The other econ9 review is a little harsh. It's econ for non-econ majors. Midterm and final weren't cakewalks but doable if you studied. Watson's lectures were a hit or miss- some were entertaining but he can drone on and on. Sections were helpful if you missed lecture. Watson himself is pretty likeable. Funny guy with a lot of wisdom & experience.

Great professor, uses real world examples. He has been one of the best professors I've had at UCSB. He made an 8am course interesting, I looked forward to his class each morning.

He knows what he's talking about and isn't a bad teacher. However, he's very mean and really couldn't care less about our grades. Everyone scored badly on the tests and he doesn't curve and gives no partial credits. Once I was late to class by literally 1 minute and he refused to let me take the quiz. I didn't have a good experience.

Was scared going into this class as I'm not an Econ major, but ended up being my fav class this quarter! Went to class & didn't read the book at all- got an A. Funny, great prof who gives you all the info in lecture clearly. For non Econ majors definitely take 109 instead of 1 and 2- it's MUCH easier. He even calls this class Econ for poets.

Watson is one of the few Econ professors at UCSB who's been successful in both the education and business world. He will teach you about the real world. I would suggest taking as many classes from him as possible as he's a wealth of knowledge.

Watson actually teaches something! Other professors use powerpoints and only half-teach. I suggest taking Econ 134A at the same time so you're comfortable with NPV calculations which are emphasized on the final.

Watson is one of the most interesting professors @UCSB! He appreciates when ppl catch his math errors in class. Book helps with hw, but that's it. Notes pg for the final! BE WARNED: YOU NEED TO LEARN PRESENT VALUES ON YOUR OWN, otherwise, he only gives 1-2 lectures on it and the final is HUGELY difficult if you don't already know PV!! GREAT CLASS!

I love Watson's class. This dude knows how to teach. He has a Passion for teaching accounTing. HiS exams are challenging for a reason- there are alot of Top students in the Econ major. He is required to separate the flowers from the weeds

Watson is without a doubt the best accounting professor at UCSB. His lectures are well thoughtout and easy to follow. If you want to do well, you need to work your ass off and focus. There is no spoon fooding in his class. Without Watson and Sanders, the accounting department would be third rate at best.

Best accounting teacher I've come across at UCSB. It's clear that he's very knowledgeable and loves to help students understand the material. The book is pretty useful to clear up concepts even though he explains things differently than the book. Tests are hard, but as long as you do enough practice problems, you should be able to get an A easily.

BE FOREWARNED. The midterm and homework were easy enough. However, the final was extremely difficult and the problems were not like any of the problems we had seen before. Do not be surprised to see your grade drop drastically after the final. Get your hands on the pink reader and just do the practice problems, that's your best bet at passing.

Midterm was easy. Final was very difficult, be prepared. Go to lecture and write down EVERYTHING. Take good notes in section. Use your lecture/section notes to study-- the book is useless. All in all, a great lecturer who models his tests after the CPA: very tricky.

I learned as much about helicopters than I did Managerial Acct. He's a fairly good teacher and makes class interesting, but his tests are designed to trick his students. His final was brutal... He switched up the problems so that they didn't look very familiar. Don't buy his new textbook, just use the old reader to practice for his tests. Gluck!

Excellent professor with interesting lectures. Hard and tricky material, but still possible to get a good grade.

I have to say he is one of the best pro in UCSB. Class is one of the hardest in Econ magor because the text is CPA level. I thought I understand all the met he told, but I really need more time to study on it. very useful class even I only got a B- for it. I still love it.

Hands down the most detailed and clear Accounting professor in UCSB. Purchase the reader and study one/two hours prior class to prepare for his pop-quizes. Keep up with the material and you'll be guaranteed an A. Everything on the midterm/final was covered in lecture... if you don't keep up... you're essentially screwed.

If you're looking to do the accounting emph. at UCSB, beware, because this is the weed-out class that will make or break you. Watson is a solid lecturer but has one of the worst grading policies out of any professor at UCSB. No partial credit. Exams designed to trick you. Textbook and reader are useless. You truly are on your own. Good luck.

As long as you go to class and study the reader you should do well in the class. Just make sure you actually understand the problems and not just how to do them. Interesting lectures, and as long as you go over the notes before class the pop quizzes are easy. Book is not necessary

Took 137A last quarter and got a C. After reading all the comments below, thank god I passed! Watson knows his stuff and teaches it very well. I gotta say, I enjoyed every one of his lectures. It's just his brutal tests and quizzes that screws everyone over. They are tricky and confusing. The old midterms and finals help, but not much. good luck.

Really hard course. Professor is good at this stuff but doesn't help.

Although I really liked him, he IS cold blooded. He is crystal clear about what he wants from his students. He is not lenient at all. He treats all his students the same no matter what. He has pop quizzes.

Professor Watson is cold blooded. Study the the reader and don't bother buying the book. He is very tricky on his test so watch out for that.

Excellent lecture, compelling class. Unfortunately pop quizzes are tricky and tests are as well. I studied 10+ hours for the midterm and got a 55%. Must have made up for it during the final, I managed a B. Break down is: 20% quizzes 35% Midterm and 45% Final. Does not follow the book, so you MUST attend lecture. I had 100% attendance.

The scariest class I've ever taken. Watson is a good lecturer, but his tests and grading policy are absolutely brutal. You can understand EVERYTHING he gives you and still bomb the midterm and final because of his "no partial credit" policy. You accidentally transpose one number, and you're done. Some quarters, he is easier than others. Good luck