3.6

Jamal Deen

Engineering - McMaster University

3.6
Quality
4.2
Difficulty
43%
Would Retake
91
Reviews
3.6
Quality
4.2
Difficulty
3.5
Helpful
3.7
Clarity

43%

Would Retake

91

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

54

4

1

3

7

2

11

1

18

What Students Say

Although it may be tough, avoid at all costs

3EJ4 - 2.0 rating

horrible prof, stay away at all costs

EE3EJ4 - 1.0 rating
Class Info

Attendance Mandatory

73%

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B

86% confidence
Based on 12 grades
Most common grades:
B (3)
B+ (3)
A (2)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(3)C(1)D(0)F(1)A-/B+(4)
Based on 13 reported grades
B: 3
B+: 3
A: 2
Not_Sure_Yet: 1
Common Tags
Respected (1)
Participation matters (1)
Inspirational (1)
Lots of homework (1)
Lecture heavy (1)
Test heavy (1)
Graded by few things (1)
Amazing lectures (1)
Rating Trend

Declining

-0.82 avg change
Aug
Dec
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May
Jun
Jan
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

2EI4

5.0

(1)

ECE740

5.0

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4EK3

5.0

(2)

COE4EK3

5.0

(2)

ECE741

5.0

(3)
+17 more courses
Difficulty by Course

EE2EI4

5.0

EK3

5.0

EJ3

5.0

EJ4

5.0

ELECEJ4

5.0

Reviews (91)
5.0
1.0
2EI4
Apr 15, 2002

good guy, is totall concerned about your marks..can't diss him.

2.0
5.0
EE2EI4
Nov 25, 2002

Recycles tests. Be sure to get last years!

1.0
5.0
740
Mar 8, 2004

horriblr prof, even worse as a man. No honour, no integrity, no ethics

5.0
3.0
740
Mar 12, 2004

I think he is a very nice person, brilliant prof. n really really knows what he is doing. Loves his work, very motivated. He just always expects more and pushs his students very hard to make them work harder. That’s his way of work n ppl r different.

5.0
4.0
ECE740
Apr 21, 2004

Excellent professor. Treats students well.

5.0
2.0
ECE740
May 1, 2004

Simply great, very helpful and always eager to give answer to the questions asked. Always advices students to be punctual and finish the works in scheduled time.

5.0
5.0
4EK3
Jul 28, 2004

Superbe professor. Knows his material well. Well-organised. Cares about students´welfare, but is not a push-over. Excellent knowledge of practical aspects of course

5.0
4.0
4EK3
Grade: B
Sep 5, 2005

Superb professor. One of the best courses ever taken.

2.0
5.0
EK3
Oct 1, 2007

Tooooop notch professor in a toooooop notch university doing tooooooop notch research. Even his students are toooooop notch.

5.0
5.0
COE4EK3
Jan 14, 2008

Outstanding prof with superbe background. Extremely helpful to students. One of the best courses I have taken - excellent combination of theory and practice. Course objectives are clear and course project forces you to apply theory. Exams are not easy, but are very fair. Liked the aplications of the theory he taught.

5.0
4.0
COE4EK3
Mar 5, 2008

One of the best professors of all the courses I took. His knowledge, intuition and practical insights are fantastic. The project forced us to learn to apply theory to create useful ICs. While is not easy, he is very fair and helpful.

5.0
5.0
ECE740
Mar 7, 2010

One of the best courses I have taken in my academic career. Prof. Deen explains very clearly, challenges us to do better and creates a rewarding course structure for all students. I wish other profs were more like him.

5.0
3.0
ECE741
Mar 7, 2010

I took ECE 740 last semester and now I am taking ECE 741 - Analog ICs. In both courses, Prof. Deen was an exemplary teacher. Even though his assignments were very challenging, I learnt a lot. Thse are two of the best courses I ever took. However, you have to work hard. Also, he is a tough, but very fair and extremely knowledgeable.

