Assignments are ridiculously hard, expect to get help from a TA. The midterm/final was pretty easy and he ends up curving it so even better... Very organized with his notes and clearly states what we need to know for exams. Very ambigiuous for assignments and gives nearly any explaination for it.

He is amazing, replies to emails minutes after you send them, offers a lot of help, assignmnets are hard but really really help in later courses so its deff worth it when its over. only think is the midterm was a bit to long, but the questions were very fair.

Very very good prof, i recemend him to everyone, and the best at responding to emails i have ever seen.

Great prof! Lectures were well organized and clearly presented. Assignments were very reasonable and we covered the material needed for them long before they were due giving plenty of time to seek help if need be. I thought that the exams were also very fair--perhaps a little on the ling side, but quite reasonable. Help was also readily available.

Was friendly and very easy to talk to and covered the material quite well. Assignments were difficult but doable, but midterm and final were brutally hard. To get a mark of at least C-, though, the average of the midterm and final needs to be C- or higher so whatever you do, don't fail the midterm. Overall, not a bad guy, but really hard marking.

Alright prof. Organized in lectures but they do get a bit boring. Assignments were moderate but got very very difficult near the end of the semester. Midterm was alright and he even offered those who did bad to redo it to increase their mark. Final was surprisingly not difficult. Just study and focus on those hard assignments.

He is very organized and gives good lectures. However his assignments are VERY hard, harder then what cpsc majors are required to know. His midterm are EXACTLY the same as previous ones, only with different numbers. Overall he is nice and helpful but be prepared to spend long hrs on asgnments

He was a good prof. I mean, I didn't go half the time and it was really boring, but he did teach well and I still did well because I went to all my labs. If you're taking this class, make sure to go to every single lab!

Dr. Stephenson is not just a very good professor, but he is also a good man overall. However, he was very tough. You HAVE to work hard for even a B. I thought the grading scale was horrible. He has a lot of office hours though and he will help you effortlessly until you understand a concept. That's what I liked about him. Great guy.

He is as tough as a prof gets in terms of the difficulty of his tests/exams. If you're gonna take a class with him don't take it when you have 4 other courses. Bad grading scale, a RIDICULOUSLY hard class. He'll explain to you very well if you ask him for help but the material is SO hard regardless. I recommend taking the course with someone else.

Take this course with another prof not necessarily because Ben Stephenson is a bad professor, but because that other prof could be easier. This guy slaughters you increasingly throughout the course -- 4 difficult assignments (that you may not end up being able to do) and 1 difficult test -- the final was on a whole other level.

Like people have said before: the material is crazy hard. You're going to have to work really hard and really know your stuff to survive this course. However, Dr. S is one of the most helpful professors there are if you actually email him and go talk to him! Go to lectures, go to tutorials, pay attention, read the textbook, you'll do fine.

To say that the material is difficult is wholly subjective to who you're asking. It's computer science, and I'm sure a lot of people thought it'd be an easy A, though that isn't the case. He teaches the material really well and it's easy to follow his lectures/notes. The assignments and midterm were difficult, but the final was very fair.

Not a bad professor, but his assignments were crazy! I had no prior programming experience, went to every class, understood mostly everything, but spent hours and hours on his assignments! They got harder too as the semester went on ... midterm/final were okay though.

One of the best profs so far! He is great prof. He explains easily, 4 assignments are very easy.

He is very boring and is hard to follow his examples. He's got a super high grading scale for assignments, midterms and finals. You have to get at least a C- in the final to pass the course and that would be 70%. He does this so he can keep the class average at a 70%. My advice, if you don't have to take CPSC 217 then don't specially not with him.

Ben was great. He knew his audience in 217 and taught to it. He explains concepts very clearly, writes brilliant assignment outlines, and gets marks out quickly. Yes, the assignments are difficult, but I went in with no prior programming experience and did really well. Just plan to spend time on them.

Ben was great prof in my opinion. His notes were very clear and concise, to be honest I never paid attention in class but since you use everything you've learned in tutorials and assignments, I learned by trial and error. Assignments are hard, definitely took advantage of the TAs but I think I did okay in the course

Great professor! Very enthusiastic about material, often uses intuitive analogies to explain concepts. As one of the comments said below, a programming course is subjective as an "easy A". I personally found each assignment fair,if you put in the work and understand them inside and out. Final was also fair.

