David Barrington - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: David Barrington

Department: Computer Science

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Barrington is extremely smart, but he doesn't have the skills to lower it to the level of a beginner. The powerpoints are extremely hard to follow and the homeworks take hours upon hours to complete. Some people just get induction while others struggle to make up responses for the homework. The course needs some serious overhauling.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Barrington talks like he has a PHD in Math so be ready to pay close attention so you don't lose what he's talking about. But he's a really good teacher who's very willing to help and is very helpful if you catch him outside of class. Also just a super friendly guy.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CMPSC250
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Amazingly smart guy and is really charming. The homework can be overwhelming but the exams are not as bad. Prepare to work really hard especially because of the raw amount of material covered in class. Couldn't see anybody else teaching this rough course apart from Barrington, he really makes it the best experience possible

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CMPSC250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's really smart and will answer any question you throw at him. He does a great job, but 250 is a very difficult, often punishing, class. It sucks that CS majors have to take it, but Barrington makes the experience as bearable as possible. Get ready to study REALLY hard. Get started on the homeworks 2 weeks before they're due!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took Barrington for CS250 and CS250H. I received a B in 250, and an A in 250H. CS250 is homework heavy - the homework problems are very specific, and took a lot of time. However, they were rewarding once you managed to solve them yourself. In 250H, we read Godel, Escher, Bach, and talked a bit more abstractly about a lot of CS topic which was fun

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great guy, super smart. Put in the work, you will learn. If discrete math/proofs aren't your thing you will have to work really hard or you will struggle hard in the course. However, I wouldn't take 250 with any other professor. I learned so much from Barrington.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CMPSC250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Probably the hardest class I have ever taken but Barrington is basically a genius. His lectures can be a bit dry and very dense but he is very kind and will answer any questions. There's tons of work so you'll want to start the HW early and compare with other people for sure. The scale at the end of the semester is pretty forgiving too.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great Professor!!! Horrible class!!! I mean since CS majors need to take CS250, he really is a great professor to have. Yah, it's gonna be a rough class, but having someone as knowledgable as DMB does help. Also, he basically looks like a reincarnation of Socrates, so that's a plus.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

CS250 was by far the hardest class I have ever taken at UMass. The homework will kill you and even if you work through it with friends, which you should. You will still spend hours on it. That is not Barrington's fault though. There is just so much material. The topics you learn are very useful later on though. Barrington does a great job.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Barrington is a quality professor but he certainly moves quickly in his lectures. The textbook is written by him and is very concise, but you need to work hard, pay attention at all times and put in work after class to pass

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CMPSC250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He gives a lot of homework, so be prepared to spend a lot of time. iclicker is used, even though it is worth only like 4%, it's a good boost because he gives partial credit for just answering the question. He curves literally everything, which I think is because he knows how difficult his class is, so as long as you work hard, the class is doable.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: COMPSCI250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Work with people on the homework concepts and weekly quizzes. His lectures are super fast, taking notes is risky, he talks a mile-a-minute, but if you read along in his textbook (sold for printing cost at copy-shop) before class it helps. He's really sweet and happy to help with any questions at office hours, but can be intimidating at first.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I dreaded taking this course because I'm not great a math. So I made 250 my priority. I ended up spending 20-25 hrs/week on 250. I tried to go to office hours and SI but only went to a couple sessions. And it was all worth it! Barrington talks really fast but he's very patient and will answer all your questions, even stupid questions.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Barrington is a very smart professor! His lectures are very fast paced and its hard to understand what hes saying! Its a class you really have to spend a lot of time on! Make sure you read the book and really spend time studying for the exams/homework because it is rough! Do not do the homework last minute its already challenging as it is!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CMPSC250
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

A very good professor for a very difficult class. He is genuine and cares about the students learning. He is pretty funny and also very understanding. Once again, the class is difficult, but you could probably ask him 100 clarifying questions and he will answer all of them.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CMPSCI250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Barrington is a great person but his class is very difficult, more than it needs to be for an introductory course.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

D.A.M. Barrington... His class is tough, but he is an awesome guy who genuinely loves teaching. He is very patient. You can ask him the dumbest possible questions and he won't give you any sass and tell you you're supposed to know that from your previous course. Start early on HWs and always be on top of everything. Work piles up super quickly.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

250 is a hard class but after taking it you will feel like you can do any compsci class at Umass. Dave is really good professor. He talks really fast but he's super smart and really cares about your understanding of the material. The homework is tough but doable, weekly quizzes aren't fun but the tests are manageable.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: INFO150
• 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:

A brilliant prof, he speaks fast but is understandable and his arguments and examples make the matter much more understandable

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CS250
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's a really good professor who knows his sh!t. If you don't like his style of teaching, you should buy another discrete math textbook; it will help a lot. He does talk really fast, but his exams are way easier than the homeworks.