5.0
4.0
ECE4EK4
Mar 26, 2010

Very professional and really knows how to teach. Knows his stuff. Creates challenging problems. Helpful and kind to students. Clear in expectations.

5.0
4.0
ECE741
May 20, 2010

Outstanding lecturer - explains well and thoroughly. Very helpful, but class is not as easy as other graduate courses. However, you will learn a lot and can do reserach in this subject after taking his course. He treats students consistently very well.

3.0
5.0
EJ3
Dec 10, 2010

the worst the rudest prof ive ever seen . average for final exam was around 25% , and for the last midterm it was around 24%. hes really arrogant and my advice , do not take any course with him

3.0
5.0
EJ4
Dec 13, 2010

Overall, terrible professor. Does not care much for his students, makes exams incredibly hard which in turn makes getting a decent grade incredibly difficult. FAIL JD, FAIL.

5.0
4.0
ECE3EJ4
May 16, 2011

A few students with poor backgrounds spread false information about this course and the prof. He is one of the most helpful and tolerant profs. His exams are very fair. If you attend class, yu learn a lot. His lectures are clear and he taught the second part of the course from memory on the chalkboard. He posted all his slides for the first part.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
May 18, 2011

It has been one semester since I took this course. Now I fully appreciate the efforts of Prof. Deen. Teaching us to manage our time, build on our fundamentals, reasoning and analyses, doing creative problems, have been very useful in my other courses. Please do not be sway by weak or non-industrious students. Many thanks for teaching us.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
May 19, 2011

I enjoyed this course very mush. The professor was excellent, despite a a few students making unreasonable demands for him to reteach most of their 2nd year circuits and devices course materials. He explained well and posed interesting problems. He also did not give tests that were minor variations of examples in class. Thank you for teaching us.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
May 19, 2011

outstanding treaching and course - if you want to learn analog electronics. exams were challenging but fair, unlike other courses that had test questions that were minor variations of exampls or homeworks. i recommend this course to others interested in learning and not only in passing. great job and thanks.

5.0
5.0
ECE3EJ4
May 25, 2011

Fantastic teacher - great at explaining concepts and helping students. Open office hours and available to help students individually. Very courteous. Need to study rgularly to do well. Exams challenging but fair - not a pushover. Now I have a summer job, I really appreciate his style of getting us to learn. A master of electronics.

5.0
4.0
ECE3EJ4
Jun 4, 2011

Now at end of third year, my impressions of this course has improved significantly. Professor was clear in explanations, made up interesting problems and examples and his quizzes were fair. Must attend lectures - explanations and some material not in text, plus taught second half of course on chalkboard.

2.0
5.0
ELECEJ4
Aug 13, 2011

He is one of the rudest professors I have ever had to deal with. When I went to see him for help he told me it was a waste of his time. He understands the material and is knowledgeable but can't teach. I learned very little from his class and it was an important one so that is kind of sad. Avoid him if you can.

1.0
5.0
EJ3EJ4
Sep 19, 2011

Some comments on the site have said that students are spreading lies about Dr. Deen. I can only imagine he wrote those as this class last year was the worst experience of my academic career. I did well in the course but didn't learn much because rather than spending time explaining material he focused on how amazed he was we didn't know it.

5.0
3.0
EE3EJ4
Sep 30, 2011

I took this course in Fall 2010 and I worked over the surrer. On looking back, the techniques learnt - circuit analysis and design and intuition on analog electronics is proving very useful in my communications course. Thank you Prof. I appreciate you not spoon-feeding us. I am now a better student for your hard work.

5.0
4.0
ECE740
Oct 1, 2011

This was one of the best courses I had as a graduate student. The lectures were clear, well organized and the key points were properly emphasized. The assignments were hard, but fair. While the project was a "killer", I must confess that I learnt a lot. Prof. Deen cared about us learning the material - great job.