Ben has a fairly high level of expectation from his students. I'm a first time programmer and I think the assignments were quite fair, albeit lengthy. He expects competence in the material and for you to learn it, not regurgitate it. Largest complaint is his slides. Its impossible learn anything by filling in blanks, real notes would be nice.

Great guy, works hard to make the class enjoyable and really cares for the students. However his slides for notes are hard to keep up with. His assignments are tough and take a lot of time for first time coders.

He can teach! Proficient in explaining concepts and providing examples; study his notes and attend lectures. Assignments take lots of time and problem-solving. But given the subject matter that's understandable. Be thorough on course work. If you're a poor problem-solver, beware of CPSC 217, but I'd still recommend him if you must take this course.

Ben Stephenson... I really feel like he tries to make the course something its not which can be tough. The course content taught in the lectures is relatively easy however if you decide to take this class, make sure to spend HOURS on the assignments as they get really hard really fast. The exams too are quite hard so study up!

An exceptional teacher for Computer Science. This guy knows extremely well what he's talking about, and it's great. Yes, the assignments can be difficult, but are workable if you listen in class and apply some problem solving. He's very helpful and cares how you do if you care how you do. Work at it.

Ben is amazing and he knows his stuff! I approached him many times at his office and he was always friendly and extremely helpful! His tests were fair, if you attended all lectures and took notes to fill in the gaps in his notes. Would definitely take another course taught by Ben!

Ben was an excellent professor. He was able to explain the subject clearly, and effectively. The subject itself was difficult, but Ben was awesome. He was quick to respond, and extremely helpful. He knew the subject inside and out, and was even entertaining while teaching. I would change my schedule around to have him as a professor again.

Lectures were very clear and easy to understand. The assignments were tough, and you have to rely on the TAs to get help with the tricky parts. You really have to know your stuff to do well on the midterms and final. Practice writing code!

Ben is a great computer science professor! He brings a lot of enthusiasm to the class and wants to see his students succeed. If you aren't particularly adept at programming, make time to practice! He will be there to answer your questions, just try to solve things for yourself first.

Ben is clear, approachable, and answers questions very well. He is great in class. The assignments are challenging but doable. He posts practice exams and notes. No text required. If you're willing to spend time in the lab the class is blindingly easy.

He makes it easy for a non major like me to understand the course and I don't have any background in programming whatsoever. His homeworks are tough but he's giving you enough time to do it and hints at class so you will be able to do it. Ben is also easy to approach and talk to and he responds quickly to emails. Exams are fairly easy if you study.

Ben is a very great prof! Very clear in his lectures. 2/4 assignments were very difficult, needing to pull all nighters and asking for a lot of help. Be ready to really apply yourself. Just because you know the material he's teaching you which is really black and white, doesn't mean the assignments will be. Fair midterm/final

Great professor, amazing lecture. Would recommend anyone to take 217 with him.

Ben has a lot of enthusiasm and cares about what he does. He has solid lesson plans and makes everything explicit (you can tell by the way he talks). Computer Science is not for everyone but if you give it a chance, Ben will be there to help you and his teaching style is effective.

I would strongly recommend for anyone taking CPSC217. CPSC is absolutely NOT my thing(just required for my degree), but he makes it really great. He's enthusiastic and his lectures are AMAZING. He will recap what was covered in the past at the start of every lecture. He answers questions CLEARLY. You will not die inside during lectures.

(Non-major here) Assignments are tough but your TA WILL HELP. Midterm and final are fair- study the seemingly irrelevant stuff too. His lectures are great. He responds to emails FAST. Help is available. Make friends in class. Compare assignments/techniques. It is a manageable class.

No experience with coding whatsoever and I was worried about failing the course,but Dr. Stephenson was a big relief. He does his best to make class enjoyable and engaging. 2/4 assignments are tough, just get help EARLY from your TA. Exercises are straightforward (easy marks). Go to class, pay attention, mid term is reasonable. Highly recommend!

