Brian has an awesome beard and is a great teacher. He is a chill grad student, really knows his stuff, and is good at teaching it. His tests are tough but necessary preparation for the final which is the same for all 41 classes.

Brian is a pretty helpful guy. His tests are difficult, though-if you're not a math expert, this class is not for you! Why are they hard? He teaches straight out of the book, so you don't learn the logic you need to do well on the tests. Many times, I've found my other friends in other 41 sections can explain the material to me better than he can.

Calc 2 is going to be hard with whoever you have. Brian's tests were extremely challenging- but not the hardest of all sections. The difficulty prepared you for the final(same for all sections). He also made himself really accessible out of class STUDY LIKE CRAZY FOR THE FINAL and know labs well! The final is a huge factor in determining your grade

Fantastic teacher. Tests might be harder compared to other sections, but the preparation for the final is worth it. Very helpful, accessible and always entertaining and funny.

Great teacher. Explains everything clearly, very eager to help out, tests are difficult and has a lot of high expectations.

Brian is one of the most helpful professors I've had at Duke. His digressions in class are hilarious, and he does a good job of engaging the class. It's really clear that he's passionate about math, and that helps to liven up the material.

Math 111 is going to be hard regardless of who you take it with. Brian is the man and one of the best professors I have ever had. His tests are tough but they are good preparation for the final. He made me love math and I felt bad whenever I skipped his class since I knew that I would learn something meaningful every day.

Hands down the best

He keeps the class interesting and is a great teacher overall. Having a PhD student as your professor is genuinely helpful because they are more interested in the material and keep things fun.

Brian is an amazing teacher and he will explain all the concepts extremely well. His class notes are priceless as they basically cover everything needed in a precise and concise manner. If attend his class and do his homework regularly, you will do well in Multi.

Brian is one of the most caring members on the faculty. His office hours are the best, for he is willing to answer even the "dumbest" of all questions. His lectures are a bit abstract, but he is more than willing to work with you outside of class. His exams cover quite a bit of material, but if you talk to him and do practice exams, you're set.

An absolutely brilliant and amazing math professor. Tests (not too hard) are graded very fairly. Knows the material inside and out and can teach it better than anyone. Really helpful when it comes to answering questions. He is the man, doesn't care about BS things like notation, and ensures all his students know the material very well.

BEST TEACHER IVE EVER HAD. covers difficult material in the clearest/most straightforward way ever. hilarious digressions. very helpful in office hours/more than willing to meet with you separately. likes when students ask questions. midterms not horrible relative to other sections. graded very fairly. such a nice guy. take multi with him!!

Brian was dope. Super smart guy who's very passionate about math, funny, and really wants his students to learn. Also very helpful and friendly during his office hours. Multi is a difficult subject by nature, but I found his tests very reasonable. Make sure to study hard for the course-wide final though: it's very tough.

Take his class!!! Brian was hands down the best teacher I've ever had. He does his best to make the material accessible, and his tests are truly to see if you've attained a solid foundation in the material. As long as you keep up with the homework and study the class notes, you'll do well. If you've struggled with Duke Math, he's a true hero.

Hands down the best math/science professor at Duke! He always finds a way to make convoluted concepts intuitive. You know the prof is awesome when you don't feel painful walking into a math class. He also writes easy tests!

Brian's a real gem -- half of the people who went to lectures weren't even from our class. Brian's such a great teacher that people sit in on our class just because Brian's so good at delivering the material in a digestible manner. He's a big guy with a big personality and he's fairly hilarious. 10/10 would recommend.

Loved his class, great professor

Math212 is a hard class. Brian does the best he can to make it easy on you. His tests are fair and if you do the homework and pay attention in class you can do fairly well on them. However, the final is a block final and Brian's tests tend to be easier than some of the other professors', so watch out.

Brian was amazing! Super helpful when I went to him for help outside class

Brian is one of the best professors I've had at Duke and you should definitely take any math class you can with him. He's a great lecturer and the workload is fair. The tests are straightforward and if you study you'll be fine. Such a cool guy also, if you take his class, make sure to FLUNCH.

Brian is incredible, one of the best math professors I've ever had. He's able to take challenging concepts and teach them in a clear and simple way. Go to class, his lectures are helpful and funny. His tests are challenging but if you study enough you should do well. He also really wants to see his students succeed and will help outside of class.

