[{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:55:25.683249+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxODk5ODQx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1780137","instructor_name":"Andrew Kuemmel","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-05-17 12:21:38 +0000 UTC","comment":"Andy is a nice guy who is easy to talk to and a pretty easy guy to work with. However, His lectures can get dry and his programming assignments are updated on the fly and the criteria are changed. It can be frustrating. There is also a final group project at the end of the semester that does just planning for 2 weeks then code the whole thing in 1.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1780137","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:55:25.683249+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxMTcyNzA2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1780137","instructor_name":"Andrew Kuemmel","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-12-29 10:13:48 +0000 UTC","comment":"Andy is terrific as a person, probably the nicest guy in the department. Can't say the same about his teaching skills though. Class moves slow and is in general uninspiring. Take it if you're looking for easy credits to get through.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1780137","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:55:25.683249+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMwNjg5OTQy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:1780137","instructor_name":"Andrew Kuemmel","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-11-08 20:38:39 +0000 UTC","comment":"Andy is a good professor. He goes over the content in a decent amount of detail, and the class is pretty straightforward and easy as long as you pay some small amount of attention in lecture. That being said he can move a bit slowly at times, and he will occasionally make significant mistakes and not notice until minutes later","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1780137","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQzMzY5NTcy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-08-16 20:14:03 +0000 UTC","comment":"He is a great teacher. Explains things very well.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyNjMyNzU3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-02-22 00:15:27 +0000 UTC","comment":"Ashley was really nice and a great professor. She is very smart and knows exactly what she is talking about. Not too much homework and replies to piazza posts very quickly","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMzk1ODI2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-25 05:01:43 +0000 UTC","comment":"She's really good! Take her if you can","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMzc5NjM2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-23 00:25:38 +0000 UTC","comment":"CS400 is structured a little strange with the class switching between data structures and seemingly random topics, but Ashley does a great job of explaining the material. Highly recommend taking the class with her.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMzU1MjQ3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-20 02:35:53 +0000 UTC","comment":"GOAT. By far one of the best professors I've had at UW.\nI've honestly been quite disappointed with the overall teaching quality here in previous semesters, but Ashley completely changed that for me. She is the reason I see real hope in this school.\nAn absolute must-take.\n","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMzM2ODAw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-18 22:51:28 +0000 UTC","comment":"A really great professor. Her slides and notes are very detailed and she explains concepts clearly. She is also very responsive to emails and piazza questions after class and always willing to help.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMzI5OTk0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-18 16:44:09 +0000 UTC","comment":"Ashley is a very good professor, slides are very organized and lectures are pretty good for cs400 and are recorded. Learned a lot in this course because of her. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMjQ4ODU0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-14 23:31:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"Absolutely phenomenal professor. I wasn't even in her section but I'd still tune into her lectures because she teaches so well. She's the only reason I passed the class. The notes she provides are absolutely amazing and she has been an absolutely MASSIVE help. Would 100% recommend 7/5 stars.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:54:01.754762+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMjMwMTcx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3138921","instructor_name":"Ashley Samuelson","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-13 18:07:58 +0000 UTC","comment":"She has an unparalleled teaching style and is super responsive to emails + piazza posts. Clearly loves teaching, and is extremely knowledgeable, which is an extremely rare combination.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3138921","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:47:43.193398+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQzMzQyODE5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:3166420","instructor_name":"Connor Bailey","course_label":"cs400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-08-03 21:38:59 +0000 UTC","comment":"One of the best prof I've encountered. unmatched teaching. very attentive and responsive.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3166420","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:46:15.004521+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2NDYxMzIy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2806728","instructor_name":"Daniel Finer","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-06-13 22:36:18 +0000 UTC","comment":"This man's lectures are a pain to sit through. He just can't speak well, and it shows. His assignment guidelines are unclear, and the lectures don't really help. I find that all I get from lectures are keywords that I will have to look up on youtube later. Avoid if possible.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2806728","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MTczMzY4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-01 02:17:36 +0000 UTC","comment":"This course was great. The lectures were engaging and the expectations for the course were clearly outlined. Deb adapted really well when we switched to online for the semester, holding regular question and answer sessions.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NzUwNDU5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-05-10 04:46:37 +0000 UTC","comment":"Emailing this person is like emailing a brick wall. She fails in communication, and lacks understanding. She also changed the grade of my final project based on the results of my final exam (both entirely unrelated to each other)","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MzU4NzMz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-02-11 21:17:49 +0000 UTC","comment":"Prof. Deppeler definitely cares about the students in her class, but the lack of organization made it hard to follow her intentions at times. The lecture outlines are fine; the course is light once each of the data structures "clicks" in your head. Big group project was unfairly distributed, without consideration that some did most of the work.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzODMxNjAy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-11-17 15:35:49 +0000 UTC","comment":"The lecture notes that Deb uses are really good. These are the only lectures that I actually found worthwhile attending because of the lecture notes.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzODI3Nzk1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-11-16 23:29:27 +0000 UTC","comment":"The grading criteria for her course is strict, but she knows very well how to equip students with knowledge, so if you follow her lectures closely, all the exam content and tests appear in the course and an A is not difficult. She doesn't offer complete notes, but she offers recording of lectures and her English is easy to understand.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzNzE4NDc0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-10-20 22:15:04 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb is kind and committed to her students. Personally, I love her lecture format, as the fill-in-the-blank style notesheets keep me engaged and attentive (especially with the new online lecture format). At times, her instructions for programs can be hard to parse, but once you get into the meat of it things generally make sense.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzNjYwODA1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-09-24 16:54:18 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb definitely cares, but she will follow a very strict, although non-optimal format. The one *amazing* thing is she actually recorded her lectures so you are not forced to go to lecture which is automatically a +1 from me (She would be 3 otherwise)","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzNjI4OTcz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-09-03 18:11:18 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb had one of the worst organized classes I think I will ever take. Simply put it was terrible if I could avoid taking her I would. She is a very nice and kind person but unfortunately for us that doesn't mean she is a good teacher. If you take her class hopefully you can read minds because it is almost impossible to know what she wants.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzNDAwMjU1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-06-02 19:43:28 +0000 UTC","comment":"At the start of the semester, Deb's lectures were a bit slow and my class got a lecture behind, but as it progressed she got better. Deb is a very pleasant person and is very accessible. The class has a lot of individual projects, one group project with random people, and one group project with people you choose. Lectures are posted on canvas.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMzA2MjY5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-05-15 19:54:14 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Deppeler is good with lecture, but her class is terribly organized. All of her assignments had some sort of confusion or error that would take way too long for her to address. She will randomly change deadlines, and grading thresholds. The midterm was a test on memorizing random things from the lecture notes rather than the key concepts.