Easiest class I've taken at UCSB and fairly interesting. Attendance mandatory with geolocation iClicker (you get 3 absences), and slides are on Canvas — quizzes are on Canvas, open note, and basically just directly on the slides. Only downside is having to pay to watch 3 mandatory assigned performances, sometimes they're downtown too.

I took this class in the Fall 2023 quarter. This is by far the perfect class to fulfill your art requirement. All you have to do is 3 quizzes that are open note, basically off the slides, and go to 2 performances in downtown SB which honestly have grown on me since, they are stellar performances. Attendance is mandatory, but it's a stellar class.

If you need to fulfill an art requirement, do not waste your time with another class. If your schedule aligns with this class (which it must because there are truly no exceptions if you cant make it to a performance or miss an online exam date), then 100% take this class. All you need to do is go to performances, take the exams, and do iclicker.

I loved her. She genuinely loves dance. Not a dance major but this class was pretty interesting. No homework, only "assignments" are to go to downtown SB and watch 2 dance performances and take pics of yourself at the theater. No write-up after either. Exams are open note and they are literally fill in the blank from her slides.

EASIEST class you will take. only assignment was to go to 2 performances and 3 quizzes throughout the quarter that are open note. Such an easy class and the professor is very passionate about what she teaches.

Super sweet grandma type of lady but didn't bother to put effort/do anything in lecture outside reading notes/writing examples off slides She's better off retiring and you're better off skipping, got an A skipping most lectures Sections are required tho and TA was amazing explaining concepts/questions, that's where I got most learning/studying done

Avoid her at all costs! she's sweet lady but a terrible teacher who makes the course unnecessarily hard. The grade is based on two midterms(20%x2) and a final(50%).The midterms were very tricky. Prepare to face 50 ridiculous questions for the final. Students have been complaining about the unfairness of the questions for years but she doesn't care.

don't take her. probably a nice grandmother though

The exams are not related to the lectures. If this is a major course for you and you want to get an A, RUN!!!! Exams are worth 90% of your grade, and no way to get a good grade on exams.

I do not recommend taking any course with Professor Holmes. It seemed that Holmes put in as little effort as possible to teach, and actively tried to make learning harder for students. The course content is not difficult, however, and it was fairly easy to get an A. Grades are curved. Go to lecture/section and you'll do better than most.

I don't recommend taking PSTAT 8 with Holmes. Our grades were based on 3 midterms and 1 final. She would just read from her slides so attending lectures wasn't helpful. I recommend taking it with a different professor, as your grade is entirely based on the midterms and final, with only 10% of your grade coming from attendance in the TA section.

Took PSTAT10 with her over Fall quarter and was a terrible decision. She is a very nice lady, but the way the grading in the class was structured was very poor. The final was all MCQ and worth 50% of our grade. Final was completely different material than what she goes over in lecture. Worse class/grade I had so far at UCSB.

Very nice lady, but vast majority of the grade was the two midterms and the final. Midterms weren't bad. Final, while said to be cumulative, was mostly the last few lectures and much harder. She curved it so I ended up with a B- in the class but as the final was worth 50% it tanked my grade from an A to a C+ before the curve. Be ready to work.

The final was 50% of the grade and was quite difficult. If you keep up with the homework, worksheets, and lectures then the class isn't too difficult. The final was tough but she curved the grade. I personally wouldn't go to the professors office hours, go to the TA instead.

Cool prof, spoke to her during the quarter in OH/before class. Given my grade though, it wasn't her teaching style, but the 2 midterms+intimidating 50% final w/ detail-heavy questions which make up a majority of your grade that makes it tough (as others said). She curves but unless you want a challenging intro to R/data science, I'd look elsewhere

prof is a sweet lady. lectures are good, make sure to read through the slides and take notes beforehand. midterms were fine, very detail oriented. however, the final was insane. super detail oriented on things no one would study or know. make sure you study every single possible detail of codes, syntax, rules, and even the possible error codes

Holmes's attitude was rude and her questions extremely unfair, you quickly get the overwhelming sense she does not want you to succeed, worst professor I have had, for years students have been telling her that her questions are unfair but nothing changes

Midterms were chill but Final really caught me off guard..

final focused heavily on details and even content that wasn't explicitly taught in class. I spent what felt like millions of hours trying to memorize everything but the final still caught me off guard with obscure questions. lecture notes and slides have points presented misleading, and has errors with no correction. luck matters more than efforts

50% final need I say more

The class covers a lot of material quickly, so staying on top of the lectures and practice is key. The exams focus heavily on specific R syntax, so using unstuckstudy alongside your other study resources can really help. Overall, a challenging but rewarding course.

Goes pretty fast in lectures, be sure to pay attention. Works for this specific class because none of the material is difficult to grasp, it's just a lot of material. R-related questions on the exams tested very specific details on console output. Adjust your studying methods accordingly after each exam.

This class was based heavily on exams (three midterms and one final), with section participation worth 10%. Although exams were difficult, she indeed gave generous curve -- my raw score was B but I ended up getting an A. Make sure to study a lot, do hw practices, and read the textbook though she didn't require if you want to get good grades.

i have had this professor before and didn't like her. you basically teach yourself the material, all she does is read off the slides, and give very few examples. the concepts were doable but i had to teach myself everything, no point in going to her lectures. as a professor she sucks, and is basically very useless.