Philip Christensen - Arizona State University

Professor: Philip Christensen

Department: TBD

College: Arizona State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SES394
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Spaceworks 1: The class is great. I took it as a fun class. The course counts for 3 credits but it's really not nearly 3 credits worth of work. If you have extra credit hours, I would take it again. Most of the class is working in a randomly assigned group for the semester to create a "mars lander" they drop down 4 floors in ISTB4. Grading vague.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SES394
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Christensen is easily the best professor I've ever had in my life. Spending any time with him in any situation makes you learn more than any other situation imaginable.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great professor, really knew his stuff. This class is a great easy alternative to FSE 100. The group project is really innovative, but he doesn't teach MATLab too well.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SES394
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Easily the best teacher at ASU, provided you have interest in the subject matter. He has amazing experience in working on satellites and space missions. Easily understandable, and legitimately seems to want his students to succeed in the industry.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Fascinating lectures and stories, but the class really should be called "Intro to Mars geology, physics, and MATLAB." 3 quizzes cover a wide variety of material, conceptual and mathematical - challenging but doable. Hardest part of the class is a semester-long project on which he gives very little guidance. Prepare to meet outside class a lot.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

If you do the 3 homework assignment, have a little experience with coding, and have a good time working with groups this class is a breeze.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• 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:

There are three "quizzes" in this class, a few programming assignments, and two group projects. The lectures are interesting but don't really seem coherent and there was not really any theme to the class. No one will notice if you don't show up but sometimes he goes over information you'll need on quizzes. Grades purely on a curve.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Christensen is a very experienced guy in the Aerospace industry, which makes the class really interesting. He talks a lot about his projects and makes lectures interesting. The content of the class is easy; just basic physics and matlab. Group projects are fun and engaging. Overall a good class and a great professor.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

After reading some of these comments, if you find this class hard then be prepared to change your major. The class consists of very basic physics and matlab. It's really just to get you familiar with the subjects. Overall, Phil is a great guy that will captivate you with stories of space exploration.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This guy is the best teacher I've ever had. His lectures are incredibly interesting if you are passionate at all about space exploration. The class has a good bit of homework and group work, but as long as you stay on top of it you'll pass easily, even with a bad group.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class is easy if you already have a good handle on basic physics and programming. This dude literally just talks about his research the entire class and then gives you tough homework, and the TAs aren't all too helpful either. Tests are pretty easy, and the group projects aren't too bad but definitely wouldn't take this class again.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SES394
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Had him this and last semester, kept my attention throughout class and is easygoing.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Phil is a very interesting proffesor to listen to and I loved his Mars lectures. He is primarily a researcher at the school and this shows through into his class. The tests were very hard and the class had a disorganized feel to it at times. Because of his research, a TA would often teach the lectures. The group projects can suck w a bad group.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I have a love hate relationship with this class, the lectures are really interesting; but all the assignments are very difficult especially for a 100 level class. Also, pray you get a decent group or you'll be stuck with alot of work. Be prepared to work hard for a good grade. The tests are ridiculously hard, and its not clear what to study for.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

future students avoid this class. Matlab will ruin your life.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

It's an easy class if you pay much attention on it. Teamwork and hardworking is important for you if you want to get A. because the most grade come from the two major projects.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

This class has no solid grading system. Although it's relatively easy, I didn't get required help most of the time. the professor didn't answer my email. In the end of the semester, i ended up with getting a B grade even if i got a high percentage overall. worse thing was i didn't get any reply from my email why i get such a low grade

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This professor has done so much work related to Mars, it is really amazing. This class was very easy, with two big projects that were graded very easily. It was a lot of fun, especially if you have an interest in Mars.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Interesting class, with some fun projects. Wasn't very timely with returning graded assignments, and MATLAB programming was pretty tough. He knew a lot about Mars though, and the exams weren't very complex.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SES100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Class is very interesting and he's an amazing professor. MATLAB is hard if you've never done it before and his TA that had an accent was the one who did the MATLAB lessons so it was hard to follow. Tests and projects are fair. Prepare yourself to do actual work, especially if your group doesn't participate. Projects are interesting and fun though!