2.8
Quality3.7
Difficulty29%
Would Retake101
Reviews29%
Would Retake
101
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
19
4
22
3
18
2
15
1
27
What Students Say
“Worst professor Ive ever had”
ECON2 - 1.0 rating“The professor and his course are so boring, and the test is not strongly related the lecture”
ECON2 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
23%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.32 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON150B
4.5
(2)ECON002
4.0
(1)ECONOMICS2
4.0
(1)ECON150A
3.2
(10)ECON1
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
2
4.0
ECON002
4.0
ECON1
4.0
ECONOMICS2
4.0
ECON2
3.8
Reviews (101)
Rupert is awesome! During lecture he is informative (he worked for the Fed so he actually knows his stuff) and really funny. His tests are very fair, you will do well if you go to lecture and spend enough time studying. He's also very helpful if you approach him about concepts you don't understand. Get Jennifer Milosch as your TA, she's the best!
Extremely usefull class and the teacher is great. Peter worked for the FED and really knows all the staff. He is not teaching just sole theory but real life staff. Very enthusiastic. He always wants to help students in whatever they demand.Great job Peter.
Rupert was an awesome teacher. The tests were very fair and the homework was reasonable. I didn't go to section the entire year. The only downer is the class is pre-econ so they force a curve to defer people from becoming econ majors. This class was one of my favorite at UCSB so far tho.
i did not like this course. i thought the tests, like the iclicker questions, were full of random questions. I did all of the reading and went to all the sections, lectures, and review sessions, and still thought a good portion of questions were out of thin air. Seems like his style worked for others though...
Macroeconomics, good guy.
He is very cocky and thinks highly of himself, but really couldn't care less about the students. The curve sucked, I had a higher percent then my letter grade. Some people like him...so what do I know. I just thought he was too caught up in himself
Talks way too fast, and does not explain very clearly. Tests are reasonable, if you study, you'll do well, if not, then no. Homework is really hard, especially that McGraw Hill program, it was horrible. Hard Class.
Rupert was a fine teacher and had reletively easy tests but the homework was definitely more difficult than tests. He does talk fast and is reletively entertaining.
Taught fairly interesting material. He knows what he is talking about and can answer any question you may have. Grading system is horrible. I know people who got an 81 percent but ended up with C+'s. The iclicker hurts your grade a lot and homework is fairly difficult but very beneficial. The tests are fair, not easy but not impossible.
Rupert is a really good teacher. Unlike a lot of econ professors he has had tons of real life experience including working for the federal reserve, which gives him the ability to apply concepts to real life situations. The class material isn't easy but if you have to take this class take it with Rupert, you won't find a better econ professor.
Rupert has been a great teacher! The homework isn't too bad. The iclicker can really kill you, so make sure you go to class. The tests aren't too hard. He knows what he's talking about and he presents it in a way that's easy to learn. I recommend him highly.
I actually looked forward to this class. He was really funny and I thought it was the best class I've taken so far. The HW sucked though.
Good teacher. Tricky tests and homework though
I liked this class, even though I never listened to his lectures. Instead, I just read the textbook until I understood everything thoroughly and got an A. The tests were a lot easier than I expected. Rupert's pretty genial also.
Uses the horrid Aplia homework system; waste of $80 and make WebAssign look like heaven
I'm truly shocked at the response to Rupert's teaching; he knows his stuff and does a wonderful job imparting his wisdom to his student. Aplia is a great study resource that helped me ace both midterms &final. 1 criticism is that he shows partiality when it comes to discussing policy (i.e. the Bailout), but mature students can recognize an opinion.
The HW is easy points but the system is tedious and filled with glitches. The professor is a nice, straight-forward guy and the material is easy to comprehend and apply. Test are practical, very book heavy, but his Iclicker ?'s at times are completely irrelevant. Do the HW, read the book you'll get at least a B- or higher.
Rupert is a true economist. Knows his stuff but horrible teacher. Moves so quick. Horrible homework system. First midterm was ridiculous and tricky. Second was more straightforward but still hard. Irrelevant and heavily weighted clicker questions. Forced to take tutoring to understand material. Be ready to stress when taking his class.
class was interesting, 2 midterms and final were difficult. i recommend doing the hw with a buddy; it will save you a ton of points.
He is a boring lecturer since I happened to fall asleep every class. The only thing I did not like about his lectures were his iclicker questions which required you to use your phone or laptop for the answer. But his midterms and finals are standard no trick questions. Just review the power points and you'll do fine.
Great Professor. Extremely helpful if you go to office hours. applia homeworks are EASY points. iclicker questions are hard and trivial. this class is more straight forward than econ 1 with sonstellie.
Overall this class was much more difficult than the average class. Homework was fair, section attendance is not mandatory, but the 2 midterms and final were extremely difficult and very book heavy. Iclicker questions were irrelevant and weighted too heavily. Do not take this class unless you have to. Only class I did not get an A in.
