Butner is a fantastic professor who's been really understanding about the circumstances for this quarter -- homework was difficult but you get to work with a partner, he's very accessible in office hours and answers questions very thoroughly, and he made all quizzes/midterms/finals online with unlimited tries. Definitely take his class if you can!

Lots of coding projects that are required to be done with a partner (at least during the covid situation). Start them early and go to office hours! There are a lot of opportunities for office hours throughout the week. Butner makes his exams open note and multiple tries; I actually learned more with this than I would have traditionally!!

Great professor! Goes over plenty of examples, teaches the material well, and helpful in office hours too

Professor Butner adapted really well to online learning and gave very clear lectures with tons of examples. He and his TAs are also highly accessible outside of class because they have a ton of office hours. The homeworks were fairly straightforward but the final project was hard so start early on assignments. Fantastic professor. Recommended!!!!!

Butner has to be one of the best profs in the CS department. He has adapted so well to the online learning environment, and kept his class engaging. Lectures make sense as he goes over ex's well and answers lots of student's questions. HW is VERY hard so definitely start early; thankfully he offers a lot of OH for this class and is super helpful.

Professor Butner is great, he made a great effort to make this class work during the pandemic. The majority of the grade for this class consisted of 4 projects and a final, all of which were done in pairs of two. He was also very accessible outside of class, I had never seen a professor hold office hours for over 12 hours to help their students.

The final project was hard but the rest of the hw and quizzes were easy. He was really helpful in Office Hour.

Great instructor. Extremely dedicated to his students. Homework is fair and relevant to the material. Teaches very clearly as well. 10/10 would reccomend

Why is he so nice :( He's my favorite professor at UC Davis. He cares about his students. Very generous. His lectures are so clear and organized. He makes us social with other students under this covid situation, which was a little bit awkward at first but I still appreciate this opportunity to interact with other students. He is a legend.

Explain everything crystal clear. The BEST cs professor I've ever had. I was a little bit discouraged and almost gave up on major in cs but after taking his class I feel so encouraged and inspired. He is very nice to all students and very accessible during office hours. Never had any professor like him who cares so much for his students.

He is really a nice person and good professor. Although taking the class as a beginner programmer. He makes things very understandable and clear examples. Lots of office hours and reachable almost every day. Might be the best choice in remote instructions.

Best CS prof out there!!! I always show up to OH to ask about pointers, random CS topics, and AI. He's super enthusiastic about it. He cares a lot about his students and always tries to help as much as possible. Would recommend!

Good professor, lectures are relatively straightforward. However beware homework logsim assignments are quite challenging and take up a good amount of time. Final project makes this class difficulty a 5

You will never meet another professor willing to spend hours upon hours in his office with you to help. He is God and I will accept no other answer.

The final was the hardest thing in the class, and maybe the only hard thing in the class. Even then, he was on Discord from 10am to 10pm for finals week and curved the final. For a CS lecturer, this is unheard of, he's the only guy who makes CS worthwhile.

Great professor but you are required to do homeworks with partners which are really hard to find. Usually you will be doing all the work unless you can get lucky with a partner.

Theres a reason why this man is known for being one of the best CS professors at UC Davis. Hes one of those people that goes above and beyond for his students. The homework was hard, but Butner was extremely sympathetic about the challenges of distance learning and did everything he could to remove stress off the students.

The ideal professor. Butner is someone you will learn A LOT from, and you will be happy about it. He inspires his students to think and figure things out while explaining the material. Be prepared to do some homeworks that are essential to grasping the material and mastering it.

Butner for 36A was quite challenging but I learned ALOT. He is very passionate about CS and makes sure everyone understands concepts. He spends so much time to help everyone in office hours and genuinely cares for his students. His homeworks become difficult in the second half of the course but you will learn a lot. Take him if you want to learn.

Honestly the best professor I've had so far. He teaches really well and wants students to succeed. I learned a lot from the class and started to enjoy programming. Some assignments were honestly pretty time-consuming and difficult, but there are plenty of office hours in which him and the TA's are all very accessible. 10/10 recommend

If he doesnt deserve a five star, I dont know who else in the CS department deserves it. The final was a bit hard but he hold so many OH to help students to learn. He definitely cares about his students. Some people gave him less stars because they think he teaches too hard but tbh they wouldnt get any better taking with other professors.

THIS MAN IS A LEGEND. He is the best CS prof I have ever had, he genuinely cares about you and wants you to succeed. His projects are difficult, but he holds lots of OH and will help you finish the project. For the (ruff) final project, he stayed in OH on Friday during finals week (the very last day!) from 3pm-12 am. How many profs would do that?

He is an excellent teacher and extremely helpful in office hours. Office hours can be daunting but I really recommend going, you'll learn a lot more and feel more confident. I didn't love the group homework aspect because someone usually ends up carrying, but I think that's more a symptom of online instruction. I loved having this teacher!

