Dr. Szumlinski is a great professor! She is clearly very passionate about the subject, and wants to feed the passions of students interested in Neuropharmacology. Her class is challenging, as it is solely graded on the midterm and final and lectures are filled with a lot of information, but she has very clear expectations. Study, and you'll do well
had to drop a class last second to take both 115/134 she offered in Spring, BEST DECISION! Very knowledgable and very approachable during OH and her personality is great fun! You expect pharmacology to be dry but not with her. Definitely one of the gem professors in the Psych department, you see her name on GOLD you Click! umk?!
I LOVE Dr. K and her positive energy! She's very approachable. Had her for 115&134 she's the best! Great lecturer, highly recommend attending! Tells you what to expect on exams. It's ALOT of new material though so you won't do well if you cram study (:/). Do the objectives! I have learned so much, thank you so much Dr. K!
What they say is true. One of the best psych professors, very funny. Attendance isn't really mandatory but is encouraged. Reading the textbook helps but quizzes and midterm are very lecture-heavy. The class material is not super difficult but it is A LOT of content.
Dr. K is the best professor at UCSB. Psychopharm is a tough subject but the way she teaches it is very thorough. The lectures were longer but she helped me understand what wouldve been incredibly hard for me to learn. In reality, youre saving time by watching the long lect cause ur not spending hours trying to study and wrap your head around it.
Professor Szumlinski (Dr. K) is the BEST! She is my all time favorite professor at UCSB. The online lectures for 134 are a little longer but thats because she does a fantastic job explaining the complex concepts. Her tests are very fair. She has objectives for each lecture, fill those out and understand them and you will do well!
WORST PROFESSOR EVER. DO NOT TAKE HER. SHE IS SO UNACCOMMADATING. she literally only cares about her research and thats it. she doesnt care about teaching and goes wayyy over her lecture time. very rude.
I loved Dr. K. She is an actual educator. She teaches you how to understand complex mechanisms. I never thought I would have been able to understand some those pathways. Her exams are fair but sometimes the questions are hard to understand but that's just one of few questions, overall the exams are fair. I really enjoyed all her classes.
Although psychopharmacology is a tough a class that has a lot of information, she makes the information interesting and understandable. She is a great teacher for this class. As long you put time into doing the objectives, you will pass
I am a senior and she is the best professor I have had at UCSB. If you are interested in the subject you will do well. Her lectures are always interesting and she is amazing at breaking down the material and explaining it so it is easy to understand. Highly recommend taking her classes!!!
Dr. K is an amazing instructor and it is clear that she is highly respected for her work. She is great at explaining the material; however, I found this class to be more challenging than other psych classes. If intracellular cascades freak you out, this is definitely not the course for you!
She is honestly the coolest woman I have ever met. GO TO OFFICE HOURS! Even if you don't have questions, you can learn so much by talking to her. I didn't think the class was very hard but I this was mainly because I studied a LOT because I liked the professor so much. I hope when I'm Karen's age I'm half as cool as she is. And she loves coffee 3
She is an awesome Professor and absolutely amazing for psychopharm. I wish I could take more classes with her. Study the lecture slides and take good notes in class. She isn't as hard as people make her out to be.
She is truly brilliant however her exams are also exceedingly difficult. She explains everything pretty well. Warning: the final is more difficult than the midterm. Know her slides inside and out & don't bother with the book.
Dr. K is the most amazing professor at UCSB. She is interesting and intelligent and is genuinely my idol. While I have only experienced her in a lab setting and not in lecture, I HIGHLY recommend taking any course that she teaches, you will not regret it!!! I'll sing her praises as long as I live!
Karen is a fantastic lecturer and an exceptional professor. I highly recommend this class, yes it's difficult, and yes there is little room for error, but she makes herself readily available in office hours or via email.
Professor Szumlinski is an AMAZING professor. Yes, biopsych may be an overall difficult class, but she teaches it so well. I loved how she found a way to repeat information without being redundant, so that it really stuck. If you study her slides and make sure you can answer the objectives, you should have no problem! Awesome class & professor!
I understand why its not, but I wish this course was taught in smaller groups. Too many students and too much information to relay to such a large class. Super interesting lecturer. Made the class more interesting that it couldve been. She knowingly admits she has a super difficult midterm/final, but if you review key slides, its not too bad
Wow! She is so smart and funny too! Love her! :) BUT IT IS A VERY DIFFICULT SUBJECT and WAY TOO MUCH MATERIAL for one exam! This class is tough though, BUT CURVED so you will survive :) Make sure to take less units, memorize textbook and review the slides religiously and you'll do great! But remember to spend a lot of time studying!
She is a very inspiring professor. She knows a LOT about the human brain and tries to explain it as clear as possible. Though the tests are tricky, she gives you enough material to study from. Brilliant and intimidating professor.
Never have I been so fiercely intimidated, awed, and possibly turned on by a force of intelligence like that of Karen's. She is a consummate professional, a brilliant lecturer, and an empassioned speaker. Her confidence is contagious and taking this class will be the best decisions of your academic career. Trust me, you won't miss a single one
Smart is the new Sexy-- After taking PSY 115 with Karen Szumlinski, I truly ascribe to this saying. Never have I been so fiercely intimidated, awed, and possibly turned on by a force of intelligence like that of Karen's. She is a consummate professional, a brilliant lecturer, and an empassioned speaker. Trust me, you won't miss a single class.
She is seriously the best professor you could ever have. So nice and awesome both as a person and professor! I will continue to recommend forever!
A LOT of material! 3 exams, got all B's, ended up with A- due to curve! She is really funny quirky prof, super smart and quick witted! My advice is to form a study group, it really helped us that did! If you know the concepts, memorize systems and structures it will help you answer her hypothetical questions. TA is really nice too!