The instructor was great, probably the best professor I had this year. UCSB definitely needs to hire him as a full time professor, if they don't it's their loss. Erik is a great lecturer, teacher, and mentor.

The course was pretty difficult, but Mr. Nielsen offered lots of office hours. He was great at being available and providing good feedback on essays. Urban Society has certainly been one of the best sociology courses taught on campus at UC Santa Barbara. I recommend that all Soc majors take a course from him before they graduate!

I have to say this was one of my favorite courses at UCSB. Mr. Nielsen made the course very intriguing. Even though the course was rigorous he is definitely fair on what he teaches you, there are no surprises when it comes to his essay exams. This instructor did an excellent job at demonstrating the practicality of the information presented.

One the best instructors at UCSB. The course is demanding, but he presents lots of valuable information. He does an excellent job at preparing students for essay exams. He is an inspirational teacher, who is truly passionate about the subject. Everyone should take one of his courses even if they aren't soc majors!

I love this professor. People who say he jumps around a lot are not paying enough attention to the things he's saying. He simply knows a lot about his subject, so he squeezes it all into lectures! I think he's extremely engaging. He is also very approachable and the nicest professor I've ever had. Easy class, and he's really supportive.

I'm sure it differs for every student but in my honest opinion, he's great. During lecture he might jump around on topics but more than makes up for it in helpfulness outside of class. Taken him as a TA for multiple classes and now as a professor, you'll do really good if you put in and show effort. Go to his office hours! hes super nice!

Easy Class

His powerpoints are very scattered and he flies through them, so don't even try to copy them down. He seems like a nice guy but his class was repetitive and a little dull. He provides a lot of extra credit opportunity. Overall, I would say he is just an average professor.

Honestly, one of the worst teachers I've had at this university. So jumpy and random in lecture, can't hear him, powerpoints are horrible, sends out 54854393 emails every day. So bad he makes interesting subject matter boring as hell. Has no idea what hes doing. Avoid this class!!!

He's definitely nice and helpful. A bit conceited. Not sure if he's gonna b teaching this class after this quarter. Lectures r interesting, lots of reading, but a very informative and fascinating class. I recommend it regardless of ur major.

Great TA, follows the guidelines for the class and stays on task. Easy grader and very helpful. Tells you what you need to know, and to the point! Highly recommend as a TA for ES1.