This class is pretty easy if you pay attention. The final project is difficult but there's plenty of office hours to get help, so getting an A on it should be manageable. Homework and quizzes are straightforward, and the class is weighted more on homework, not tests. 3+ OH everyday. Mr. Butner cares about you: grades AND mental wellbeing.

Once again, we stan MattyB for clear lectures, extensive help in office hours, flexible assessments (multiple attempts), homework groups, and after-class gaming. Admittedly, projects can be tough, but you'll be fine if you don't leave them till the last minute. Expect to put in work to succeed in this class, but it's not an all around bad time.

Probably the best CS professor at Davis. I wish he taught all my classes, but this is the probably the last I'll have with him sadly. Very informative lectures, projects are very doable; however the final project was brutal and he really meant it when he said we should expect to spend 30 hours on it.

Amazing professor. Crystal clear during lectures. Challenging homeworks that allow you to learn the material better. Start the final project early or else you'll die (like i did)

I really enjoy 154A with Butner, he indeed is the best CS professor in Davis. He have ton of OH but I never went there because the class is pretty easy. No final, only final project (took me a day to finish it). Open note quizzes and midterms.

Quite possibly the best Professor I've had for CS. It takes genuine skill to be able to explain hard concepts in plain English, and have everyone understand you perfectly. He is also extremely helpful; he has many good TA's, and he himself has office hours usually everyday. He's very committed and super kind. I'm definitely a huge Butner SIMP!

Compared to every other CS professor in Davis. He is by far the best one and its not close. He actually cares about students and holds office hours almost every day. Also his TAs are really good and helpful. This class was very organized and clear. Class was still hard towards the end with the cache project but professor is there in OH to help.

Literally the best cs professor here. Ridiculous that he doesn't have a 4.5+ rating.

Honestly couldn't have imagined taking my CS courses with any other professor. Professor Butner is extremely caring and will explain concepts to you if you do not understand them. There's ample resources in his class: Discord, Campuswire, etc. I would say it is very challenging, for me but overall you will come out a better coder.

A good solid professor who genuinely cares about his students. lots of office hours. If you pay attention during the lectures and do the reading - you should be good with the homework and get an A. Most people that complain about the class don't put in the effort in learning and expect coding to come easily. Put in the effort and you'll be good.

It's a tough class with lots of homework so you can't expect to do the bare minimum and get a good grade. Prof. Butner does his best to help with lots of office hours and campuswire and he genuinely cares about his students. The key is to get a good partner and don't procrastinate with the HW - it might've worked in the past but not in this class.

Matthew Butner is a literal legend. The homework can be challenging but fair. Some of the earlier assignments wont take that long but the last few take longer. Mathew Butner has a lot of office hours to make sure nobody is behind (Even at times he doesn't have to). Lectures are also great. Right now I can't imagine having a better CS professor. :)

As a student, I really respect this professor since during the Office Hour, he not only provided us with lots of help in either the aspect of homework assignments but also in the aspect of viewing our future as a student. Most of his homework are not that tough but you may need lots of time to complete them and go to OH frequently.

Professor Butner hold office hour on a daily basis and his hw is pretty much doable. Attend his lectures and do his hw. This class should be an easy A.

Im so glad I had Butner for 36A! Hes a great teacher and very caring! Tons of OH, and not difficult to get in if you start the assignments early (which would be my biggest piece of advice!) TAs and SAs were also very accessible and caring! HW was definitely difficult, but doable if you spent enough time! Great choice for 36A!

36B was definitely a lot more difficult than 36A, so expect assignments to be challenging and time consuming. The assignments were still fair though, and I learned a lot. Overall, hes a great professor whos very approachable and holds a lot of office hours. Work with a good partner and go to OH, and youll be fine.

There's quite a bit of work but if you put in the effort, you will learn a lot. The professor is also great and helps his students well, so no complaints there. The lectures were pretty fast paced but definitely helpful and I think doing some reading from the textbook ahead of time can help prepare for them.

I found this class quite challenging and worked on it a lot more than my other two STEM classes combined. I passed by attending office hours with Professor Butner as much as possible to get help and talk through the assignments. You can expect to spend a lot of time on this class but Butner makes it possible, and he's kind and engaged!

Professor Butner is one of the best professors I've had at UCD. His office hours are always helpful, and he is always extending them for students that need help. The only problem is if you struggle with homework you won't do well. His 36A class is much easier than 36B and I learned that the hard way.

I like how Professor Butner is so considerate. Too bad I couldn't take him for ECS 10

It is generally a hard class and very consuming. But I think it is how the class is. Matthew did his best and all TAs also extends a lot OH. Great professor for programming

Had him for SS for the first time. He's a great prof. Ample OH and responsive via campuswire. He's willing to help you as long as you're willing to try. He's like an angel. Everything was graded over Mimir and you could have one partner for coding. Some coding assignments were very hard but luckily not a big hit to the grade if skipped. Def rec!

Goated TA

Great professor; honestly couldn't imagine taking ECS 36A with someone else. Assignments are really tough though, so starting early would probably a good idea.

