Good prof. Really knows how to explain abstract computer concepts in a way that is easy to comprehend. Somewhat boring at beginning of course, but will open up to students towards the end of term. Knows how to translate from "computer to human" which is helpful.

class was pretty easy, projects could have been easier had students known exactly what they had to do to get exactly what grade, presented a rubric for the final, which made it so much easier, should have done that for every programming assignment

Was very clear and helpful. Projects were easy and a little fun. Tests were easy, he tells you what to expect. The only bad things I can say is don't miss class or a test because he does not accept excuses very well and make sure you turn in your assignments on time, he absolutely won't take a late assignment.

This dude was cool. He freaked once because i kept coming in late but he was real helpful in class, always helped me after class, and was an overall good teacher.

Very good professor.Gets really into his lectures. Knows alot about the topics talked about in class.Presents you with some new material,then shows you how it fits into the big picture. One of the best professors I have had.But, Not so much the exams, but the projects. This is usually peoples first time seeing C. Projects are hard for what we know

Taught C language pretty well, wrote his own book in 3 nights. The projects were very interesting and but some were pretty intense. Be as specific as possible on tests and you could get partial credit. Book still needs editing :)

Great lecturer who writes projects that are very helpful to understanding the material. One of the best teachers I've had in Pitt's CS department. Tries hard to get students to learn.

Misurda is probably the smartest person I know. I think he is really google in the flesh. If you don't understand something he will help you. 5 min turn around time on e-mails. Tests are fair and again the guy seriously knows everything about CS and unlike every other teacher he can teach it.

This class is HARD but Misurda is an awesome professor. Take lots of notes because everything he says is important for projects or on the test. Put however much time you need to get the projects PERFECTLY because they are worth A LOT and the exams and quizzes are hard especially the final. GO TO OFFICE HOURS. 1 of the 2 TAs was really helpful too.

Really good. Don't let other comments worry you, his exams aren't too challenging although I think my class had higher averages than usual. Pay attention in lecture and understand the material and the class isn't too bad

Good guy, brilliant professor. Extremely approachable. Had him for 449 & 1550; you will work very hard in his classes but you'll also learn. Conversational lecture style doesn't lend itself to bullet points or tidy note-taking; show up for every class, pay attention and don't wait until the last minute on assignments, and you'll do fine.

Teaches in a conversational style that makes learning the material second nature. Wrote the textbook, so the notes, book, and tests are all practically synonymous. Very approachable and funny. Aside from a tough grader (which mostly curves out), its the perfect class.

Good professor. Exams are straight forward and first 3 programming assignments are fairly easy. The 4th programming assignment is difficult and do not take it lightly. I learned a lot in this class

If you go to all the classes and pay attention you will probably do well. His lectures are all important for tests and projects. If you're confused about anything just ask him after class or in office hours, he's really nice and will do his best to help. ALSO READ HIS TEXTBOOK!!!! If you do, you will do very well in the course.

The legend.

Misurda is born to teach 1550. His lectures are engaging and helpful, and the class is challenging. He puts on a snooty front, which I appreciated: it ensures that kids pay attention, and participate in a thoughtful way. Despite his tough attitude in lecture he is helpful and generous with his time during office hours. Lockpicking ftw!

He is very interested in teaching. He is a grad student who is taking much too long to finish his PhD because he wants his classes to be great. Just pay attention and ask questions in office hours if you are confused. Oh yeah, he yells at the class to get big points across. Be prepared

This guy has found his niche in life as a lecturer. Very knowledgable and presents the material in a way all can understand. Projects are challenging. Attend lectures and follow along with the textbook (including the one he wrote). You can do well, but it will take some kind of effort. (side note, he doesn't come off as very approachable or the kind of guy I'd go get help from...a little condescending)

Excellent professor. Lectures are very very well done and make the textbook reading req'd very small. The projects _are_ difficult, so be prepared to sink some hours into figuring stuff out. The tests were not too hard. The one downside is he is a bit condescending but that's because he's an uber nerd. Still highly recommended.