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMzA2MDU1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-05-15 19:31:16 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deppeler is a good lecturer, that's it. The rest of her class is filled with confusion that's easily avoidable. She randomly changed the grading thresholds for an A, which shrunk the AB threshold. An 89.4 ended up being a B, and an 89.5-90 was the AB threshold, although an 89 would be an AB in previous years. Very unforgiving when emailed about it","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMjk0NDcz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-05-14 16:04:11 +0000 UTC","comment":"This class and professor are very unorganized. Grading criteria is not specifically listed. The professor puts on a facade of being very eager to help but in reality doesn't care that much about the student's success in the course. The programming assignments take a lot of work but aren't worth a lot. Exams are based on memorizing random terms.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMjY1ODIx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-05-11 20:16:27 +0000 UTC","comment":"Great professor for a very busy course. Constantly check Piazza","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMjQ5OTEx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-05-09 16:05:07 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb is a fantastic human being and a pedantic but effective lecturer. HOWEVER! This course has absolutely awful organisation; a masochistic personality is recommended if you are to take this course, as projects will take up a disproportionate amount of your time while being worth triflings. Dont waste your time on projects, study for the exams.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMDUzNTU3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-04-13 19:05:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"Her lecture is fairly clear. That's all. This class require you to watch the email and Piazza ALL THE TIME or you will miss changes to homework requirements, home pages, quiz and etc. Everything I submit on this class involves quantum theory because you never know if your answer is wrong or the professor's answer is wrong. It's a MESS. DON'T take.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzMDE5Mzgx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-04-04 15:15:04 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Deppeler makes CS much less interesting. If you plan on spending time trying to learn the concepts in the class to a greater degree, you won't be successful in the class. She values tests that require memorization of the lecture outlines over programming assignments that require a degree of skill and critical thinking to complete.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyOTY2MjY2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-03-11 07:41:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Makes ambiguous quiz questions, changes homework requirements right before deadlines, create useless group projects. Worst teacher ever met.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyOTMyNjI5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-02-25 23:11:54 +0000 UTC","comment":"she only received points B/C lecture material. But she is a terrible professor in distributing her lecture and assignments. She would change the requirements a hour before its deadline. Most (90%) of her quiz question and assignment description are ambiguous and unclear. Why Unacceptable: even students clearly point out her fault, she won't admit.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyOTMxOTY2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-02-25 19:25:54 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb's lecture is fine. She'll give you worksheet to fill out during the lecture. But she doesn't give you any clear explanation of her assignments, and she often (almost every time) changes the assignment details without any notice. The homework instructions often got many confusions. But she's the only professor teaching this course. so good luck.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyODQ4NzE4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-01-18 22:41:03 +0000 UTC","comment":"She uses note packets and as long as you go to class and follow along in lectures you'll do fine. Her exams aren't bad at all, but prepare to spend a lot of time working on the programs. Overall one of the best CS profs I've had.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyNzY1MTA3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-12-27 20:18:02 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb is a great professor! Her lectures are very clear and they were very helpful. Always bring the lecture outline to class to fill in. Do the online readings before the exams! Both exam averages weren't bad and the programs didn't take too long. But, there are 2 exams and 6 programs (you can do a 7th one and drop 1) so do your best! Good luck!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyNzMzODI2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-12-20 23:44:30 +0000 UTC","comment":"Her class is the most disorganized class that I have taken in UW Madison. She does not answer emails, piazza and overcomplicates concepts in her class. Additionally, she gives vague instructions on programs and would recommend going on youtube to learn her classs material.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyMzk3ODI5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-11-12 15:34:55 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb's lectures are largely boring and contain a lot of unnecessary filler. Thankfully they were recorded and can be watched at 2X speed to save time. Assignments are a grab bag of unclear grading criteria and black boxes that will determine your final score. Figuring out what needed to be done for a project was often confusing.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMyMjM3ODM0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-09-20 02:41:53 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb is a great instructor in lecture, however, be prepared to have no idea what to do for programs. Instructions are unclear, things you end up being graded on are left out, and extra requirements are only told in answers to piazza questions and never updated on the assignment page, so if you don't see that specific piazza post, you're screwed.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxNzI1NzE2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-05-01 00:42:43 +0000 UTC","comment":"Overall a decent lecturer.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxMjQ4NTU1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2019-01-12 17:21:17 +0000 UTC","comment":"Deb is a great lecturer. Her classes / projects can be difficult at times but she does a good job presenting the lecture material. She has been one of the better lecturers that I've had within the CS department at UW-Madison. Works hard to present clear information.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxMTQ5NTA3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-12-24 15:00:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"Out of all the CS professors, Deb stands out as the most caring. In lecture, she makes the environment seem small so students can ask questions and really incorporates feedback into her teaching. Multiple times during the semester, she'd reexplain things in depth that had left students confused. There's no curve, but none of the CS classes do...","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMxMTM5Mjgw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-12-22 18:29:40 +0000 UTC","comment":"I think Professor Deppeler is a fantastic lecturer. I feel that I learned a great deal from her and was consistently engaged throughout the semester. She goes through content by writing it down along with us, which fosters a kind of open, more conversational lecture environment which is great for asking questions. I would definitely recommend her.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMwMTQ0ODU2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-05-18 11:52:36 +0000 UTC","comment":"I had harder classes with students earning a around 90%, but this one has no curve!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMwMTQzNjUw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-05-18 04:07:19 +0000 UTC","comment":"No curve for this class, even cs 300 can be curved to 90%","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:44:02.453936+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMwMTAyNTU5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:177726","instructor_name":"Debra (Deb) Deppeler","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2018-05-14 16:30:50 +0000 UTC","comment":"Half the class is data structures and the other half is whatever deb/tas comes up with. Make sure to do well on the midterm and final project","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/177726","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQzMDk2NzEz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-05-11 21:20:14 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian Florain Florian... CS400 as a course is so poorly structured but you managed to make it less of a dumpster fire. The group projects are probably the most uncoordinated efforts by the instructional staff so good luck. Otherwise Florian lectures clearly and was accessible outside of class. He also forgot about TopHat a lot lol","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQzMDU3MDEw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-05-07 06:10:41 +0000 UTC","comment":"Pretty nice teacher, lectures are slow but required via TopHat. 1 multiple choice quiz + 1 short coding assignment + 1 coding project is due every week which honestly was not that bad. Nice opportunity to gain 10 extra credit project points at the start of the semester as well. He is the type of professor I expected going into college, solid.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyODkxODc4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-04-21 20:44:43 +0000 UTC","comment":"The professor is great—he explains everything extremely well. The exams are a bit tough for me, though. They tend to include tricky questions that require you to spot hidden traps. You'll walk out of the exam feeling like you absolutely aced it, but it turns out to be an ~80%. Decent enough, but not enough to secure you an A.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyODA5MTQy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-04-09 23:07:41 +0000 UTC","comment":"Pay attention and you'll be fine. He is very good at explaining concepts.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyNjc3NDM1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-03-08 09:05:12 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian's lectures are largely pointless. He describes everything he does in excruciatingly gruesomely minute detail without ever actually explaining anything. He gives no reason behind what he does, he just describes what he's doing. \nAlso, why is he whispering at the end of every sentence? It just makes it hard to hear. He isn't Bob Ross.