Great prof. demanding but clear on what he requires

Best Math Professor Ever, No Doubt. very funny: learn while being entertained!!!

Good Guy, Great Class

Great guy! Funny guy! Loves math majors ;) Awesome class

Too smart for his own good. Few people do well, many fail.

Great teacher with a sad sense of humor, which is kinda funny

Excellent Professor; by far the best math professor I've ever had and one of the best teachers I've ever had, but if you're not willing to work hard and/or get a bad grade, don't take this class. His jokes get old though... really old...

You have to be willing to wark hard, but it is worth it. He is a good teacher with very clear expectations.

This guy is seriously one of the best teachers at BU, very demanding, very clear, is willing to make you hate him so much that you strive to succeed.

A teacher and mathematician of tremendous caliber. Don't bother with his classes if you aren't willing to work hard. I'd recommend this class to anyone majoring in math, engineering, physics, or any tangentially-related field.

one of the best teacher i have ever have. You gotta work hard [duhh] to get an A. His tests are fair, they are hard and long but very doable, that is if you have done the homework and such. If you have to take differential equation, take him. WOO

He is an excellent professor who gives clear, organized lectures. He has a great sense of humor and is always willing to help students. Test are long, but based off homework and lecture notes. If you don't feel like working, don't take the class!

Does not curve unlike other professors, therefore you have a huge chance of screwing up. Yes, he is clear and teaches well, but regardless you end up having to learn from the book.

good teacher. i fell asleep in class (and got caught) and still got an A. the tests are very easy, just tedious. but be sure to do all the homework and his examples, bc the tests are straight from there

Pretty funny guy, but his jokes get old fast (a select few never get old). Clear lecturer, he wrote the book so the material is all there too. Do all of the homework and labs, and know it going into the exams!!!! You'll get an A, I promise.

Professor Devaney is one of the best math professors in the department- some of the most complex parts of his course are taught by a graduate student, Dan, who's just plain awesome- both are funny. The book is poorly written, so try and show up to class- it'll save you more time than skipping.

He's alright. Read the book and you will be all set!

Devaney is an excellent professor. The man is very VERY clear about what he expects and if you go to class, do the practice tests and the homeworks consistently, you should have no problem getting an A in this class. Also, his office hours are very helpful. Has Jay Leno syndrome though.

Very good professor. Teaches very clear and tells you exactly what to expect in midterms and finals by providing past exams. The class overall is very easy. You must be pretty weak in math (slow) to not get an A in this class.

Good professor. Do the homework (even though it's not collected) go to class, take the practice exams, do the homework (4 assignments), study for the tests and you should do fine.

you really need to go to class, the book helps back things up and provide some good examples. the hw helps a lot also and it's not too hard, you can do it all in one night if you have to. if you like math, know you're kind of good at it, take devaney. otherwise, you'll probably get a C or lower

ouch...

He's a pretty good teacher, but quite an ****. He screwed up my grade and wouldnt reply to my emails.

He may come down pretty hard on Engineers in lecture, but he was perfectly clear and polite in office hours. Optional homework, but DO IT ANYWAY. Labs were an interesting touch, he makes this subject interesting. Also, his book is a good resource.

if you like the arrogant, intimidating, and insulting types of profs you'll love him. most tests error does not carry through and have questions that give no partial credit. he speaks incredibly fast in lecture-good luck writing AND comprehending all at once-the book is great.the lectures notes are helpful too..but dont ask questions-he will mock u

Very fair and straight-forward. He won't give you BS; he tells everyone up front that many will fail if you don't do the homework. The class is hard. If you make a mistake in the first steps of an exam question the graders immediately stop grading that question. Labs are interesting and easy to do well on if you spend about 4 hours on them.

This class was DIFFICULT. I got an A but really worked for it. On the other hand, I know my**** and learned it from the guy who literally wrote the book on differential equations. Take this course; it's difficult, rewarding, and interesting. Devaney's a tough guy but extremely knowledeable, clear, and challenging.

Good teacher. Lectures are fast paced, but will prep you for the homework. Book is very helpful, he wrote it, so he knows his stuff. Doing the homework is the only way to do well in the class. Test problems are usually variations of hw problems. The anti-Engineer jokes do get old. Definately helped me understand Diff Eq's in my later ENG classes!

Very strict and very fast-paced. But if you show up, pay attention, write down everything he puts up on the screen, and do all the homework (which isn't collected), you'll do well. His lecture material is very clear and well-designed. He gives lots of examples. Negatives: doesn't have answer keys for homeworks or practice exams.

First seems intimidating - but is overall a great guy. Seems mean in lecture, but is very helpful at office hours in explaining concepts. MAKE SURE TO READ THE BOOK and GO TO LECTURE, and you will ace his exams. 5/5 rating for a great professor.

