Professor Downing is a great lecturer, and the course is very well organized. While you will learn a lot, it is VERY important to have a good group that you can work well with, especially if you have little experience with full-stack development. The only critique I have is that the exams aren't the most accurate assessment of course material.

Downing is a really good professor. The class is very informational, but the lectures have nothing to do with the main project, so expect a lot of workload from both the lecture and the project. You'll have to learn a lot of tools on your own, so make sure that you got the time for the class. If you need more info, look up the CS373 blog posts.

A great class for learning about Software Engineering practices. Lectures are about Python concepts (from basic to advanced topics) and have a huge disconnect from the group project. Be ready to do figure out a lot on your own for the group project which is about developing a website. Definitely recommend!

Dr. Downing is a great professor. Makes the requirements for a good grade clear and feasible. The class is not light on the workload, but it's very manageable and you learn a lot.

Professor Downing is a very thorough lecturer, he makes stuff pretty easy to understand. There are mini quizzes every day at class you take solo and with a group, which allows you to do pretty well and also stay up to date on material. Tests were also first a solo round, then group. Projects were with a partner and TA's were very helpful.

I actually took both OOP (371p) and SWE (373) in the same semester and took away a lot from both courses. In particular I was glad to feel engaged from the lectures despite the virtual environment, not even just because of the element of "cold calling" as much as the dialogue between Prof Downing and any student being engaging to follow along with.

Professor Downing is an excellent instructor. Although his cold calls are intimidating to say the least, he really cares about his students and wants them to fully understand the course material. OOP cements your knowledge of C++ and the fundamentals of object-oriented programming in C++, and I think it was definitely a worthwhile class to take.

He is a great professor I really learned a lot. The class is not easy but its also not terrible like operating systems was. Projects are alright. Extra credit for doing them in a pair.

He's a fantastic professor and really cares about his students. We had some unprecedented circumstances this semester which he was fairly accomodating of. A large chunk of the grading is a group project which can be intimidating in the wrong group and a lot of work. The grading criteria could be clearer but he is accessible on Piazza.

This class is a ton of fun! Classes were decently interesting - we mostly learned about Python, but what we learned about Python can be applied to really any programming language. The gem of this class is the project - a full stack web application you create from scratch with your team. You're going to need to learn how to learn!

Great class and no exams! You have almost only 1 group project with 4 milestones for grading. He posts her lecture material online, but you need to attend class and pay attention to the content because you won't get quizzes correct if you miss too much.

Took this online, so there were no exams and instead, we had a 10 point quiz at the beginning of each class period. 5 projects make up 50% of the grading, but the projects haven't been so bad. The only thing is the last 4 are partner projects, but you have to choose a different partner for each so be ready to meet some new people.

One of the best UDEs you can take at UT! With the online format he changed it up a bit to get rid of exams and include in-class exercises which were really helpful and not as stressful. The group projects are really just one project split into 4 phases that you work on with your team for the whole semester and its really cool and engaging.

Great class, but a lot of work. You learn a lot regarding full-stack development, building out a site from scratch over the course of a semester. The grading criteria for the projects could be more clear, but otherwise, no complaints.

I found the group projects to be extremely time consuming. Downing didn't allow us to pick our own groups and even after filling out a time availability survey it felt like the people in my group had vastly different schedules than my own. When the work is shared equitably it is a manageable class but your group is really the make or break.

This class is quite a big workload since the main project is creating a dynamic website. The requirements for each phase of the project could be laid out in better detail such as making sure the Piazza rubric reflects the class's website project rubric. Hopefully, you'll have a good team that's well-rounded for frontend and backend.

There were easy quiz questions that helped you review the material you learned from the last session. Don't worry if you did badly on one of the quizzes because he dropped several lowest quiz grades.

Great professor and class.

The software engineering course is amazing! I learned docker, Python, SQL, and a lot of useful tools along the way. It is a very useful course and professor explained things clearly. Very recommended.

Great class! There is a semester-long group project and he chose the groups randomly, so beware of that!

Dr. Downing is great lecturer that explains the nuances of Python and SQL. However, there's an intentional disconnect between lectures and the group assignments, so that you have to spent time outside the classroom to learn the toolkits required for the projects.

Downing's lectures do not relate to the group projects much, but are very informative and interesting. He also does cold calling, but it is very low pressure and he just wants to interact with his students and get to know them. Most of the time spent for the class is on the year-long project, where you build a website with a group.

I love Professor Downing. He is probably my favorite teacher in the UTCS department and probably in the whole school. He genuinely cares about his students and wants them to succed.

Professor Downing is one of the best professors I have had in college. He is an engaging lecturer (even over Zoom), and is always open to answering questions and clarifying concepts. He also explains the projects very clearly.

Professor Downing is one the best professors I've had at UT. He explains the material really well and really encourages you to ask questions and doesn't make you feel bad if you don't know the answer. The projects are nothing related to the lectures so you will have to do outside research and utilize the TAs. You will learn a lot in his classes

Professor Downing goes through a meticulous number of both right and wrong examples to ensure that you fully and deeply understand the course contents. He's a great teacher who never fails to, even in a virtual setting, makes students feel included and comfortable to ask questions.

Very clear and organized lecturer, but can be more work than expected since lectures don't have much to do with the projects, so you get as much out of it as you put in. But if you stay diligent, the learning will definitely be worth it. Stay on top of your game for cold calling and in-class HackerRank exercises. Overall I'm happy I took this class

The class helps you learn a lot of useful tools, and the lectures are helpful for learning Python.

Professor Downing is very easygoing. He does cold calling in lectures, but I feel no pressure at all if I'm not sure about the correct answer or if I guessed wrong. The projects require a lot of effort to learn new things, but besides this, you will do well if you attend the lectures.

This is one of few classes in UTCS that let you experience and prepare you to be a software engineer. Strongly recommend you to take this class.