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyNjEzNDAz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-02-15 00:34:21 +0000 UTC","comment":"His way of giving lectures--that overly indulgent, magnanimous speaking cadence--is so slow and grating that it is impossible to pay attention. Speaking slowly and verbosely only makes it harder to listen and more painfully slow and boring. I ended up skipping lectures because the class is very easy anyway.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyNTIxODk2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2026-01-20 04:29:22 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is a nice guy, but sometimes the lecture could be real slow. Overall a great prof","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMzM5OTEw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-19 02:05:54 +0000 UTC","comment":"lectures are slow, but explains things well.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQyMTIzNDkz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-12-09 18:54:06 +0000 UTC","comment":"Lectures were super slow, watching them online at 2x speed is more useful than actually paying attention in lecture, however, his lectures were very helpful when trying to understand topics. Class was very disorganized though, as projects were unclear and just everything didn't seem to be proofread at all. Exams aren't super difficult though.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxNjk5ODU4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-10-08 21:47:17 +0000 UTC","comment":"Awesome Professor ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMzEyMjQw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-17 19:16:12 +0000 UTC","comment":"I thought that Florian did an outstanding job teaching cs400. He was very engaging and he made his lectures easy to pay attention to. He was decently accessible outside of class. He was very friendly and it was important to him that you learned the topic. Best cs professor I have had so far.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMzA3MTU0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-16 22:23:15 +0000 UTC","comment":"Course material is a bit dry and coding projects can be unclear, but tests are not too hard and overall class was not that bad. A bit harder than CS300, but if you take notes and pay attention you should be fine. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMjkwNjgw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-15 06:17:49 +0000 UTC","comment":"Taught ok but very not helpful and didn't offer any assistance when I ran into technical issues, causing me to lose a lot of my grade.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMjEzNjEy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-08 18:22:35 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is a great professor for a terrible class. His lectures on data structures and algorithms are clear and easy to understand, and the homework is manageable as long as you are not juggling five more classes. The projects are easier than those of CS300, but they are extremely dull—also, there are absolutely no drops, which is bad.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMjA3NTE2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-08 05:06:11 +0000 UTC","comment":"I am very convinved he picked a butt load of money hungry sellout TA's that didn't do anything, and they were the ones creating the projects. I am convinced these projects haven't been proofread, as they constantly get updated because one of the TA's mistakes, even though they had an entire semester to fix these problems. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMjAzODY5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-08 01:03:36 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is a great professor. He teaches the material extremely well and he is super thorough. Although he does move at a slow pace, watching the lectures on 2x speed is a game changer for the course. He goes through many examples and makes understanding the concepts easy. He also inadvertently has a silly personality that I enjoyed.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMTU1NjIz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-05 00:16:49 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is a great professor who is great at explaining things. The one problem is that I feel like his TAs barely proofread what they post. So many errors in exams and projects. Also you learn some useful topics but you also learn topics that I doubt you will ever use again","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMDYwODEy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-04-27 18:09:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"Slow lecturer, not super engaging, but lectures were extremely helpful for projects and exams. Course is poorly run though, projects are made by TAs and have a lot of issues with them that often don't get resolved until a few days before the due date and a lot of TAs and peer mentors don't understand the projects/can't help you.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMDI2MTk3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-04-24 04:03:31 +0000 UTC","comment":"Explains things well, but does not answer any questions in lecture if you raise your hand. Also for my semester he ended up falling behind in lecture because he kept getting out of breath","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMDIwMDY3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-04-23 20:01:26 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian seems like a pretty cool guy and he does a great job explaining complex things in a manner that easy to understand. The only issue is that he explains everything like the audience is 5 and so there are some lectures where he genuinely spends 45 minutes going through a very basic example that doesn't really teach us anything new.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwOTM3MDE2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-04-14 19:24:29 +0000 UTC","comment":"Out of the professors teaching the course's difficult topics, he definitely does it best. His lectures actually have descriptions and pictures that you can reference later compared to the other teacher who forces you to rewatch recordings to see the diagrams he makes. Florian is a good teacher trying to make an overall difficult class easier.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwODg3OTc0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-04-07 22:16:58 +0000 UTC","comment":"Grading rubric sucks, 93 or higher for an A, no dropped assignments, no curve. I cannot stay awake for any of his lectures because of how bad his lectures are. I have 8 AM lectures and I manage to stay awake for those better than this guys lectures. The class isn't even hard, it's the people managing the class that suck","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwNzc1NzI1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-03-16 02:43:08 +0000 UTC","comment":"Excellent professor. I don't think there is any gap between the CS300 and this. Projects are going really well and are not difficult at all. Most of the time, you only need to implement 2-3 methods. You should be able to finish this without much effort if you did well in 300. (I aced the 300 with a 100% final grade though)","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwMzIwNzA5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-12-16 08:48:15 +0000 UTC","comment":"Yay Florian! He's definitely the way to go between him and Gray. Florian does a great job presenting the material in a clear and easy fashion. He's also a really nice and wholesome guy, especially during office hours. You get the same assignments/group projs/tests whether you have Gary or Florian so I'd go for Florian for the better lectures.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwMTc3NzAx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-12-09 20:05:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"This is not a good class but it is not Florians fault. Much of the material is not very useful (haven't heard the words red-black tree since taking this course) and the group projects are obviously horribly structured. Overall he is a good professor and lectures are very clear. He is a nice guy, and I don't understand the hate.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5Nzg1NjM3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-10-03 23:45:57 +0000 UTC","comment":"Lectures are well-structured and he explains algorithms and other course material in a helpful way.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NzU4NDQ1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-09-23 04:42:37 +0000 UTC","comment":"Poor code, poor instruction, assignment not organized\n\nlots of bug in given assignments, didnt show responsiblilty for the code","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NTExMzA5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-23 04:27:22 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is the better option of the two. Not too boring and covers the material well. Tough exams and group projects, projects aren't that bad if your partner is good. Write up's are easy to understand and straight forward. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NDI1Nzg4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-10 00:52:46 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian himself is a boring but meticulous lecturer. He covers things well enough and does do a good job explaining the algorithms for you. The class structure is horrendous. \"Group\" projects are lengthy and much harder than anything you do in 300. The writeups are NOT proofread and have errors. Just a no fun class with so much potential.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NDE5NTY3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-09 16:37:30 +0000 UTC","comment":"This is the most poorly structured course in the CS department other than 577 so get ready for that. However I think Florian is a good choice. He is very nice and explains concepts in a boring but helpful way.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NDE1MDYx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-09 02:57:47 +0000 UTC","comment":"His style of lecturing is a bit boring but he stays back for quite a while after each lecture and is very helpful. I was a bit unsure about how to study for exams because the quizzes only cover a portion of the topics.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MTQ2MTA4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-04-23 22:26:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"A competent instructor who explains algorithms and other course materials well. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MjA3NjEy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-04-19 00:41:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"Lectures are great and helpful, but I wasn't a fan of the projects.