The best professor I have had at UT. Take any classes that he is offering. Incredibly clear, coherent lecture that goes out of his way to ensure that you actually understand the material. On top of that, he is funny guy that is not a hard ass and understands that grades aren't the be all to life. Tests were open book/notes. Highly recommend

Great guy and lecturer. He is one of the nicest professors I've met and truly cares for the students. Class was hard though. Tests were intended to fail you and were far too long for anyone to finish (which he said was his intention.) These tests, however, were curved to compensate. Grading: 40% Projects, 20% Midterm, 20% Final, 20% Quizzes

Gheith was hands down the best professor I've had so far. His lectures were clear and he took his time to make sure everyone understood what was going on. The projects were challenging, but nothing not doable. If you get the chance to take this or any other course by him, do it.

Professor Gheith actually cares about teaching, and is very good at it. There are projects every week, ranging from fairly easy (3 hrs) to very hard (25hrs). I've taken 3 classes with Gheith so far, and if he taught any more, I'd take them too.

Helpful professor and knows the material inside & out. However, his CS 429 Summer class was insanely challenging. The assignments and quizzes were brutal. I think half the class ended up dropping.

Amazing teacher!

Amazing lecturer! He's very knowledgable and obviously very passionate about what he teaches. LECTURES ARE BASICALLY MANDATORY because lectures & projects are where the majority of learning is done, and you won't know how to do the projects if you don't go to class. His quizzes and tests are very hard so beware because he doesn't curve.

Best lectures I've ever attended. He is an amazing teacher and truly cares that his students understand the material. I took 429H and 439H both with Dr. Gheith. Operating Systems (439H) was a lot of work but I learned so much it was totally worth it! 10/10 my favorite professor and would take any class taught by him.

Absolute best lecturer at UT. He could make a phone book sound exciting, and he explains complicated things really well. But he doesn't expect you to have a life outside his class, and he experiments with the curriculum, often with painful results. Generally 40-60 hours a week on projects. Insane. Exams and weekly quizzes are also pretty tough.

Very, very hard

Gheith is honestly one of the best professors at UT, and has such a different method of teaching. He's really aware if you're not doing well and will do everything he can to make sure you understand the material given you at least put in some effort. I really wish he taught more classes other than Operating Systems

Gheith was one of the best teachers that I've ever had. He knows his stuff and encourages interesting conversation and lecture. The class is objectively very difficult however. He pushes you hard and enables the student to perform well. As long as you can put in the effort it should be wonderfully challenging.

Legendary. He's the person who made OS, the most infamous course on the CS degree list, my favorite class at UT. Projects were very time consuming (spent 30+ hours/week) but that's where most of the learning happened. His tests were tough but if you do well on project/quiz it'll be fine. Most importantly he's very approachable so go to office hour!

He's an excellent professor, but OS is genuinely one of the hardest classes you can take. It will be really difficult for you. Yes, even you. I'd take it again, but only because of the friends I made in it. I literally lost 15lbs because I was working so much on it. Really. It's 50-60 hrs/week. If you do take it, don't take anything else hard.

Gheith is an amazing teacher who knows the material cold (lectures with no notes) and is very nice in office hours. That said, the class is extremely tough, and of the 14 projects, I and most people I know put in 40+ hours of effort on 4 of them. Find a solid group to work with and plan carefully before writing any code, and you will do well

Dr. Gheith's OS is very project based, and you'll know it. Assignments are weekly, and take anywhere from 20 to 60 hours of work. However, he's a great lecturer, is very helpful during office hours, and is easily one of the best professors I've ever had. But with all the late nights in the lab, I never want to take that class again. 10/10.

Dr. Gheith is probably the best undergraduate professor in UTCS. OS is usually seen as the hardest class of undergrad, but Dr. Gheith's amazing lectures made it a much better experience. He's always available at office hours too. The class is hard but grading is fair and you will come out of it with so much more knowledge than when you went in.

Dr. Gheith is one of the most amazing professors I've had at UT. His lectures are easy to follow and he manages to make complex subjects very easy to understand. Projects were difficult and time consuming but easily doable if you started early. My only complaint would be that it isn't really possible to study for his tests except by coming to class

Walks in with nothing but a whiteboard marker, and delivers amazing lectures.

Class was hard but rewarding at the same time. Gheith is a great lecturer and I actually wanted to go to lectures because of how good of an educator he is (BAMF lectures completely from memory). Assignments are rough but capped at around 40-50 hours for a given assignment. Going to office hours saved me a bunch of time on the assignments.

