great professor! lectures were dry but if you take notes you'll stay awake and have everything you need to do well on the exams. Textbook is optional (dont buy it). All you need to read are the handouts. His old exams really help prepare you for the midterm and final.

lectures are extremely dry and are confusing. He just rattles on and on during lecture. Its hard to take notes when he talks so fast. Tests are graded hard. He is very particular about the answers to the tests ( they are essay format)

Probably would have enjoyed it more if I actually went. I didn't like the tests at all. I'm not good at writing essays in science classe, and he's very particular about the answers.

i've taken three classes with him, and he is an amazing professor. he knows his stuff. sometimes i struggled with the material and found it difficult to do well, but regardless i loved the classes i took with him.

His lectures are clear but he's somewhat monotonic, so it's kind of hard to not fall asleep. There's no point in buying the text for this course since all his exams are based on past exams and hand-outs. If you're really good at it, you could even skip class, go only to sections and still get an A.

Read the handouts before going to lecture. You'll take better notes if you know what he's lecturing about ahead of time. I bought the recommended textbook and never read it all quarter and still got an A.

Awesome prof and class very interesting. He makes things clear even if the subject is difficult. Not what I would call an easy class but it was always interesting. It is the only class I was honestly sad to see end.

Had his classes in the 80's; all were exceptionally great. Simply put: Sam is the best teacher I ever encountered in academia.

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This was the best course I've taken here! Sweet is such an awesome teacher, the material isn't difficult, there's just a lot of it. But since he has planned his lectures well, it all makes sense, the handouts and the pictures he draws are SUPER useful! Take his classes!

1 of top 2 profs here. He writes notes and draws charts in colored chalk!! I cant tell you how helpfull this is. You can tell that he not only knows his stuff, but that he has taken time to carefully plan his lectures+evaluate/refine his teaching style.

I had Sam for Herpetology (reptile and amphibian biology) and I gotta say he is like the croc hunter mixed with z z top...excellent teacher, cool guy....basically, Sam is the Man

Had Dr. Sweet for 3 upper division courses; best lecturer I had at UCSB. Knows his stuff.