Despite being a graduate student and not a certified professor, Nick held his own in lecture. He has an excellent grasp on the course material and excels at effectively communicating that to the students. He also tries to keep lecture interesting and shows genuine interest in helping students learn.

He is a graduate student, but one of the best professors I have had at Pitt. He doesn't waste time in lecture and you hardly ever stay more than 50-55 minutes. This is because he is efficient at teaching, and still answers questions in class in a quick manner. Class is not mandatory in syllabus, but you need to go to pass the class. Good finalcurve

Great lecturer. Homework is assigned every week.

Great guy one of my favorite professors. Explains everything very clearly. Just follow the policy and you'll you be fine.

1501 is a brutal class no matter the prof. Farnan is a tough grader (maybe tougher than necessary), but he does curve at the end. Lectures are interesting, and he delivers the material well. Not a bad option for 1501, especially because his lectures really are good. Prof Farnan was also very helpful to me, I have to say. Good guy, but hard prof.

Material is hard. Lectures are great but sometimes they're too fast. Assignments are long but doable. Quizzes and exams can be hard but aren't outrageous. The guy's a jerk and not respected. Would take again.

Farnan isn't an easy professor; he pushes you to really understand the material. Instead of answering questions, he may try to help students to come up with answers themselves, which can be very helpful. Very passionate about CS. He moves through lectures fast, but posts slides soon after. Exams are tough but fair, Project 1 is the hardest.

I've taken Dr. Farnan for several classes, including 1501 and 1555. He is a solid professor with clear lecture notes made available online. Going to class, however, is still useful because he often writes examples out on the board. Tough projects, but not impossible. Exams are difficult so be prepared! One of the better CS profs I've had

Lectures really make you think but sometimes go very fast. Tests and projects can be tough but nothing unreasonable.

Farnan is one of the best CS professors I've had. He obviously knows what he's talking about and is very great at explaining the topics that can be difficult to understand. He gives quizzes in recitation unannounced, but they are normally a few weeks before and after the midterm. VERY tough grader, but you'll learn a lot.

Farnan explains the content very well and engages the students during lecture by being entertaining, interesting, and an overall good speaker. He encourages participation by encouraging students to ask questions as well as asking questions of the class. The exams are really very difficult for the course content.

Good Lecturer and relatively smart guy, really try to teach you useful things. He will try to make everything explained clearly and the algorithms are not extremely hard, but you really need to think during the lecture. No lab projects, but quiz were given on recitations. Assignments are hard due to unreasonable requirements. So start early.

Many students criticize Dr. Farnan on here, but I believe the ones who criticize are the ones who don't put in work for the class. Yes, it is tough, but Dr. Farnan is a great lecturer and extremely knowledgeable. He explains all of the algorithms extremely well. His objective is to get you to think about algorithms, not just to regurgitate material

Easily the hardest CS class I've ever taken. The first half isn't even that bad, it's the second half (after the midterm) where the difficulty spikes. He's a great lecturer and will do his best to answer your questions in class, but it's the content that will get you. Do NOT skip class. Don't even be late to class. His "slides" will not help you.

1501 was a fun class, no doubt because of Farnan's lectures. Since the class is essentially one large group discussion, you got to learn the material a lot more effectively because you were deriving it yourself along with your classmates. However, exams are long (not too hard though), and projects are very unreasonable (last two in particular). GL.

Great lecturer, but I often walked out of class totally confused. He goes quickly, and some of the material he presented was really tough. The projects were very time-consuming but doable and in some cases quite impressive. Taking the writing section likely saved me gradewise, so I would do it if you're a good writer. Tests aren't crazy.

He's very knowledgeable about fundamental computer science concepts. I think many people here hate his course material more than they dislike him. I have failed 1501 once, he helped me pass it the second time, and did a great job of teaching it. 1501 is a hard class. Pure and simple.

