Professor: Dave Duffus
Department: Geography
College: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC
Rating # 1
Overview:
- Course: GEO303
- Grade Received: A
- Overall Rating: 4.0
- Course Difficulty: 4.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: Yes
- Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Honestly my favourite prof, like yeah you have to pay attention and go to class and write everything down... but that's kind of what you're supposed to do anyways. He has a great dull sense of humour and is clearly very passionate about whales. Took all of his classes and enjoyed them all.
Rating # 2
Overview:
- Course: GEOG374
- Grade Received: A-
- Overall Rating: 4.0
- Course Difficulty: 4.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: Yes
- Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Duffus was one of my fav professors at UVic, I enjoyed his biogeography and whale ecology courses a lot. He is somewhat cynical but his lectures are pretty enthralling. You have to go to the class to pass as there is a lot of random stuff he says that will be on tests and midterms.
Rating # 3
Overview:
- Course: GEOG274
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 4.0
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: Yes
- Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Hilarious lecturer. Never laughed so hard in an 8:30 evening class. Very old school (no coursespaces, lecture slides...) so you need to go to every class and write down literally everything he says. If you apply yourself it isn't very difficult. Lab section is very tedious though.
Rating # 4
Overview:
- Course: GEOG274
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 2.0
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: No
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
No course outline, coursespaces, slides, text, essentially no way to know the expectations for the course. Lectures weren't bad, although seemed scattered and unorganized. Write down everything word-for-word, or you won't do well on tests. For example, make note of every specific animal species mentioned, because apparently that's important??
Rating # 5
Overview:
- Course: GEOG276
- Grade Received: B
- Overall Rating: 2.0
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: No
- Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Duffus is a 10 year + prof who doesn't have office hours, coursespaces, an email, a textbook or any slides. He's funny because he hates society and inspirational but can be very dull and depressing. Overall I enjoyed the class but his exams are brutal! I got 90+ in the lab section (which is a lot of work) and bombed both the midterm and the final.
Rating # 6
Overview:
- Course: GEOG303
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 3.0
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Dave gives very interesting lectures, which is good because if you don't attend them you probably won't pass his courses. If you are a good note-taker you will be fine. Doesn't dumb-down his lectures to undergraduate students and tries to inspire students through rather direct lectures and humour. I try to take all of his classes.
Rating # 7
Overview:
- Course: GEOG271
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 4.0
- Course Difficulty: 4.0
- For Credit: Yes
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Duffus is great. Some people don't like him but if you get his humor and take a minute to go speak to him when you're confused you'll really enjoy his classes
Rating # 8
Overview:
- Course: GEOG474
- Grade Received: A-
- Overall Rating: 5.0
- Course Difficulty: 1.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
You need to show up to his classes, be accountable and work hard and you will do well. His knowledge about the topic is profound. I liked that he didn't preach from a text book.
Rating # 9
Overview:
- Course: GEOG274
- Grade Received: C+
- Overall Rating: 1.5
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Go to every class and take down every single thing he says. Seriously. The questions on his midterm and exam can be absurd (eg. "What is his favourite monophyletic animal?"). I went to every class, took detailed notes, was already very familiar with the content and still bombed both exams Otherwise he's a funny guy, good lecturer & knows his stuff.
Rating # 10
Overview:
- Course: GEOG274
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 3.5
- Course Difficulty: 2.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Definitely takes some getting used to his teaching style - no laptops allowed, so good old handwritten notes are required and you need to write down virtually every little detail to be successful on the exam. Once you get past this thous, you learn a lot and he is very engaging and helpful as long as you are willing to put in the effort and time :)
Rating # 11
Overview:
- Course: GEOG324
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 2.5
- Course Difficulty: 2.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
He may have had little game plan for each class, and granted that was a tough thing to overcome and stay motivated towards for a 3 hour class at 6:30pm, but he did not cater to typical Uni rules (albeit frustrating for some, ie; no text, no moodle, no drop box, no email, no office hours) but if you're there and willing to engage in discussion, fun
Rating # 12
Overview:
- Course: GEOG391
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 3.0
- Course Difficulty: 2.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
I found his unpredictable/alternative teaching method, sarcasm and sense of humour appealing. He's cynical, hard to read, and unenthusiastic, but has obvious knowledge/passion/dedication for whales. I don't have a sci backgr, but enjoyed the class immensely. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in the ocean or whales! Take good lecture notes.
Rating # 13
Overview:
- Course: GEOG276
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 2.5
- Course Difficulty: 2.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: Yes
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Wow... could it get much worse than this. Zero interest in the course other than pontificating. He's angry but why take it out on us?
Rating # 14
Overview:
- Course: GEOG391
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 1.0
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Awful instructor. His lecturewere just sarcastic rants for 3 hours that glossed over the topic we were learning. There was no textbook, no powerpoint, no support of any kind - no office hours or email. The midterm had several questions that had never been covered in class. A huge waste of time and effort.
Rating # 15
Overview:
- Course: GEOG324
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 1.0
- Course Difficulty: 4.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
How to get an A: pick a religion and mock it. Pick a celebrity and mock them. Tell him university is a joke. Adopt the 'alternative' counter-culture persona you had in jr high. show him you are as miserable as he is, and proof-read your writing. this is all he wants.
Rating # 16
Overview:
- Course: GEOG374
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 3.5
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
The first fifteen minutes of the first lecture terrified me. His teaching style may be erratic, longwinded, and sarcastic. However, he is truly one of those profs where if you empower yourself to really take an interest, make organized notes, and study, you will be pleasantly pleased with the outcome of your grade. Interesting & time intensive
Rating # 17
Overview:
- Course: GEOG324
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 1.0
- Course Difficulty: 4.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Duffus is the worst teacher I have ever had in my 6 years of post secondary education. I didn't learn anything new and I seriously believed he was on something when he would teach our class. He spent every 3 hour class talking about what we did wrong in our papers. If I wanted to take an English class, I would have. Thoroughly disappointed!
Rating # 18
Overview:
- Course: GRAD000
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 1.0
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Grad students, PLEASE beware. He's running a personality cult, and you will soon find out that the person you thought was knowledgeable and trustworthy is not rational. I lost 7 years to my MSc degree with him - at least 4 others have quit, and others had terrible experiences too. Geog Dept & Grad Studies know, but no-one will do anything about it.
Rating # 19
Overview:
- Course: GEOG326
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 3.5
- Course Difficulty: 2.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: Yes
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Unusual prof but great. Funny, interesting, ironic, and very knowledgeable about his field. Doesn't make his expectations for assignments terribly clear, but doesn't mark tough either; he wants to see what you can do,. Excellent preparation for data analysis in the real world.
Rating # 20
Overview:
- Course: GEOG374
- Grade Received: N/A
- Overall Rating: 4.5
- Course Difficulty: 3.0
- For Credit: N/A
- Textbook Used: No
- Would Take Again: N/A
- Attendance: N/A
Comment:
duff is a wicked guy, he's like an encyclopedia waiting to answer your questions if you're willing to ask them. He doesn't follow guidelines as much as other proffs which is such a nice change. He wants you to succeed if you put in the effort. Get to know him and you can learn a ton
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