You definitely will learn more about computer science, or at least the basis of it, than with anyone else. However, you have the workload of a second year, or at least that is what I heard from them. Great guy, great class, just really hard

A REAL GEM!Best prof to take CPSC 217 with hands down. Great lecturer, very helpful outside of class as well. Responds to emails IMMEDIATELY, marked the midterm & final in 24 HRS. What more could you want from a prof seriously. Don't bother w/ buying any books, just GO TO LECTURES & at least a few tutorials. don't leave asgmts to the last minute.

This guy is amazing. I was so worried for this class since i knew NOTHING about computer science but he explained everything super well and made it easy. He was also very available and helpful in office hours. Best prof I've had at U of C.

Pretty good. Brings enthusiasm to the class and really seems to care about teaching. Misses the 5/5 by not relating to the students as much as other 5s, but by far among one of the best compared to other CPSC profs. Teaches by slides which he has online, but adds important notes while teaching. Writes code in class and does lots of examples. Hi Ben

I went into this course with a 3.6 GPA, and I'm likely to receive my first ever D in this course. I found it incredibly challenging, although most people seemed OK with it. Tests were open-book, open-internet. Don't just read. Do TONS of practice problems in Haskell and Prolog. Ben is an excellent prof though. Very smart and makes class fun.

Ben is a really good professor for someone coming into computer science for the first time. His assignments are challenging, but fair given the level of the student ability. Midterm and final were super easy and he gave good feedback and even let you increase by half a letter grade on your midterm if you did some supplemental questions.

Great prof, the intro to Computer Science is the perfect place for beginners to learn more about comp-sci. 10/10, highly recommend. If you put in the work, you will get an A.

very funny and engaging, there is a LOT of homework but it all felt useful.

Ben was a very enthusiastic and fun prof to have. He was great at explaining topics and I found him to be very helpful. He doesn't post lecture notes with what he talks about in class so it is important to attend class. The course isn't an easy A, you have to keep up and really study for the tests and assignments

His class is always nice to go to, i saw that people who skipped did worse. His slides are bare bones and he explains everything during class. He's enthusiastic, fun, and types impressively fast. Tests go by very fast, i spent half of the time worrying about how i don't have enough time. If you don't practice or understand things well you will fail

He is super enthusiastic about his job and I always looked forward to his lectures. He gives clear expectations for all assignments and exams making it easy to get A's. I know nothing about computers and still did well.

Very enthusiastic and passionate. Definitely one of the best profs out there

Ben's passion for computer science actually made going to class exciting. He is an amazing professor, but computer science 217 is a difficult course, accompanied with tough assignments. Only wish his grade scale wasn't trash, he converts letter grades into GPA and doesn't round up. Ended with a 3.92 GPA which he rounded down to an A-

Ben is a great prof but the level of difficulty on both the midterm and final exam will destroy you. Do your best to ace the assignments in order to have a chance at passing the course with a D. Midterm exam was difficult enough and the final exam is even harder. You NEED to know how to program in a small time constraint he gives you in the exam.

His exams are hard, no doubt about it but he is one of the very few cpsc profs that can actually teach AND takes an interest in his students! He also likes to curve the exam and final marks by giving bonuses to everyone, so thats a huge plus, it was the only way that my 60% final was a B! YOU MUST put the time in to do the assignments on your own.

Don't let other reviewers scare you - Dr. Stephenson is an amazing prof for 449. His exams test your skill in programming, not your ability to memorize. You are allowed to type your exam code on a computer, so you can debug it and even use google!! The exams require quick thinking and creativity, which I guess is too much for some people...

Good Prof. Great at making concepts easy for total beginners to understand. Exams were fair. The assignments are a lot of work, some of them were very hard. Pretty annoying how he posts incomplete notes online, trying to force you to attend lectures. Other than that, great guy, easy to talk to, would recommend.

It's a hard course but I wouldn't have wanted it with anyone else. He was great, very approachable and honestly more excited about computer science than any person I've ever met. He's phenomenal, but don't expect this to be an easy course. It's not impossible, but it's hard. Ben makes it worth it, in my mind.

My favorite class and favorite prof in my first year. Took this course as a requirement for my degree and ended up loving it. Not sure I will do anything with CPSC in the future, but he made the lectures decently engaging and had clear expectations on grading and what will be on exams! Very approachable and is very willing to help his students!

Great professor for an introduction to computer science. If you do not attend tutorials or most lectures you will not succeed. Tutorials often give you the start you need to complete most exercises and assignments. Very good professor overall.