Best teacher I've ever had in my life. Gheith is a treasure of the UT CS department, and explains OS concepts in an approachable easy to understand format entirely from memory. Projects are hard, but Gheith and the TAs are more than willing to help you through them.

OS is going to be difficult with whoever you take. That being said, Gheith's class was not overwhelmingly difficult. He makes you work for your grade but so long as you work, you will pass. Lectures are not mandatory, but if you miss one you will be very far behind. He is extremely knowledgeable, lectures from memory. He cares about his students.

The hardest CS class could not have been taught by a more caring professor. He genuinely wants you to succeed and will stay late to help students with projects. It's hard to fail the class, but at the same time it's as tough as advertised. Attend the lectures and office hours, and you'll be ok.

Tied for best professor at UT (along with Mike Scott). Taking OS with Gheith is a real learning experience. I would highly recommend taking OS with Gheith instead of Norman, for all the reasons outlined on this page (I did both).

Probably one of the best lecturers I've ever had. Thoroughly answers questions in lecture and explains concepts very clearly. Projects are very time-consuming; start early. Weekly quizzes can be annoying, but if you paid attention in class you should be fine. Very flexible and listens to feedback from his students.

Yasss!!!! Absolutely amazing teacher that teaches, cares for, and helps you. Weekly quizzes ensure you're on top of the material and programming assignments are interesting AF! Piazza discussions are engaging. He makes boring material super interesting. Take his course and it will be the one of your best decisions.

I took Gheith's 439 class online during COVID, and I can say I was pleasantly surprised that the class was not as terrible as made out to be. Lot of work, but mostly in the beginning. The last 5 or so weeks, the workload was pretty light. No tests, and quizzes are graded easily. Participation counts. Biggest advice: get started on projects early.

Dr. Gheith is a true gem of a teacher. Like an emerald (or platinum, etc.). He TEACHES like an ideal lecturer: always introducing concepts from the basic, trivial cases and gradually explaining the next natural step to take. Some parts of an OS are ugly, per se, but Gheith explains the theory + code for EACH component you build. Terrific.

Dr. Gheith's Arch class this semester had 9 individual projects, each a week long. They are pretty time consuming and you may lose some sleep. There is a huge learning curve in this class. I learned a lot more than expected, very satisfying. The class heavily uses Piazza. Quizzes every week, pay attention. Dr Gheith loves memes, jokes, and convos.

The class is lecture-heavy, there are weekly projects and quizzes that cover that week's topics. The projects are HARD, period. Tough graders, it's somewhat ridiculous. The quizzes are alright if you attend lecture except for one question each week that barely anyone gets right. Participation is 10% of your grade. Getting an A seems very difficult.

I am thrilled that I took OS with professor Gheith. He knows and understands the material so well, literally walks in and starts speaking, and the content makes sense. The only problem is that the projects are VERY time-consuming. This class sucked my soul away for a semester, but Gheith and the TAs made the class doable.

Dr Gheith continues to be a great OS professor. Honors and nonhonors versions were pretty much the same. The honors version had CSB and Turing. Regardless while the projects expectedly take time, you learn a lot of interesting content. I suggest having a friends to study with to get through projects, or someone to discuss with if you're stuck.

Dr.Gheith is a great lecturer, really just came to class with a dry erase marker and started lecturing from the dome. The class is 50% coding assignments that vary in difficulty but be prepared for at least 15 a week and up to 30 for the harder assignments. Would definitely recommend for OS.

Thank you professor Gheith! This class is my favorite class in UT. Professor Gheith is not only a wonderful teacher but also a great person. I learned a lot in this class!

Dr. Gheith explains concepts well. The TAs are nice and knowledgeable. His lectures are a little disorganized sometimes. We only had 8 quizzes. If you misunderstand some questions, you may lose many points from the final grade. There are no practice quizzes, so sometimes I know my understanding is wrong in the quizzes. Learn a lot from the course.

Probably the best professor I've had at UT. He comes to class and just lectures without slides which were easy to keep up with most of the time. Class is HArd. But going to help hours and piazza helped a ton. Structure of the class was weekly quizzes/assignments, participation, and one final assignment they are lenient on.

Amazing professor. This class is worth the hassle of getting an honors petition. Taught difficult concepts in easy to understand chunks and very good at answering questions. Amazing lecturer. The assignments are very hard but worthwhile. Going to office hours is essential, there's just so much material. No tests, but weekly quizzes.