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MjA2MzE1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-04-18 22:08:41 +0000 UTC","comment":"Absolutely horrible class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MTk0NjY0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-04-17 19:36:19 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is not that bad, but the whole CS400 class structure is a complete joke. No write-ups, no requirements, and no help from TA's. The jump from CS300 to CS400 is very big. Expect to spend a long time looking through your code and putting together what they want based off method names, without any help and hours in piazza.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MDY4Mjgy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-03-20 16:22:31 +0000 UTC","comment":"He's energetic and  won't put you to sleep during class. He definitely prepares for his class, as we never saw him encounter \"unexpected\" bugs during class. The way he explains algorithms are very clear, and I personally believe every minute in his class was not wasted. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MDM5OTIw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-03-11 02:41:48 +0000 UTC","comment":"Don't really understand the negative reviews for the prof. I thought that Florian was one of the best lecturers I have had - he explained everything very clearly and was accessible outside of class to provide any clarification. However, the course could have definitely been structured better. Write-ups were at times very unclear. TAs are helpful","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4ODA2MjUy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-29 00:17:26 +0000 UTC","comment":"Great at explaining things slowly, but otherwise lectures were pretty boring. Seemed to focus more on how to code/implement the algorithms we were learning instead of understanding them at a baseline conceptual level first. Group projects were disorganized at best but the workload was fairly consistent. Two exams each count for 16% of the grade.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4ODA0Mzk4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-28 17:31:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor seems nice and accommodating, however project/assignment expectations were often confusing. Exams were difficult, with final seeming to focus less on bigger algorithm topics than intricacies like javascript/html/bash/java FX. Overall workload usually wasn't too bad, as the class has smaller assignments + weekly project work. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NjMzODk1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-12 20:45:59 +0000 UTC","comment":"He seems to be a nice enough person, but does not explain the content very well. The entire course is structured terribly and is just generally difficult due to the huge jump from CS300. You'll probably have to teach yourself regardless of whether you go to lecture.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NDE1MDE2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-11-18 02:41:46 +0000 UTC","comment":"I've taken this class once with Gary(dropped it halfway through) and once with Florian. If you are trying to choose which one, the are both really nice and the issues with the class are more the project writeups than the professors themselves and the assignments are the same for both professors. Tests ok if you study. Good professor, bad class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4Mjk4NDc1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-10-23 03:57:32 +0000 UTC","comment":"Very boring lectures and CS400 is honestly structured terribly and the group projects suck. Florian doesn't cover content well.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2ODkyNDU5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-08-08 20:07:26 +0000 UTC","comment":"Does tophat almost every lec so his lec mandatory but his teach is so fast for first learns. The exam material way harder than quiz and code writing as partial question in exams.The projects concept gets harder same grading criteria. Be aware of the group projects bc there's someone who always lose out. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3OTI0MzY1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-05-15 04:51:55 +0000 UTC","comment":"He's alright... Be responsible for your learning and he's there to support you","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3ODM1MTI0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-05-05 18:32:39 +0000 UTC","comment":"A very kind professor who simply doesn't provide enough resources for students to succeed. Each lecture is barely covered in the homework, with some subjects being skipped, but when it comes time for the final things are brought up that were mentioned once. Pencil and paper tests with questions on terminal commands were awful too.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3ODA5Mjk1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-05-03 19:51:35 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian's lectures were always well-structured & helped clear up any confusion I had. He almost always moved at the perfect pace-- not too fast nor too slow. I learned a ton in this class that I'm certain I'll continue to use far into the future, & it would not have been the same without Florian's help.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3ODAxODY4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-05-03 04:51:45 +0000 UTC","comment":"The lecturer is exceptional, providing remarkable, enduring notes. He clearly elucidates concepts & writes during lectures, eschewing presentations. The finest CS class I've experienced, fostering immense learning. He genuinely cares for students, exuding kindness & striving to simplify our lives.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3NjQzNDI5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-04-17 06:55:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"Great lectures, and there all recorded and provided to the students via cultura gallery.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3NTg5NDAy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-04-06 08:11:50 +0000 UTC","comment":"This class is awful. Tests 1/3 of grade but much of it was over obscure topics mentioned once in lecture (avg 70 on first midterm). Projects range from 1 hour a week to 20+ and that was with a good group. Grades are heavily dependent on group and TAs were extremely unhelpful. Structure was a mess and lectures were slow and boring. Avoid if you can.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjE3NDM2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-21 20:56:10 +0000 UTC","comment":"The only reason I ended up with an A in this class was because of Florian's amazing lectures and notes. He is very underrated!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjE3Mzcy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-21 20:50:02 +0000 UTC","comment":"Best CS professor I've had till now!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjE3MzI1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-21 20:46:58 +0000 UTC","comment":"The only reason I ended with an A in the class is because of Florian's lectures!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTk2MTE1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-20 01:32:51 +0000 UTC","comment":"Lectures are incredibly slow paced and unbearable to the point I ended up having someone else let me know when Tophat attendance was taken in class. Contacting him by email or making a Piazza post is quite helpful since the TAs don't respond quickly at all. The exams were very difficult compared to the quizzes and what we worked on in lectures.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTc5NTM0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-18 18:58:39 +0000 UTC","comment":"An amazing professor, and is very underrated in my opinion. Explained concepts really well. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTc4NTY2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-18 15:58:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"Very amazing professor! Taught all the material very well! I think he Is underrated.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTM5MTc1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-15 18:27:43 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian is a super nice and enthusiastic lecturer who really cares about his students. He goes pretty slow in lectures and spends too long on each data structure and it's true that he often sounds nervous, but he's always there to help. The grading in this class is pretty fair, there was a practice exam for the midterm. The group projects tho......","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTIxNzY4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-14 20:56:46 +0000 UTC","comment":"I feel really bad rating him low, but he didn't bring the expected competence to the classroom. The lectures were scattered and he seemed constantly frantic, but his off-campus lecture was amazing. He has great positive energy & high potential, but must remedy his extremely anxious demeanor to achieve it.\n\nalso you're SOL if your group goes missing","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2NjQ4MzQx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-09-18 16:28:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"i am so dead for this semester\n\nbouncing man bounce\n\nbut he bounce through lecture\n\nrip 1 week in already 2 lectures behind","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MzQxNjg3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-05-15 04:01:29 +0000 UTC","comment":"He one said 'ummm' 13 times in the 1st minute. If you can get past his somewhat awkward speaking style the class is great. \nProfessor has really good visuals and slides in the class. \nOnline lectures were posted in a timely manner, and I especially liked how everything you needed to know for every homework and project was included in the lectures.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MTgyNDAz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-04-28 17:23:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor has attendance quizzes for most lectures. When he teaches new topics via example, e.g. anything that he literally codes in front of us, he goes super super fast, to the point that even if I have my laptop out and am trying to follow along, I can't. And I'm a pretty fast typer :/. Exams are easy enough though.