Siman Wong - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Siman Wong

Department: Mathematics

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH235H
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Siman Wong expects a lot from his students, but if you are willing to put the work in outside of the normal homeworks, you will get a lot out of Siman Wong's class, as he is very knowledgable and very passionate about mathematics, and he cares that his students learn. Oh, he's also hilarious.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH471
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Wong is a really helpful guy. He's great at giving extra credit and answering questions you may have. This class was a weird one though. We didn't follow the syllabus very closely and the course devolved into random recreational math things. Although Professor Wong is a good teacher I wish we had a good book to follow.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH132H
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Wong is a super nice, wicked good teacher. I definitely learned (and remembered) a lot in that class. His exams are not awful compared to what he expects of you in class, although this is a very intense course. He expects his students to fully understand the concepts behind what they're doing instead of remote memorization. Great guy!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH471
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Love, Siman Wong he is one of the best professors at UMass Amherst. The material is not easy but it is fun to learn.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH235H
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Best Professor in the Math Department

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH132
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really great guy, he cares if you understand the material so just ask questions. He's honestly wicked funny too

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: M611
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is the best professor I've ever had, hands down. I've taken Compex Analysis and Algebra I with him and he goes at a nice and fast pace and makes class enjoyable. Great professor, take any classes you can with him!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH621
• 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 professor. Exams easy relative to homework.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH132
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures are fast paced and topics are taught quickly. The online book can be helpful but differs from how he teaches. He tries to make class entertaining and will answer any questions. Really enjoyable class but be prepared for him to call on you to answer a question at any time (but he's very forgiving)!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH132
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof Wong is hilarious, cracking jokes every class. His lectures present difficult material in a clear and structured manner. An example of his great structuring of the material, is the flow chart he showed us to categorize tests for convergence (if it passes this test, then this, if not then try these tests etc.) vs just tell us what the tests are

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH131
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great prof; lectures are fast-paced but he'll stop to clarify if asked. Stay on top of reading or it's easy to get lost (a good TA helps). He uses class time well; get there early b/c he sometimes starts early. Don't let his accent put you off; you'll get used to it! Our section did better than the course average. On top of all that, he is funny.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH131
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great guy, when he doesn't know someones name he just calls them Hermione when they have a question. A bit hard to understand at the beginning of the semester but his accent and sense of humor grow on you.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH131
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

While it may be very hard to understand him, just ask him to repeat what he said and I guarantee you, he will make it clear. Please don't be afraid and just ask him, he is actually a really good professor (aside from his typos...)

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH132H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Siman is, well, meh. Not an exceptional teacher, but he's okay. Accent is kind of difficult to understand, and wastes time in class by setting up his contraptions. Slides go by too fast. This is math, there should not be slides.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: 131H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

One the best math teachers I've had. Really funny guy and lighthearted. Enjoys cracking jokes about Ti-9000s and loves to call on people by saying "good morning." On top of that he's wicked smart and will be able to explain how the most random math problems apply to the real world. Also has a thing for colored chalk. Simon is the best.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH471
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This course is a cryptography course disguised as a number theory course, though the distinction between the two is insignificant at this level. It's a pretty interesting course, especially if you have a background in CS. Siman is as brilliant as they come, and he is particularly funny with his strange sense of humor, and he made the class fun.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH131H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very nice guy, will always re-explain anything that is difficult to understand due to his slight accent. Class is very fast paced, and he goes out of his way to talk about how the material is useful, especially in engineering. Tests can be a little tricky. Tells great stories.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH131H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Always seems to have typos, often can't hear you, and yes his accent is difficult at first. However, he has very in-depth lectures. If you're confused, he breaks down the problem pretty well. He bumps the previous slide over to a second projector so you can copy itreference it while working on a problem on the current slide. Nice guy, very unique!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH471
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Siman Wong is an extremely intelligent person & lectures decently. This course is a cryptography course disguised as a number theory course, so expect to encounter many algorithms. Though he lectures about cryptography, it would be a shame if you didn't use this opportunity to engage your mathematical curiosity and ask him lots of other questions.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH233
• 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:

Best math professor I have had at UMASS. He uses power points which may go fast but he puts them online so I just listened and took notes after class. Exams are fair. Great course and great teacher.