This dude is literally everybody's favorite professor and deserves a raise

He's a nice and approachable guy. There can be a bit of homework sometimes but he provides a lot of office hours and extra credit.

He genuinely cares about you learning and is happy to answer questions. Lots of office hours with him or TAs. Even with some CS experience already, I learned a lot (hw was more work than expected, but not too bad + it was a good learning experience). If you have minimal CS experience then you should probably find a HW partner for later assignments.

By 1 HW a week that means around 3 projects per week. Pay attention to what he says in lectures to help the projects go by easier. If you don't, these projects can take up a lot of time out of your week and take focus away from your other classes. So start your projects early, when they are assigned, never the day of. You do get late days tho.

Great Professor, be prepared to study 40 hours a week in your extra time, the materials you learn are crucial to Computer Science. Read textbooks -> related to some of the projects.

Honestly, this class was extremely difficult for non CS majors. Most homeworks were pretty difficult but he does provide extensions and extra credit to make up for the difficulty of the assignments. No tests but take home quizzes which are basically homeworks.

Great professor, and awesome lectures. One of my favorite professors in the CS department. Would 100% take it again.

The best Professor in all senses! Take him!

Class is mostly graded on weekly coding assignments which are fairly easy (can be done with a partner) and reading assignments. Most of the content is covered in the textbook, so lectures weren't very useful unless you needed additional help. Overall he's a really nice and helpful lecturer.

THE BEST, most caring professor I have had so far. I had to retake 154A after having Posnett the previous quarter, and the difference with Butner is huge. Explains very clearly, gives many examples, and cares about students' wellbeing and feedback about the class. Assignments can be tough but he is always willing to help during office hours.

Dr. Butner is the greatest!

Matthew is a great prof who truly cares about his students. He is a reasonable grader and the grade is broken down into a bunch of smaller categories so nothing feels too overwhelming or end all be all. Very helpful in office hours so definitely go if you're struggling with homework! One of the best profs I've had at Davis.

TAKE THIS PROFESSOR HE IS THE GOATTTT!!!

By far the best run class I have taken here. Amazing lectures, great office hours set up with near 24/7 access to TAs and the instructor himself for questions. Homework can be challenging but you can work with a partner if you want and it is all very doable if you start early and go to office hours for questions. No tests or quizzes either!

Butner is super caring about his students and passionate about programming. No other professor will have as many office hours as he does, and if the class needs more help then he gladly offers it. Grades were 90% based on assignments and 10% off of weekly readings. Beware though, as assignments are super time-consuming, but teach a lot.

Butner is one of the best lecturers out there. There is homework and readings every week, but he is a very caring and understanding person who helps a lot during office hours. Def take Butner.

Butner is a great professor that actually delivers meaningful lectures which relate to the exams and homework. The assignments are reasonable in difficulty for the class considering it is upper-division. As of W2022 you can work with a partner on the assignments and the final project which is great. He also gives great analogies during lectures.

Wish I paid more attention in this class. Skipped a ton of lectures but they were all recorded and posted on Canvas which were really nice to skim through as I completed the HW. Grade based on HW in the form of coding projects and a final coding project which was relatively hard. Either way, got a B so GGS.

I heard this course was extremely hard, but Butner makes it seem easy. Very clear lectures, clear expectations, clear assignments. They were a little challenging but totally doable if you understand the material. Would recommend reading the textbook before lectures as it'll make things clearer, but I don't even think it was necessary.

Butner is one of the best professors I've had at this school to date. He is not easy by any means, but the way he structures his class, the resources he provides, as well as the office hours he holds was incredibly beneficial to me and I'm sure a lot of other students. Seriously, attend OH if you're struggling as it is completely accessible.

Probably one of the best CS professors UC Davis has to offer. He goes over material in detail, and though the class isn't too easy, he structures things so that you really understand what is going on in the lectures and homework. Great professor and funny too! Get Butner if you can!

Coming from someone who is having second thoughts about a CS major, Butner taught the class material well and while there was a lot of homework, it was manageable with the number of resources he offered in terms of office hours and lecture notes. He lectures well and encourages class participation. I was never afraid of asking for help.

Professor Butner is really generous and open to his students. He made the class quite fun to take. Although his slides are ... but they're very helpful if you don't mind the monotoneness of it

Professor Butner is one of the best CS profs here. He cares so much about his students and spends countless hours in Office Hours trying to help everyone out. Yes his HWS are very challenging/time consuming, but you will learn so much. His lectures can sometimes be confusing, but he does his best so you can understand. Take him and you will learn!

He provides a lot of office hour and help. Those assaignment in general is not to hard to deal with.

Best instructor I've had for computer science at Davis. His class is definitely challenging, but in a good way where you learn a lot. He's a good lecturer who explains concepts well, and gives you the tools you need to figure out the assignments. Very accessible outside of lecture when you need help during office hours!

He is so good!! His projects are manageable for sure! But do not take this class if you have an alternative and are not in love with CS. He is amazing but too much work if you could take 32A or intro to computer class. No exams, just projects which he can help you with!