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1OTYyODE3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-03-22 21:49:26 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Heimerl's lectures are structured extremely poorly. It's very difficult to learn all of the information needed for this class from the lectures. The workload is significant and consumes a lot of time outside of class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1Njc3NjA1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-30 18:06:55 +0000 UTC","comment":"Although he seems like he knows what hes talking about, Florians awkward pace in class makes it impossible to understand anything. Also, his handwriting is impossible to read.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NjAyMzcz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-20 03:06:17 +0000 UTC","comment":"My biggest issue with Florian is his lecturing ability. He speaks at an unbearably awkward pace and is super hard to follow in lectures, with completely illegible handwriting. Watching lectures from home at a higher speed can be helpful but is less than adequate compared to the quality I would expect from UW-Madison. Also the projects are a mess.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NTkxNzEw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-18 22:47:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian was a terrible lecturer. He rambled on topics for a whole lecture that only needed 5 min to be explained, never responded to emails, and never had assignments graded on time.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MjYzODIx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-18 05:03:45 +0000 UTC","comment":"Not available outside of class. I have to watch other professors' lectures just to stay on the course path. At the time of writing this, he is currently behind a full lecture. The group projects are stupid and I am stuck with goobers as partners. I try to reach out for help, but no response. Without a doubt, the worst professor I have ever had.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MjI5NDMy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-12 02:55:40 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian's lectures do not cover the necessary material, to the point where there are exam questions which discuss topics that were never even introduced. Watching videos of the other lecturers lessons has become mandatory for me to learn the material. I will not be taking another class taught by him.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MjIxMDAy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-10 21:08:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"Not a great professor, I feel that he has not presented all of the material we are tested on although I like that he gives examples of code/data structures. The lectures are disorganized and I feel like we cover sections of three different topics every class. Also the group projects suck.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MjEzMjE0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-09 19:48:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"His lectures barely explain any of the corse material and he is almost completely unavailable outside of class, I sent him a couple emails over the semester and I got no responses.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MTkyNTQ1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-04 18:35:23 +0000 UTC","comment":"Singlehandedly the worst lecturer I have ever had. Had to watch other professors recorded lectures to learn and stay on track with the course schedule.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0OTEzMDcx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-06-14 07:38:23 +0000 UTC","comment":"His lectures were well presented and got straight to the point which was why this course was easy for me. But the downside of this course is that your group projects might take you a lot more time and make you frustrated depending on your group partners","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NzQ0NTI5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-05-09 02:39:51 +0000 UTC","comment":"Florian was good overall, the class was well organized. His lectures were clear and easy to follow, not amazing but did a good job explaining everything clearly. The group projects went well for me, there is a lot of busy work every week though. The tests weren't too difficult.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MTUwNzQy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-19 21:08:15 +0000 UTC","comment":"This was an okay class but the group projects ruined it. I really liked his lectures and they always gave me a really good understanding of the topics. The group projects however STAY AWAY. I don't know anyone who had a solid group in this class, and we were stuck with the same groups the whole semester.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:39:13.151836+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzNjAwNDMx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2776309","instructor_name":"Florian Heimerl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-08-20 14:19:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"He is a good lecturer, but fails at every other aspect of being a professor. The syllabus was not at all kept up to date, the grading scale was changed without any warning. He's a chill guy, but is mediocre at best as a professor; and I need a good professor not a chill professor. I'd stay cautious with him.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2776309","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxNjEzMjQx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-08-31 02:10:50 +0000 UTC","comment":"I really enjoyed his teaching style. He would always suggest that we take notes about how he does certain things to try to replicate it at home instead of trying to repeat after him right there and then. I also liked that he emphasized things that people found difficult or confusing in the past. The class is hard but see you on the other side!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMzIzNTgz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-19 19:37:47 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary himself is decent. He's knowledgeable but very flat in his lectures. They aren't engaging nor are they presented extremely well. You also only learn logic in lecture, any, and I mean ANY code learning will be on your own. CS400 is probably the worst run class at UW Madison, but Gary is probably the lesser of the two evils if you must. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMzE4ODk1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-19 02:19:26 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a good lecture, which sadly is outshone by the classes poor organization. After weekly projects release they are often buggy and clearly not setup in enough advance to have been tested. I do homework early in the week and sometimes had to fix bugs in instructor code. Though this isn't really Gary's fault.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMzA1NTMx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-16 19:10:38 +0000 UTC","comment":"Enjoyed this class a lot more than CS300, as the projects are much more streamlined and not filled with as many redundant requirements. Gary does have a particular style of lecturing that some don't like, but I found it very informative as long as you stayed engaged with the examples. Group projects can be hit or miss.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMjcxNjc3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-13 21:41:50 +0000 UTC","comment":"Good professor. Somewhat boring but a solid lecturer. Class itself was considerably easier then CS 300. There's lot's of projects but they generally aren't too bad (though you may have to spend some time reading Piazza). The tests however were way easier then CS 300 both in terms of the short coding sections and the multiple choice questions.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMTg0ODMw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-06 22:41:19 +0000 UTC","comment":"Prof Dahl is kind and makes an effort, demonstrated by having a way to sign up to eat lunch with him. However, tests are heavily based on smaller details mentioned in lecture (4% of grade is attendance) which could be an issue for some - no offense to Dahl, but he isn't engaging. Helpful course staff; poor course management; Reasonable workload.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxMTM2OTQ3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-05-02 19:23:09 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is kinda boring and hard to pay attention to for the full lecture period. If you don't pay attention for lectures, you're kinda screwed for the exams. Not only that, but the exams are sometimes on very small details he says once. But he is a nice guy and the homework / projects are not that hard.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwNjYzNzAw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-02-12 03:49:30 +0000 UTC","comment":"project instructions are not clear. help is not offered and questions are not answered or clarified. :)","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwNjYzMzc5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-02-12 02:27:51 +0000 UTC","comment":"projects are full of bugs and have vague instructions. Professors offer very little help outside of class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwNDA4NzEz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-12-21 17:36:50 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a nice guy, and he's always willing to help students after class. However, he did seem to go pretty fast during class. He does record his lectures, which helps. I watched Florian's lectures more since Florian teaches in a much more clear manner. The structure of the course isn't Gary's fault, but if you need to chose, I'd pick Florian. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwMzU5MzE4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-12-18 05:12:59 +0000 UTC","comment":"The class can be a slog, but using tools like unstuck study alongside the lectures can make it more manageable. The professor has a specific teaching style, so staying engaged is key. Not the easiest, but doable with effort.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQwMjUzNTkx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-12-12 18:57:49 +0000 UTC","comment":"The class itself is crazily horrible. Tons of info but you'll think most them are poorly structured so you will feel lost easily. But the professor is nice. Since everybody feels this way, tbh I hope the department can redesign the class.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NDk3MjIw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-20 17:27:11 +0000 UTC","comment":"Class was structured poorly, but Gary seemed like a nice guy individually, so if you have to I do recommend him.  Write-ups are very unclear, partner coding was very boring and does not replicate actual partner work. The class was annoying, but I'm not sure if it was difficult.