Professor Downing was a very caring professor who always explained the material very clearly before expecting us to do anything. On numerous occasions, he noticed that we were struggling to complete an assignment on time, so he pushed back the due date. Very engaging lectures and I definitely would take a class with him again.

I learned a lot from Professor Downing and thought that he made the class as manageable as possible in an online setting. He frequently adjusted deadlines and grading to better accommodate us throughout the semester. The lectures were clear and insightful.

Downing is an amazing professor who keeps his class engaged. This class was very valuable for learning about software engineering, but his lectures are disconnected from the semester-long group project. Also, since groups are randomly assigned, the group experience varies a lot. Other than that, regularly participating will get you an A.

Great class to learn C++/familiarize yourself with OOP design. I came in with no C++ experience and now feel fairly proficient in the language. Downing is also a great person and lecturer. He really tries to foster a sense of community outside of class and will stay after lecture to answer any additional questions. Amazing class overall!

This class was a great way to learn more about C++ and useful OOP techniques. The projects were interesting and the quizzes were fair. The lectures were very valuable for learning more about C++ and best programming practices.

This was one of the best CS courses I have take at UT. It teaches you all the important skills of software development. The skills learned in the course greatly help with interviews and jobs.

Downing is a great professor who is knowledgeable and does a fantastic job at explaining programming concepts. There is an intended disconnect between the semester-long group project and the lectures, which means that you will need to spend time on your own learning. Groups were chosen by a survey, which can lead to less than desirable partners.

The workload is based mainly off the semester long group project that is split into multiple phases. The cold calling might sound intimidating but it's a more interactive experience, rather than an interrogation.

Professor Downing is amazing at teaching through C++, a language that immediately follows Java in the CS degree. He highly values participation and group work, which is a great way to prepare us for the real world.

Great professor with invaluable lectures.

Lectures were really interesting. There is a group project with several phases that you learn a lot from

He's a great professor, who teaches actual applications of programming. I would definitely recommend his OOP class to anyone who wants to learn a bit about C++.

Professor Downing was amazing. I really enjoyed his cold calls, where he calls on everyone in the class and guide us through the exercises. This allowed us to be engaged in his teaching, but in a low-pressure environment.

I really enjoyed taking SWE with Professor Downing! He goes out of his way to teach the nuances of Python, and the group project has taught me a lot about frontend and backend, as well as working in a professional setting.

Absolutely amazing. One of the best teachers on this planet!

Professor Downing is one of the best professors that I have had in UTCS and at UT in general. He does a really good job at explaining the class content. I really enjoy the group project that he has us do. It is a lot of outside of class work but it is definitely worth it in my opinion.

great professor - you will learn everything you need to know for an internship / the real world. there's nothing useless you learn in this class

Dr. Downing is easily one of the most fantastic, caring, and knowledgeable professors that UT CS has to offer. His lectures are engaging and natural with the student engagement. Half of the grade's an ongoing web app with random groups, so be prepared. Your group might not mesh well, but just communicate together and do thework and you'll be fine.

Professor Downing is a very kind and supportive professor. He does cold call in class, but I appreciate that it's super low stakes. You can say "you don't know" and he is very supportive; he'll be sure you understand the concept before moving on. He welcomes questions throughout the lectures.

Downing is great. SWE is based on group projects building a website over four phases. Teamwork and communicating with your group is vital. Great class for anyone interesting in gaining skills in frontend/backend development and getting more familiar with many different software engineering tools.

A very great professor. I learned a lot of useful thing from this class. Would definitely take him again for future CS courses.

Downing managed to solidly transition the course into the new online format without compromising the quality of the material. You are only evaluated on projects, a few in class exercises, and weekly readings and blog posts (of which you don't even need to complete all). The weekly readings were honestly one of my favorite parts! Would recommend!

There is a daily quiz, so you should attend class. The lectures are FAST-paced but clear, and he does many examples in-class. Everybody gets cold-called once. The lecture has little to do with the projects, which he is very upfront and clear about. He has past students' work on his website, so it is helpful to have those past examples to refer to.

Dr. Downing is one of the best professors I've had. He's very clear in his explanations and walks you through the material step by step. The course was also very organized and he tries to keep the class engaged. The workload is not that heavy (about 8-10 hours per week) and the projects aren't too hard either (about 2 weeks for each project).

Downing teaches you Python during class, but you'll also self-teach other web dev tools for the group projects. Overall, it was a satisfactory course, other than cold-calling during the lectures

I thought Professor Downing was very fair and it's easy to do well in his class, although that doesn't mean it is a free A. Lectures had quizzes (although this may change in the future with in person classes) and exercises that were mandatory and somewhat annoying, but this is definitely a good and not-too-difficult class if you're looking for that

Pretty solid class with a reasonable workload. If you do the work you'll get an A.

Prof Downing is a great professor, and SWE is a great class to take. Make sure to work hard on group projects and attend class.

Downing is a great professor who taught the nuances of Python and SQL very well. He does daily quizzes and cold-calling so you need to attend class. Semester long web-dev project is completely unrelated to lectures so you need to self-teach. Project groups are randomly assigned and if you have a bad group you'll probably work 40-50+ hours each week

Professor Downing is extremely good at teaching the fundamentals of C++. The way he has setup his class by teaching through cold calls keeps everyone engaged and accountable. His projects are super interesting too!

Professor Downing is one of the best teachers that I have had the pleasure to take at UT. He goes into great detail about C++ and OOP in general. The cold calling help greatly with helping me paying attention. Taking this class has made me better at programming.

One of the best CS classes and professors I've had so far, I definitely learned a lot. Very accommodating for the winter storm and pandemic, and the deadlines for the group projects were adjusted.

The class can be a bit dry at times but Downing does his best to keep things interesting and it helps that his passion and care for his students shows.

I took Professor Downing online, and he did a really good job at making lectures interesting even over Zoom. The projects are really rewarding and you learn a lot, but they have nothing to do with what's discussed in lectures, so be prepared to self-teach.