3.0
4.0
EENG3EJ4
Oct 10, 2011

with 10 being the best, he would get 3. His lectures are incomplete, labs are disaster and he lacks focus. Tries hard to be entertainer, repeating (and waiting on answer on) "have you seen this before?" and staring at H(s) trying to recall if it is correct, instead of just deriving it. makes many mistakes, sometimes corrects himself. Sloppy...

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 5, 2011

This course was an utter disaster. There was no structure or outline to the course, and Deen essentially covered material sporadically with no logical flow from one lecture to the other. His response to material covered on the midterms was essentially "read the entire book". I feel as if I learned nothing new from taking this inconsistent course.

1.0
5.0
ECE3EJ4
Dec 5, 2011

Horrible professor in every aspect. Pretty sure any good review on here was written by him. Embarrassing that he has to do that.

5.0
4.0
ECE740
Jan 11, 2012

Great teacher. Excellent course. Lots of work, but worth it.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Feb 1, 2012

Very decent prof. Encourages you to learn. Has to keep up with material or you may be overwhelmed. Follow his advice and attend lectures. Do not listen to the handful of students who gripe because he challenges you to learn.

5.0
3.0
ECE740
Feb 2, 2012

One of the best courses I ever took, and I have take many courses with excellent grades. Excellent communicator and teacher. Motivates students, is well organized, but is a bit demanding in his assignments, even though he explains the rationale. I learnt a lot in his course. I recommend it to others interested in improving their reserach abilities.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Feb 12, 2012

Excellent at explaining analog electronics and teaching. Understand well is class, but have difficulties doing problems on my own. Helpful prof. Keeps to his course outline. Changed evaluation from previous year to more emphaisis on individual efforts. Make sure to do labs yourself as there are now lab exams. No pushover and study for exams.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Feb 23, 2012

Outstanding lecturer. Clear explanations. Got a good grade in this course by attending lectures and following his teaching. Great job. However, his waqy of teaching may not be best for weak students. I am much better in analog electronics becaise of his course. Thanks and keep up the great job.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Feb 23, 2012

Clear and concise lectures. Very good explanations of analog circuits. Good information on practical aspects of course. Labe very useful. However, did not like the cahnge for lab exams as this addss too much stress. Other that that, great course.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
May 11, 2012

Amazing memory and understanding of analog electronics. However, should provide on-line materials students. Should also make exams a bit easier and allow for more marks for homeworks and lab reports. I know that he wants tu us to learn well, but having only exams degrades our marks. Is very helpful and polite to students.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
May 23, 2012

Great explanations. Good sequence of topics. Should give handouts so we can keep up with material. Tests, in retrospect, were quite fair, even though averages were not as high as in other courses. Learn ur circuits and 2ei5 class materials well if you want to get high grades in this class. Very helpful during office hours, but gives no hints.

5.0
4.0
EE741
May 27, 2012

Interesting to listen to. Great at explaining concepts in detail. Overall awesome prof. knowledgeable with good practical explanations. However, assignments are difficult and long.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Jun 28, 2012

I am international student who did not pass this course. I feel sorry. The teaching was good and exams fair. I plan to attend all lectures next year. I plan to be a more good student and work hard - sorry professor.

3.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Jul 26, 2012

This professor makes questions unnecessarily tough. He does not teach a lot of things he tests students on. Goes too fast for students to understand. Final exam was long and tough with 7 problems total.

3.0
5.0
EEEJ
Jul 27, 2012

Too much content was forced into the 4 month course. The prof was usually not accessable during office hours, even if he was there he rudely continued working on his computer. At least one question on final exam was related to another course, communication systems and radio.

3.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Jul 28, 2012

Tries to explain, but assumes too much knowledge which is not good because if he really wanted to teach, he should start right with earlier courses such as CI and EI. He does his work on blackboard, BUT he skips so much content relevant for the tests. Don't be shy to ask him a lot of questions in class to make sure you understand else u can fail.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Aug 13, 2012

Explains well on bb. Very helpful in explaining in office. Builds on 2nd year courses. Fair exams if you attend classes.

