Don't take his class. His TA was ridiculous and the grading she used was too harsh, even after grading things 4 weeks into the quarter. Prof isn't helpful. Don't set yourself up

Class material was interesting but the TA broke the class. Assignments consisted of ann imaginary grading rubric the TA uses, not the one provided. Sobotka didn't do much to change this after receiving many complaints. Long readings each week, nothing was graded until week 4, uses Iclicker for attendance. I wouldn't recommend this class.

When things were graded, grades were BAD and we were already like 4 assignments in. Awful class, awful amount of reading, unrealistic expectations for students. The midterm and final were insane and also we took the final not during finals week and then literally had another class after ??? Had his finals for both of the classes on the same day

His class was interesting and he made it engaging. However, what bothered me is that after receiving so many complaints about the TA and grading he didn't do anything to try and help. It's not cool when TAs act like the professor. YOU'RE NOT! She was nit picky, went off her own grading system, NEVER responded to emails, and made the class awful.

I'm here to defend Professor Sabotka! He's getting bad reviews because of a TA?? If you take one of his classes with a decent TA you will enjoy the course! He's a great communicator and makes dense theory easy to understand/analyze. He also dropped our two lowest reflection grades because of any late grading issues earlier in the quarter!

Professor was great but the TA caused major issues with no grading until week 4. Very reading-heavy course with 2 long readings a week. Both the midterm and final are strongly based on the readings. If you get a bad grade in the begging good luck! You wont get past a B unless you somehow Ace the final and midterm and or final video project:)

I know so many people who were so excited for this class, and EVERYONE I talked to ended up with the same opinion. Terrible, unresponsive TA who didn't grade any of our WEEKLY assignments until week 4. She did not respond to my email from week one until a MONTH later. Sobotka is a good professor but the class was set up very poorly in my opinion.

TA grades very harsh and gives little to no feedback (makes up her own grading). 2 IN PERSON exams with short answer AND group project after the final exam. He is very knowledgable but the structure of the class made the majority of the class barely pass. Honestly, would not recommend.

Nothing was graded until week 4. Same assignments each week but without getting feed back until midway through...grades were LOW. TA takes forever to grade. Professor is nice but midterm was HARD, many questions didn't make sense. I think the grade average was quite low. Disappointed with this class.

This is for the drugs class, the course number wasn't available. The amount of reading... INSANE. You will read 3-4 lengthy papers/articles/txt book chapters each week and then be expected to remember material from EVERY one for the exam. The study guides for the exams are not helpful at all. The professor is a nice guy I'm sure but omg.

I also took Soc 147 with him! He is the best sociology professor take his classes .

I love Dr. Sobotka. This was my second class with him, and he's wonderful. I enjoyed crafting our experiments. It was helpful to work on the final project throughout the entire quarter. Only one foundational test. Take this class!

There were 3 papers and 3 tests (MCQ + short answers) for the class. As long as you attend lectures and take notes, you'll be fine. His lectures were inspirational, and you will learn a lot from him. Definitely recommend taking any of his classes!

Super engaging and the lectures are digestible and easy to understand! Attendance is required as there are iclicker questions during lecture that track your attendance. There are 3 midterms (no consecutive) that are 20 mc and 1 sa each, but all are worth a lot of points so getting one question wrong can ding you a bit. Overall, enjoyed the class!

As a professor he does a good job engaging students in lectures and I can tell he cares. But this class is WAYYY too much work, ~500 word assignment every week, 2 exams 1 group project. My TA was also very biased with grading the weekly assignment. I got pts deducted for minor citation errors but my friend who did the same always got full credit…

He is so nice and understanding. He cares about our opinions and makes the classroom environment feel safe. I would recommend a class with him!

My new favorite Professor at UCSB. Seriously the kindest and most passionate teacher I've had here. His TA for his gender class last quarter sucked, but that had nothing to do with Sobotka's teaching style. I'm taking 2 more of his classes this quarter because of how understanding and chill he is. He cares about his students and what he's teaching.

Have had many classes with him. He assigns a bit of reading, but as long as you understand the main points you will be fine, he also goes over them in lecture. He does assign group projects, but has very open communication about group contribution/participation. Just study and go to class, you will be good. You also give reviews for your grade.

This professor is incredibly kind. You do have to come to class and stay on top of reading, but if you do that you will pass easily. His exams are not difficult, just covering the basic stuff you covered in class. He is incredibly flexible and wants you to succeed. There is a survey for the group projects to ensure you get the grade you deserve!!

Professor Sobotka was very nice and generally seemed like he really cared about his students, but this class was a mess. 5 reading reflections, if you get points taken off, there is no explanation. There are also two very hard exams, and the study guide does not prepare you for anything. He also has a group project where he picks groups.

Very nice and funny guy. His lectures were engaging and easy to understand. There is a final group project and there are two in-person tests, but the tests are mainly about lectures not really readings. I never did the readings and still did good.

I was initially intimidated because I hadn't done research before but Sobotka did a great job streamlining the course. He was willing to answer any question you had in the class. 20% of the grade was attendance (iClicker), 30% was worksheets, 10% a reflection, 35% final project that was worked on throughout quarter. Recommend any class with him.