Good lecturer. In SWE you learn Python in class and do some web development homework- it can feel weird that they are unrelated but it isn't too difficult.

Downing is a good professor but I found his teaching style a little chaotic and hard to follow. The online version of the course didn't have exams, so grades consist mainly of projects and daily quizzes. There are enough drops for all of the assignments to make getting an A pretty easy.

Professor Downing is an excellent professor for Object-Oriented Programming. I came in with barely any C++ knowledge and he makes it easy to learn. The class grading is pretty straightforward with no exams and he grades very fairly. Overall, this is a pretty easy CS UDE.

One of the most useful classes, if not the most useful class that you will take as a CS major at UT. Before this class, I felt like all of the coding I was doing wasn't really applicable in the real world, but now I feel like I understand how to be of use in my future career. Definitely take this class. Quite a bit of independent research.

One of the best CS classes I've taken so far, the project is big but you learn a ton! My only complaint is that the groups were assigned this semester, and I was not 100% happy with how my group worked. I'm not sure if this was something he did just because of the pandemic, but many people love this class because we get to work with friends in CS.

Good class make sure to attend class for quizzes, exercises and cold calls. Projects are group and are easy As if you follow the rubric and pass test cases on HackerRank. No exams!

This class is super well structured, the grading criteria is clear, assignments are posted on time, grades are posted in a timely manner. The teaching style is great and there are no exams so it is much less stressful. Daily quizzes though so you still have to come and pay attention in class. Overall, I like the structure of it very much.

I took this class online and found it to be relatively easy. The projects did not take up much time as he went over them pretty thoroughly in class, and there were not many tricky edge cases. I am glad there are no tests in this class because they tend to be the most difficult part of any course for me. Nothing was worth too much, so low stress.

unpopular opinion: I like the cold calls in class -- it motivates me to be on top of things throughout the semester.

unpopular opinion: I like cold calls in class -- motivates me to be on top of things throughout the semester!

Great lecturer. Well organized. Projects are really rewarding. You get the chance to do the same work the one normally does in an internship so be ready for a lot of work.

Professor Downing is a really good professor for CS 373: Software Engineering. While there is a disconnect between what you learn in class and the web development project you work on, the material taught in class is very useful for interview prep/learning Python. The workload can be a lot, especially because you have to learn a lot but its worth!

Your grade in this course may depend on whether you have good teammates or not. However, don't let that deter you from taking it. It is a very important course and the stuff I learned played a big part in securing an internship

Take this course! This course is heavily weighted on a group project that makes up a lot of the grade and stretches throughout the semester. You will have to learn many new skills, sometimes through your own volition. But, it is one of the most rewarding courses as it teaches you how to manage "real-life" software engineering.

Professor Downing is an incredible lecturer, very interesting and easy to follow lectures. Cold calls were intimidating at first, but they help a lot to stay focused and engaged. Daily quizzes were also great to ensure you're keeping up with the content. Exercises and projects were valuable learning experiences.

One of the greatest, if not the best, CS courses at UT Austin. It worths everybody taking it. Very useful lectures and materials for job interviews and it makes C++ and OOD more accessible.

Professor Downing is a great lecturer. He is one of my best CS professor in UT. Everything in his class is organized. He is very care about his student and make sure we understood the martial. Will see him on SWE classes in fall.

Great lectures, the professor calls on students in class and walks through the code with them, which really helps in understanding the code. The projects are largely self-taught, with help from the TA's and professor if you need it.

I thought the class was nicely structured. There were no exams, so most of the grades came from quizzes and projects. I also thought the quizzes were helpful as a review of what was learned last lecture as well as a way to keep up with the content of the course.

Really enjoyed the group projects for this class!

The class is overall fun and not too stressful. The projects are straightforward and mostly have the option of pair programming. We use some new tools which are nice to learn. The one thing is that Professor Downing cold calls throughout the class, which can be a little nerve-wracking, but he is friendly and open when talking to the student.

A great class to take if you want to learn about the entire toolchain used for web development via hands-on experience. The lectures cover very little materials about how to use tools required for the projects, so be prepared to learn those on your own and ask the TAs for help when you get stuck. Overall, it's a very rewarding class.

Prof. Downing is an amazing professor who is not only a great lecturer but also a patient listener who never be fed up with your questions (Including those dumb ones).

Professor Downing is a fantastic professor. Having taken both his OOP and SWE classes, I highly encourage anyone reading this to take at least one of his classes while you are here at UT. His lectures are information loaded, yet clear and concise. The assignments of the classes, the projects, are challenging yet extremely rewarding.

Professor Downing does a really good job in both of the classes I have taken from him: Generic Programming and Software Engineering. It is worth noting that his lectures have virtually nothing to do with the projects but are still very worth your time learning-wise. Showing up to class accounts for around 30-40% of the grade.

A good class for you to familiarize yourself with web development tools and learn how to cooperate with a relatively bigger group.

Professor Downing is a great professor. After taking his class I can say confidently that I feel more prepared for life after college. For SWE the projects are not related to the lecture but he made that clear at the beginning of the class. I would definitely recommend taking any class of his.

Prof. Downing is a great professor and lecturer. He makes the lectures more engaging by doing cold calls, but it's okay if you don't know the answer. The group project requires lots of work, but it's worthwhile because it teaches you many things that are applicable for industry.

Great professor. Has deep understanding of topic and goes into great detail explaining the ins and outs. Lectures are concise and projects cover topics discussed in class.

Professor Downing is a great instructor! He can explain things very well. Lots of useful examples help you understand the concepts. The group project would take some time but it would teach you how to make good websites.

Professor Downing is a great instructor! He can explain things very well. Lots of useful examples help you understand the concepts. Quizzes during every lecture so you would need to attend. The group project would take some time but it would teach you how to make good websites.