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5NDMwMzM5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-10 15:06:44 +0000 UTC","comment":"Class was structured terribly, and no proper guidelines were set for projects, which docked huge amounts of points in project work. No offense, but CS 300 was way better. The amount of regrade requests I sent were abysmall and there's no curve.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MzY4NDIz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-05 15:35:53 +0000 UTC","comment":"Honestly, his lectures were so useless. It was him just yapping about already complex topics that I always end up teaching myself the material. The course was so poorly structured too. We would barely learn about the material and then get thrown into a project with vague instructions that I had to spend hours scouring piazza to understand.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MzQ5NDk0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-05-03 02:37:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"It is difficult to know what we need to know for anything. The projects are an absolute mess with the writeups usually being incredibly vague. Points get taken off for everything, often things you didn't know about. Gary is accessible, but more could be done.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MTIzNzUw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-04-14 20:17:28 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a decent professor but the class is organized terribly. You will jump around to multiple different topics and learn about a random new thing every week, and this can make it hard to learn topics. However, the class is pretty easy if you look at his lectures. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MDU2Nzk5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-03-17 05:09:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"CS400 is the worst structured class I have ever taken. The projects are horribly unclear and inconsistent. Also, if you mess one up, it compounds and messes up your future projects (but the feedback takes 2-3 weeks). Gary is an alright lecturer at best. If this class isn't required for your major, I would definitely recommend staying away.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM5MDQwMDky","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-03-11 03:59:14 +0000 UTC","comment":"I wasn't a big fan of how the lecture content was taught, especially when we covered RBTs. Difficult topic and even the TAs did not fully understand it.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4OTYwMDgz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2024-02-07 22:35:44 +0000 UTC","comment":"decent lectures, a very smart guy\n\nbut it was really strict and harsh on students imo, does not give any extensions even under personal circumstances","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4ODA0Njkx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-28 18:33:53 +0000 UTC","comment":"I learned a lot this semester. Seriously - this is a great class for tech interviews. I do not think Gary is the worst professor ever in the classroom, but OUTSIDE of class, I had multiple conflicts with him that made me question if I would ever be good enough for this man to even listen to what I was saying. Good luck!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NzkyNjQz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-25 21:36:33 +0000 UTC","comment":"worst class i've taken at the UW. vague project explanations, hidden tests which do not test the write up as they explain it, non-contributing partners. quizzes poorly written. learned more about algorithms/data structures from a 3-min video than gary's 75-min lectures. no final exam release, grades are unclear. avoid gary at all costs","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NzYxNjM5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-21 00:55:30 +0000 UTC","comment":"It is difficult to know what we need to know for anything. The projects are an absolute mess with the writeups usually being incredibly vague. Points get taken off for everything, often things you didn't know about. Gary isn't the worst professor but the course is awful.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NTU4NzEw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-07 18:33:57 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary could quite possibly not only be the worst instructor I've had at this school, but my entire life. The course work and projects are completely disorganized and unguided and his lectures are nothing besides incoherent rambling. I wish I wasn't limited to 350 characters because I could go on forever about how terrible this man is at his job. Run","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NTQ4NjY2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-12-07 01:38:11 +0000 UTC","comment":"This man made my life so difficult. What did I ever do to deserve this. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NDYyNjI0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-11-29 17:41:02 +0000 UTC","comment":"Honestly don't even go to lectures and teach yourself the topics. Gary can't explain anything properly if his life depended on it. Learn the material at the beginning of the week and spend the rest of the week doing the projects/homework. For tests, do a lot of practice problems and review the quizzes. The material isn't hard, the professor is.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4NDA5MDcy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-11-16 23:53:13 +0000 UTC","comment":"Disorganized. The project specifications are so vague that deciphering them is harder than coding. TAs are confused. You know it's bad when a student posts on Piazza that the project is so vague that they had a mental breakdown and it got over 50 likes and everyone related. Gary was unsympathetic and told them to go to UHS rather than clarifying.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4MzIxNDg3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-10-30 11:33:40 +0000 UTC","comment":"The worst professor I have ever had. I wish so badly I could tell him to his face how awful of a teacher he is and how the school should fire him. The projects are stay up all night, sob every hour, and rip your hair out difficult and there is zero leniency and explanation. They say 300 is a weed out class? No, 400 is. Gary is very bad at his job.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2OTM1MTU2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-08-08 20:07:13 +0000 UTC","comment":"Both Florian and Gary for CS400, they will give you a terrible 4 month experience writing java codes with super vague instructions and grading. Hate the TAs also and why is the CS department like this? Give super absurd amount of memorizing for final also. Hope he ends his instructor career soon.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM4MDAxODQw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-05-29 14:37:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary Dahl was a good professor. CS 400 has a lot of homework and big group projects in addition to lots of small weekly assignments. I spent a lot of time working on coding for this class. I thought Gary was a good professor to have for this class because he covered content well and was happy to answer questions. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3NzQ2NDQ0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-04-28 00:20:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"If you love an unorganized class with unclear expectations for both projects and exams, then this is the one for you.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3NjczNzgx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-04-20 15:58:20 +0000 UTC","comment":"Among the CS professors, Prof. Dahl is definitely one of the better ones. Exams are ~a third of the total grade and the workload matched the credits. However, hmk/exam instructions are nonsensically organized and contain spelling/grammar errors. TAs and Prof. Dahl are also pretty unhelpful at clarifying these organizational misunderstandings. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3NTg5NzQx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2023-04-06 13:53:19 +0000 UTC","comment":"CS 400 is a mess. The group projects are tragically structured and the TA's are lukewarm. Gary does alright, but he fails to make clear the content on exams - memorize everything. He fails to clearly write steps of algorithms, and instead lectures ad nauseum. It was an OK experience, but not something I would consider doing again. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjQ2ODA1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-26 22:51:16 +0000 UTC","comment":"Dahl is ultimately a solid professor. His lectures are a bit hard to follow because they aren't guided notes. He gives you an outline and bounces all over the place in teaching it. However, he does truly care about his students and if you put in the extra effort to pay attention, his lectures are valuable. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjQwODgw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-25 02:09:56 +0000 UTC","comment":"PLEASE READ\n\nHonestly do not know how he has a 4.5/5.Gary nor his TAs were any help - I was basically told to go away when I asked for help. Also, it feels like 80% of your grade depends on the group you are randomly placed in. Tests are fair, but Gary is simply not a good lecturer, and I found myself having to learn most of the material on my own.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjQwMTE2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-24 22:19:21 +0000 UTC","comment":"Honestly an overrated professor. All the class content is taught via lectures that jump through 3 vastly different topics. For example: something new in Ubuntu, MSTs, and HTML. The midterm and finals rely on trick questions and random small details in programming, which is very cheap. You'll find condescending teammates for group projects.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjI0MTg2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-22 15:36:00 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is probably the best professor I had in the CS200, 300, 400 intro series. He is well knowledgable in his field and has well organized lectures. However, the group projects are stressful if you don't have a good/responsive group and you really can't do anything about it. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjIzNDM0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-22 09:04:15 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is super overrated. His lectures cover random topics and ramble on and on whilst missing the core concepts that you'd need to take into your homework. Almost nothing is written down, lecture notes, test concepts, or anything else-- the only resource you have are his 75 minute monologues that have nothing to do with anything.