Diff EQ with Bob was great. Lectures were well thought out, helpful, and fun. HW (not collected) was helpful for tests, which were fair & very doable. The course used his textbook, which was well written and came with a great software package. Many struggled with this course, but if you go to class, do HW, and ask questions, you'll be fine.

Great guy: fair, clear, and interesting. He made chaos really exciting and palatable, and I would certainly take a class with him again. As far as his jokes go, he's a total nerd.

Great Professor! Hilarious and engaging! He kept Chaotic Dynamical Systems very entertaining! Would love to take another class with him!

I loved Prof Devaney as a professor for this class. He genuinely enjoyed the subject and brought his sense of humor into lecture which made the 90 min. lecture more bearable. He is a good lecturer, and I learned the material easily from him. Be sure to do non-mandatory hw problems to reinforce though!

Very fair and concise. His powerpoints and the way he explains the concepts is very easy to understand but may take a while to digest. Homework is optional and he doesn't check but it would help a lot preparing for exams. Labs are pretty much useless but it's an easy 16% of your grade. Also, he doesn't scale final grades so you get what you get.

Prof Devaney is a tough grader. However, the final aside, tests were not that bad. He drops one test grade as well. Go to discussion, the TF will get to know you and can "swing" your grade. Devaney teaches too quickly, but if you do the HW, you'll stay up to speed. PS, do the HW. Really. One of our tests was ONLY HW questions. HW is never collected

Very good. Explains well, but goes too fast. He has the entire lecture planned on overhead slides, and really fits in the entire lecture in. The textbook sucks, but he makes up for it by teaching alternate methods to the crap in the book.

Love Devaney! His the best math professor at BU. I learned a lot and got an A in this class. Just make sure you do the homework and you will be able to handle the exams. He's really fun and clear explaining the stuff. I hope to take other classes with him.

Good Lecturer, but in an ultra fast pace. Exam questions include hwk probs and essay. Not friendly, makes fun of ppl asking questions (except super gd questions). Sounds like an ENG hater. 3 Midterms (highest 2 will be counted) 4 Labs 1 Final. YES, LABS (4% ea)! They are super time consuming, even u don't have to type it up.

This guys is an amazing professors. One of the clearest professors I have had at BU and he is pretty funny to boot. Acts like he hates ENG and probably does, but its mostly in a mathematicians jest. Knows what he is talking about and he is very fair, so if you have a real qualm feel free to talk to him. He might actually listen, or tease you.

Helpful examples and explains concepts well. Actively uses overhead projector, keeps the class engaged. Sean Connery's voice echoes in the halls. Personal vexation against engineers provides humor during class. This is the best professor to take for this course as he is the expert on Diff Eq

Some people don't like him for being condescending, but it is all lovingly. This class isn't that hard, especially compared to multi. Just go to lecture and discussion, do all the homework and relatively time consuming labs, and you'll be all set.

I don't understand why his rating is so low. He is one of the best professors in the math department. He makes the content easy to understand and interesting. As long as you go to lecture and bother studying this class is fun and fairly straight forward. He may seem condescending sometimes but it's only meant as a joke.

Bob gets too much hate for going too fast in lecture and being condescending. But, he actually is a great teacher if you pay close attention in class. He is super easy to understand and makes all the tests based on examples he does in class. Take him.

Good professor but the grading is ridiculous. For the final exam, it was a multiple choice so if you mess up on one single step, you get the entire question wrong. I wished his final was like his other exams where you can get partial credit.

The multiple-choice final killed my grade.(from A- to B-)

Honestly if you go to class and pay attention, you should get an A. There are 3 midterms and a final and he drops your lowest midterm. I never did the homework (it's optional) and did just fine. Look over the practice tests he posts; he reuses questions from them.

Bob Devaney is one of the best professors I met at BU. He seems to use a quite unique teaching method: the course textbook (written by him and some other people) focuses not on "mechanic" techniques of solving DiffEq, but mostly on qualitative understanding of how they work. Both the textbook and lectures are interesting and entertaining.

Tough class. Homework is optional but you should probably do it. Very structured and organized which has its advantages and disadvantages. Pay attention, take good notes, go to class, and it's not too difficult.

Not gonna lie, devaney hates engineers but is a phenomenal teacher. He wrote the book so he obviously knows his stuff, and if you attend lectures and do hw you will do great in this class. Makes you write essays on your exams but it is pretty ok if you pay attention in lecture. A pretty cocky dude but i feel like he earned it so enjoy.

His lectures are crystal clear and exams follow his lectures. So go to lectures, take notes, really try to understand the materials --you don't even need to read the textbook or do the hw problems to get an A.

Only 4 hw throughout the semester that are semi irrelevant to exam material but overall he's a great professor and get read to take notes because the book is confusing and contains way more detail than needed.