I can't add too much about Misurda that hasn't been said: he is incredibly knowledge, wrote his own textbook for the class, and is extremely engaging and entertaining in class. Take Misurda for any class you can. He is by far the best CS professor I have had at Pitt (and I have had a few other great professors as well).

Greatest. Professor. Ever. Dude is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to anything technology.

Misurda is a hard-ass, make no mistake about that, but he's also one of the best CS professors at Pitt. Lectures are detailed, projects are thorough, and labs are informative. However, his tests and projects can be insanely difficult. Highly recommended, but be prepared to do some work.

misurda is one of the best parts of a cs education at pitt. bring your A game, and you'll learn a ton.

Amazing lecturer and very knowledgeable. Projects are definitely difficult, as are exams. But the course matter itself is difficult, so that's pretty fair. Only drawback is that he looks for very specific answers on some essay exam questions. So pay close attention in class if you want those points

Professor Misurda is a very good professor, he has a very good understanding of the course and slides are very helpful. He can always answer my questions very clearly.

Dude is a hardass. However, he's the best professor I've had at Pitt, and he did an excellent job teaching the course. Projects and exams are challenging but doable. There are pop quizes in recitation. If you pay attention during all the lectures and study on your own, you should be fine. I didn't buy the textbook and I don't regret that decision.

Jon is a great at lecture. It is easy to see he knows anything about Comp Sci. However, the projects are very time consuming so start them early. If you slack in this class, you will fail. This class is doable, just hard. Great teacher, just the material is hard as it should be.

Misurda is an excellent professor. His lectures are informative, if dense at times. We blew through the entire course material in about 12 weeks, after which he presented graduate-level material. Exams and projects are brutally difficult, but never impossible. Grading is fair, too. Misurda is a challenging and demanding prof, but you'll learn.

Misurda is great professor. I had him for both 449 and 1550. His book he wrote is great, and as you read it you can actually hear him lecture. The projects were actually fun to do. The exams are not easy, but if you attend lecture and read the exam questions fully, you will be fine. He helps when needed, and he won't let you slack off.

Class seemed very disorganized. For instance, he tried out a new project and kept changing the specifications up until the deadline. He also often assigned projects and then had to teach to them, and didn't move due dates to compensate. I appreciate that exams see only his eyes, though. Try to keep up with readings if you take him.

Tough class but you'll learn alot. Projects are hard so start early. Don't be afraid to ask questions. He seems to yell at the kids ruining class for everyone else. Just do the work and stop complaining

Very hard class. His slides are useless, but lectures make up for it. GO TO CLASS

Projects were interesting and you'll learn alot if you get through them. Like everyone else has said he seems to have very specific answers that he wants for essay questions. Go to class and ask questions.

Learned a lot. Parts seemed disorganized but I think they were new projects. Slides are not helpful but his book is.

Challenging teacher, but he is there to help you. Will answer emails even late at night the day an assignment is due. Don't be afraid to talk to him, he looks hard to approach about questions, but he REALLY wants you to succeed. He wrote his own textbook for one class and gives it out for free, so you know he cares more about the student.

His reputation precedes him, and he isn't exactly amiable. He teaches the class very much like a sequel to his version of the prerequisites, so it's good to take classes in sequence with him. He has a command of the material, shaped by his own experiences in systems programming. Very prompt with exam grades.

Excellent prof. You can receive an A in his class if you are serious about doing well. Tips:#1 Go to every class; take detailed notes esp. write down lists of reasons for why things are a certain way.#2 READ HIS BOOK; refer to it when studying. #3 Quizzes usually occur week before an exam; questions on it may reappear on the exam. #4 START EARLY!

Really knows his stuff, you will learn a lot. Make sure you go to class and pay attention. Take good notes on the reasons for things because that's what will be on the exams. Projects are very useful and relevant to the course material. Quizzes given in recitation and occasionally during lecture are a comparable to how he will write the exams.

Imagine someone who is truly fair. No personal feelings intervene with his evaluation, at all. Grading criteria are marked very clearly. If he brought it up in class, you must know it. He has patience for the curious student who wants help, but not if it means repeating himself. He has NO patience for students looking to nudge their grades up.