Weekly assignments and quizzes can be pretty challenging (quizzes more dependent on TAs who write them, but questions are at the upper end of Bloom's taxonomy expecting creation, evaluation, and analysis of topics from class). Because it's every week, the schedule can be tough with little breathing room. Start early, do not fall behind.

Papa Gheith never ceases to bless the UT Austin Computer Science Department. Never leave papa, never leave...

In many ways this class felt like 429 part 2. It was almost like Dr. Gheith picked up right where he left off at the end of the previous semester. The style of the class was basically the same with all the signature Gheith specialties. I personally think this class was harder than Arch but some will disagree. There are fewer quizzes than Arch.

OS is one of the hardest classes in UTCS, no doubt. But taking it with Gheith makes it easy to get through. He doesn't use slides but is able to teach such complex ideas in easy to grasp chunks on the whiteboard. Going to OH is a must for the assignments. No tests, weekly quizzes are pretty difficult, final project is fun.

OS will be hard no matter what. Gheith is an amazing lecturer, I enjoyed going to class for once. Gheith himself is a bit disorganized. However, the coding assignments and quizzes are very hard and the TAs had an intense disconnect from what's happening in class. Make friends, go to OHs (including Gheith's), and introduce yourself to the TAs early.

I really liked having Dr. Gheith. He is an AMAZING lecturer. Attendance is not mandatory in this class but going to class helps. Weekly quizzes (no tests) - fairly difficult. The assignments are fairly challenging too. The class is hard but make friends in the class, and talk to the TAs and Dr. Gheith himself. Also, the final project is fun to do.

Super interesting course. Dr. Gheith is an amazing, kind, and approachable lecturer. However, projects cannot be competed without OH. Make friends. Get to know the TAs. Dr. Gheith is not easily accessible outside class. Great lectures, but projects require TA assistance and a network of friends to get info, and are borderline unfair.

Amazing professor, hard ass class. But that's OS for you so don't be scared to take him. Somehow this genius man could show up to class with nothing necessarily prepared, and give a whole lecture off the top of his head. He is very engaging and helpful, but outside of class you have to rely on TAs/others to help understand.

Get ready to spend all your time on this class. Some weeks I was easily in the GDC past 12am. It kinda got fun after a while tho. It is extremely hard, don't be afraid to ask the TAs questions as well as those around you. Also I thought I was gonna fail until the last week and ended up with a B if that gives you any hope. Utilize office hours!

Best lecturer ever, loves computer architechture and knows everything about everything. Amazing projects where you learn so much, but they can be challenging. Weekly quizzes that were really hard but not impossible.

Best professor I've ever had. Very knowledgeable and he explained extremely complicated topics from the ground up in a digestible way. Lectures were entertaining and he explained why we built things the way we did and other alternatives. 10000/10 would take again.

i love prof. gheith. he's very patient and an exciting lecturer. the class is hard though, projects take lots of time but gheith and the TAs are pretty understanding. grade will be rough but you will learn a lot.

Incredible lecturer. Homework can be very time consuming and quizzes can be quite difficult, but overall great class.

Gheith is so smart that I can't understand half of the content for the life of me. Great if you want to learn systems, not so great if you want to do well in the class because TAs dictate all grading. He does his best to accommodate individual circumstances if you just talk to him about them. Nevertheless, he is invaluable to the UTCS department.

Weekly projects take 50+ hours, no exams, biweekly hard quizzes (study for them!). This will undoubtedly be the hardest class you will ever take, but Gheith's lectures will make it ALL worth it. The second half of semester was much easier based off of feedback. This class is a rite-of-passage, and one of the most life-changing classes I've taken.

Projects are insane and take at least 40 hours/week - get ready to sell your soul to this class. Lectures are outstanding, going to class and paying attention is a must. Gheith is utterly inaccessible outside of class. Biweekly quizzes are hard but projects help study for them. You will not know your grade until the last week of semester.

Still the goat

The only bad thing about Dr Gheith is that there's only one of him. I wish we could clone him and have him teach every class. He's at least a standard deviation above every other professor I've had in lecturing/communication ability, clarity and fairness of assignments and grading, classroom management, pacing, and motivation of the subject matter.

Yet another 5.0 Gheith rating!

Dr. Gheith is not the god of lectures, but he's exceptionally kind and understanding. Graded by projects, difficult quizzes (that will only be easier if students write quiz questions for participation points), and participation. I wish he would record the lectures himself instead of someone from the student body being responsible for it.

