Walter Carson - University of Pittsburgh

Professor: Walter Carson

Department: TBD

College: University of Pittsburgh

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0390
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

In my opinion, Dr. Carson is very personable and funny in his ecology lab section. He gives multiple opportunities for extra credit and is overall pretty understanding of the fact that the lab is only one credit so there isn't unnecessary busywork. Big assignments are done with a group and he gives a lot of freedom to experiment how you want to.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO0370
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Graded only based off of four exams. His lectures were an hour and fifteen minutes but usually ended after 50 minutes. He goes off on tangents that are completely unrelated to the powerpoints he presents. All of the papers you read are written by him which is extremely cocky. Ecology is the lamest science so you can't expect much.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I hate giving bad reviews, but dont take Carson. His test questions are based off of the smallest details of his powerpoints. The readings are just his research and the readings that arent his research, he hasnt read in years and doesnt even remember what they are, so dont bother asking him questions about it. Take anyone else. Save yourself.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO0370
• 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 liked the organization of this class because you learned the concepts, and also discussed them in the context of research papers. The only homework was reading the papers, and that really wasn't too bad. I thought his exams were relatively easy if you took notes and read the papers, most of the questions were pretty fair. Averages were around 73

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Although a great character, Dr. Carson's role as a professor is weak. His exams are misleading and seem to purposefully try to trick you. He also requires you to read scientific papers of his own research, which he bases his exams and lectures around.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Carson is an amazing professor, but if you're looking for an easy A, do not take his class. His exams are very paper heavy, a lot of the questions come from papers read as homework. Make class fun and interesting but not easy. If you are serious about biology, meet with him one on one, make yourself known, he likes that.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOSCI370
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Way to difficult for an ecology class. The average is a D and says it's our fault for "not studying hard enough".

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO0370
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He does his very best to make the horrendous science of ecology more tolerable during lectures and, in my opinion, is pretty funny. Assigns a lot of scientific papers which are annoying, yet important, in becoming a scientist. As long as you focus on reading them and the minute details of his lectures (both on and off his slides) you can succeed!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you have to wait another semester to take Ecology with another professor, then WAIT. These scientific papers he assigned were deathly boring (one paper was 27 pages and not an easy read). It's possible to do well in the class, but really the only thing I learned from this class is that deer are the worst. Save yourself before the pain.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Like taking an ecology lab with lecture except you don't do any labwork you read about it and get tested on it. Asks too many specific questions from the multifarious papers you're assigned for each test. Doesn't focus as much on lecture notes but will pick out specific examples to ask you about. Avoid as other ecology profs don't make you read.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Gives a bunch of dumb, boring papers to read for each test. Asks hyperspecific questions on tests he might've mentioned once or twice in class. Do not take him, the other ecology professors don't make you read anything outside of class. He'll give you 50+ pages of extra material to read and then picks out specific details to ask about on tests.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO0370
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Just dont take him. Seriously. Think about your poor gpa

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• 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 read the papers and studied my notes and the textbook before exams and still didn't do well on his tests. he never mentioned animal agriculture which is a huge cause of deforestation and pollution. he repeated his points about deer over and over instead of presenting new material.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC0370
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Carson's a cool guy and his lectures can sometimes be entertaining, but if you care about your GPA I would NOT recommend taking him. Tests are tricky & difficult - they are 50% lecture and 50% research papers. Each test would be on 5-7 research papers that are long & a pain to read. Way too much work for an ecology class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC391
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Extremely difficult prompt/syllabus that lacked grading rubric. If you're not interested in forest ecology don't bother

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO0370
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Carson would be a good professor, if he didn't care about his own research so much. Grade is determined by the average of 4 exams, that are all based off of scientific papers that aren't relevant to anything in general ecology. Avoid Carson honestly.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO0370
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A man who definitely makes class interesting and has a nice sense of humor. Offers extra credit point for the whole class for correct answers. Only four exams based mostly on papers. Not a bad class, but a frustrating class for many due to how easy it is to get a low grade. DO NOT BUY TEXTBOOK

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 0390
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Carson is really the reason to take the class. He is hilarious and totally makes fun of his students in a way that only a few people can get away with while not making them feel bad. He has a good spirit and makes the lectures engaging. Extra credit is offered for answering tricky questions in lecture. I learned a ton, and would recommend!!!!!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: 0370
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Reading with every lecture

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOSC1160
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Taking forest ecology with Dr. Carson at the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences I had while studying at Pitt. This class not only represents an opportunity to observe and study ecology in an extraordinary natural setting but also offers valuable lessons in scientific research and writing.