Great professor, you will learn a lot in this class. It is not a blow-off class, depending on your team you could work 5-30 hours per project phase (one phase due every 2 weeks). There's a lot of stuff going on, but it's very useful and you control how much you learn through how much you take on in the project and how engaged you are in class.

Prof. Downing is an incredible professor. The course content itself is very relevant to the tech industry and the semester-long team project is super rewarding. The lectures and projects don't particularly connect, but I learned really useful skills from both.

He is great.

He is great and the lectures are always fun to go to.

Professor Downing is amazing. Lectures are fun and informative, and the group project, while demanding, is very fulfilling.

Professor Downing is amazing. His lectures are always interesting and engaging, and you will learn a lot by going to them. His cold-calling during lectures seems daunting, but it really helps to understand the material. The projects are disconnected from lectures and require self-learning and teamwork, but they are very invaluable and educational.

Professor Downing is a great professor. Definitely in my top 3. He makes his lectures easy to follow and before each one there's a short quiz. The quizzes replace exams so that's really nice. No cramming. I think his material is the most valuable I've learned at UT but the group project had me disliking the class. It's great because you learn alot

He covers a lot of topics that relate to the projects for this class specifically (on the other, he doesn't btw). The exercises are not too hard. Projects are a lot to deal with, but he gives enough time to do them. Extra credit for pair programming each project. eCIS and RMP reviews are extra credit for the final grade

The projects can be pretty bulky if you start late, but they're all very doable and provide useful experience.

The projects can definitely be a lot of work, but it's valuable experience if you're interested in working in web development.

Absolutely amazing professor and such an awesome person to get to know during his office hours! Lectures taught me new intricacies and introduced me to new Python and SQL topics. The semester long web app project is a lot of hard work, but super rewarding and teaches valuable team collaboration skills. One of the best classes ever!

Professor Downing is excellent. SWE is a must take class if you plan to work as a software developer in the industry. You work on a team for 3 months and build a dynamic React and Flask based web application. Downing doesn't cover any of the material for that in lecture, so you gotta learn it all. The lectures are on Python and SQL. Quiz heavy.

The lectures have nothing to do with the semester-long project so get ready to be relatively frustrated and lost at the start of the semester. You have to read a lot of documentation and watch a lot of videos until you start understanding what's going on, but once you do it'll get easier.

This is my second course with Prof. Downing (first being SWE) and I enjoyed it; Very organized, the projects are relevant to the lecture material, and he's well-versed on this topic. He was also very receptive and accommodating to the online environment and takes feedback seriously! Great professor, and OOP is a fundamental concept to know.

Great course and a great professor. Dr. Downing has created an excellent class through his clear lectures and straightforward structure. Classes are engaging and the cold-calling keeps everyone involved.

I got what I wanted out of the course and improved at C++; I thought the projects were pretty easy and the annotated papers and blog entries were slightly annoying but they were completion grades. Lots of daily quizzes but like half of them were just measuring attendance and over 10 of them are dropped.

Projects are not at all related to lectures, however still a very informative class.

Looking back on the class I learned a lot I wouldn't have otherwise. He knows a lot of details about C++. He also is invested in his students' success, which is very different than most professors. The only complaint I have is that the project structure and rules meant that I spent a lot of time completing the workflow after I finished the project.

Excellent course. Dr. Downing is an incredibly knowledgeable and welcoming professor. Even with the online format, it's incredibly easy to speak up. The course material was clearly outlined, and the path to an A is straightforward. Would recommend!

Downing does a good job of making sure you understand concepts he goes over in class. He does cold calling but no pressure if you don't know the answer. You get about 2 weeks per project and can choose to work with a partner if you want. Daily quizzes but drops a ton. You also do Perusall reading and blog posts once a week but you can skip some.

There are quizzes and in-class activities so don't skip class. Projects are not too hard.

AMAZING professor. I love Downing, he is such a great guy. I have taken his software engineering class as well, and both times that I took him was such a great and informative time.

A well-structured course with straightforward assignments and projects. Professor cold calls during lectures but does a good job explaining the concepts and projects. Projects are pretty robust and are where most of the coursework comes from.

Downing is a great professor and I learned a lot from both of his classes.

This class is not an easy class but it is a good class where you learn a lot. You do have to do work, but it's worthwhile work.

One of my absolute favorite professors in the CS department! He can be a little eccentric, but the OOP is so easy because there's so many opportunities to get a good grade. There's a ton of free extra credit, and 13ish quizzes in the semester get dropped, so there's room to take the class really chill. Also learned so much!!

I preferred SWE to OOP but OOP was still a good class that I learned a lot in. I definitely recommend taking one of Professor Downing's courses.

Downing is definitely up there in the ranks of professors I've had at UT. The only thing strange was that he does lectures with cpp files instead of powerpoints. It is nice when using the code shown in class but in my opinion makes it a bit harder to remember/refer back to concepts and definitions.

I took OOP with Prof. Downing and it is hands down the best UDE CS class i've taken at UT. I took it with OS so the workload was manageable. The lectures are beautifully put together and overall an enjoyable class

Professor Downing is patient, knowledgeable and clearly explains concepts of Object Oriented Programming that are useful for a student pursuing a Software Engineer position in the future.

Professor Downing does a great job of thoroughly explaining the course material and encourages students to participate in class. The projects in this class taught me a lot about web development.

The main portion of the grade comes from coding projects that you have 2 weeks to finish. The lectures will occasionally give advice on them and ever rarely you'll have a chance to be called, so while going to class is recommended, missing a few won't be the death of your grade.

Downing is a great lecturer. The class sometimes felt more like a C++ programming class than an object oriented programming class, i.e. we talked a lot about the specifics of C++ and only ever touched on e.g. inheritance in one of the 5 projects, and in a context where the design was obvious. Good programming practice and real world exerience.

Dr. Downing is an absolutely excellent professor. His lectures are incredibly engaging and he explains the nuances of the concepts he covers very well. He also does a great job of involving students in the class and he'll take the time to make sure everyone understands the concepts fully. It's clear he really cares about the students in his class.

