James Miller - Boston University, Boston, MA

Professor: James Miller

Department: Physics

College: Boston University, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Miller is not a great lecturer, his monotone voice puts you to sleep and what we learn in class has nothing to do with the tests, so there is no reason to go to lecture, just learn it at home. If you can, do not take him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

It's not that he is boring (which he is), it's just he doesn't teach anything new. I literally learn more from the pre-lectures, which he pulls examples from to use in his lectures, that no one shows up to, and he doesn't know how to use the clicker. It takes half an hour to do a problem, without numbers, and he doesn't even finish them.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PY212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Well basically I learned everything on my own because his lecture is so boring. Sometimes he could not finish his lecture and ask students to go over powerpoint at home and ask him question during office hour. He spends too much time elaborating a simple question and everybody loses track of what he is talking about.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Miller's lectures are the most boring thing. On some occasions we only covered one example in an entire hour and a half. Often times he would finish an example and he would realize he had done the entire thing wrong and have to start over. I ended up using Professor Grant's lecture notes because I did not learn a single thing from Miller.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Without a doubt the worst professor I ever had at BU. He continuously makes mistakes when going through problems, making it all but impossible to learn the concepts he is supposedly teaching. This, in turn, makes the tests and homework near impossible to complete accurately. I would strongly advise against this class with miller

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Miller makes simple mistakes when/if he decides to do example problems. He skips over concepts, and is unable to remember what he's already taught, and what he hasn't. We spent the first 3 weeks of the semester solely on vector addition. He is a horrible teacher, and I'm strongly considering dropping his course. If possible, get a different prof.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Miller does not do example problems ever, and speeds through important concepts. Very boring, and does not teach anything. Lectures are not useful, as he cannot lecture well at all.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PY313
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

There is no merit in going to his lectures as he contributes no valuable information. I wish I had recorded his lectures so they would help me fall asleep at night. Read the textbook, do the homework, and study a lot for the exams. Though I haven't gotten my final grade back, I assume he curves heavily since no one knows what's going on in class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PY313
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

People don't go to lectures because he doesn't teach anything relevant. Worst teacher I've had so far (Sophomore) Very (bolded, italicized) boring Just take regular modern physics (PY351). At least he curves the class because everyone does horribly.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

LOVE physics but didn't like the professor. He's knowledgeable but doesn't know how to teach.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hopefully the most boring professor I have in college. The class was very unengaged during the hour and a half lectures. Mainly powerpoint but some demos as well. I wish the professors had tried to make physics seem more relevant to our major.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not such a well taught class. Hard to follow. Tough competition so move faster than he should. good in office hours

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Miller's monotone voice will put you to sleep in the 9:30 section. He does not explain concepts clearly at all and we barely do anything helpful in class. About 1/3 of our lecture came to class at the end of the semester because it just isn't helpful. This is a HARD class, so unless you're willing to study from the book to learn, avoid Miller.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ugh. In Spring 2012 this dude made Physics 1 as bland as the taste of paper. As per usual, not your high school physics class. I started attending Ludwig's lecture at the end of the semester and it saved my unworthy soul.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PY313
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His lectures were just condensed versions of the textbook, good for knowing what material is and isn't covered. All my learning occurred in discussion section, i.e. from the TF. Labs were pointless and irrelevant, though the TF for that was nice and an easy grader. Textbook is necessary for problem sets. Don't take if you are interested in material

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PY313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Mad chill prof

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Miller just read the powerpoints that came with the book. He did not answer emails, and was rather unreachable. I did not learn anything from his class. Most students switched lectures as by the last few weeks only ten out of 120 students remained.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PY212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really boring lecturer. However, he met with me to discuss my final grade and agreed to change it, even two weeks after finals. Nice guy overall, but a little weird.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PY212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Miller is a genuinely nice guy but he's not good at lecturing. He follows a PowerPoint that he copied from Roberts and messes up the problems. There are clicker questions during class and the exams are very close to what was done in discussion and the homework. Suggestion, take a different professor if you don't want to learn physics on your own.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PY211
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

if you want to attend the lecture make sure you read the book first. His lectures become all of a sudden clear and engaging if you understand the material. if not...then he'll put you to sleep. he does read equations on the board very fast. His lecture can be used for one thing only....review...if you think you've got it down..go test yourself