2.0
5.0
EJEE3
Aug 24, 2012

I attened 99% of lectures, and all the labs, but it turns out a lot of the information is withheld from the student, which ends up being tested on. Make sure to ask a lot of questions about the Current sources and Oscillators-PLL as they are very important. Not really a fair intstructor.

5.0
2.0
EE3EJ4
Sep 27, 2012

teaches well. some students pushes him to reteach earlier courses. good that he has ethics unlike some other profs who give exams using problems covered in class. exams are fair if you attend class and pay attention. great at explaining/teaching from basics during office hours.

1.0
5.0
EJC01
Sep 28, 2012

Somewhat unfair with delivery of material. As someone right said important points are not emphasied such as Is in BJT which was revealed after it was tested on the lab test. Lab 4 does not even have soutions. Prof or TA's dont know how to do the analytical part themselves. He should definately put solutions online for students benefit.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 20, 2012

Outstanding professor. Spent a lot of tiem preparing lecture nmaterial and problems to guide and enforce learning. Exams were on the whole very fair. And as he explained, he cannnot reteach the second year material. Very knowledgeable and approachable. One of my best classes so far.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Jan 15, 2013

the best ee course i have take far. exceptional in explaining difficult concepts for us to understand. liked the regular iclicker questions. suggest you read the lecture material before classes. helpful and professional in interacting wit students. prepare well for exams as questions are fair, but all new.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Jan 20, 2013

This is most exciting course I took. The prof was very good at explaining concepts. However, revise your second year devices and circuits analyses courses. Not fair for him to reteach these materials. He does go over related background second year material. He explained, his focus in on teaching analog electronics. Exceptuional prof. Thanks.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Jan 29, 2013

A great professor, true gentleman and exceptionally gifted. Always tried to impart the material clearly, concisely and with passion. His office door was always open, and he was considerate and encouraging. Loves teaching. Told us this was one of his best group of students in past decade.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Feb 3, 2013

He is truly excellent professor - the best I have had so far. He is very smart, crystal clear in lectures, always well-prepared and organizedlogical. Tests are fair, and are not repeats of examples or assignmemts like in some other courses. Students who do not do well deserve it - do not whine. Attend classes and revise second year material.

2.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Grade: B
Nov 15, 2013

Goes over simple material slowly, skims over complex new material. Test are unfair, covers material not explained in lecture. Textbook is terrible, very wordy and focuses more on quantity than quality. Clicker questions are bad, he displays an equation on the slides, then takes it away for the question, so you HAVE to bring notes to class.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Grade: Not_Sure_Yet
Dec 6, 2013

Exceptional professor. Well prepared for classes. Approachable and empathetic to students. iClicker questions helps a lot. I attend all classes as the text and notes are sufficient for a good understanding of the material and the practical aspects of analog circuits. Exams cover material in class & labs - reinforce learning. One of best classes.

5.0
4.0
3EJ4
Dec 6, 2013

Excellent course in analog electronics. Lectures are coherent and logical. Exams were fair. In-class questions helped keep me on track with course material. This is important since the material is sequential and builds on prior lectures. Prof. Deen rocks.

5.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 6, 2013

Outstanding teacher. Very supportive of students. Brilliant man. Picks very good tas. Fair exams. Goes over exams. Teaches practical material also.

2.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 6, 2013

He goes on about how he has taken courses on teaching, that he loves teaching and yet everyone i know in this class despises his teaching method including me. If you print the lecture notes before hand and fill them in during lecture this will help you a lot.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Grade: A
Dec 10, 2013

1 word for this course if you have him. Miserable.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 11, 2013

I had an interest in analog electronics, but Deen killed it. If you are taking this course, I suggest printing out all the lecture slides before hand (yes, do waste paper), read them before coming to class, and correct the slides when he goes over it, because half the equations are wrong and/or not given to you.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 11, 2013

If you want any hope to passing this course. Hope harder, cause you're in for one helluva ride..

