Peter Alfeld - University of Utah

Professor: Peter Alfeld

Department: TBD

College: University of Utah

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH2270
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I enjoyed this class this last semester. Peter knows the subject well and will definitely help you enjoy not only linear algebra, but math in general. The class is difficult, but it's also aided by the fact that you get extra credit for taking the initiative to find errors in homework/exams.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MATH1310
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lecture mon, tue, wed, fri and lab thur. Weekly online hw + hw packet from lab. 3 exams + final. Hw is heavily weighted. I took ap calc in highschool so this class was just review, but if you haven't good luck. He has a very conceptual way of teaching, basically a walking textbook. Paying attention made me more confused. Lab is hard but EASY tests!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH1310
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Peter's Engineering Calc 1 class is nearly impossible to pass without any prior calculus knowledge. If you have never taken a calculus class before, DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! You will spend all of your free time teaching yourself the content, and the lectures don't even go over the same content in the textbook. It is not worth taking calc with Peter.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH1310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Can be confusing at times because he never tells you how to do something without spending a long time explaining why it works.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: MATH2270
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is super nice and wants his students to succeed, but he doesn't do a great job of explaining an already difficult subject. I managed a good grade by doing all the homework (it's easy to get full credit with the online textbook) and taking LOTS of extra practice quizzes. He will also answer questions from the textbook through email very quickly.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: MATH2270
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you like lectures, you'll like Peter. He obviously knows what he's talking about, but this can lead to him explaining a lot of things verbally which doesn't work well for me. He cares about his students and I get the feeling he will work with you to help you understand the subject as best he can. He takes feedback well and changes accordingly.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Peter says that if you come to class then you will pass! This statement is actually very inaccurate. To be successful in this class you are going to have to teach yourself the subject. He is a very nice guy but just makes the subject terribly confusing.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH2210
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Take this class if you are willing to spend hours upon hours on the homework assignments. It takes at least 5-7 hours a week in the math lab just to be able to finish the homework. Also, prepare to be given a final that has nothing to do with the homework or midterms. The teacher does not provide any study guides either.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH1220
• 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:

I have had Professor Alfeld for Calc I, Calc II, and will be taking Calc III from him in the fall. He's a great professor who clearly cares about the subject, and he explains things well. Exams are easy if you go to class and actually take the time to learn the material, and he's a very lenient grader. If you don't go to class you will not succeed.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH1220
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Peter Alfeld is an extremely nice guy. He uses an Ipad to lecture and to work through problems. He asks after every explanation to make sure the class understands, and if they don't, he goes into more detail. Extremely approachable. Great Professor. People give him a bad rap because a lot of people don't attend his class and they get a bad grade.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Alfeld is so passionate about teaching Math, and I don't think we deserve him. I feel sorry that he is forced to work with students that are not interested in math at all. He is an easy grader, and explains things over again if he has suspicion you do not understand. Tests are easy, homework is tough and is heavy weighted, but is very helpful.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• 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:

Pretty solid professor, super open to questions and honestly a pretty funny guy. One area he could improve is how well he explains the material and he could also go a bit slower in lecture and go more in-depth into the concepts as opposed to doing more practice problems, but other than that I don't really have any complaints.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: MATH5610
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

There are only 5 assignments, but they're very long and very difficult. 1 of which is a project (30% of grade). You need programming knowledge or a friend who has it. He's a friendly guy. He uses an iPad and posts online notes. Works for some but wasn't my style. Not too bad of a grader-- 90% is an A. Would take from him again, learned a lot

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His lectures and practice problems are based almost completely off of variables, because "he finds numbers distracting". Because of this, I think Peter would be a fantastic teacher if it isn't your first time taking Calculus, because you somewhat know what you're doing. If it's your first time, take it from a different professor. Lenient grader!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is super hilarious! His accent is cool. He's hard to follow in the lectures and he makes little mistakes. But on the tests he's pretty forgiving of mistakes you make and he gives you points for showing what you can do even if you don't get the answer right. The online homework isn't bad, good grade if I went to the tutoring center.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

You can tell Peter knows his stuff, but he's just not that great at teaching it. While lecturing he will frequently make mistakes that end up ruining the whole example and confusing everyone. Thankfully he keeps all of his completed notes online and will post corrections. Weekly homework has unlimited attempts and is the only good thing.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The structure of this course is awful! Alfeld teaches with an iPad and digital notes. He tells you not to take notes and just watch and pay attention. He uploads them for you to look at after lecture to his crap website (not canvas). He would constantly scroll too fast. His thick german accent isn't too bad. -10/10 His grading scale is easy though.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very unimpressed. I would recommend getting another professor. His accent, while charming, is just another barrier to truly understanding the subject. If you have to take him just look up the calc videos on the math departments website. Bothered me I paid to take this class and taught myself everything. :(

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He lectures heavy on proofs rather than showing examples. Made it difficult for me

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: MATH1210
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He follows the book closely and is pretty good at explaining during his lectures. However, he only does one or two examples for each subject. (For a visual learner, this is hard and sometimes confusing. I had to get a personal tutor to help me.) Despite this, he is very kind and willing to help you with the homework before and after class.