Professor Downing's lectures were very interactive. He cold calls from a random list, but being called on was not stressful at all. Overall, he is an amazing lecturer and is willing to explain a concept from the beginning to end if you are having trouble understanding something.

The lectures are almost always completely unrelated to the projects, so you have to teach yourself a lot of the required tools.

Engaging lectures. Most of the work is spent on a comprehensive final project that spans most of the semester with a group. Overall, it was a fun class

I have a better understanding of C++ after taking this class. I am grateful for that.

Prof Downing's cold calling made this class feel more down to earth than any of my other online pandemic classes. The class overall teaches a lot of useful tools and programming paradigms that are valuable for development of any software.

5 coding projects. TBH I hate C++ but it manageable. You will learn a lot about pointers and references which can be very difficult if you started off with languages like Python which handle this for you.

5 projects that are pretty manageable as long as you get started semi-early. The lectures are pretty engaging and very useful if you are interested in C++ and its many details. Overall very good class.

Great professor, definitely one of the best I've had so far!

Great introduction to C++, it doesn't cover everything, but does a good job of making you think about core concepts in the language, allowing you to easily understand and learn more on your own. Projects are graded easily if you just accomplish everything on the rubric.

Probably one of the best classes in UTCS

Great lecturer with an extensive knowledge of C++. He got rid of tests this semester, with projects making up most of one's grade.

Great professor. Good lecturer and gives a lot of opportunities for help.

Even tho there're a lot of participation assignments, there're also a lot of drops. The projects/HW doesn't really depend on what's covered in class.

Great class for learning C++ and object oriented design principles. Very similar to his SWE class in structure (blogs/annotations are the same, group HackerRank exercises). Quizzes are somewhat hard in the 4 minute time frame and worth a lot of points. Cold-calling makes attendance mandatory. 5 assignments similar to CS314 in style and application.

Taken as a summer course, so workload was quite high. He was super accommodating and often extended deadlines. Quizzes every class, a new project almost every week, weekly blog and weekly paper annotation. Not too difficult to get a decent grade as long as you do the work and pay attention in class though.

Phenomenal professor. I have taken 2 of his classes, and both were among the most useful classes I've taken. If you have a full time summer internship, I would NOT recommend this course. I did, and man it was difficult. 40 hours for my internship and then another 30 for this class. Great professor, lecture has quizzes and exercises (attendance).

There is no "fat" in this class. Both the lectures and assignments are useful and take work. You work a lot in this class, but Prof. Downing is extremely reasonable and understanding. He and the TA want to help you, so go to office hours! Doing that and paying attention in class, you'll do fine.

Very easy class. Take him. He is actually really nice. Probably one of the best CS professors. He is very understanding and patient and will literally do anything in his power to make you understand the concept. Does not matter if it takes the entire class. He will drill it in your head and you won't even forget it.

Great professor, but the grading system is odd. It is a Pass/Fail grading system. However, your end grade is based off your worst-performing category. One of these categories is random group-exercises. If you coin-flip bad groups, you'll do bad in that category. Doesn't matter if you do well in 4/5 categories, your grade is only based off the worst

He's great! highly recommend taking him at least once at UT

He is one of the best professors. Very friendly and nice. The most time consuming thing in this class is the projects, but they are easily manageable (especially if you work with a partner). Definitely take one of his classes. They are some of the best classes you can take and you will learn a lot of useful things.

Insightful lectures, but irrelevant to project. Your group needs a solid React dev, rest of stack can be learned on the way. Full-stack React/Flask/AWS web app project took tons of time, but was essential to me getting internship offers this year. TA's were essential to carrying the class through the project phases. No tests, only quizzes.

The project is a full-stack React/Flask/AWS app that seems to increase in requirements every year. It is so extensive that our group worked towards midnight every night at the end of the deadline.

This class is amazing. You learn about Python, relational algebra, SQL, and refactoring while being put through a simulated workplace environment on the side. You and a team of 4 others get to create a full-stack project using React, MySQL or PostgreSQL, Flask, and more tools that you do not learn in class. The class itself is quite fun, too!

The lectures don't assist with projects, but the TAs help. I found the class to be quite challenging project-wise; it would be good to learn React beforehand. It was great to learn about Python more in class and good SWE practices.

Professor Downing is one of the best professors that I've had at UT. You will learn a lot about OOP fundamentals in 371p, and the projects help reinforce these ideas. The grading system does require you to keep up with every category, which can be daunting for some.

The class is very interesting, but there is a lot of work you have to do. If you're expecting a class where the only thing you do outside of class is code, this is not the class for you. Also, Professor Downing is a great lecturer I think. This class is also good if you want to learn C++.

Solid programming course, very hands-on and has useful materials but assignments are on the challenging side. Be ready to get cold-called during the lecture. The grading system is stressful, but otherwise a great professor and a great course. Recommend if you want to code for a job.

The class is ok. Heavy load of work. Daily quizzes, weekly blogs and papers, and project deadlines every 2-3 weeks. The new grading system sucks and groups are random so start praying for a good team with people that actually contribute. You will learn from lectures, but mostly from doing the projects.

This class was structured a little weird. We had lectures over Python, readings about OOP and C++, and then our projects were in React so there wasn't much overlap. I really wish we were taught React in the class because for the projects, my group members and I kind of just threw things together from what we found on StackOverflow.

Has a very interesting way of grading things that may cause you instantly jump from an A to a B with one simple screw up. Other than that, be prepared for 3minute daily quizzes. The projects are really fun that you can choose to do with a partner or not. Except for the grading, the class is great!

I took the class online and found it to be a solid choice if looking for something relatively manageable. The only gripe I have is that the grading system was confusing and made the class more stressful than it needed to be. I believe this is the first time Downing used this grading scheme with EMRN and virtual tokens. Overall, recommend.