1501 is a very difficult class but Farnan teaches it very well. Hes very knowledgable and the course material is very important for a career in computer science. Attend lectures and you will learn a lot. Exams and Projects are difficult but they give you a better understanding of the material. Would recommend to students willing to learn

Farnan is such an amazing lecturer, one of the best at Pitt. Taking this class clearly made me feel 10 times smarter and his lectures are so amazing. It's true that this class is extremely difficult but if you attend all(literally) of his lectures you'll be perfectly fine. Projects get harder towards the end so make sure to start ahead of time.

Go to lectures and you'll be fine. Challenging projects, but certainly doable if you allot enough time. Farnan is very knowledgable and gives you the tools you need to succeed. Anyone who rates him poorly simply didn't put in enough effort, as he is one of the best teachers at Pitt, plain and simple.

Amazing professor! If you attend every lecture, start projects ahead of time and stay ahead of the material you'll definitely get a good grade. His lectures make you feel so much smarter at the end of each lecture.

Overall, he's probably the best professor for 1550 right now. The projects were really hard--start early. The lectures were on the fast side, but the material wasn't as hard to grasp as 1501 was for me (I had him for both), so it was okay. The tests were doable if you studied, with a couple very hard questions here and there. He's a clear lecturer.

Farnan is one of the best professors in the CS department at Pitt. It's easy to tell that he knows what he's talking about and is a very good lecturer. 1501 is not an easy class but that is by design, and you definitely want someone like Farnan to teach it to you because the content is important for continuing with a cs degree.

Probably the best lecturer I've had at Pitt. He's the only prof who I can listen to for 75 minutes without beginning to doze off. If you really want to learn, Farnan is a fantastic choice for 1501. Unfortunately, the grading isn't done very well; essays are peer-graded and the TA who graded projects was very slow and made many mistakes.

Farnan gets the job done. Lecture is not mandatory but you need to be there and walk through the algorithms in-class in order to pass. My section had a terrible grader who was both months late and marked correct things wrong. The writing software is terrible - in order to get a high writing grade you need to give other people low grades.

Game design with Farnan is a cool course. There is a term-long project with a group of 10 people. It's a fair amount of work if you take it seriously, but it's a fun project, so I didn't really mind it. Latter half of the course involves student presentations - I kind of wish Farnan had lectured more, as he's a pretty good lecturer.

Farnan makes it clear at the beginning of the term that the course is intentionally designed to be difficult. He explains concepts very well, and always asks if there is any confusion. He mentions that you need to be consistently reading the textbook, the slides, and practicing the algorithms consistently to do well. If you do so, you'll do well

Dr. Farnan clearly cares a great deal for his students. He offers a bunch of ways to get in touch with him ask for help, including during lecture for people who may feel shy or uncomfortable actually speaking up during class. His lectures are really thorough and he provides a lot of practical examples, and his slides make for great review outlines.

I've heard others complain about Farnan and warn about him. I'm not sure what they're talking about. I really enjoyed his lectures and teaching style, and his tests and quizzes seemed fair. Would recommend.

Dr. Farnan's 1501 class is my favorite class I've had at Pitt. He can definitely sound condescending as other reviews mention but its in a funny way and is always incredibly respectful when you answer questions incorrectly and guides the class to the correct solution. He's hard to reach (after COVID he got much better), but his lectures are amazing

Did an awesome job with the online format. Mandatory participation was annoying at first, but I realized that it kept me more engaged & interested than in other classes. Incredible lecturer, goes over a ton of material but it's all very clear. All code needed on the exams or projects is shown in in-class examples, making assignments straightforward

Farnan has amazing lectures but he's kind of a tough grader. Ultimately a really fair teacher, but you definitely have to work hard. Projects in this class were manageable and very fair, but in my opinion the exams were weighted a little too heavy. No curve. Study hard and come to lecture and you'll do fine as long as you don't mess up the exams

He is a good choice for 1520, but expect to work for your grade as he's the hardest prof that teaches it. However, his lectures and examples are really great and you'll learn a lot in the class if you take the initiative to research the languages. Also, don't start projects late because they are tougher than expected and he is a harsh grader.