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MjE0MTky","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-21 15:53:32 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary's awesome. The randomly chosen group members for the projects are horrible though. Some people that take this class are not cut out for CS.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTk5Mjk5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-20 05:38:31 +0000 UTC","comment":"By far the most overrated professor ever. So many good reviews, only for the teacher to be so trash. His lectures are just 75 minute speeches. He almost never writes anything down.\n\nWould not recommend. I used Heimerl's notes and lectures to learn. So if you're a fan of taking notes and having things to actually write down, I'd say choose Heimerl.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM3MTU4NTkw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-12-16 19:36:53 +0000 UTC","comment":"I had a pretty good experience with Gary. I sometimes wished the example problems would be worked a little more slowly and in-depth. The projects are not fun, but that's an issue with the CS department, not Gary. The exams felt fair overall.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2ODY2NTkz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-11-19 03:39:54 +0000 UTC","comment":"I paid my tuition, but I didn't learn anything in the most important class for cs major this semester, even though I didn't miss a class! This guy can't give lectures at all, he doesn't even bother to write any notes, there are no useful demonstrations of operations. I went to talk to him, but he insisted that there will be no code in this class!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2NzQ2MDk3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-10-27 19:49:24 +0000 UTC","comment":"My least favorite professor out of the whole university. Don't take unless you want to be racially targeted.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":5.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2NjcyNDEw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-10-02 20:58:17 +0000 UTC","comment":"Good lecturer. Gary's lectures go over course content, especially self-balancing trees in great depth and the tests in CS400 do not stray too far from lecture. As long as you pay attention and do the handouts you will do well since he teaches well. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2Mzg3OTU1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-05-21 21:12:32 +0000 UTC","comment":"CS 400 covers a lot of content over a broad range of topics, but Dahl does good job of teaching them and doing examples in lecture. Homework and projects take a ton of time (More than 300 IMO). Study EVERYTHING from lecture, even smaller concepts, because anything can show up on a test. Kinda passive aggressive on piazza but still helpful","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MzQ5Mzc4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-05-16 16:27:48 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Dahl's lectures are quite good at helping you learn concepts and ideas that might be difficult to understand normally, like Red Black Trees, Graphs, Lambdas, etc. and his guided notes are useful for hitting the most important aspects of any particular topic. His group projects and exams are annoying usually, so be weary for those!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MzE1MDA0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-05-11 23:22:31 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a good professor. He teaches concepts well. I do not like CS 400 though. Group project is horrible and a waste of time and I learned little from them. I also get some horrible team members. The most useful thing I learned from the group project is practicing git and that's it. ","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MjkzODMx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-05-10 03:05:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary's activities take longer to set up and turn in than they do to actually complete because he doesn't post his lecture notes, so you have to write down every character exactly as he says it in lecture. Some test questions are random. TA grading is inconsistent- you will do well if you have a good group and a lazy TA. Teaches concepts well.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MjUzMjE5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-05-05 17:04:36 +0000 UTC","comment":"Caring and nice professor, doesn't post completed notes so you kind have to take your own notes or rewatch the lectures. Course has weekly programming activities, 3 group projects, 3 Honorlock exams of varying difficulty. The weekly activities build off on what we learn in class. If you need help, use Piazza or go to CS office hours.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MTc4OTA2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-04-28 07:33:37 +0000 UTC","comment":"Doesn't give good answers to questions or respond to feedback, tests on minute details and brushes over larger concepts he spent longer on. Thinks he's making sure students are paying attention and studying outside of class on specific topics, but is honestly just bad teaching. very limited office hrs including TA hrs. 15% off grade after deadline","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MTc3MzYx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-04-28 02:55:17 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Gary shouldn't be called a professor. It is degrading to the teaching community to let a man such as Gary be addressed as a professor. Gary is not understanding and is mean. He does not think about the difficulties his students face and is egoist when communicating via email or in person.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MDg2NjI3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-04-16 00:48:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"This guy knows what he is talking about and is receptive to feedback.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MDc4NTU4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-04-14 16:32:01 +0000 UTC","comment":"Condescending towards students at times. Although he is knowledgeable of Computer Science and tries to explain concepts, he flies through his lectures and doesn't complete the notes, making it easy to misunderstand/follow along. Isn't understanding of situations in group projects since my group was missing 3 people and didn't communicate.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM2MDE5NDM4","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-04-04 22:16:21 +0000 UTC","comment":"This class has been the worst experience I have had with a class at UW Madison. It has single handedly made me dislike coding. In this class you will spend more time trying to figure out how to submit your work then you will actually coding. In addition Gary dahl is just not really an understanding guy. I would not recommend this class to anyone.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1ODc1NzAy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-02-23 03:43:46 +0000 UTC","comment":"Great professor and takes your feedback very seriously. Does a lot of demos of concepts/data structures in class. Tailors the class and makes changes to the course structure according to students' feedback.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1ODEyNTk0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-01-30 22:51:25 +0000 UTC","comment":"Good Professor. He teaches Red Black Tree very well. You can understand his lectures easily.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1ODEyMDc5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-01-30 18:17:58 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a magic man, I used to learn Red Black Tree by myself, which cost over 10 hours. But he can make you understand RBT within 3 Lectures. His Lectures were good organized, notes were printed and displayed in Lecture which was clear to see If you enrolled in another Lecturer like Florian... Maybe skip his and jump to Gary or watch Gary's video","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NzYwMzgz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2022-01-17 00:06:22 +0000 UTC","comment":"Professor Dahls classes are lecture-heavy. But he makes recording available for everyone to review in case you miss out on anything during his lecture(s). His fill-in-the-blank lecture notes are simple to understand. There are 24 assignments (1-2 per week), 3 projects, and 3 exams.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NjQ3NDk3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-24 04:55:22 +0000 UTC","comment":"I greatly enjoyed Dr. Dahl's lectures. The "fill-in-the blank" notes were also extremely helpful. The only things I would change are perhaps the group projects-- making them open-ended for P2 and P3 really resulted in uneven roles. A more rigid project specification could have helped, as well as more resources to practice syntax and algorithms.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NjA2MDAw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-20 15:09:32 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary's lectures are second to none. He is very well organized.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NTk5Njkx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-19 22:08:23 +0000 UTC","comment":"Really caring and understanding professor, but lectures were pretty boring. The data structures we learned about were pretty interesting, but the implementations are hard. Exams were online and multiple choice which was nice. Just hope you get a decent project group otherwise it's a lot of added stress as well. Keep up with the work and it'll be ok","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1NTYwMDM0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-16 18:56:09 +0000 UTC","comment":"At first glance this man struck me as another one of those jaded professors who only teaches because the university makes him, but he actually does care about his students and if you ask him for some help he'll probably be happy to oblige. I would give him a 5 if it weren't for the dead-soul monotone that can make his lectures hard to sit through.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MzQ5MDQw","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-12-02 19:05:37 +0000 UTC","comment":"Great professor. I had some personal emergencies during the semester and he was very understanding and helped me manage my work. Fantastic at teaching.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MjkyOTkz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"COMPSCI400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-11-23 19:01:16 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a really good professor and does really care about what he is teaching. The class itself is very hard and he does his best to make it easier. One huge problem I had is that he is not very accessible outside of class. He has really limited online office hours and they go quickly so make sure you get them before anyone else does","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":3.