Steve Petersen - University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Professor: Steve Petersen

Department: Engineering

College: University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

really bad. would criticize me for asking "philosophical questions" (really just conceptual questions). Likes to feel superior to his students. Makes you write WAY more than necessary on homeworks. Tests are way longer than it would normally take someone to finish.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Petersen is an extraordinarily difficult grader with opaque grading criteria. So far out of 6 homeworks and 5 labs, I have received back 1 graded homework and 1 graded lab. Neither had any meaningful remarks. Homeworks and labs are long and hard. I have no idea how well I am doing in this class and it's very stressful. Avoid if possible.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Incredibly difficult grader with extremely opaque grading criteria. Lectures are alright, but Homework and tests are very difficult, and he is not at all willing to reach out to students to help. Avoid if at all possible.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. I learned a lot. It is true he will make you REALLY work for it. The tests are really hard, but he grades accordingly (curve). The homework was really really long, but if you spent the time on it you mastered the subjects. If you want to be a great engineer, take Petersen, he will break you down and you'll be better for it!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He wasn't fair with students about the content of the midterm. His huge assignments were focused on the course's theories, and not practical problems. However, the midterm was 90% composed of solving circuits and, since he asks to explain EVERYTHING you are doing, no one could finish the 12 questions. Useless lecture notes. I studied the book.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Such a horrible professor. I don't think you can get much of a worse professor than him. Coming from a person who got an A in his class. I would avoid this guy at all costs.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Petersen was a terrible intro professor. While he was very knowledgeable on the subject, he had no idea how to teach it. His lectures were useless, covering only the conceptual forms of circuitry (which is good for fundamental understanding but doesnt help you at all with homework or tests). His exams were completely unfair and took months to grade

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I definitely do not recommend not taking an introductory EE course with this professor. He is very knowledgeable however his teaching methods are not the best, to say the very least No correlation between instructional material and exams whatsoever. He claims that the questions on the exams will be a certain way but completely throws people off.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: EE101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Claimed every topic was easy and was "trivial". I think he was accustomed to teaching higher division courses and thought that EE101 topics are very simple even to someone seeing them for the first time.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CMPE121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He doesn't have a clear grading criteria, so that he can give subjective grades to his favorite students

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CMPE157
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The best professor in the engineering department. I would not have a career without his mentorship.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CMPE121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

seems very cranky all the time.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CMPE121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This teacher has serious mood swings. One minute he will be calm and pleasant, and the next he will be screaming at you. Stereotypes, and makes very broad demeaning statements about you to your face. Seems particularly anal about meticulous neat lengthy hand written notes in his exact style.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CE121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

By far the best class I have ever taken in this University. The assignment he gives are very tough but as long as he sees you putting in the effort and not half-assing things he is understandable. A lot of people are intimidating by him but he is an awesome professor. Just don't ask him any stupid questions and you in the clear

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CMPE121
• 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:

Professor Petersen is the best teacher I have had in the engineering department at UCSC. If you are CE or EE definitely take 121 with him, it will fill many gaps that other classes have left. Petersen brings a wealth of experience from many different areas of EE/CE that makes taking a class from him an valuable learning experience. Also, EE 157.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CMPE110
• 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:

I took CE110 and CE121 with Petersen. He likes to assign ridiculously hard assignments, but he's correspondingly forgiving. You don't have to actually complete something that works in order to get an "A", as long as you set high goals in the first place.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CMPE121173
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher! A little bit bipolar at times. Other than that, he knows his stuff! Don't be a "fat head". Act like your hot s***, he'll put the smack down. Just open your mind and let him fill it with his knowledge. One of my favs. - Som B

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CE121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

As long as you don't ask dumb questions he's cool. He's very laid back and likes to crack jokes about CS and humanities majors (and rightly so!) They guy is a true enginneer and will break you down and build you up into one too. The class isn't as hard as you may think because you will naturally WANT to learn the material since it's interesting.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CMPE121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Awesome in the lab, sucks as a lecturer. Most handouts are poor quality scans of handwritten notes. Randomly writes on the chalk board, end result is a jumble of useless scribbles. Good if you already know the material or have other resource to teach yourself. Randomly alternates between extreamly helpful and somewhat cranky.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: EE123
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The key with Petersen is to show him that you are interested in the subject and not just doing it for the grade. If you get him started on any RF stuff he can go on for hours and will be very helpful.