His classes are laid out SO well and you can tell he is a passionate instructor.. I don't think I've had a prof. so organized before. His lectures are dull sometimes, but they are thorough and will prepare you for the homework coding sets. However, don't take 36A without prior intermediate coding experience b/c you will struggle unnecessarily!!!

Definitely avoid Kaloti and have Butner for this ECS050 instead. Butner explains concepts very well and his slides are a lot less confusing. You can tell Butner is very passionate about lecturing and he is a very caring professor that will be very understanding, and not condescending at all. His homework's are in no way easy but they are doable.

Butner is amazing! Hes a total sweetheart who cares about students, both academically and personally (i think he learned like half our class's names.) He has almost ENDLESS office hours so support is never an issue and his projects, while long, are actually a lot of fun and really helpful. Low ratings r just people who didn't put in the time

Professor Butner has great slides, does continuous check ins to check for understanding, and offers a ton of office hour opportunities to get help. If you can write clean code and use a ton of comments the homework shouldn't be an issue. Definitely go to his OH to get help, but he is also great for discussing outside ideas and getting feedback.

This is my 3rd class with Butner. He's the best CS prof I've had at Davis. His assignments are very time consuming and challenging, but if you work hard enough you'll get them done. He made it easy enough to get an A in the class as the online exams were weighted heavy and were unlimited time/attempts. Take him and you will learn so much about CS!

Great professor, large transition from smaller scale projects from 36A to large, week/2 week long assignments. Definitely tacks on a lot to your workload for the quarter. The quizzes were definitely annoying. Bless the office hours & TAs. If you put in the work, and attend the office hours, and take advantage fo the extra credit, not hard to pass

Butner is THE best lecturer in the computer science department in Davis. I've had several classes with him so far, and each time, the G.O.A.T. delivers!

Amazing professor, I had him for ECS50 and it was the easiest class of my life. The grade was made up of tests (like the final, midterms, quizzes), all open book, open note and retake able until you get 100%, as well as some group meetups and homework assignments. The homework is challenging but more than doable, don't do it last minute. Easy A.

Butner is a nice professor. But, homework is really difficult! lecture heavy!

This class is pretty hard, definitely a slight weeder class and it's clear that it is with Butner teaching it, you learn a lot and an A is pretty easy if you do the work

This class is hard. Point blank. This class is hard, but you learn a ton and that's because of Butner. Take it, you'll have to put in the work but you'll learn a ton

I do not recommend taking him for ECS 32A in particular. This course is supposedly an intro level one intended for non majors, but it certainly doesn't feel like that is the case. Programming assignments on Prairie make up a large percentage of your grade, and if you've never coded before some of these can be extremely difficult. Not an easy class.

This class is tough, very tough if you don't know how to manage your time well. But, I've found that through these quite difficult projects, I am learning A LOT, and fast at that. If you know how to manage your time, and are disciplined enough to start early, this class is not that bad. Put in the effort, and you will learn A LOT.

Butner is the best computer science professor in this university. His lectures are full of useful info for the homeworks and there are no exams given in the class. Around 80% of your grade is based on the programming assignments which start off easy and get much harder later in the quarter.

One of the best professors in the CS department!!!!!! Always looking forward to his class. Insanely organized and clear grading criteria. An easy A/B if you go to lecture and start assignments early :)

Some pretty hard homework, takes a lot of time, but a great prof.

Homeworks are challenging but he is a great professor. His office hours are all on discord and there are no exams in the class. Overall good lectures and you can also watch them from zoom

Your grades are determined mostly by homework assignments that ramp up in difficulty throughout the quarter (80% of the weight). Other than that there are some readings but its a great class

Take his class! Great intro to computer science and will give you a good understnading of C

Very assignment based class. Be warned the later assignments take upwards of 4-8 hours to complete and you get an assignment every week. But he is a very good prof

Butner is a god among men. He is simply the most amazing professor at this school. If I could have all my classes taught by him for the next four years, I would. Take his class. You will be amazed at his ability to teach and communicate knowledge. You will be BEWILDERED. Thank you

for an intro class, ecs32a was astronomically difficult. it started off as manageable but the hw assignments (worth 85%) quickly escalated to a breaking point. you will be expected to code full games such as battleship and connect-n. i think butner overestimates the ability of intro programmers, but at least he is helpful during office hours .-.

If kids were taught to swim the way Butner teaches Computer Science, we would all be Michael Phelps by now. There is no other professor at this institution that is as masterful at lecturing young pupils on the subject of Computer Science. ~ Class of 2026

Professor Butner is great! Grading is based off of programming assignments (80%), textbook readings (15%), and study group participation (5%). The programming assignments are fairly straightforward if you read the textbook and you can submit your code as many times as you want until you get 100%. Textbook readings are easy but do take up some time.

There is only one word to describe butner: godly. When the sun shines down in Peter A. Rock hall at 4pm, the beams of light gracefully gleam against his gigachad face. His expertise in the breadths of CS will steal the breath from your lungs. His luscious lesson plans and spicy homeworks provisioned me with a much greater understanding of life.