The material in this course is fairly straightforward, as it is focuses on the the basics of C++. My only criticism of the course would be the new grading system, which is very specific and can result in you dropping an entire letter grade for a simple mistake. Other than this though, the course as a whole was quite enjoyable.

He is a good professor, teaches a lot in lecture, but the lectures have nothing to do with the projects. The projects are meant for you to learn on your own and develop those programming skills.

The EMRN grading scale used in this course was not good for me personally, but it was very clear and worked well for many other students. Downing is an awesome professor, and it's obvious that he cares for his students. This course would be very difficult without at least C experience, but it's great for learning the nuances of C++.

Downing cares about his students a lot and makes sure to provide as much help as possible. His class makes expectations very clear, and his cold calling method makes sure everyone is participating. The grading method enforces a minimum effort level on every cetrgory of assignment which was a little nerve wracking, but overall great class and prof!

Great professor and interesting class. Difficulty depends on the group you get.

Professor Downing is a good professor but the new grading scheme can be somewhat unclear.

Professor Downing explains course material clearly and thorough. The grading rubric is pretty clear, and the course is mainly project based. There are quizes that start at the beginning of every classes, and you will not be able to make up to it if you miss that, so be sure to show up on time. but you need to be aware a lot of things in a projec

Professor Downing is an interesting lecturer and the class material is pretty helpful. The grading scheme is the biggest downfall because it made the class much more stressful and unforgiving.

Downing is super nice! Only critique about the class is the "specifications grading" style; it weighs all assignments equally which can be good or bad. Downing offers virtual tokens to change grades or deadlines; be careful not to use them too late or too often. Group project is intense, but if you start early and research, it'll help out a lot.

Professor Downing is a nice person. My only issue is the whole "specifications grading" system. It makes it seem like you can't mess up on anything in the class which is very stressful. I'd prefer to be able to look up what my grade in the class is rather than having to calculate using a system that I do not understand.

Great class and amazing professor!

Gain detailed knowledge on python, but the group projects are focused on web programming, so a lot of self-teaching to do. Still, you learn a lot from the projects and the class lectures.

This class involves with lots of self study on the group project. The lectures are clear and useful. I would definitely recommend this class!

Prof. Downing is a really knowledgeable and patient professor that cares about keeping his students engaged and makes sure they understand important software engineering concepts. The projects were tough but you learn a lot from them as long as you are willing to learn additional concepts on your own, like you have to do in industry.

Good class to learn C++

Overall, Prof Downing clearly knows how to structure and teach a class. He cold calls everyone throughout the semester which sounds scary but it's not, he works through the problem with you. I learned a ton, but he did start a new grading system so you can't slack off in any area. Be sure to show up to class, participate, and you will be fine!

Professor Downing really cares about his students. He cold-calls during lecture and will spend a lot of time to make sure you understand the material. The projects were tough but doable but you learn a lot about C++ and you can work with a partner if you want.

Low effort outside of the project, but there is so much to learn for this class. Didn't really pay attention in class, which makes it hard to answer his questions when he cold calls. Some students got grilled really hard for not knowing anything, so if you're going to respond to his cold call (you can ignore him), make sure you know your stuff.

Most parts of the lectures are about Python, they are clear and useful. You will not learn too much from the class lecture for the group project. The group projects involve a lot of self-study if you do not have any experience with the front-end or back-end.

He is very knowledgable and you can learn a lot about software engineering in this class. However, he is not helpful at all for the project which I found really frustrating. The TAs are lifesavers! The grading scheme is such that you basically get whatever the grade of your lowest category is, even if all of the others are A-worthy.

There is a lot of self-learning involved since the lectures don't align with the projects. Overall a solid class and you learn a lot about SWE (front-end/back-end).

Just basically come in with the expectation that lectures will be interesting but not relevant to your projects and that you will have to use TA's, Google and other resources to maximize your learnings and your ability to complete the phases in a timely manner. Overall great professor, solid course and get ready to do some dirty s/w engineer work!

Switched to EMRN grading system. If you do the work, the class is easy, but attendance is mandatory.

Unconventional grading system, where you get either an E (perfect), M (completion), R (submitted but wrong), or N (not submitted). Need to get above a certain limit of E's and M's in all assignment categories to get your grade, for example you need 3/5 projects, 21/41 quizzes, and so on for a C. Not meeting at least one requirement bumps you down.

I took this class the semester when a strange new grading scheme was implemented. Under this, if even one of your group projects are given an R (or problematic), everyone will get a B. Personally I'm not a fan of this. You learn a lot in this class, but there's a disconnect between what you learn and what you do for the project.

The grading scheme takes some getting used to, but it's clearly outlined in the syllabus. Similarly, the project specs are fully explained on each project page and TAs are available to answer any questions. The time limit on in-class exercises and quizzes can be stressful, but the grading scheme provides slack to accommodate this. Great class!

Professor Downing clearly cares about his students and puts effort into a well-structured class. I felt that course info was scattered all over the place, and I personally had some qualms with how the projects were set up. Despite this, the professor is obviously very knowledgable on the subject and I think the cold-calling keeps everyone engaged.

Lectures are not really relevant to the web development project, so be prepared to do a lot of self study if you don't have web development experience. This class is great if you have prior experience but can be harder for those without.

Be prepared to work hard for this class! The web project requires a lot of hours, so I would recommend not taking this with another work-heavy CS course. Most tools needed for the project aren't taught in class, so you kind of have to learn them on your own or rely on you group. But overall it is a rewarding class that will help you learn a lot.

Personally, I've learned a lot in this class through a semester-long group project. It forces you to dig into the details of a lot of industrial-level tools. TAs were approachable and helpful. The grading may not suit everyone's liking but is certainly a savior for those who loathe exams. Also gained a resume project.

SWE - Really enjoyable class. Pretty big disconnect from the lectures and the projects, which is kind of rough being that the class is pretty much project based. Grading scheme is a bit weird but kind of helps you out. You will get a nice resume project out of this class.