I've seen a lot of bitter CS 1501 Farnan reviews from this semester so I want to clear the waters. First off, Farnan 1501 is HARD and will take lots of time. But, you will learn a TON. The content is hard but he is a fantastic teacher and he pushes you. Want the easy grade? Take someone else. Want the more challenging CS education? Take him.

The class is just one big group project, designing and making a video game in Rust and SDL from scratch. The fun part is implementing advanced topics (physics, ai, networking, etc.), which were new to most of us. Grade comes from final game, 1 presentation, 1 midterm, and meeting weekly goals. Feel like a more competent programmer after this class.

The class isn't terribly hard if you attend lectures and pay attention. He uses slack as a form of participation so you do not have to ask questions out loud if you do not want to. START EARLY ON THE PROJECTS! They are hard and can take a long time but shouldn't be terrible if you do not wait until the last minute.

Farnan is an EXCELLENT lecturer and will make you learn the material really well. There is no doubt that this is a tough course, but that's what's going to prepare you best. If you START EARLY and think about all possible scenarios for input, you will be able to test enough to ace the projects. Writing your own tests is an important thing to learn.

I have taken Khattab and Farnan for 1501. Khattab assigns a LOT of work which helps your grade, but his lectures are unclear. He almost never responds to piazza or email. Farnan only grades 2 exams and 5 projects, but when I leave Farnan's lecture, I always feel like I understand everything a lot more clearly. Farnan is better at responding too.

5 Projects and 2 Exams. Exams are async and I found them to be a lot easier than I expected which helped my grade a lot since they were worth 50% combined. Projects can be rough, and if you don't pass some of the test cases you never find out why even if you go to office hours. Testing the projects was the worst part about them.

Dr. Farnan is likely the toughest professor I have ever had, and yet I think I learned more from his classes than any other professor. He is an amazing lecturer and gifted teacher. I found his homework assignments extremely difficult, however, most taking 40+ hours each.

One of my fav professors! Farnan holds his students to high standards. He expects you to test for edge cases in projects which many Pitt students aren't used to. Farnan's lectures and OH will help push you through some dense af content. The course will absolutely be stressful, but it's worth it since you'll come out as a better computer scientist.

Professor Farnan cares a lot about his students succeeding. He is great about checking and seeing if everyone understands and engaging with students during his lectures through examples which really helped me understand the concepts. The course is difficult and labs require a lot of time and energy, but Farnan clearly wants to see you succeed.

Dr. Farnan clearly explains difficult concepts in his highly entertaining lectures. The exams and quizzes are all online and open-book, making them very manageable and low stress. Unfortunately, Dr. Farnan doesn't provide test cases for the five difficult projects that make up 40% of your grade, making them highly anxiety-inducing.

Farnan is easily among the top professors of the comp sci department at Pitt. His teaching style, grading speed, and clarity of expectations are nearly unrivaled. He is much more laid back in this class than in 1501. His instructions were also very helpful, and when he took points off, his explanations made perfect sense.

He is a good teacher and his lectures are amazing, and his exams are all online, so that makes them less stressful and you get a week to do them. However, his projects are incredibly hard, and lack clarity. They also lack any test cases, so you have to implement those yourself, which can be difficult if you haven't done made your own tests before.

Farnan is a great lecturer, and the projects aren't really that difficult, as the guidelines for them are very clear and testing for them is pretty simple. However, they can be time-consuming so make sure you start early. Additionally participation does matter, as it is 5 percent of your grade, so make sure you are active in class.

He's a great lecturer and could actually keep my attention in class. The exams are easy cause it's take home and open note. The projects are difficult so start early and get help from the TAs and peer tutors!

Farnan is a very good lecturer, I appreciate his focus on language (words mean VERY specific things in CS.) His class is the most engaging I've been in at Pitt. He's one of the fairest graders. That being said, my biggest criticism is that it's hard to reflect on projects because the grading system does not tell you much about what you did wrong.

