing extremely relevant to today. He is a knowledgeable prof I just personally don't think he is good at communicating the info for the class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SOCI102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

A very engaging Prof but extremely textbook heavy. There's really nothing said in class that can't be gained from the textbook which the quiz and final are based off of. Prepare for lots of reading especially if you are taking this course in the summer where reading were between 40-150 pages from the textbook per class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SOCI250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I took SOCI 250 with him in first term, and he was absolutely amazing. His lectures are so engaging and interesting that it almost feels like a conversation, rather than a one-way lecture. Although his notes are a bit unorthodox, everything comes together in the end, as long as you pay attention in class. His grading is very fair.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great lectures! I think he really tries to find ways to connect sociological theories and ideas to our generation (he uses examples like social media). He also uses examples that are applicable outside of the classroom. I think you'll only get the actual benefit (not just marks) of this class if you really pay attention.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: No
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Overall a great prof. :)

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Mackenzie's lectures feel like a ted talk and are always filled with humour while still very informative and interesting. For the tests it is important you remember the sociologists/criminologists that were discussed in class and the dates that they were significant. Overall great class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SOCI250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I found it difficult to prepare for the exams and felt that the term paper (worth 40%!) probably should not have been due in the first month of class. Nevertheless, Chris is a great professor, and I learned a lot about criminology by taking this course.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Useless. Lectures don't matter at all, it's like he doesn't even put any effort into them. "Quiz" midterm, and doesn't even give any criteria on what content will be present on it and he puts subjective material as MCs. You don't get any marks back for anything until the course is basically over so you never know where you stand.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SOC250
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

chris is an engaging prof, and extremely caring about his students. he is happy to answer questions, and was very nice to have given me an extension for an extenuating circumstance, but was really nice and laidback about it too. he is easygoing. I definitely recommend taking his soci250 course. take notes as a lot is from his lectures.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I love sociology but this class was a bore. Chris is humorous and his lectures are entertaining, but not at all educational or informative. I went to this class a total of 4 times (not kidding) and got an 81 in the class (tho the class average was a 68, probs from the midterm, paper, and final). READ THE TEXTBOOK and you don't have to go to class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SOCI100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I know this prof is good speaker but i really don't like him because his final and quiz doesn't focus on his note but he said the notes were important. I can't understand that we learn to him carefully but we can not get good grade because we do not read the reading

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Chris was an extremely inspirational speaker, he made even the most boring of subjects interesting. The only fault of the course was that the textbook readings were monotonous and long, and the midterm and final were largely based off of the readings. 2 papers (one part of the other), doesn't use connect for notes. Overall great prof.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SOCI250
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Made my 3 hour night class go by easily, interesting guy and quite funny. Doesn't post anything on connect so you must go to class or know someone in class. Only graded on a midterm, a paper and a final so grades will suffer if you do poorly on one of them. However, really enjoyed his class and would definitely take one with him again.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SOCI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Chris is a very engaging speaker and creates an interest in the topics covered. His lectures are well paced and interesting, yet the midterm and the final consist of mostly questions forms eat textbook and are fairly difficult. Very large emphasis on reading the textbook, keep up with the readings! The lectures and readings often didn't line up.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SOCI250
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He's an interesting guy and a good lecturer, but it's really tough to score high in his class. The big paper is a self-chosen topic (Canadian context), but that too is marked strictly. Final exam MCs were brutal. Lectures will revolve around taking lots of notes on what he says; nothing's posted on Connect. Textbook specific questions on exams too.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SOCI100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is pretty funny in the class, well at least that's what I found. Just read the textbook thoroughly and you'll do fine on exams. Multiple choice questions come from TEXTBOOK(!) and lectures. Bit tough of the research paper, but a fair marker. JUST READ THE TEXTBOOK.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SOC100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Mackenzie is a very engaging speaker. He is caring & understanding if you have a problem, don't be afraid to talk to him about it. He grades papers a little tough but tests are fairly straight forward if you memorize the lessons and text. I found multiple choice sometimes had very trivial detail questions which was annoying. Doesn't use connect.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SOC100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Chris is truly a first-rate teacher. His classes are extremely engaging, especially for a rather broad, year-long intro level class/subject. 3 hours just blows by. He does the difficult balancing act of teaching textbook terms and also teaching the subject in a manner that is relatable outside of a classroom setting. Defs one of the best at UBC.