Gheith gave some of the best lectures I've experienced at UT - super engaging, with nothing but a marker. He extended project deadlines to help our struggling class. Yes, this class is HARD, individual projects and bi-weekly quizzes are VERY challenging. Still, this class is so rewarding. If you have the chance to take him, do it.

Great lecturing, that is undeniable. However serious issues with lack of structure and communication. The syllabus hasn't been updated in years and doesn't reflect his actual policies (especially what's considered academically dishonest), and I have had friends and TAs be unable to contact him during pertinent deadlines.

Gheith is one of the best lecturers at UTCS. Projects are difficult and require a network of friends to succeed. Quizzes are intellectually stimulating but are very difficult and are crafted solely by the TAs. Class is somewhat disorganized as there are no clear rubrics for participation or certain projects. Take Gheith if you want a challenge, GL.

Normies take Norman, GOATs take Gheith

Dr. Gheith is defo one of the best people I've had as a professor-- you can't not like him. But, this might've been the most disorganized course I've ever taken. The TAs (mostly undergrads) handle everything including grading. Sometimes it felt like they weren't sympathetic, and their quizzes were nightmare fuel. The projects were hard but doable.

Gheith is an incredible lecturer and is filled with knowledge. But the pace of this class and the fact that TAs (other undergrads) are in charge of all things grading makes it extremely difficult. There are 9 projects and quizzes every other week. Projects are intense and quizzes are hard with unclear grading at times. Don't get behind.

This was the most eye-opening course in my career. I strongly recommend students take Dr. Gheith's OS courses!

Do you like operating systems? You better like operating systems. If you don't like operating systems, you are in for a whole lot of pain.

Incredible lectures. The content is really fun IMO. Projects are a lot of work, take precautions to not write nasty bugs, hardest part. Grading and quizzes are incredibly wack though. What they expect for answers is not properly communicated, and grades only come in at the end. You will get docked big on participation unless you go to TA OH i think

Very caring and knowledgeable professor. Good lectures. Projects are extremely challenging but rewarding, requiring ~15-30hrs per week. Quizzes are created by the TAs, and often did not match up with what we were learning, were way too hard, or the questions didn't properly test our knowledge.

He just knows

Dr.Gheith? More like Dr.Goat

As an average CS student: CS439 is the hardest class you'll ever take, 30+ hrs/week is real. I couldn't take Norman and was terrified, but Gheith is amazing. Insanely rigorous, but his passion is mesmerizing. Office hours became group therapy. I now feel emotionally bonded to my TAs and peers. Might be Stockholm Syndrome. 10/10

This was undoubtedly the hardest CS class i've taken here; however it's also been my favorite. Expect atleast 25 hours a week on projects with 0 days off. Our TAs were so goated and we had a great little community going making it that much more enjoyable. Gheith is also insanely well versed in OS and is genuinely always willing to help. 10/10

Honestly, he's the best professor I've ever had in my entire life. While expectations are high, it is so rewarding, and Dr. Gheith and the TAs do their best to help you. Projects take a long time to complete, but are genuinely so awesome since you get to build your own operating system. I would strongly recommend taking Gheith over anyone else.

For context, he teaches normal OS in Spring, honors in the Fall. Professor Gheith is one of the smartest professors I have taken and honestly, my favorite. No slides, just him, you, class, and whiteboard. Would I recommend over Norman? Yes, if you want a challenge. I also learned an incredible amount, but did I also spend 35+ hours per week? Yes.

Dr. Gheith is the best professor I have ever had! His lectures are truly amazing, and while the class is incredibly intensive project-wise, this finished product (a good chunk of an OS) is incredible and extremely rewarding. Having a small community with amazing TAs made the class experience even better. 10/10 would recommend!

One of those classes where you come out with a profound jump in mastery even if you only got a C-. The lectures are an absolute delight, he has immense understanding of the material. Likely the hardest programming projects you will do during your time at UT, but also thoroughly instructive and insightful. May have to no-life this class to do well.

Prof. Gheith is a great lecturer, and is willing to explain topics further for interested students (his lectures are more freeform). However, assignments are often tougher than they seem, so get started EARLY!! Also, quizzes are no joke, so try to do some learning about topics on your own. Experience is definitely summed up by the 5.0/5.0 rate.

🔥🔥🔥

very good prof

Gheith is an incredible lecturer, and I learned so much from his class. But the projects are brutal. Expect honors-level difficulty in an already very tough course. If you take this course you should probably clear out some other commitments and be prepared to spend 30-40 hours per week on it.