Good lecturer but a little mean. Class consists of 5 coding projects, 2 online asynchronous exams, 2 quizzes worth like 5% total, and participation. Exams weren't too bad but still required a full understanding of the material. The projects were very hard and were very strict with grading. Almost no tests given, so make sure your code 100% works.

Can explain topics with great fluency and detail. Talks really fast. Should stop making "Is this what's hip in your generation?" jokes. He's like 40

Farnan is a great professor. Hard but fair. Gives you lecture material during class and stresses you have to apply it in practice to do well. Transparent with project and test material and how they are graded. Has in class participation each day for a small part of your grade. And, used discord which was helpful for questions outside of class.

Farnan's 1501 feels more like a bootcamp than a course at times, where you submit a project the night it is due and wake up to a new one the next day. That being said, he is likely the best lecturer I have had at Pitt so far, fusing witty humor in with his great understanding of the material. Syllabus is generous based on rigor of the projects.

Dr. Farnan made expectations for this class crystal clear at the beginning of the semester. It is a lot of work, but it is on a game that you get to pick, so it doesn't always seem so bad. The hardest part was depending on your team members to get their work done. The game is a lot of work, so if you want to do well you need a good team.

Farnan is by far one of the best lecturers I have had and he keeps class super engaging. Projects on the other hand are brutal but are beyond rewarding and you will learn so much through them. Be sure to start them early and test them like crazy as he doesn't provide test cases. Projects took 30+ hours for me. Participation is also required

This is a tough class, and the projects take a lot of time, however Farnan gives you everything you need to succeed on these. His lectures are very thorough and engaging, and he is available outside of class via. Discord along with the TA's and other students. Exams are open note and weren't too bad if you study his lecture notes. Read the txtbook.

Farnan is a great lecturer with high expectations for his students. Projects are hard with clear descriptions, but unclear rubrics. Tests aren't too difficult if you show up to class and take notes, because they are more conceptual than code based. If you can't avoid taking another hard CS class at the same time, prepare to be buried.

Farnan is like bitter medicine. Projects are difficult and purposely vague (but not unclear). He provides boilerplate and basic test cases. You'll have to figure out which data structure to use and implement it in relevant scenarios. Passing every test might guarantee you a 20%. The rest are hidden from you. Start early and make your own tests!

I learned so much from his class. Lectures are detailed and engaging, and you will learn quickly if you actively participate. Projects are tough and time consuming, and require a ton of attention to detail, both in implementation and in understanding the specific terms discussed in lecture. If you go to lecture, the exams are pretty easy.

This class was honestly so painful, but I learned so much from it. Dr. Farnan has amazing lectures, and you will definitely learn a lot by the end of it. Start the projects immediately, my biggest mistake was not putting enough time into them. My exam grades carried me, you will do well on them if you pay attention to the lectures.

Farnan is a good choice for 1501. Projects are tough but not too too bad. The longest probably took about 20 hours, while the shortest only took about 5. Feel like I learned a lot, and definitely got better at leetcode/technical interview stuff. Definitely recommend for 1501.

Beware if you think this class is just learning how to center a div or whatever. Also beware if you're scared of dad jokes and back-in-my-day remarks coming from someone barely ten years older than you. Tests are tricky, but graded fairly

I thought he was very fair. His lectures were well organized and easy to follow. The projects were difficult, but I think they were good because it really helped us learn more rather than easier smaller assignments. I was not a CS major, but he was one of my favorite professors to learn from.

Farnan is an amazing professor. I HIGHLY recommend him for any class you take. However, I also HIGHLY recommend you just do not take this class. 1666 is a miserable slog of teaching yourself while relying on a group that just may not do the work to get your project done by the deadline. This is what you sign up for, don't think otherwise.

Nice lectures, brutal projects (hard to test), and fair exams. All-or-nothing grading. SHARE TEST CASES BETWEEN CLASSMATES!!!!!

