He has been my most favorite professor at UCSB. I always looked forward to attending lectures as he is a great communicator and makes his lectures engaging and easy to understand. There were quite a bit of reading to do, however, I got along just fine by skimming through them. Tests were online and open notes but the still were fairly difficult.
Very nice and sweet man, just the lectures can be pretty boring.
Not a great speaker, unclear. Wanted us to read textbook, but textbook and lectures didn't align well. TAs were often confused. Labs/sections were ok, but difficult to follow. Have to memorize lots of specifics. Midterm and final were async online, open notes, but still pretty hard. Struggles with technology, which is problematic post-pandemic.
Worst class I have ever taken. Prof insists you read the INSANELY long book, which is contains information that contradicts lecture. Unfair tests. Said he had time for questions (only email of mine he EVER answered) so I explained answers I got wrong that could be proven correct in the textbook. He then never answered me(: Lazy and unprofessional.
If I'm being 100% honest I don't recommend this class. The professor seems to really care about what he does but the lectures were just way too much information. The tests were graded so harshly and the TA's were also confused about the answers. I don't think people should take this class as an easy GE.
Do not take classes with this prof! He is super hard to reach outside of class and is generally not nice. His lectures are boring and hard to understand, and a lot of the content does not match with what is assigned in lab.
Prof Awramik definitely knows what he's talking about. He's passionate about ES and goes into just enough detail in his lectures. There are no surprise questions on tests and labs are very straightforward.
Besides only being graded in 4 categories the class was alright. He is pretty friendly, but I had trouble staying awake in his classes. Might've just been me, but I never felt intrigued into the lecture details
Prof. Awramik's lectures were so boring. I'm not joking when I say that they literally put me to sleep. He's super knowledgable and passionate about the subject, but I was not. If you love (I seriously mean LOVE) rocks and tectonic plates then you'll enjoy the course. I did not.
His lectures are amazing. He does great on explaining natural process so it is a quite enjoyable experience to have his lecture. Lab sessions are unexpectedly hard, i normally need to ask TA very frequently to complete the handout. The field trip is not very helpful, but it is pleasant to have such an activity.
Very clear, concise professor. He's also not a rambler like other professors and keeps the lectures short and well organized. I wish all professors were this genuinely caring and organized.
This guy is the chillest dude ever. His lectures and sections are interesting. MY only problem are his tests. They are super hard. The questions are super specific that if you don't pay attention for a second in lecture, you'll more sure miss that minute detail. Other than that, he's an amazing professor.
I really appreciate Professor Awramiks enthusiasm and the time and effort he puts in to EARTH 30. I am not a STEM major, but I took EARTH 30 to become more scientifically literate and I have not been disspointed. Professor Awramik is great to talk to outside of class and is super helpful.
I liked him as a prof., he doesn't take attendance but definitely should go to lecture. tests have lots of detailed and/or tricky questions (especially T/F). The material he presents is what you're tested on and if you study you'll be fine. When he tells you to memorize something (geologic time scale) he is serious and you'll be tested on it
Professor Awramik is extremely knowledgable and very humble. His class was thought provoking and interesting- definitely take INT 94ER!
Took this class as an interesting elective unit, boy was I mistaken. Tests are SUPER hard. Lectures are all over the map. Hard to study for since he goes on so many tangents and tests vastly on what he talks about. Don't take unless you have a passion for the subject. But if you do, he is one of the most passionate/informed profs I've ever had.
Do not take this class unless you are an Earth major! I picked it without doing any research thinking it would be another interesting and fairly easy Earth Science class (Earth 2 is the move for that). It is not. By far the most memorization heavy class I have ever taken. Every little detail is fair game. That said, Awramik is a good guy.
If you are not a geology major, I recommend not taking this class. Relative to all the other earth classes you can take, this is a hard class especially since it's an 8am. At best, take it pass or no pass. I was in the honors section and skipped a total of 2 lectures and did all of the reading while reviewing all of the notes and still it was tough
He is an okay professor, but he seems to struggle with putting an emphasis on what will be tested on. Several times, he went on about one topic only for it to never show up. I went into the final with an A- in the class and left with a solid B. You do get credit for your group labs which are easy to do.
Awramik is super passionate about the subject. This class is VERY information heavy. The class averages on the midterms were D-(he curves them though). I got an A- on one and a B+ on the second after memorizing practically all info on the slides. 1/4 of your grade is lab, which isn't bad if you have a good TA. Overall a hard class, hard GE.
I took this pass or fail. Not being a science major, this class was difficult. I never scored above a B- on any test and i studied hard, but got a 95% average for the labs (1/4 of your grade). This class is easy to pass, but hard to get an A in. I recommend taking it pass or fail if you can and if you are worried about your GPA.
The professor is a great guy and is really passionate about the material. There's a lot that you have to know and tests can be tricky, but he is more than happy to help. Overall I think this is a hard class, but also a fun one.
Professor Awramik is a really nice guy and he definitely knows his stuff. Very passionate about his field. Lectures can be boring from time to time, but his classes definitely worth a shot.
DONT TAKE AS A 1ST YEAR I did and it was sTUPId hard He has only one Quiz midterm &final so you have very little room for error DO THE EXTRA CREDIT says you need the book but I got an A without it He wont tell you what he'll test on so you gotta know it all 4.5bya-cenozoic tests are hard and he grades tough so be careful with wording v nice man