This class is brutal, compared to other standard 1st year stem classes (Math, phys, etc..) this class is more like 8 units of work not 3. There is a ton of material to cover, and the exams are very hard. However, the professor is very upfront about this, and does his best to help everyone despite the large class size.

Chem is a difficult class, but Crisjoe is clear about what he expects on the midterms and final. He provides practice problems and practice exams, and he uses those question formats on the tests. He also has a youtube channel with all of his lectures. Overall a great professor!

My favorite chem professor!! Really thorough and clear lectures, very clear what will be on the exam. Make sure to do all the book problems, take notes and go through the slides/videos if you miss class. He's a really kind person and is pretty funny too! Gen chem is hard but it's obvious he wants you to succeed :))

I had Crisjoe for Chem 1 A, B, and C and he was so great. Definitely a tough class but it's because of the material, he makes it no harder than it needs to be. His lectures were great and he is super helpful and responsive. Definitely recommend taking Gen Chem with Joseph!

Very organized lecturer with helpful online recordings of past years. He clearly has taught this class many times and knows his stuff. Do the book problems and the practice tests, and his office hours are so helpful, so take advantage of them. ALEKS sucks but is actually useful, so do it.

Great lecturer, every lecture and homework problem is carefully chosen

Lovely lad. Straight up G. Tries his best to help everyone. Love all his intros to his lectures.

I really loved him as a professor and his lectures were always engaging. Do some if not all of the book problems and definitely do the practice exams. Aleks is good practice but it's hard to learn from unless you read through the explanations and write it down too. Most of his material for the 1A final was repeated from the practice exams.

the class itself is difficult but crisjoe makes it a lot easier. attending lectures is very helpful as he explains the concept and then uses iclicker as example problems. watching the recorded lectures is also very helpful. make sure to do book problems because he uses them on the midterms and final (main things that determine ur grade)

had him for all of gen chem, very thoughtful, kind, and knowledgeable. fair tests and genuinely gives you the resources to succeed

An AMAZING professor, but the class is just difficult and a weeder class. Despite what he might say, Chem 1B is much easier, so don't lose hope. I took Joseph again for 1B, and he's still great.

Joseph is a great Chem 1A Professor, very clear guidelines about what to expect on tests and provided plenty of examples and practice exams for his tests. He is very accessible through office hours and relatively easy to reach by email with questions. His class was difficult as all Chem classes are at UCSB, but he makes an effort to help you pass.

Dr. Joseph is a great guy and truly has his students' best interests, but his teaching style was not for me. His class is EXTREMELY fast-paced. I'm retaking with Sylvester and the class is much more manageable and her teaching style makes complex topics easy. Dr. Joseph is a great professor for those who've taken ap chem. If not, good luck!

Professor Joseph genuinely wants students to succeed and makes it very clear that in order to do so, you need to do book problems. Follow his micro goals schedule and take practice exams before midterms/final and you'll be set. I didn't take AP Chem in high school and learned a lot; take his course, you won't regret it :)

He was an amazing professor. He made even the most difficult content quite easy to comprehend since he broke down the information to explain it in a way that made sense to most of us. ALEKs is a pain, but apart from that the course is very manageable.

Professor Joseph really makes an effort to answer questions even in such a large lecture hall, and office hours are helpful. Attendance isn't mandatory but the iclicker can help your grade at the end. He goes pretty fast with his slides, so the best thing I did was take slide notes beforehand and listen to his lecture and examples during class.

Very clear exam materials. Just do the book problems and practice exams and you'll be fine. To be honest I have never met such a kind and generous professor before...He really cares about students and want them to get a good grade.

Joseph is an amazing lecturer. He is passionate and cares a lot about his students. He makes it very clear that if you want to do well in his class, do book problems and attend lectures. The midterms and final are all multiple choice, and your grade is curved at the very end. Also aleks is stupid, boring, useless and annoying.

Crisjoe is an amazing professor! He's succinct and straightforward in his lectures. He's well-organized and brings energy to the classroom. Book problems are a must!

Alright Gentlepeople... 1A SURVIVAL GUIDE: 1. Attend class for iClicker points! 2. Get Aleks done EARLY in the week. 3. Work out a manageable schedule for book problems. DON'T OVERWHELM YOURSELF! 4. MISTAKES ARE OK! 5. He will LITERALLY copy/paste problems from practice exams & book problems. DO THEM. 6. Use CLAS, OH, Organic Chem. Tutor on YT!

Professor Joseph cares about his students and wants them to pass. His lectures are uninteresting and difficult to follow, though it isn't his fault that chemistry is such an awful subject. Do all the assigned book problems at the pace he recommends and do all the practice tests before each midterm/final and you should be fine.

I've never taken AP chem so I had a really hard time keeping up with all of the material. Joseph's lectures really helped me grasp the concepts and I think I would be really lost just looking through the notes and textbook without him. Just do the practice tests and book problems, go to CLAS, and study

Worth going to lectures even if you don't pay attention so you can get iclicker points to skip Aleks. Only bad thing about this course is Aleks, it is a unique type of hell that you must experience to appreciate. If you've done AP chem, this course is very straightforward.

Prof Crisjoe is super nice. It might just be chem 1a in general but it felt as though Aleks took up way too much time and didn't actually help me when it came to learning. Definitely do not miss lecture or you will fail the course. This is a weeder class so don't stress if you fail and have to retake it.