Matthew Butner is a professor that truly cares about his students. If I had the chance to take him for the next ECS 36B series I definitely would.

His classes are difficult for non-majors, but friendly for those who have previous programming experience. You may need 3-4 hours a week for programming, but it is not very difficult (but the amount of programming is relatively large). There are no exams in this class, and the assignments are your grade.

This class is manageable if you have decent previous experience with coding. Prof. Butner's lectures are informational and great so I highly recommend to attend. He is experienced with CS and his office hours with TA's are amazing. There are weekly assignments that took around 2 hours to do. 2 projects took over 10 hours to complete.

Butner is a great lecturer

Butner is an amazing lecturer! Yes, the class is hard, but there are many TAs and lots of office hours. You can also complete the homework assignments with a partner.

Incredibly work-heavy professor, even considering ECS32A is a work-heavy class. Helpful lectures. Plenty of office hours, Butner is a coding whiz and I strongly recommend attending them if you are having issues with the hw. Butner is a fantastic professor, but I would only recommend him to those really willing to put in the work.

great lectures, detailed and concise explanations. if you took AP CS A in high school, then you do not really need to attend synchronous classes (just do the textbook readings). challenge problems are very easy (extra credit), homework assignments may take some time, but are fairly simple (it is more about the specifications/requirements).

Butner is one of the best professors at UC Davis. His courses do require students to struggle to learn, but he provides an excellent foundation for the more challenging classes that students will be required to take in the future. Butner cares deeply about your success and will make time to help you understand what you are learning.

Butner is a great CS teacher, if you put in the effort. The projects are long, though, and I mean long, especially for a 4 unit course. Expect to be working on projects for minimum of 10hrs per project, per week near the end of the quarter.

While not introduction friendly, he was extremely accessible outside class. If you consistently went to his office hours, he provided helpful feedback and helped you with the logic. Also allowed group projects. If you're looking for a challenging class that'll jumpstart you into coding, I definitely recommend. Otherwise, you might want Stevens.

The entire grade is based off projects which I really like as I believe this gives an opportunity to learn really well. I appreciate how he doesn't use tests as it does not replicate what real coding is like as per there are no tricks. His assignments can be a little long at times; however, they are always manageable.

Butner's homeworks are time consuming and difficult, but he really does care about helping his students succeed. He would broadcast lectures on zoom and he and the TAs combined had hours of office hours every day (and he's super helpful in office hours). If you start homeworks early and go to oh, you can easily get an A.

Based on my experience, I would highly recommend taking Matthew Butner's course. Although his previous RMP score set high expectations for the course's difficulty, I found that reviewing the lecture and slides very useful. I found that it wasn't necessary, and the same level of knowledge could be gained through reviewing the course material.

36A consists entirely of HW no exams. You will spend a lot time on coding assignments but they are well-structured and you will learn a lot (80% of grade). CompSci is a very difficult topic to teach, but Butner does a great job, and the structure of the course pushes you to think critically and develop the problem-solving skills needed to code.

Strongly recommend taking ECS154A with this professor, well organized lecture and always willing to help if you go to the office hours. Be aware of the final project, super time consuming, start it as early as you can.

Though this class is not easy (even for someone who has a lot of prior coding experience), I believe professor Butner does the absolute best possible job of teaching it. His lectures are very clear and informative, and he gives plenty of extra credit. If you work hard, you will get a good grade.

This class was very hard and each homework assignment took me between 4-12 hours to figure out (and a lot of tears lol). Professor Butner is one of the most caring professors I've had, however, and took time to explain things to me in office hours without making me feel stupid. It's definitely possible to still get an A, but start HW ASAP.

Butner is an amazing lecturer, all his lectures are clear and he's very accessible outside class. 80% of your grade is from hw(coding projects), 15% from readings and 5% from group study. Start on the hw the same day is posted because is time-consuming. Butner deserves to be a professor and not a lecturer. Long life TOP B!

He gives hard HW for ECS 50. The problems take a long time to do (2-3 Butner time). But there aren't any actual tests or finals. His lecture style is very participatory. Great professor.

GOATed god tier all the other reviews are right. this class is time consuming but not very hard. don't procrastinate and you can ace everything. 4 logisim (virtual circuit building) projects including final, 4 quizzes and a midterm (all online with 3 attempts each and unlimited time). sets up study groups for you as a first line of help.

Did a good job at teaching assembly. There's a midterm and quiz but they aren't really quizzes. The homework is pretty hard, but if you start early and consistently work on it, it won't be too bad.

Honestly pretty decent. I found him a little boring but I'm sure it'd be engaging if you kept super attentive. Very nice to talk to and always welcoming, espec in OH. Midterms are basically class content and homework can be pretty difficult, just be diligent and you'll be fine. Really not a bad choice, I'd recommend. If you're in CS, def go for it.