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM1MTQ4NTg0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-10-23 17:11:45 +0000 UTC","comment":"His lectures are really good, very clear.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0ODE2NzE1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-05-18 15:52:07 +0000 UTC","comment":"Does not take any input from students. Drastically changes grading to benefit "some" people. Does not put up final grade brackets so you're left wondering what happened. Do not take.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NzU1NzMz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-05-10 19:53:32 +0000 UTC","comment":"A large portion of your grade comes from group projects, and my group was terrible. I spent way too much time trying to make up for their lack of effort. Thankfully, Gary adjusted the curriculum mid-semester to be more balanced and he even got rid of the group aspect of the final project. Lectures are clear and concise. My best CS professor to date","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NzMyODg1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-05-07 15:42:12 +0000 UTC","comment":"I don't know what to say. This man is a god. No doubt he is the best professor I've had. He really cares about students and adjusts the course according to our feedback. His lectures are pretty good. Assignments really help you learn the concepts. If you have the opportunity to take his class, go for it.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NjA3OTcy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-04-23 12:22:15 +0000 UTC","comment":"How one changes grading parameters mid way through the semester and fails to realize a lot of students will be negatively affected is beyond me. For 400 you better get the easier roles in the initial projects, or you're destined to lose points while your teammates skate by easily. ACCEPTS 0 FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS. HORRIBLE GRADING. NEVER TAKE!","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":1.0,"difficulty_rating":1.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NTM4Mzgy","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-04-12 19:34:13 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is one of the best professors I've ever had. He really cares about students' well being and is constantly asking for feedback for how to make the class better. He is really responsive outside of class, which is huge, especially for an online class. HIs lectures are straightforward and not too bad. CS400 is tough, but Gary makes it manageable.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0NTI0ODk2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2021-04-08 23:05:48 +0000 UTC","comment":"He is very involved with the students and seems to care more than the average professor. Class is difficult though, and a lot of the material comes together at some point. Does seem like a LOT more work than a 3 credit class should be, but professor Dahl does make it bearable and somewhat enjoyable.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MjAxNzM2","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-27 00:15:23 +0000 UTC","comment":"Worst part of the class is the group projects, but if you get stuck with a bad group and contact Gary as soon as you can, he's very helpful and doesn't penalize you. His lectures were super organized and straight to the point. It's also very clear he cares for his students a lot. Class was a little challenging but very fair, learned a lot.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MTc5ODEz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-22 23:14:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"I really enjoyed his lectures. They were a lot shorter than what they would have been in person, and he always tried to make the content kind of fun. The class was super well organized, other than some late grading. Would love to take again","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MTc0NzQ1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-22 09:09:37 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary's lectures do a fantastic job at covering everything you need to know for the weekly projects and exams. Just make sure you stay on top of those and you will do fine in the class. He's also very responsive on Piazza and the class is very well organized.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":4.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MTY0MjE0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-21 10:11:08 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is great at explaining things and is very accessible through piazza, office hours, and email. I talked to him quite a bit throughout the semester via email and office hours and he was always so helpful. Also a very cheery person overall. He's a solid choice.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MTU1ODg1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-20 08:50:29 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary can be a boring, dry lecturer, but he explains the content very clearly so its easy to understand. There were 4 group projects that counted for 40% of your grade but were easy to do well on. Gary also allows you to access all of the course materials during exams which makes them fairly easy.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":2.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MTAwOTI3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-16 17:15:17 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary is a great teacher, I think he explains things well in his lectures and does a great job teaching. I've never reached out for help from him but I've heard he's not super great at that but you can usually figure out your problem by rewatching lectures. Overall, he's a great professor for CS and I really liked him.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MDM1NTMx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-11 20:01:42 +0000 UTC","comment":"Best professor I've ever had at UW Madison. I had him in person and online. In person Gary is super great because he is nice and you can ask him questions after lecture. Pace is just slow enough that you can work on that weeks assignment while he is going over new material without missing anything. Online Gary is also great.. ran out of room","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTM0MDIwOTUz","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-10 20:43:28 +0000 UTC","comment":"My rating was removed and I don't know why, but anyways Gary can explain concepts well but do not expect to get any sort of empathy or flexible if you email him with a problem. His answer will most likely be "tough luck, you should've known". If everything goes perfect for you, you'll like him, but if you ever make a mistake and try to fix it GL","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":2.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzOTYzMzY3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-06 06:31:05 +0000 UTC","comment":"Also took CS300 from him. One of the best professors in UW-Madison. Explanation is crystal clear. You rarely need material outside lectures. All HW is reasonable and gives you great skills. Just choose this guy if you aren't sure which section you want to enroll.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzOTUxNTAx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-12-04 19:01:07 +0000 UTC","comment":"I also had Gary for CS300, and I will say that his material was much better for higher levels of CS. Gary still tends to not like to show solid code - which I dislike - but he is able to explain the specifics easier in these harder classes. If you are choosing Gary, don't choose him for beginner courses.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":4.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzODI2NDA3","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-11-16 20:49:46 +0000 UTC","comment":"Gary should be the example for how to run an online course. His weekly schedule is very easy to follow and his videos have a very high production value with a green screen and background music. When I had him in person for CS300, I thought he was a bit boring , but now with 2x speed on his videos, I love him.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzODA5ODI1","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-11-12 23:38:57 +0000 UTC","comment":"His classes itself can be challenging at times, but Gary is an excellent professor and his lectures are the best. Also pretty responsive on Piazza and emails back quickly. Would take a class with him again.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:38:39.940872+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTMzODA5ODI0","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2770358","instructor_name":"Gary Dahl","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2020-11-12 23:38:30 +0000 UTC","comment":"Great at explaining things, his lectures are good and the course is laid out well.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2770358","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:19:17.289299+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxNjcyNDcx","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2274671","instructor_name":"Meenakshi Syamkumar","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-09-29 12:12:40 +0000 UTC","comment":"I took this class 3 times and struggled a lot with understanding the concepts. Her lectures are really amazing and her teaching style is really easy to understand. The other professors I took the class with were really bad at teaching. I struggled a lot with the concepts but understood them so easily when taking her class and got an A.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2274671","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0},{"observed_at":"2026-09-07 16:19:17.289299+00:00","run_id":"20260907T155543-ce3781c4","source_review_id":"UmF0aW5nLTQxNTA3MTI5","source_instructor_id":"rmp:2274671","instructor_name":"Meenakshi Syamkumar","course_label":"CS400","course_id":"COMPSCI 400","course_uid":"course_583cd0f265d9f29704ca13ea","review_date":"2025-07-17 16:47:51 +0000 UTC","comment":"Took this class over the summer, so everything was online. Lectures were recorded and posted on Canvas until the next week. Meena was amazing! Definitely one of the best professors I've had. She explained everything really well and was also very active on Piazza and held lots of office hours. Assignment and quiz content was covered in lectures.","source_url":"https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2274671","quality_rating":5.0,"difficulty_rating":3.0}]