Misurda is one of the best professors I've ever had. His exams are a bit tough and he doesn't curve, but if you go to the lectures you will be fine. He explains concepts clearly and doesn't read off slides. I left his class feeling confident with the material. Advice: he doesn't tolerate people asking to have their grades bumped.

Knows what information is important for industry. Excellent lecturer. Encyclopedic knowledge of anything to do with Operating Systems, architecture, and assembly. The projects are more intensive than what you have likely written on your own up to this point. They will tear off whatever remaining training wheels you still have on.

Professor Misurda is one of the best lecturers in Pitt CS. I learned so much about operating systems and he was very helpful in office hours. He really cares about students. He used humor during the lectures. Projects are more difficult than my previous CS classes so make sure to start early and ask questions. Tests were challenging.

I took him for 401 and he is the reason I did well in data structures the next semester while most of the class was failing. You'll come out of the class with the tools to succeed in other courses. Lectures are entirely on the board and he explains concepts in detail. Tests are challenging, but you'll be ahead of the game in other courses.

Hard but good. His teaching style is not for everyone. Hard to take notes for especially for the coding examples (I used the textbook for those). Teaches beyond Java tho and teaches more important programming concepts. Lecture gets long sometimes though and he expects you to remember specifics.

Dr. Misurda is easily one of the best professors in the department. You will learn a lot no matter what class you take with him. His projects are doable, but the exams are hard. You must go to class.

He looks not approachable, but in fact, he is willing to help you. Good lectures. Quiz is given 1 or 2 weeks before exams. Last 2 projects are tough, so start early. Attendance is not taken, but you won't pass without participation, since his slides have nothing in detail.

CS1550 is a weeder class at Pitt. Exams are on OS trivia. Helpful notes are few and far between. No practice tests provided. Projects are extraordinarily tedious, and lots of setup is required even to get started. BUT.... I still like Misurda. He's a good guy and wants you to succeed, very genuinely. So, in short: Misurda is cool. The class is not

Awesome lecturer, learned a ton. That said, I didn't participate that much for fear of him judging me for saying the wrong thing. His tests are very difficult, but if you take detailed notes, you'll be fine. The projects were realllllly hard.

Misurda is a good professor and extremely knowledgable. Projects are difficult but not impossible and he's very accessible and quick to help, but he doesn't answer questions that he thinks you should already know the answers to. Tests are very hard but similar to practice tests/book. Lectures are boring but informative. Grading criteria ambiguous.

Misurda is easily the best lecturer I have had so far in my time at Pitt (2 years). His projects are tedious with no rubric, but definitely doable. His exams are difficult, in the sense that he has set expectations of what he wants in free response (don't BS an answer). He is a great guy and lecturer, but is very dense. Don't expect an easy grade.

Dr. Misurda is a very knowledgable professor in systems knowledge and he seems like a great guy. His tests are hard and he doesn't provide much material on his website, but it's because he wants you to attend lecture, go to office hours, and ask questions. Sometimes his lectures can drag on because he likes to explain everything but otherwise fine.

Extremely gifted lecturer! As long as you go to every class and participate, the difficult exams aren't so bad. He obviously knows what he's talking about, and gives some of the best lectures I've had in the department.

Easily the best lecture in the department but this class is especially difficult so don't expect a cakewalk. The material is quite dense and difficult to pick up, but tests are reasonably fair if you attend lecture and study. Projects are rigorous and will frustrate you for hours. Do not take this class unless you are ready to put in A LOT of work.

CS449 isn't the most interesting course, but Misurda's lectures make it tolerable. Exams and Quizzes aren't hard at all (provided you attend class because they are solely based off lecture), but projects were annoying since we were never given a rubric until after we turned it in. Honestly, not as bad as people said it was. ATTEND LECTURE.

I loved this class. He goes through the material at a good pace. The projects are hard but doable. He's a crystal clear lecturer. I liked his jokes. He's really knowledgeable and tries to keep the class engaged with a lot of questions. Occasionally questions on the tests seemed like curveballs, but most were ok if you had studied.

Misurda is a legend within the department, and unfortunately, this was one of his last semesters at Pitt. Lectures are absolutely fantastic and you can tell the man really knows the material and anything else you could think to ask about. Projects and tests are slightly difficult but fair. Would take any class with him in the future.