Butner is the absolute GOAT. Most important tip: you get out what you put in. Doing the HW properly (follow his guide)--while it takes many hours--actually feels worthwhile (unlike some other CS classes). Infinite attempt open-note online tests. Hybrid OH (10! h/wk) are super helpful. Pay attention in lectures and you'll take a lot out of them.

Overall, a great experience. 4 logism projects and 1 final project. 4 quizzes and a midterm, 3 attempts each, unlimited time. Go to office hours and start final project early as it is very time consuming. Also, for the 3rd homework, it is the most difficult one, so start early. Altogether, this is class is very rewarding for problem solving skills.

Butner is awesome. 154A is starts very easy then starts to go much harder after Week 7. Especially the CPU and Cache Final, so be prepare to start the homework as soon as possible because it could take up to 1 week, and please use OH wisely because the waitlist is hella long for their OH, and they are really supportive.

He is good :)

the best undergrad cs prof no doubt. hard assignments but he is very helpful at OH. has a bunch of analogies and colorful explanations up his sleeve during lectures. if you want to take ECS 50, take it with him

p1. Best undergrad cs professor. Assignments were rewarding. Final and 3rd homework logism assignment were the most difficult imo.Yes, there are no coding assignments, however you have to use logism to build circuits. Essentially, the logic for coding or assembly is very similar. Start assignments early, especially the final and 3rd assignment.

The quizzes and midterm allow multiple attempts + unlimited time. HWs and final project can be tough and very time consuming (make sure you really understand lecture content + start early). Follow his advice/tips when working on them! Lots of OH, happy to answer q's or re-explain things too. His lectures are clear and have helpful examples.

went into this class with only 3 months of self-teaching myself how to code and was able to do well by starting HWs early and going to OH often. Butner is the best prof and cares about his students actually learning. As long as you don't procrastinate in this class, you can get an A for sure!

If you are really interested in computer architecture (and not just taking this for cred), I suggest you take Farrens; however, Butner is still a great lecturer all things considered. He gives you enough to succeed on all assignments. The final is difficult, but there is an incredible amount of help offered by him and the TAs.

Hands down best CS prof. Great lectures cover all content needed for the class and you can get all your questions answered during class or in the 6-15! hours OH/week. Start HW at least a week early, and for the final (30+ hours) start 2-3 wks early. But the HW is worth it--you learn a lot about circuits and what programmers take for granted.

Great professor. Explains concepts clearly and seems to care about student success. There are a lot of homework assignments but lots of help are offered for them. It's not hard to earn an A with a decent amount of effort.

Extremely good lectures. Very good at explaining things. Gets harder as the class progresses. Final project was extremely difficult. Quizzes and midterm all have 3 attempts, are untimed and unproctored, and are very tedious. No final exam. Not hard to get a good grade in the class but it is time consuming.

Butner is an amazing professor. His lectures help you a lot with the homework and he's really helpful during office hours. The class has no exams, just weekly readings/homework that you have to complete. Start on the assignments early because they take a lot of time (5-10 hr/wk). However, they are very rewarding and kinda fun to do.

Butner provided a lot of examples in class to help teach concepts, if you want to pass the class just pay attention to the lectures, they are even live via Zoom and posted online. You can also do the coding assignments with a partner.

He's a good and caring prof. Lectures were interesting and he provides many resources online. Didn't go to lecture after wk4 but still succeeded with the resources available + OH. Last project is hard, I would try to stay on top of all your work to give time to cache project.

This class was project-based and he was very easy going. The projects are done solo. It was an amazing class 100% get it.

Professor Butner really cares about this students. Lectures were really informational and would go through concepts step-by-step (esp pointers and recursion). Homework consists of readings and projects, which makes up your grade. Midterm project was the toughest, so I suggest to begin that ahead of time.

Lectures are clear, detailed, and go over lots of examples and questions. Grade is mostly on projects which most are pretty easy, though some can be very difficult and time consuming. However they do a great job of demonstrating the concepts. No exams so if you're on time it's an easy A. Lots of support available from him and TAs when needed.

Really Supportive and gives amazing feedback and help with regards to solving assignments when required, would take him again!

Butner is a great professor and his lectures are very useful, but I found it hard to pay attention since it got boring sometimes. His lectures were also available on zoom for those too lazy to go. Biweekly online readings that are really useful for understanding content. Homeworks were tough but doable. Midterm was long but using TAs is great.

Butner is honestly an amazing prof, with a lot of OHs. But, there's an INSANE amount of homework. If he says it took him 20 minutes, expect to put in 6-10 hours minimum. Overall, made me realise I didn't want to stay in CS, so I'm changing majors, but that doesn't make him a bad prof at all. Def a great prof who cares about his students.

This class took a lot of time out of my week. He gives out homework that would take about 10-40 hours per week. It's doable given you go to lectures and google a few concepts. Though Butner is very helpful and he genuinely cares about his students. OH is very helpful as well.