Great Prof. His lectures are great, projects are tough, start them asap. Exams are not too bad and they are online. Very organised fun guy

His lectures are easy to follow and very organized. the overall material isn't hard but testing for some of the projects were a pain.

This class helped me learned more than I thought. The A was too painful and I certainly don't want to take his cs1501 again. For projects 2 and 3, I devoted 50 hours over two weeks for each, and I feel mentally exhausted and slightly feverish after working on them. Planning early on projects, watching recordings, and don't take calc2 with it.

made 441 pretty easy imo. basically teaches exactly what was written in the textbook. funny & engaging lectures. just pay attention & take notes! he records lectures too & you can participate through discord if you don't like speaking. lots of HW though but as long as you read the textbook, it's not too hard, and he drops 2-3 HWs and recitations.

Lots of homework and recitation work. Participation was mandatory and a pretty significant portion of your grade. He's a very good lecturer but isn't lenient at all in any regard. The midterm and final were challenging, but they were open-note and online. Read the book and you'll be fine.

Professor Farnan's lectures are engaging and informative, but the course is quite challenging. The projects are time-consuming and require attention to detail, but the exams are manageable if you attend class and study. Unstuck AI proved helpful for practice and preparation.

Farnan teaches a rigorous class but teaches it well. Projects are tough and to be started early, exams are predictable and not too hard.

Excellent lectures and hard somewhat open-ended projects.

he's def the type of Severance watcher who sees a goat hair on ricken's left elbow and constructs a theory from it that ricken is actually an eagan who births goats, and he takes this theory to reddit and vehemently defends it... good professor, i recommend

Hard class but probably the best CS teacher I have had at pitt so far. No partial credit on projects or exams hurts though. He hides most of the test cases so you have to write your own for projects. Key tip is for project if you put your project code and the grading rubric into chatgpt and it will give you a lower bound for your grade.

Projects are challenging and a lot of work but very good for making sure you understand the material. Attendance was not mandatory for lecture, but you had to attend lab every week which was just a leetcode.

Farnan is just a very good professor. He does everything well. 1520 was a helpful class with projects that are helpful to learn new languages and frameworks. Online exams were pretty chill. If you put in an adequate amount of effort, you are set to get an A. Expect projects to take 12-20 hours

Professor Farnan is an excellent and engaging lecturer with high quality slides and recorded classes. Projects are somewhat tough but very useful for industry applications. He has two manageable exams, both which are takehome. I would recommend this upper level elective with Farnan to all CS students.

Meant for those who already have experience with web dev, but doable. Gives good resources for everything. Projects weren't too difficult but definitely time consuming. Exams were confusing and definitely harder than 1501. Attendance and participation is the only grade besides 4 projects and 2 tests. Overall useful class.

Very good class. Farnan made his lectures very engaging and was very passionate about making sure students understood the subject and its applications. If your class isn't too shy about participation it is fun. Projects are tough but manageable. Exams are open note and easy as long as you paid attention.

Farnan is definitely much better than Khattab. Projects are legendarily hard, but he gives you plenty of time to do them. Amazing lectures, you have to participate but he offers plenty of chances to answer questions. Content is kind of hard but exams are okay and take home. The questions he asks are like ones in technical interviews. Recommend.

Excellent and in-depth lectures, participation is graded but useful. Projects are hard but manageable if you start early, exams are take-home but hard, so prepare accordingly. My only complaint is that Farnan is very against giving help on projects, even with clarifying instructions, which can add unnecessary stress. Overall hard but not impossible

The best lecturer in the Pitt CS department. You must participate during lecture however it is not that difficult as class sizes are generally smaller. His projects are incredibly difficult. Beware of hidden testcases not checked by the auto grader. Exams are open note, take home and are generally easy. If you want to learn, take this professor.

Struggled through this class but Iearned a lot. Like everyone says, great lectures but difficult projects. Tests are take home but don't underestimate them, it's super easy to make a mistake and lose a lot of points. TAs help a ton for projects, wish I gone to them sooner. Dr. Farnan can be ambiguous in office hours but I still found them helpful.