Fitzpatrick is an excellent teacher. What he writes on the board is what you need to know, so showing up to lecture is essential. HW is lengthy at first, but textbook solutions are online and the AHP answers are given in discussion. The test questions are straightforward and follow practice problems done in class. Doing old practice exams is key

Professor Fitzpatrick is the best mathematics instructor at Duke. His lectures are very clear and what he displays on the board is what you need to know. He does an amazing job taking more difficult concepts and simplifying them without compromising their features. Study the notes for his tests and you'll do great.

Math at Duke is very difficult, but Brian is definitely one of the best professors and explains concepts very clearly. The exams are much harder than the homework, and there are weekly homework quizzes and discussion assignments, but it's a relatively manageable class . Definitely take this class with him if possible.

Fitzpatrick is a very clear and engaging lecturer, and he is very good at answering questions in office hours. The homework he assigns is not very representative of the test difficulty though. There have been several questions on each test that required on the spot creativity, which is especially difficult under strict time pressure (v. long tests)

Brian's a great professor. I really recommend going to lecture -- it was helpful to me and Brian does his best to make sure the material's clear. Attendance and homework are optional, so weekly quizzes and exams make up the bulk of the grade. The weekly quizzes are straightforward and midterms are fairly doable. Work hard, and you'll be fine

I thought Brian was great - his lectures are very clear, and he is good at answering questions about the material. Office hours are helpful for completing the homework or just trying to understand concepts better. Tests aren't easy but are graded fairly. Plus, his occasional tangents can be hilarious!

Great professor. If you study the slides, prepare for the quizzes and understand how each topic pivots to the next, you'll do great. By far my most enjoyable math experience at Duke. Make sure to continuously revisit past material - it builds up pretty quickly.

Fitz is an amazing lecturer, is clear and understandable and stops lecture for anyone with a question. He was clear with grading and was available outside class where he would gladly answer anyone's questions. He genuinely cares about students' success. The class was very difficult, however, and you have to put in the work if you want to do well.

Fitzpatrick is far and away the best professor I've ever had for a math class. The class covers a lot of ground and every week builds on material covered in preceding weeks, so you need to keep up. Exams make up most of the grade, but the homeworks are useful practice. Super funny, accessible through email and office hours10/10 would recommend!

He does not assign too much HW and his exams are computation heavy (work fast) but representative of the lectures. He helped me become better at deriving formulas instead of simply memorizing them. Definitely take Math 218 with him.

218 with Fitz is awesome. hes funny and a literal genius. the clearest teacher Ive ever had. This class will likely be my first where I won't be close to the A range, but I would take it again in a heartbeat. grading is exceptionally fair, and the tests are tough but representative of what you know. couldnt recommend this class more. take it.

Fitzpatrick is a fantastic lecturer he is clearly passionate about math and has a knack for making tough concepts accessible. His class is a lot of work, with weekly quizzes and three midterms plus a final, but he preps you well. Discussion sections are required, but entirely useless. Overall though, great class.

Great teacher and good class. Definitely would recommend!

The class is hard, but he is an exceptionally good math teacher - he lays out the logic behind the concepts step by step in lecture, and will stop and explain it again in more detail if you don't understand something. He is also super accessible through his office hours, which are really helpful.

Hilarious teacher and easily the best math teacher that I have ever had. However, the class goes very fast (new topic every lecture) so you really need to keep up with studying outside of class because it is a difficult class and the tests are not easy.

In the world of suckiness that is Duke Math, Prof. Fitzpatrick is the sole bright spot. Easiest math class I've taken at Duke, simply because he's amazing at simplifying and explaining concepts. If you take linear with anyone except Fitz, you're making a mistake.

I took the experimental engineering section of 212 with Fitzpatrick, and let me just say Dr. Fitzpatrick is fantastic! He's really great at explaining not only what the concept is, but why we'd want to use that concept. The class is challenging, but not overly so, and he will answer all of your questions without becoming condescending.

I would recommend taking Linear with Fitzpatrick. He always made an attempt to explain clearly and was very accessible (3 office hours per week!). He is very organized. The tests are pretty similar to the homework. His class is a little easier bc he stuck mostly to definitions, formulas, and examples though, so sometimes felt like regurgitation.

