Tom Carlson - University of California Berkeley

Professor: Tom Carlson

Department: TBD

College: University of California Berkeley

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: IB140
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Carlson is knowledgable given his experience; after taking all 4 of his classes, it is evident that he enjoys spending time with students during office hours. Nonetheless, the lectures can be dry however, if you want to do well in class, it is best to attend them. P.S. IB 169 is still my favorite among his classes.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: IB169
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I went to his office hours rather often and he has so much knowledge to share from his 30 years of practicing medicine; but it doesn't always show through during his lectures. Great guy, teaches the most interesting classes, but tends to present it rather dryly. Would recommend anyway!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: IB117
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class should be 3 credits at least. The amount of memorization of jargon required for having no prerequisites was very surprising. The material of the class is great but his lectures are literally read word for word off his slides. It's unfortunate too since he has so much life experience to add to his lectures. He's knowledgeable but dry.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: IB117
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class is unique since it exposes you to the medicinal properties of plants as well as their mechanism(s) of action in the body. Hence, the material itself is intriguing whilst the lectures can be dry sometimes. Overall, Carlson is a benevolent, unpretentious guy who genuinely wants his students to succeed. P.S. The class should be 3 units!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: IB117
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not a good lecturer. Reads word for word from the slides and does not really engage with the classroom. Tests are super specific and you need to have every word memorized from the slides in order to have a chance. The class is also test heavy, no way to show your understanding through other means.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: IB24
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Professor Carlson barely taught at all. He is such a knowledgeable guy so if there is something you are particularly interested about, ask in class! Otherwise, the course will be a consistent regurgitation of the same lectures over and over. He has years of experience and has done incredible fieldwork, I just wished he talked about it more.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: IB169
• 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:

Evolutionary Medicine is by far the best class I've taken in the IB department. Taking this class will give you a more comprehensive perspective on medicine and how our ancestors have evolved. Lastly, Carlson is a genuine, down to the earth guy who clearly wants his students to succeed. He's very knowledgable as well.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: IB140
• 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:

This class was purely about memorizing every single detail in the reader. His test questions don't really reflect the important points in the reader but instead focus on trivial details and statistics. If you don't want to waste a ton of precious time memorizing useless details, don't take this class. It's easy but very time consuming.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: IB131
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Focus on the readers! Great professor and clear grading. Exams are all multiple choice however, you have to get 90% or higher on the exams if you want an A in the class. IB 131L experience is based off of GSI. I didnt like my GSI due to putting all the work on ugsis and creating weird quizzes just because he was competing with another GSI.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: IB131
• 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:

He just reads off slides so I didn't attend class, though if you do, he sometimes hints at what is important/may be on the exam. Literally know every detail, because every detail is fair game. However, exams are MC and no tricks. So basically, your grade is all on your ability to memorize (subject itself is interesting though).

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: IB117
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Carlson is a cool dude who followed his passions. Botanist/pediatrician, so kind of an unconventional but inspiring little niche. Unfortunately, he can be dry as rocks. I stopped going to class b/c he literally just read off the slides but I didn't keep up w/ the reader + ended up cramming (BAD IDEA tests are SUPER DETAIL AND MEMORIZATION HEAVY)

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: IB131140117169
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

took all 4 of his classes---Carlson is a GODSEND to the IB department at Cal. incredibly interesting material (esp IB 169), his office hours are enjoyable, and his classes are easy GPA-booster As---if you keep up with all the material and memorize every single detail (this really just takes discipline and flashcards). he doesn't trick you on exams!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: IB140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Carlson seems like a nice guy, but his teaching style is not engaging in any way whatsoever. There was no need to critical thinking but rather everything was based off pure memorization. It was more a statistics class than anything else. If you don't want to spend time memorizing minute details amd numbers, I suggest not taking this class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: IB140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Carlson is a really sweet guy and is passionate about the subject but he literally just reads off the slides in the reader during lecture, so there is no reason to go. His tests are strictly memorization based multiple choice but since they are only 50 points if you get a couple questions wrong you are already at an B+. Memorize every detail!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: IB131
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

There is a lot of information for the second and third midterm, it can be overwhelming. He seemed to be just as likely to test an obscure detail as he was a major topic so although attendance isn't necessary (never went to lecture and got a B), going to lecture/office hours will help you differentiate what to study and get an A.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: IB117
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Carlson has so much knowledge and interesting stories, but most of his lectures were just him reading off lecture slides, which was disappointing. You only get graded on the midterm (45% of grade) and the final (55%) which is rough. The class is VERY memorization heavy. Carlson is passionate about the topics though.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: IB131
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

lots of slides. how many? 6 slides a page, 458 pages, so 2,748 slides to read. some are repeats though. REALLY easy if you have great memory and if you know what some words mean/can relate them, hepaticliver, afferentaffinity, podofoot. he gives a list of these. fell asleep easily. can skip class, he sends out any necessary updates w/ email.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: IB131
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

As far as biology classes go, Carlson's classes are very straight-forward. Memorize everything in the reader and you will ace the tests. The class overall is pretty useless UNLESS you take the lab portion IB131L. It makes the class much easier and much more interesting- otherwise you are just memorizing useless, random words without context.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: IB131IB140
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

IF you are good at memorizing, take his classes. I aced all his class and that boosted my GPA majorly! lectures are long and kind of boring. Lectures are all slides, if you memorize every little bolded important things on them you will be fine. Exams are multiple choice, so easily to eliminate wrong answers. Carlson is a cool dude

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: IB117
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

THE BEST PROFESSOR at Berkeley. He changed my life forever. If you're pre-med and you do not enjoy his courses, something's wrong with you and you've chosen the wrong field. Whether human repro, anatomy, medical ethnobotany, or evolutionary medicine, Dr. Carlson rocked the class with knowledge. Love this guy. He's amazingly awesome!