Denis Wortman - University of Massachusetts - Boston, Boston, MA

Professor: Denis Wortman

Department: Computer Science

College: University of Massachusetts - Boston, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH260
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Good choice if you love to learn A LOT of stuff. Good luck if you want to get a good grade/pass. Lecture mostly about theorem and proofs. Homework is not heavy, but you have to prove every single step with very specific detail. Tests questions are within the unit coverage, but some can't be found from homework/notes. It is only my own opinion.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH450
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are incredibly clear and well done, and the textbook is great. However, he can be incredibly rude which ruined what would have been an otherwise pleasant experience. The average score on our first exam was 27%, curved so that 85-100 A, 70-85B, etc, so all but about 5 people failed, then proceeded to reprimand and insult the class.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I struggled 1/2 way through, but if you stick with it, you'll get it. He's fair, but wish he weighted the final exam grade toward my final grade more.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor is very intelligent and clearly understands the material. Class is manly proofs with trivial examples. Tests are about 5 questions long with homework due every class and graded. Partial credit is never given. Half of the class dropped before half the semester was over. If you like a challenge this is the professor for you.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He definitely understands the subject and is intelligent but no matter how much I studied it just was not enough for him. I got a 4.0 in calculus 1 so I should've at least had a decent chance in Calc. 2 but I ended up having to withdraw. According to my friend the class average after I left ended up being a 30 out of 100.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CAL140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

lecture mainly explain theorem and principles...vey few examples and some time hard exam. But scales at the very end

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

MATH 140: Knowledgeable, has a solid educational background; but, it didn't make him a better teacher. His philosophy: student teaches him/herself and teacher provides some guidance. I got MUCH more help from youtube videos and wondered why I was PAYING someone to teach me. Class: hardly any student interaction, needs more practice problems.

Rating # 8

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

If you need to learn or understand a course he might be one of the best in the world. However if you need great grade or care a lot about your average probably not your choice

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

No doubt, he is a very smart professor, yet he is extremely difficult, the exams are very difficult. Thank god he scaled the grades.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Extremely smart, crystal clear speaker but is not the best Calc professor. His tests are tricky, and mainly goes over proofs and theroms during class, VERY few examples. Math majors most likely love him as a professor, any other major stay clear. Most tests consist of 5 problems worth 20 a piece and partial credit on tests are rare. NIGHTMARE!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Interesting lectures and always available for help. Highly recommend.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof wortman is possibly the best math professor I have had. He is extremely concerned with teaching his students how to think through problems rather than memorizing equations. If you are ready to work hard he will teach you.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MA140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I majored in math because of this man. He was an inspiration and a fantastic teacher who could make the most difficult topics seem easy. I took five of his undergraduate classes.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH450
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His presentation of material is superb and really augments the textbook and clarifies lots of otherwise hard staff. He's always available for help. Hard grader and can be hard to deal with in general and yet you end up learning so much from him, the overall experience is highly positive (but you do have to study *really* hard!)

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Wortman is unbelievable, and not in a good way. he's the head of the math department and thinks that everyone is as smart as him. i took calc 1 before him, and i was still lost after going through his course. absolutely can not teach people that aren't exactly math people. homework is not madatory, but is big help. oh yeah, he's kind of cute.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor ever.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The best in CS/Math. I would even rate him as the best of all that I had met at UMB. I had him for 110, 240, and 241. Tough grader, but very fair and extremely good at lectures. If you are new to CS/Math courses, you need a good teacher and he is the right person. Don't worry about grades. Learn something from him for life.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH141
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Strict, unhelpful, and hard grader are all i want to say. If you have other alternatives, should not take him, will bring you GPA down.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH450
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I've only had wortman for upper level math courses, but he is very good, very thorough, and helpful if you have trouble understanding anything.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH260
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I couldn't believe the comments for Wortman. He was one of the worst professors I have had at UMB. I had him a few years ago for CS110 and I didn't even think he knew Java (all he did was read off of his slides!). He wasn't any better for Linear Algebra