Took 36A in FQ23, and I'd say that Butner is a prof that is heavily favored if you already have some programming experience - would not recommend for someone with no experience but he's great for people who took CS in high school and want a no-BS course that you can breeze through.

Butner deserves a 5/5 rating for sure. Lots of homework but practicing is the key for CS. It gave me a strong foundation in C and made me get used to lower-level programming languages. Expect around 10 hours of coding every week(I have a solid programming background), and it might take longer for folks who are new.

His class is brilliant. Will take you from 0 to confident programmer. Graded by HW---mostly auto graded assignments with unlimited attempts meaning if you put in the hrs you will excel. Assignments are very deliberately designed to build your problem solving skills. He knows what he is doing, and even teaches a seminar to TAs about how to teach CS.

He cared about students and offered the most office hours and opportunities to get help that I've seen so far at Davis. However, the course was NOT easy and probably designed that way. Readings were due Monday before the lecture, rather complex programming projects were due Sunday night, and some reflections/study group reports. It was a LOT lol.

Great lectures. If you understand the material well, you will do well on exams. Take this professor if you actually want to learn.

Very good professor, exceptional at what he does. Only problem is the workload. Should be 2 tasks per homework assignment, not 4.

Bunter is a concise and talented professor for 36a. His lectures were understandable, and he is very easily available outside of class. His exams were a bit harsh in my opinion and it was difficult to complete every problem in the allotted time. Expect a lot of homework, but great professor overall.

Good professor, but definitely boring. The slides he posts are not enough to understand all the content for the test; you have to watch or attend his lectures. He's a great teacher but terrible at making midterms. If you TRULY pay attention in class, you will do well, and his office hours are good at explaining. Lenient on Grading.

Informative lecturer, and very accessible in office hours. Budget a lot of the time for the homework though. There's not a curve on exams or the class so make sure you study well. Luckily, he gives a lot of partial credit.

This is a hard class, but guess what, welcome to CS. Homework takes quite a while to complete, but you can do it with a classmate. In addition, I suggest starting early so that you can go to office hours to receive help rather than saving it for the weekend and wanting to pull your hair out. Tests are pretty hard even with CS experience.

The class has lots of homework. Get ready to spend a good amount of time on it. The exams are reasonable but very hard if you don't attend/watch lectures and aren't on top of all the material. There's a quiz every Friday. Make sure to study!

This was a really really hard class. Butner is a really good lecturer, and also super accessible in OH and outside of class. There was so so many Student Assistants and TA office hours, along with his own being 6 hours a week, It made it so whenever I was on campus and went to the CSIF, I could learn and discuss the material for this class.

Nice professor, willing to answer questions in great detail. A total of 1.25% extra credit is offered for completing challenging problems from the textbook and a survey at the start of the quarter.

Fantastic teacher. There's a ton of work to do, so make sure you seek out help EARLY; he's super accessible at office hours. The homework is you'll learn the most; lectures & the ZyBook only go over the basics. This was the first quarter in a while that he did in-person exams, which were brutal. Thankfully, he was super generous with grading them.

Butner's 50 class this quarter was much harder since he gave exams and weekly quizzes. He's amazing at teaching and will 100% make you a better programmer, but you should be prepared for long homeworks and difficult exams.

The tests were pretty hard for me and the homework was long to do but I still had fun.

Excellent teacher. Really cares about his students, and just genuinely enjoyable to be around. The homework was interesting, and the tests were totally fair in my opinion. People are complaining about the lack of the curve, but straight up they should have been able to succeed without a curve.

First quarter Butner is doing exams in lower div, quizzes are tight on time but worth very little - exams are very reasonable and easy to ace if you do the practice and review your quizzes. Very good lecturer, will answer any and all questions and always gets through content with extra time at the end of the course. HW is also pretty reasonable!

Butner explains the material well during lectures and is very available if you have questions about anything. IMO he's over-hated but I can see how people don't like him with the amount of homework given and the kinda tricky tests. Though, he is very fair when it comes to grading.

Your homework is worthless grades-wise compared to time invested. His office hours are good for hw/exam prep/talking to him. He expects you to think like a compiler, so if you haven't programmed since 5 or you don't use/learn his method, you'll have trouble. There are quizzes every week. It was pretty tame until about week 8. Don't expect a curve.

Professor Butner is an excellent teacher. He is very responsible, always well-prepared for class, and explains the material clearly and patiently. The exams are straightforward, especially if you attend lectures. I had a great experience in his class, and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a helpful and supportive professor ：）

Good professor and very fair grading. Lectures are nice since he gives examples of specific scenarios which really came in clutch when studying. I will say though that the tests are hard and that it's good do just make sure you study everything because whatever you didn't chose to study will end up showing up on the exam. :) (DO THE EC!)

Professor Butner goes through basically everything you need to know. He explains things very well and provides like every example possible. Homework gets long but is very helpful and amazing practice. Highly recommend if you want good coding experience but not if you only care about your gpa as test averages are quite low with little curve

Great professor, giving plenty of extra credit. The curve of the class isn't so much but the exam's percentage is being curved to give a higher grade. Be ready to study a lot on lecture and website provided for exams because the exams have a great component in this class. The prof explain the exam's immediately after giving the mts which is great.