Lectures don't align with the project but are super informative and you will become WAY better at python at end of class. Lot of self-learning that takes place to build website but it is super fun and worth it.

I'd recommend that every CS student take Professor Downing before they graduate. He's a great professor and really cares about his students. He's also very passionate about what he teaches and his class is very organized. However, I don't really favor his new grading criteria since you basically have to do well on everything to get an A.

Amazing/accessible lecturer (cold calls) with lots of work; specifications grading system has high bar for A but is lenient to pass. Knowing grade requires "counting" performance on assignments. Virtual Tokens, unlike traditional drops, doesn't guarantee you get the highest grade you could've, which encourages "gaming" grades more than you should.

Professor Downing is a great professor, and his lectures are very informative. The specifications grading isn't that bad, but it's pretty harsh on the projects. Some of the lectures that would help us on our projects would be done near the project deadline so it's annoying when you would search up something you didn't understand to learn it later.

I had a great time in the class, the grading scale was changed to a letter system rather than a normal number system which was confusing but besides that I loved the class!

The lecture material and the group projects share almost none of the same information by design. So, only take this class if you like independent research and relying on the internet to learn. The groups are paired up so that each group has someone with prior knowledge of each tool necessary to complete the project.

Downing is an enthusiastic professor who loves to teach and is willing to help students who need it. Both SWE and OOP are very assignment heavy, and the workload is quite high. There are weekly blogs and reading assignments, and there is a quiz at the start of every lecture. His new grading system is questionable, but overall, he is a great prof.

Be prepared to be cold called in class. Great lecturer. Uses an interesting grading system that keeps you engaged throughout the whole semester.

Professor Downing is a clear lecturer, and does a good job of making sure you understand what he's teaching. However, be aware that the lecture material will likely not help you much on the project for the class. There is cold calling in lectures (once per rotation), daily quizzes, as well as weekly blogs and papers.

This class is structured extremely well and provides the opportunity to learn almost any facet of software development. However, the new EMRN grading scheme makes it very difficult to get good grades both on assignments and in the class overall. The lectures and papers are also more focused on OOP than SWE.

Good course structure. Learned lots during projects. Interesting and relevant lectures.

Professor Downing is one of the best CS professors in the department. He is very easy going and explains concepts really well. The grading system is a little weird to get used to, but other than that, everything about his class is great.

The grading system is a bit weird. Projects can be done with a partner, but you can't work with the same partner twice. His lectures have a format where it's always a discussion/conversation with a student; you will be cold-called once per rotation, which I was anxious at first, but it isn't that bad, you just have to be prepared to be called.

Projects were a lot of work but worthwhile experiences. You can work with a partner, but can't have the same partner more than once. The new specifications grading is a bit odd, unsure if it's more or less lenient than traditional grading. Some of the quizzes each class are too hard for the timeframe given, but he's lenient in how many you can miss

I enjoyed Downing's lectures, but i think the grading schema could be improved a bit and reminders should be sent out because it's an unfamiliar system. I also think as good of an idea as cold calling is, sometimes Professor Downing would unintentionally embarrass a student if that student didn't have a deep understanding of the subject at hand.

I would say the lectures are filled with pretty useful topics and engaging; however, they are mostly irrelevant to the group project you'll be working on. It's quite time consuming if the technologies used in the group project is new to you.

Really enjoyed lectures and thought they provided a lot about what he wanted to teach. Projects take time, so starting early is a must. The new grading system is a bit weird, but the cutoffs are clear and are given on the first day of class.

Professor Downing is very passionate about the class and is usually approachable/accessable outside of class as well. I have mixed opinions about the grading scheme, however the lectures and project were very useful and relevant with regards to software engineering in the industry.

Downing really cares about the material he is teaching, and the coursework complimented his lectures well. The new grading system he uses takes some getting used to, but it is manageable once you get used to it.

Awesome professor, great class, hard material

Fantastic class! The grading system is clear but it's a little gamified, so you have to kind of wrap your head around it.

Professor Downing is a great and engaging lecturer. Even though the course was called Object Oriented Programming, there was not a ton of focus on specific principles of OOP in the lectures. Projects were interesting and not too difficult, but end up being time consuming due to all the extra requirements on top of solving the problem.

Professor Downing is an excellent professor and is really engaging in the lectures. The projects were all very fair, as were all the other types of assignments. The grading system is different from the standard system, but nothing major that should be of concern as long as you do the work. Overall, highly recommend taking this course.

Professor Downing really seems to care about his students. He knows what he's talking about and gets the point across clearly. The grading scheme is a bit iffy and some of the projects, quizzes, and exercises were difficult to do in the timeframe, but the class is still pretty well structured.

The professor, along with the grading criteria are both extremely strict. One thing I hope he would change about the class.

Projects are mostly self-taught. Lectures can be handy, but start out really slow if you already have a background in Python. TAs are very helpful and provide many resources

I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in SWE. It's challenging because you'll have to do bit of self-teaching when it comes to learning the technologies for the Web project, but I think this class is representative of what it'll be like to work in the industry. Plus, Professor Downing is a great lecturer.

I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in SWE. Professor Downing is a great lecturer. The class itself is challenging because you'll have to do bit of self-teaching when it comes to learning the technologies for the Web project, but I think this class is representative of what it'll be like to work in the industry.

I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in SWE. Professor Downing is a great lecturer. The class itself is challenging, but I think its representative of what it'll be like to work in the industry.

I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in SWE. Professor Downing is a great lecturer.

Professor Downing is a great lecturer and the class project is really interesting. It's challenging because it'll involve quite of bit of self-teaching, but the class is representative of how it'll be like to work in the industry

Group project will be hard, you have to self-teach a lot of new stuff about web development because they won't be taught in classes. It might be easier if you have previous experiences in web dev, but still, getting all the requirements is tuff.