Brian made math my favorite class which is pretty uncommon at Duke. His lectures are amazing and his tests are very fair. The way he explains concepts made me excited about math and I actually understood the theory behind it. He responds to emails very quickly and overall he's a nice down-to-earth guy who genuinely loves math.

Good lecturer. Prerecorded lectures are short, I wish he gave more examples. Discussion section & OH are very helpful, they'll walk through homework with you. He's very friendly and conversational.

Prof. Fitzpatrick's lectures are clear and concise. However, I find the lectures to only dab on the concepts, and I was only copying and pasting the formulas most of the time in the homework problems. I emailed him once to ask for a proof of a concept and he quickly emailed back a good one. Overall, he's a great professor, but I didn't like MATH218

Math 218 isn't the easiest class, but Fitzpatrick was an amazing professor. He's the most helpful prof I've had so far at Duke. He genuinely cares about you understanding the content and succeeding.

Take 218 with Fitzpatrick if you can. Really clear lecturer that can explain all concepts seamlessly. Granted, I think the class was probably a bit too easy (no midterms, not super in depth into content), especially as I hear now what people have to do in 218 now. Easy A if you go to office hours/discussion

Math 218 was great with Professor Fitzpatrick. The first midterm was rough but he was willing to curve it significantly. Even so, the average for every midterm hovers around a B/B- so you do have to work for an A. The lectures are great and I highly recommend attending all of them.

Bfitz has a clear style of lecturing (if you aren't comitted to office hours, lectures are the only interaction.) They're fast but it never feels like there's anything irrelevant, and he takes all questions in lecture. The way he weaves together older ideas later in the year is straight captivating. Always energetic and funny when he needs to be.

Duke has 2 GOATS: Coach K and Coach BFitz

Absolute GOAT

I love bfitz. He's an amazing lecturer, and is always willing to help students (he'll stay after class, respond to emails, etc). His passion for math is so refreshing. That said, his class was extremely difficult--his exams make you apply concepts in new ways, not just applying formulas. But, if you need to take linear, it better be with bfitz.

B Fitz is a great lecturer and makes the course pretty easy. The course is quite boring, but B Fitz makes the class as interesting as possible. He also has all his lectures on youtube, which was an awesome resource.

Caring professor that is passionate about the material he teaches. Homework sets were difficult for me but he is very willing to help clear up any confusing concepts and provide tips during his office hours. Amazing class.

Bry Guy is the GOAT! Explains things very thoroughly and methodically. Reasonable homework and is VERY accessible to help you with it during office hours. The best math prof ever, and you can tell he is in love with teaching linear algebra.

B Fitz is the GOAT. Definitely made learning linear algebra an enjoyable experience. You can clearly see that he is passionate about the material he is teaching. Lecture slides and notes are clear and easily understandable. His lectures are a bit fast paced but his explanations of concepts are thorough and he usually takes questions during lecture.

Fast-paced but excellent lectures (the class covers lots of things). Weekly homework take ~2hrs. His midterms contain some "tricky" questions. It's a light class, as long as you come to lecture and don't slack off. He's very helpful if you have questions after class. If you fall asleep/don't show up, he has online lectures on Youtube.

BFitz made me want to be a Math major. Guy is awesome even if you're not in Pratt I would take this class. If you do all the HW you will do fine on the midterms.

BFitz is the best professor in the math department.

BFitz is literally the coolest dude ever and his lectures are amazing! Great teacher because you actually learn and his lectures help you when it comes to 3 weekly comprehension quizzes and problem sets. Good amount of work but it helps a lot when it comes time for the tests. Take this class!!!

My best experience with Duke math so far. Super engaging lectures but attendance is not required since all are recorded on YouTube. Exams are fair. Homework is very helpful and manageable.

BFitz is by far and away the best lecturer I've ever had. Extremely engaging and makes learning something thats honestly quite boring pretty interesting. Midterms are really tough, he tends to use types of problems you haven't seen before, so you need to actually understand the content and not just know how to do problems. All lectures are online.

Bfitz REALLY cares about helping students and always stays after class to help people. Only con is that he is pretty irritable and can get upset over certain things which kinda makes lecture anxiety ridden. Class itself is really easy and just lots of material to remember. Tests are all fair.

Great class. Would recommend.

Great class, great professor. Recommended!

Fitzpatrick is an outstanding professor and makes linear algebra simple! He puts so much thought and care into his PowerPoints. He recommends that you come to lecture although old lectures are on YouTube. Lots of psets.