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 11, 2013

His tests contain 4-7 questions, each question contains 6 - 10 sub mc questions, and each mc question contains 12 - 20 answers. Oh and if that's not ridiculous enough, each mc question depends on the previous mc question, in other words; if you got question 1.a wrong, you will automatically get b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i wrong of question 1. Good luck.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Grade: A-
Dec 12, 2013

Good professor, horrible teacher. Avoid at all costs.

3.0
5.0
3EJ4
Dec 13, 2013

Horrible professor, extremely hard midterms, lies about iclickers being only on participation (so get them right or you lose marks!). iclicker answers are wrong on the slides, so dont rely on them during revisions. he made the beginning seem so interesting, and the course is nice, its him who makes you hate everything about it.

2.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 13, 2013

High expectations, says "learn and marks will follow" -yes if you make the midterms do-able.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 14, 2013

Horrible teacher,lies while acting to be caring

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 14, 2013

Explains material well. Fair exams. Go through exams and shows how questions relate to class or laa material. Attend class to learn material well. Honorable and ethical teacher. No pushover like some other profs who give free marks.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 14, 2013

horrible prof, stay away at all costs.

1.0
5.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 14, 2013

He tries to make this course easy, but fails to teach properly to prepare for midterms. Terrible Professor for 3EJ4

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 15, 2013

excellent prof… teaches well… great at explaining… very fair exams… attend classes

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 16, 2013

well prepared lectures. teaches to educate students. great at explaining concepts and presenting practical examples. very useful course. revise second year devices and circuits. learned at lot including from exams.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 18, 2013

One of the best teachers who cares that we learn and become self learners. Teaches material in coherent and logical way. Gives lots of examples and practice problems. iClicker questions great. Thanks for your efforts and helping me.

5.0
2.0
EE3EJ4
Dec 27, 2013

Exceptional teacher and professor. Kind and considerate when interacting with students. Tries his best to bring you to level so you can answer your own questions. Do not be swayed by handful students who do not come regularly to classes and criticize him for being consistent and fair.

5.0
2.0
EE3EJ4
Jan 14, 2014

I attended most of the classes. The lectures were well organized and delivered. Prof Deen is exceptional in explaining the material and also why we do the topics in the order. Exams are very fair, but you should attend the classes and listen to the explanations. iClicker questions helps much in understanding. Look over material before lectures.

5.0
4.0
ECE3EJ4
Jan 15, 2014

Great lecturer. Kind teacher and very helpful. Learnt a lot from course and exams. Amazing knowledge of subject.

5.0
5.0
ECE741
Jan 19, 2014

Outstanding teacher for analog electronics. Well organized, brilliant and fun to sit in class. Presents course material clearly and answers questions in detail. Great sense of humor after class, but serious when teaching. Kind, approachable and response to concerns of students. One of my best courses at Mac.

5.0
4.0
EE3EJ4
Feb 9, 2014

One of the best ee profs. Before this course I had little interest in analog electronics. But he made things very interesting. He is passionate about the subject and getting the students educated. His teaching is superbe. Attend class and do icliker questions to keep up. Highly recommended.

1.0
5.0
3EJ4
Mar 7, 2014

miserable spending my time in his classes.

2.0
5.0
3EJ4
Aug 13, 2014

One word. AMAZING!

4.0
3.0
3EJ4
Sep 21, 2014

Great course. Must attend lectures to better understand course material and how the exams are made - but do not expect repeat questions. Exams are fair. He is a master in analog electronics and provides excellent examples. Loved his regular short questions and lecturing style. Important tip - read lecture materials before class.

