James Peckol - University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Professor: James Peckol

Department: Engineering

College: University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: EE474
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Incredibly kind professor but the lectures are really useless. Most students in my class stopped showing up after week one. Grades are based on group projects which take at least 25 hours to complete. The specs for each project are very poorly written and it is like deciphering a code to figure out what you actually need to do.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: EE475
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Peckol is a wonderful guy; however it seems like he is just too old to care about teaching anymore. His lectures are on various random topics that don't really relate to the class and the homework he assigns is out of a textbook that we haven't mentioned or seen in class. The homework problems are completely unrelated to anything done in class too

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: EE371
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are the most pointless one's I've sat through in my 4 years at UW.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: EE371
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Five words, don't ever take his class

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: EE371
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Genius professor, but lectures are not super relevant to the lab, still interesting though. Labs are long and you work in groups of three. Peckol is one of the best professors in the department and is extremely helpful.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: EE271
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I almost dropped 271 because it was so hard, but I stuck with it and got a 4.0. The exams are HARD, but they are not the focus of the class - the averages were always low. The projects, which will eat up hours of your time, are where the real learning happens. And if you show real effort and commitment, Peckol will recognize it and you'll do fine.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: EE299
• 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:

EE299 is just the number they give to a course that has no official number yet, so this was more of a trial course Peckol taught. The class was heavy on labs, and homework did not match labs or exams at all, but it was still very interesting and enjoyable class. This course teaches a lot of fundamental basics in embedded. Book is cheap but not req.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: EE471
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Peckol basically teaches "Intel 101" with the embedded concentration. My one problem with him is that he doesn't have a great grasp of adaptive teaching. He uses the same notes since 20 years ago, not clear on the labs, and everything can be done without going to class. But going through the class helps you immensely with the material bc of struggl

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: EE471A
• 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:

His labs are really hard and require a minimum of 25+ hours per week. As the person before mentioned, the exam average was 38% which is irrelevant as long as you do comparatively well. His exams are designed to teach you stuff that you don't know rather than test you on material you already know. A truly dedicated professor! Definitely recommended!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: EE471
• Grade Received: P
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

30+ hours/wk spend on every single lab, so don't expect to have your weekends to yourself. He is a really nice guy, but his expectations are completely unreasonable. The average on his final exam this quarter was 38%, and no one got over a 66%. I would not recommend his class, or the embedded concentration at all after taking this class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: EE271
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Peckol teaches a class that will make you a pretty good expert on the subject matter in the end. His labs take a good 10-20+ hours to struggle through and you'll find yourself redoing parts over and over again until it works. My biggest problem with him is that his tests are very ambiguous and can lead to not exactly demonstrating how much you know

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: EE472A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Have had 471, 472, and 478 with Peckol, best professor at UW if you're willing to work. He grades hard but your grade is also very based on your effort. If you try hard you need not worry about your grade. His classes will help you get a job more than any.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: EE271
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Prepare to work hard, especially in the labs. His tests are extremely difficult, but practicing problems will put you at the top end of the curve. I was expecting a low 2 in the class but pulled a 3.8. His class is hard but YOU WILL LEARN!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: EE472
• 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:

Loved this professor. His class was not easy, but I learned more from him than any other. If you are willing to put in the effort, you will get a lot out of his classes that will help you after graduation.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: EE271
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

unclear about expectations. lectures/homeworks/labs do not match what's on the tests. doesn't realize that his way of solving a problem is not the only way. seen him get impatient when students asked him questions. poor quality instructor.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: EE472
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I want to rebut every person's opinion here. Sorry, by the second week attendance is down below 40% for a reason - he sucks. Every item learned in this class is from hours and hours looking at data sheets and manuals - not Peckol or even the TA's. He's old and has no idea how to teach or put slides that people can look back on. Poorly written labs.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: EE478
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Best professor ever! you will learn tons of stuff. But be ready to spend 12 hours a day if you want to finish your lab

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: EE271
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Awesome Teacher! Super helpful & really cares if the students are learning. However, you also have to work HARD (although it pays off). If you apply yourself you'll learn a ton. Lab reports do take quite a lot of time.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: EE271
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Best of the best teacher! But if u don't wanna spend whole weekend on your lab report, better not take him.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: EE478
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The assignment write-ups are typically written pretty vaguely with several contradictions, but there is a bit of lenience on how you interpret the lab requirements and solve the problems, as long as you're prepared to give a good reason for why. Your final lab grade is based on how much you can demo, not in whether the entire project worked or not.