Ben is clearly very enthusiastic about computer science. His lectures are very engaging. He's a really great prof who cares about his students. DO THE OLD MIDTERMS he provides because he reuses a lot of the questions. Beware: He does not post the notes online. Also, the assignments are extremely painful and difficult so be prepared to make friends

Ben is a really good professor. If you have an affinity for computer science, the notes he writes will be enough. However if you dont, write down a lot of the stuff he says in addition to the notes he writes; itll help you out a lot. Assignments werent as bad as everyone says, and both the midterm and final were extremely fair.

Best prof I had for my first semester! Wonderful lectures and step by step teaching style make life much easier. Never been to the lab or tutorial class the whole semester and still got an A! Though the assignments are kind of tricky sometimes, but u sure will pass.

It was my first class ever in cpsc, I have never touched coding once in my life and he made the material really easy to understand. I went into the final with an A, and unfortunately blanked out during the exam. However, the exam seemed fair as long as you studied for it. Assignments are tricky, but Ben and your TAs help you a lot!

he was very enthusiastic on the material. Also very nice when you went in for help. I never used a textbook and didn't go to tutorials because the notes/example are enough to get everything done. for an intro course, assignments that took like 12+ hours seemed too much, other then that though it's a good class if you are prepared to work a bit

Really enthusiastic and great lecture. Textbook and workbook isnt mandatory (although he pushed us to buy them, I didnt have either and still end up with an A+). This course is an easy A but there is a lot of homework. Fun class overall. Go to tutorials, TA are able to explain the material if you find that classes are too fast.

You'll never meet anyone more enthusiastic about computer science than Ben. Just note that there are quite a few exercises and assignments, and you''ll probably get stuck on the assignments - continuous tutorials will help with that. Everything is also due at 12 noon, not midnight which is a bit of a weird time. Overall, boring class but great prof

An amazing professor! Passionate about computer science, takes it at an easy pace so that it is easy to understand. The assignments really reflect what you learn in the lecture so it is great. They are a little difficult but help in CT is easily accessible and very helpful. Prof is also very helpful and will always take the time to explain it.

This course is easy.

Ben Stephenson is very passionate about his subject. His lectures were easy to follow and understand, even though hes teaching some tough material. Very good guy, makes comp sci interactive

He was super enthusiastic and a great introduction to computer science. The exercises were simple, but the assignments were long and tricky. No, you won't learn everything in class. I didn't find it worth my time to go to tutorials. The TA gave good feedback on assignments though. Learn how to use stack overflow and you're golden.

Very clearly passionate and enthusiastic about the subject and his students learning! Makes it easier to care about the class, since he does too.

Stephenson makes very nice and simple slides that make a lot of sense. All of the assignments were completely within our capabilities using the things we learned in class, but they were definitely meant to challenge. You have to invest lots of time and energy but Stephenson prepared you as best he can.

Absolute gem of a prof. Course is very well designed with interesting lectures. Show up to them, take notes, ask questions about topics you don't understand, and no reason you can't get an A.

This guy till this day was one of the best profs I had. His teaching made me actually pursue a computer science degree (for better or worse)

Extremely enthusiastic about the class. Made learning easy and fun thanks to his charismatic personality. Couldn't recommend this guy enough!

ben is a great prof who is truly passionate about both computer science and teaching, and does a good job keeping lectures engaging and providing useful examples that help solidify practical skills. this class can be quite heavy, with time-consuming assignments, but overall it isn't impossible to do well in if you try your best and ask questions.

honestly a really amazing professor, he has great lectures, and really cares about his students. the exams were not the easiest for someone who had never seen python before especially because of the stricter grading scale of the course. if you go talk to him and show him you care about the content, he is very understanding and wants you to succeed.

Amazing professor! This was my first time doing anything computer science related and he made the lectures so engaging and easy to understand. I took the class in spring, and despite the accelerated curriculum, he made everything so easy to understand! He is super available outside of class and really guides you to success. I had a lot of fun!

Super passionate about teaching, his lectures were engaging, and you could tell that he cared. Great prof, would highly recommend for anyone taking 217.

His explanations and in class demonstrations are really easy to follow. His exams are fair and he's generally a nice guy. Definetly come to lecture, since he explains all the functions in detail.