Misurda is intense. His lectures are amazing - show up, listen, and you'll be sure to learn. He can be unforgiving, though. Deadlines are strict, and so is his grading. Projects are hard, and so are tests. He is always fair, though. If you're doing what was set out in the syllabus (showing up, reading, starting work early, studying), you're good.

Misurda == perfect. Intense and strict, so speak clearly, concisely, and correctly. Lecture is an interactive dialogue, must think critically and analytically during lecture. He's knowledgable and passionate about OS. He seems harsh because he holds his students to a high standard (which is a good thing btw). He is strict because he cares imo.

Misurda is by far one of the best lecturer's I've come across at Pitt. He very much "unfolds" the idea, which can be hard to catch if you're not paying attention, which you HAVE to in this class. The projects are pretty difficult though as he doesn't give you a solid understanding of the concepts' implementation

Misurda is a great lecturer. But, he tries to cultivate a discussion-based environment and pressures students to answer questions that can come off as a bit aggressive. If you're not afraid of being wrong, then you'll learn a lot. You HAVE to attend lectures AND read the textbook to do well. Projects are tangential to the lecture and time-consuming

Dr. Misurda has definitely mellowed out. It's still sometimes scary to participate; lectures can be intense, but he's open to questions. The exams are graded strictly, the final was curved and projects are graded VERY generously (though with few instructions). Exams can contain things he lectured for 2 minutes about; take good notes. Not TOO hard.

Misurda is an amazing lecturer and does a good job of teaching OS holistically. However, I heard he is not very approachable outside of class. The project descriptions are also too vague, but the implementations are flexible. Go to class and take notes on everything because the slides are barren and there are no recorded lectures.

The best lecturer I've had at Pitt, but can come off as rude sometimes. We got through and were tested on about half of the planned material. The 5 projects were time consuming and a little vague, but doable. The 2 tests were straightforward and easy if you studied. Same goes for recitation pop quizzes. The grader for my class was very fair.

Hands down the best lecturer at Pitt, but he knows it. Can be a little snarky in responses, but never outright mean like the other responses say. Projects are long, start early. 1550 is one of the hardest classes in the CS curriculum. Tests have things mentioned for 2 minutes in class, show up every day, and take good notes.

Tough professor but he's the best at making sure you fully know what an OS is and the why they're built the way they are. Projects are essentially "Do this. Here's some tips. Figure out the rest". No template files or handholding. Project grading is fairly lenient though. Its a great class and you'll learn a lot. If you survived 449 you'll be fine.

Take Misura if you want to be a good programmer, no matter what he teaches, you will leave that class a much better programmer, if you put in the work. Don't miss a lecture.

I went into Professor Misurda's class very scared due to all of the terrible reviews he gets on RMP. However, from taking CS 1550 with him, I can confidently say that he is one of the best professors at Pitt for computer science. His lectures are outstanding, he is funny, and his tests are tough but VERY fair. Please give him a chance.

If a redditor was a CS professor. Lagged severely behind the syllabus schedule since he's so anal about every topic discussed. There were 5 coding projects, but it's not a coding class. Pop quizzes in recitations, we had 4 total. ATEOTD it's an intro course. Smart guy & wants you to learn. He knows how to laugh. High effort/attendance is expected.

Such a divisive guy. I am an average student and took this course to be challenged. By the end of the course, Dr. Misurda had managed to reignite a lot of programming passion in me. Never miss a lecture if possible, write everything down. He is really engaging so for someone with poor focus like me it worked really well. Can be snarky.

Not nice, but he lectures extremely well and breaks concepts down to level of extreme granularity. This is where the learning happens. He holds you accountable for following along with him as he is lecturing. Ask questions and start the hw early. They require effort but are interesting and extremely satisfing. You willl LEARN SO MUCH just take note

gave me a thorough look of disappointment that frequently reappears in my head (1 month later) when handing back my exam. :( honestly though, great lecturer. he's very knowledgeable about his material and wants to ensure you walk away with a thorough understanding. minimal slides. looks for very specific answers on exams. expectations are unclear