Great lectures, and you get to learn a lot of tools that are useful in real-life jobs. Also teaches good coding practices!

I enjoyed Professor Downing's lectures a lot. He does cold call people, but it never felt overbearing or bothersome at all. Projects have a lot of work in them, but if you start early you'll do great.

The hardest part about the class are the group projects. This is because your group is randomly assigned, which can cause a lot of work if you're unlucky. In addition, the lectures often are unrelated to the content of the project.

Overall not too bad, group projects can be a lot of work at times.

Professor Downing is great! There's a lot of homework though, if you can't juggle projects as well as blogs and readings at the same time, I would reconsider taking his class. Overall, great professor!

Great class and great professor. You will learn a lot about C++ and OOP. Overall it isn't that difficult. Some of the projects are a little time consuming so make sure to start early. If you do the work you will get a good grade. Highly recommend this course. Super useful. It should honestly be mandatory for every CS major to take.

Solid class. Projects are independent, or you can choose to work with 1 partner. Daily quizzes so you always need to attend class.

Professor Downing is great. He wants to see you succeed in the real world and tailors the class to prepare you for it. The specifications based grading was initially intimidating but overall wasn't better or worse than traditional grading. You have to come to class because of quizzes and exercises but the assignments were fairly straightforward.

Dr. Downing is an excellent professor. I enjoyed his class so much and took out so much practical C++ and Object-Oriented Design knowledge out of it. I would highly recommend this course to any CS major. Although, I would check his syllabi before registering. Many students drop due to the cold-calling and spec grading policies.

Downing was fantastic. The new grading system is strange and takes getting used to, but results in not having to worry about dropping a few points here or there. You only need to worry about getting everything done adequately. Interesting topics. Cold-calling was fine for me, but not for everyone.

Downing was great. Enjoyment of the course really comes down to the group you get paired with. If you are unlucky and get a lazy group, the projects will likely be miserable. I was fortunate and had a good group. You get little help with the projects, but can reference the previous semester's code to get a good start.

Professor Downing is a great professor. He really cares about his students and values input, feedback, and criticism. if you decide to take CS373, you will learn a lot about the quirks and features of Python (ex: using and building iterators, generators, decorators). I would highly recommend this class, but first look at the grading system.

Kindest CS professor I've seen. The grading setup for this course is made to help students. You'll most likely get an A if you put in some work. Easiest grading. Very lenient. Extremely recommended.

Incredible professor with a really useful class. Teaches software engineering in a way that promotes good engineering practices and putting in the hours to understand what you're trying to implement. This is a really good model for industry. It is a fantastic class that teaches you how to build a web app from scratch and all the tools/frameworks.

This course is most similar to Data Structures. However, you'll also find yourself using industry standard tools while learning a completely new language (C++). The first 3 projects are easy. However, the last 2 will challenge your normal approach to programming, so be careful and pay attention. Overall, it was one of the best classes I have taken.

Dr. Downing is an amazing professor. He cares about his students a lot. Although in-class quizzes are mandatory and can affect your grades, studying the lecture notes from previous class will prepare you well.

Groups make or break your experience. Daily quizzes require studying beforehand and are the most strict part of the grading criteria, but they are doable with effort. You can honestly do the IDB project on your own w/o the class because the class is totally unrelated, and the website is public. Prof. Downing is nice. Pretty good UDE overall.

Class is easy if you do the work. Professor Downing has great lectures and TAs work with you on your group projects.

Tip: Study a little before every quiz. Downing always quizzes based on the most recent lecture, so you can just study that. Quizzes are one way for your grade to rapidly drop, once you reach a certain threshold. SWE was probably the class where I learned the most practically (through the project) and learned Python in a deeper way.

The class was mostly group project based and the projects themselves felt very useful, and many of the skills they required felt useful in modern web design. Professor Downing was very concise. He made expectations clear, made everything easily accessible and was very approachable. He was energetic during lectures and made it easy to ask questions.

I was super lucky that my teammates were actually good so I enjoyed the main project and did not have much issue with it. The quizzes were pretty tough but if you review the notes and really get a good understanding on the examples the quizzes are doable. Dr. Downing is very accessible outside of class. The TAs are hit or miss.

Believe the hype. This professor is genuinely one of the best lecturers I've ever come across in my entire life. The work is difficult but doable, and I feel like I've truly learned a great deal from this class.

One of my favorite CS professors at UT. Professor Downing is very caring and respects every one of his students. His lectures are energetic and straight to the point. If you are struggling in any part of the class and did not get desired help from the TAs, he is definitely there for you. Awesome Professor! Love his teaching style.

Great professor. Lays everything about the course very well from the beginning. You know exactly what's expected of you and how to get an A. Great content that is applicable to internships and work.

Downing brings a lot of energy in his lectures and does a good job covering C++ concepts. However, some lectures feel too focused on syntax and could instead cover general OOP concepts. Projects are fun and Downing is very helpful outside of class. Not a fan of specs grading or HackerRanks, which are really stressful due to the short time given.

The SWE class has a specific system, but engaging with it can be worthwhile. Attendance is mandatory, and the quizzes are the trickiest part - staying on top of the material is key. Overall, it's a challenging course, but the hands-on project provides valuable real-world experience.

Cold calls so you do have to go to class, first few projects were very easy last 2 were more time consuming so start early. No exams but uses EMRN grading scale so if you miss a lot of quizzes but do good on everything else your grade is based on the lowest category. Very kind and does help you in class!

Very chill class. Quizzes and exercises aren't too hard and don't really need to be prepared for as long as you're paying attention in class. Attendance mandatory. The project was moderate workload for me, but milage may very depending on your randomly assigned group.

Can you close the laptop for me in the back?

My qualms are mostly with the fact that this class is all about C++ with a few object-oriented design patterns sprinkled in at the end. SOLID principles are covered on homework reading, but almost never discussed in class. That being said, it's a decent course in the basics of C++.