5.0
3.0
EE3EJ4
Oct 1, 2014

Amazing class - lectures have helped a lot in my practical work. Outstanding lecturer - well-organized, clear explanations, motivates students to learn and fair exams. However, to excel, attend lectures, do assignments and iclicker questions and practice questions. Appreciates class much more now.

2.0
5.0
EE34
Grade: A
Sep 16, 2015

No supportive

2.0
4.0
3EJ4
Oct 19, 2015

Shows up half the time yet expects students to never miss a class. Doesn't post any answers to the problems. Although it may be tough, avoid at all costs.

5.0
1.0
3EJ4
Grade: F
Nov 20, 2015

This is the best guy in the universe. Clear and nice. He is a good guy. I r8 8 out of 8 m8. If only I could take this course all over again.

2.0
4.0
3EJ4
Dec 19, 2015

Pros 1. When he does come, he gives clear explanations and tries to make you understand. 2. His test are somewhat fair. 3. Responds quickly to emails Cons 1. Misses nearly half of the lectures 2. No answers to the multiple choice questions he puts in the lectures and tutorials Overall the cons heavily outweigh the pros.

5.0
3.0
3EJ4
Grade: C+
Jun 5, 2016
Would take again

Exceptional teacher, with superbe knowledge of course material. Encourages you to become better student with regular iclicker evaluations. Taught well and punctual to classes. Shows up almost all classes and let you know few times he is absent. One of the best EE profs at Mac.

1.0
4.0
3EJ4
Aug 9, 2016
Wouldn't take again

This guy is terrible.. His lecture slides are not easy to look at.. very disorganized and all he does is read from the lecture slides. He never shows in-class examples

5.0
3.0
ECE3EJ4
Grade: B+
Dec 6, 2016
Would take again

Amazing teacher. Really knows his material. At first, I was biased by what others said, but mots of it is not true. He teaches using many aspects of problem based learning. Lectures are clear and materials are assessed sequentially. One of the best ECE professors and great teacher. Thanks for an exceptional learning experience.

Respected
Participation matters
Inspirational
1.0
5.0
3EJ4
Grade: B+
Mar 12, 2023

Awful teacher. He just read lecture slides the came with the book. His ego is the size of Boston. Disorganized with unrealistic expectations. Lectures are very unclear. Never again.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Test heavy
1.0
3.0
3EJ4
Grade: B+
May 30, 2023

He seems to have knowledge of the topic but lacks the interest/ability to communicate it to students. Would never take a course with him!

Graded by few things
1.0
4.0
3EJ4
Grade: B
Jun 1, 2023

The only thing I learned from his course was to never take a course with Jamal Deen. He lacks many qualities as a professor: not organized, not able to teach the course content in a coherent way, addresses student questions in the worst possible way, and in some cases, he seemed not to know the answer and just evaded the question.

5.0
3.0
ECE740
Grade: A+
Jan 15, 2025
Would take again

The way he teaching

Amazing lectures
Class Info

Attendance Mandatory

73%

Textbook Required

100%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B

86% confidence
Based on 12 grades
Most common grades:
B (3)
B+ (3)
A (2)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(3)C(1)D(0)F(1)A-/B+(4)
Based on 13 reported grades
B: 3
B+: 3
A: 2
Not_Sure_Yet: 1
Common Tags
Respected (1)
Participation matters (1)
Inspirational (1)
Lots of homework (1)
Lecture heavy (1)
Test heavy (1)
Graded by few things (1)
Amazing lectures (1)
Rating Trend

Declining

-0.82 avg change
Aug
Dec
Mar
May
Jun
Jan
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

2EI4

5.0

(1)

ECE740

5.0

(7)

4EK3

5.0

(2)

COE4EK3

5.0

(2)

ECE741

5.0

(3)
+17 more courses
Difficulty by Course

EE2EI4

5.0

EK3

5.0

EJ3

5.0

EJ4

5.0

ELECEJ4

5.0

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