Professor Butner is excellent, even if you have no coding experience(I'm a chem major who has never coded before in my life). I found him incredibly helpful. He extended office hours and answered many questions. Highly recommend him if you want to learn. Go to office hours! Projects do get longer throughout the quarter, but very fun.

Butner is probably one of the top 3 professors I've taken at UC Davis. He provides great resources and is always down to help when asked. Definitely go to office hours when you need help but also his lectures are good.

Took class last quarter, I can confidently say that this man is responsible for me cruising through ECS 032B. His classes are extremely difficult if you have little to no coding experience, but if you plan on taking future ECS courses please take him. CS is hard in general, better to get the suffering done now then later

Good at teaching, exam questions can be weighted a little roughly so you can miss a lot of points from a 1 word answer question, HW takes forever and is worth basically nothing. Exams are pretty fair tho for the most part, nothing surprising and doable questions

Hands down my favorite CS class that I've taken. Also tied for the best CS professor I've ever had (Mitrovic is the other). His course is difficult, but you learn a lot. Like really, you learn a LOT. This class has helped me fall back in love with CS.

This class was amazing, probably my new favorite CS class at UC Davis. The material was taught very well, and the exams were super fair with solid averages. Definitely the best 154a professor and it's not even close.

Difficult course, however Butner is an amazing teacher, and exams are very fair. Super time consuming homeworks, but available help in office hours.

He's definitely improved how he runs ecs 50 since fall. He lets you have a cheat sheet on exams which is huge and he's very easy to talk to during office hours. I thought the tests were fair and the homework was challenging but doable. It's a challenging class but if you put the time in to actually understand the concepts, its not too bad

Was a good professor. Lectures were good, but at times felt like they were too example-oriented. It felt like we would spend all day going over a problem and the implementation to the solution. At times, it was helpful, but at others, it just felt dull.

Thank god he made HW 10%. I think the secret to this class is to WATCH THE LECTURES, take the time to slow down and understand all parts of what he explains (he goes a little fast through dense topics sometimes), and review that for HW's and weekly quizzes. A lil condescending sometimes but overall a helpful guy with very fair exams.

Excellent Professor, Excellent lecturer. Every new concept introduced also include ample opportunities for Q&A, while working WITH students through examples. Homework is also engaging, applying the introduced concepts in non-obvious ways. You won't find nicely structured slideshows, because the lectures are example-oriented. Plenty of office hour!

Pretty much the same as 36A, but minus the textbook reading plus a small quiz per week. ECS50 is concept heavy, but it is still amazing that Butner can work you through concrete examples. Lectures are excellent, especially if you participate and sit in the front. Even for the most abstract topic, Butner explains it well with useful analogies.

Hard class for me personally not my learning style but when I tell you I learned more than I have with any other cs class I'm not kidding. I probably could have done better but I tried my best, I wish I had professors like him at the start of my degree because I feel the standard of learning I've developed is lacking. My advice, go to office hours.

This class covers a lot. Lectures were dense but very good and he answers tons of questions. Homeworks are fair and help you understand the material better, should be light work if you have a good foundation. My only gripe is that quizzes/exams are 85% of the grade which is absurd, with his exams it's easy to make silly mistakes and it'll cost you.

It's a tough class but really helpful. It's a good class that I want to give a 5 even I got like B/B-. Put a lot of effort in this class and I think it's worth it. He is really caring, really teaching something not just read off slides like some other professors in the department. The homework killed me but improved my coding skill so much.

The professor teaches well and I learned a lot. but the workload is very heavy. There is hw that needs to takes a lot of time. The midterm and final averages are around 70. i know many students fail and retake the class, which raises the exam average. The exams are very hard, so the curve does not reflect the real difficulty. This creates a cycle.

Definitely a hard class. Butner's a great professor but you have to put in the time and effort. Homework is pretty heavy. Tests are overall fair especially if you watch the lectures, fill out the cheatsheet, and pay close attention to what he hints will be on the test. He also curved some of the tests a bit.

butner is an amazing professor! his classes are definitely not easy but you genuinely learn so much from both lecture and the painful and the very time consuming homeworks. his tests are fair and you get a cheat sheet and he'll curve or do some other modifications to raise test grades as necessary

Professor Butner is one of the best and most encouraging professors I've had. He truly cares about students, welcomes questions, and is very approachable in office hours. Discussions are helpful, and he even follows up on questions. Being an active learner makes a huge difference in this course.

By far one of my favorite professors. His lectures are very informative and leave you with almost everything you need to be able to do well on the hw/tests/quizzes (+ lecture recordings are always posted), and his office hours are incredibly helpful. The course load is quite heavy, though, with my average being about 14 hours/week just for the hw.

Incredibly good professor he explains everything in such a clear way. Also veeeery very sweet and caring if you go to office hours and get to know him!