Incredible lecturer, fair tests and grading. Best math professor I've had at Duke so far.

Lecturers like this are tough to come by. Very few subject experts can convey their mastery of the subject in simple terms. I'm always amused at how he breaks down those high-level concepts in the simplest of terms. Tests will require you to practice, but only from whatever he teaches in class + past papers. Have fun in this one!

Bfitz is a an AMAZING lecturer. The way he explains things and the slideshows he uses during lecture make sense. He is awesome at teaching a problem solving mindset. This class is difficult, no doubt, but there is no better professor for the class.

Best professor I've had during my time at Duke so far. His explanations are very clear and his lectures are amazing. He provides a reasonable amount of homework and is always willing to help students before/after class. Extremely well-organized class. If you attend lectures and stay on top of the content, you'll end with an A.

He is just perfect

B. Fitz teaches through PowerPoint that very helpful. The homework is much harder than what the notes teach but with the help of classmates and TAs, you can figure it out. He has a fast teaching style but he gives you many opportunities to ask questions and clear up any confusion.

One of the best math professors at Duke. Very organized website with accessible notes and practice material, timely lectures with humor sprinkled throughout, and many hours offered for extra help. FLUNCHed him early on in the semester with a few of my friends and can say that Bfitz genuinely loves this course and dedicates many hours to his work.

The class was hard for me personally, but you can tell he put tons of effort into preparing his lectures and lessons. Prof. Fitzpatrick is extremely approachable and humorous; he also brings great enthusiasm and energy when giving lectures. Make sure to take advantage of FLUNCH opportunities to meet up with him outside of class!

Huggeee B.Fitz fan. He's a great lecturer and a funny, up front guy. He organizes the material in a very logical, easy-to-follow way. Tests are often only 5 questions, and the hardest part is figuring out what you need to do not how you need to do it. Can def suck if you don't know how to do one of the problems.

Fantastic

The best professor I have had so far at Duke

Bfitz is one of the best lecturers I've ever had. He is engaging and truly cares about the topic. He is kind, and his office hours are super helpful. There is a good bit of homework, but his tests aren't too difficult if you study well. He is very accessible and really wants his students to succeed.

BFitz is the best teacher I've had at Duke. He forces you to engage in lectures, has a good sense of humor, and is accessible outside of class. His course website is very easy to navigate and I feel like I was set up to succeed. I also got tutoring through ARC that helped keep me on track with psets. PRACTICE EXAMS PRACTICE EXAMS DO THEM

One of the best if not the best lecturer I've had at Duke. Attendance not mandatory but GO TO LECTURE!!! Everything taught out of lecture. Weekly HW, not many problems for each but enough to force you to think. Accessible out of class, Bfitz and his TA's office hours are very useful.

The lecture goat. Truly such an interesting class and he explains everything so well. Do all the practice midterms he provides and you will do well on the tests.

BFitz has a deep passion for not just LinAlg but also gives a lot of thought to his teaching style. Lectures are very engaging; he is a skilled orator and communicates very effectively. His problem sets are helpful in better understanding computation. If you consistently stay with the material over the semester, the midterms aren't all that bad.

Very engaging lectures, excellent at explaining material, and a great sense of humor as well. Homework load is decent, but most problems are easy and collaboration is encouraged. Test questions are mostly written so that they look incredibly complicated until you notice small details, so know pay attention to details during lectures.

In the midst of confusing grading criteria, subpar lectures and irksome online materials that marked my freshman fall, Brian Fitzpatrick was my oasis. 218D2 is a wonderful class that reflects years of intelligent refinement, setting you up wonderfully for further math and imparting a love of the subject (if you take the time to appreciate it).

Best math prof I've had so far! Lectures are not mandatory but highly recommended. bfitz lectures in a clear manner that is easy to follow and he also makes classes entertaining with occasional jokes.

For preparing for the final, I recommend redoing exams I, II, and III together for practice, and also revising all of the factorizations, how they are helpful for solving different questions/simplify the process (ex. A=QR can make solving projections easier), and how to create the factorizations from a matrix.

Bfitz was an outstanding lecturer, you can tell he really spent a lot of time preparing each lecture. He explained topics very very very well. This being said, his test questions were definitely tricky, but if you do all the practice tests you can succeed. I came back from a C on the first midterm to an A in the class. PRACTICE!!!!

