ROTHMAN J H

Joel Rothman

24 reviews
Test heavy Graded by few things Lecture heavy Tough grader Amazing lectures Clear grading criteria Respected Participation matters Inspirational Hilarious Caring Skip class? You won't pass. Tests are tough
Past quarters
MCDB 110
179 / 198 Enrolled
Principles of Biochemistry
Joel Rothman 4.3
M W
15:30 PM - 16:45 PM
33.9% A
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MCDB 224 Rothman J H Spring 2024 Total: 7
MCDB 110 Rothman J H Winter 2024 Total: 147
MCDB 194KF Rothman J H Winter 2024 Total: 8
MCDB 194KF Rothman J H Fall 2023 Total: 7
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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 8 Months Ago

My favorite professor at UCSB! He made biochem (a notoriously difficult subject) so much easier to understand. His lectures were so engaging and honestly pretty entertaining. His lectures are the only lectures that I can attend in person and not fall asleep. Such a funny and personable guy. Anyone would be lucky to learn biochem from Rothman. GOAT

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 8 Months Ago

I liked Rothman a lot. It's not his fault the material has to be rushed since there's so much to cover and little class time. I thought his exams were fair and his expectations for them were pretty clear. He gives lots of practice problems and old exams to study. He makes the material digestible even though it's difficult w/ well-organized lectures

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

Great lecturer, however, the material was somewhat rushed in my opinion. Professor Rothman was gracious enough to add in extra credit and to give us a decent curve. Besides the ridiculously hard final, the midterms were doable if you study enough.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 1 Year, 7 Months Ago

Rothman's class is pretty challenging. He focuses very heavily on lectures and doesn't make his expectations for what you need to know clear. His exams were toughs well with not much of a curve given. He is not horrible by any means, just not my favorite professor ever. I think he does truly care, I just couldn't seem to learn the material.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 1 Year, 8 Months Ago

Joel is a good lecturer and he makes some good dad jokes. He's really helpful in OH and is a really nice person overall. The average was way lower than the top 8 students so he offered us extra credit which was really nice of him. The final was lowkey hard tho ngl. The midterm difficulty was understandable IMO.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 2 Years Ago

I really enjoyed this class! Material was challenging, but Rothman is a great lecturer. He made a very difficult subject manageable and interesting, but you have to work for it. Problem sets and past exams are super helpful in determining what information is important. From there, I would study the hell out of his lectures and you'll be fine.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 2 Years Ago

Professor Rothman is 100% my favorite professor that I have had at UCSB. He really takes careful consideration in the organization of his often difficult teaching concepts and puts immense effort into making them entertaining. He is also a really cool guy to talk to. Highly recommend taking this class!

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 2 Years Ago

Made us go in person just to take exams, half the class failed and received no curve. The test questions were terrible and we fell behind in class due to his constant cringe jokes. Take the class with Wilton if you can.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 3 Years Ago

My course was online, and you could tell he still wasn't completely used to it but the dude can really teach! He always takes into account ppl's questions during lecture and is super approachable at office hours. Study the lectures hard and ASK questions! Exams are tough but doable, I did better each exam. Push hard early if you want that A, GL! :D

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 3 Years Ago

Graded 100% on 3 exams. Dull lectures. Difficult exams very different from material in lecture. Tests you on tiny random details. Unwilling to accommodate students in situations out of their control. No curve. Grades exams harshly. Midterm on week 9. Added an extra lecture because he was too far behind. Do the problem sets, they help with exams.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 4 Years Ago

Funny and chill dude, great professor. The material is all in lecture, so make sure you write down EVERYTHING he says, no matter how small. Details matter big time in this class. If you need a deeper source of information, the internet was more helpful than the textbook.

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MCDB110 . Rothman J H 4 Years Ago

Gives 3 exams, 2 midterms and a final. The final and the midterms are weighted the same. Dr. Rothman is an awesome professor, super funny, and extremely accommodating. He does all that he can to ensure that his students are successful. If you have taken 109c, this class is almost an exact repeat, so its very easy. Curves the class.

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