Definitely a difficult course, and I don't plan on taking another class with him, but he was engaging and the concepts were interesting. Great professor, just be ready to study and work a lot outside of class, even if high school math was easy for you.

He is a very good professor, and his lectures are excellent. Do all of the assignments, both for your grade and for the sake of practice. Take notes too! The exams are not easy, but he gives partial credit. He is very accessible thru office hours and his TAs were great. Would recommend!

Came into Duke with high expectations for BFitz and can confidently say they have all been met and then some. Clear and engaging lectures, relevant homework/problem sets, and plenty of resources to help you succeed. Although the exams are difficult and require extensive preparation, they are still certainly doable with the resources provided.

A lot of the class will have taken linear before, so don't expect a curve to save you on exams (and they are brutal). BUT, know that you've got a great support system with BFitz and his TAs. Do the practice exams, collaborate, and reach out for help early on. Make this course your priority. If you put in the work, you will be greatly rewarded.

Amazing lectures, I would highly recommend going and engaging in them. Brian is accessible outside of class, along with many TA's who I found to all be super knowledgeable and helpful. Take this class seriously even if you have been successful in prior math classes and you will be fine.

BFitz emphasizes problem-solving over computation in 218. Test questions require deep understanding of the material and are tricky. This increase in difficulty is balanced by the fact that BFitz's lectures are prepared and organized extremely well. As long as you carefully learn everything covered in the lectures, getting a good grade is doable.

The material is challenging, but Bfitz delivers amazing lectures that make it much easier to understand. The practice problems are incredibly helpful, and the numerous assignments provide plenty of opportunities for improvement.

Bfitz deserves nothing but applause. He is truly the best lecturer at Duke. The class covers some pretty complicated topics but he explains exactly what you need to know, nothing more or less. I walked out of every lecture of his feeling motivated to get started on the homework.

Do all the practice exams (think of them more as puzzles than straight computation) and check your problem sets with a group. Go to office hours!

I recommend doing the problem sets right after lecture for reinforcement. Take every practice exam and be able to verbally explain your work as vocabulary and process is fundamental to understanding. Stay on top of things if you take this in the summer, the class moves fast.

This professor is AMAZING. Easily one of the best professors at Duke and made this subject one of my favorites (even as someone who doesn't like math). Although you may not feel like you did the best on the midterms, the grading is extremely fair, and BFitz is always willing to help students. Super cool guy and recommend FLUNCHing him.

Truly he is been the best professor I have had at Duke. You actually learn the material, yet you are set up so well for success. The way he teaches is so organized and thorough that I felt so prepared for the midterms and did not have to do much outside studying. He has designed this class in the most optimal way for students to learn the concepts.

By far the most efficient and organized lecturer out there. He explains concepts better than any Math prof I've ever had. It doesn't get better for Duke Math. Take every practice test and you're more than well prepared for the midterm. Though attendance isnt mandatory, the in-class experience sets you up to do well and you walk out prepared.

I wanna jump to his bear and snuggle up all inside of it.

He is a good teacher exams can just be difficult. I would recommend being careful in studying for every midterm they can be make-or-break for the class.

Best professor I have for the semester! His lectures are very clear and easy to follow, and his resources like video lectures and past papers are very useful. The midterms might be a bit hard, but it's 100% manageable if you do the past exams and make sure you understand everything in the quizzes and problem sets.

Truly one of the best to ever do it. Makes math fun, engaging, slightly difficult, and rewarding. Each lecture was a treat, and his jokes always kept the lectures lively. I highly recommend this course

Professor Fitzpatrick is amazing. His website is structured well, and his lectures are cohesive and clear. The midterms were a bit tricky, so definitely practice with the past midterms that he provides. The course is based heavily on the midterms and finals. The course is challenging but very rewarding. Best math professor I've ever had!

bfitz is great, lectures arent required but i recommend going to them. he articulates the lectures well and OH r very convenient because theyre between lectures so definitely ask question then. the tests are hard, but very doable as long as you ensure you fully know all the content and he has lots of past tests available. will miss this class

Bfitz is an awesome guy and an even better lecturer, I highly recommend going to lectures so you can engage in the content rather than just using his YouTube videos. Tests and topics are definitely hard, but doable if you put in the work. Final was easier and more straightforward than the midterms.