Rupert's class was pretty boring. Most of the material came from the book and people were forced to go to class because of the iclicker questions since its part of your grade. The midterms and final are multiple choice and basically you studied the book and somewhat study lecture and then you hope you remember the huge amount of material.
First of all, if you're considering taking this class as a GE, don't. It's a class meant to weed out people, and the curve is not a joke. 5% of the class get's an A. If you're willing to go to every lecture, read, and study pretty hard for each exam, you can definitely get a B minimum.
really boring lecturer, but you can tell he knows his stuff since he worked at the fed. loves the bls, be prepared to memorize unemployment statistics if you want to do well on the iclickers.
Hated Rupert. He seems personable at first, but he asks ridiculously hard iclicker questions that count for accuracy. The tests are difficult too. Not a fan.
Rupert is an okay teacher. He has some iclicker questions that are super tricky, but they're 5% of your grade so it's pretty important to get as many right. Sections are pretty useless for this class. None of them helped and they're not mandatory at all. Freebees in mid term and final but they're some tricky questions. Dont underestimate this class
Rupert certainly knows his stuff and his lectures are very easy to follow if you've done the reading ahead of time. Grading is a pain though: iclicker questions are hard and count for 5% of your grade, and your grades depend on your standing which can be annoying if you get 90% on a exam but end up with a B.
Amazing professor with a great ability to apply theory to real-times real-world macro data and trends, as well as those in the past. After having a few 1 on 1's with him, he clearly is avidly on top of developing macro data in today's world. Highly recommend him and the class!
He is a very sharp professor who knows virtually everything about the field of macroeconomics. However he asks insanely hard I-clicker questions, and the curving is a real pain. Study hard and you can probably end up with a B. No offense to Professor Rupert or anyone but this was the class that made me realize I no longer want to be an econ major
Brilliant guy, really, though he asks the most difficult of IClicker questions. As for the grading, the class runs on the competitive department-wide grading curve. Pretty interesting, as he's always going over current events in the world. Don't take if not required for your major.
The iClicker question were very ridiculous and annoying. If it were not for the iClickers, lecture would be virtually useless. There are topics covered in lecture, though, that are not covered in the book. However, if you study through practice tests and understanding the questions asked and the answers to them, you will do fine.
Got C in class. Studied all day, all night. Put in a lot of effort. This is actually my strength in economics, but tests graded unfairly. TAs = useless, unhelpful. Put in 200% work for a C.
Class wasn't too difficult but definitely get the text. Rupert lectures interesting topics but most aren't closely related with homework or midterm/final material. Learn on own or with good section/CLAS teacher. Iclicker questions were okay. Fair exams but once again, econ department curve still sucks.
SLAVED OVER MY C- went to EVERY lecture & still got 67% on iclicker which is 5% of overall grade(ridiculous). did EVERY hw assignment(impossible questions) test are RIDICULOUSLY hard. class avg on final was 68% i think my C- was a mercy killing bc i def bombed all my test. class is meant to weed out ECON majors but the rest of us suffer miserably.
AVOID HIM AT ALL COST. Studied day and night for his midterm, and final, and the only result I could get was only a D. I can't express how much stress his class gives. The homework is impossible to do alone and the only highest grade most people got from him was a C or lower in the end. Don't take him, even if you are desperate.
HORRIBLE teacher. he doesnt go into depth about anything, he takes the easy way out then asks the hardest iclickers some of which he has never taught us the material to know the answers. just dont ever take him. especially if u want to be an econ major
I like the professor's personality but he wasn't that great of a teacher. His lectures were very different then stuff on the homework and test. Going to section helped the most. The multiple choice tests are very tricky. I did a TON of studying and barely passed the class. Don't take this class unless you need it.
Very challenging class. Lectures do not really help with exams, they just give some context and use current events to show concepts in action. I didn't put in too much effort, went to every class and did all the readings and got a C.
This Professor is excellent and is extremely credentialed in the field of economics. He knows his stuff and you will get a quality education from him. I see some students on here gave poor marks on him. I disagree completely. He is a nice guy but his tests are difficult so you have to study hard but your in a UC so what do you expect!
Prof Rupert is a very intelligent man, who will definitely teach you a lot about Economics. However, his class often is very different from his tests. He lectures a lot about what is happening today in the field which is interesting, but often confusing when the basics are not explained too well. Class mandatory because of iclicker, read the book!
alot of reading, clicker every time so have to go to class. all he talks is current events, but not much about the actual materials.
smart guy, helpful. you don't need to buy the textbook, just use his readings and wiki for what you cant find. the curve is the curve, but the material is easy.
bring your clicker the very first day cuz it counts for points. this class is tough. professors legit. don't buy the textbook and don't go to sections. all the info u need is lectures, hw, and practice tests. good luck
Super clear lectures and expectations, practice tests give a good idea of what the real ones are like. TA was completely useless but if you go to class and work hard enough the curve doesn't really matter. The textbook is kind of helpful and some test questions are directly from it. The podcasts are terrible you can probably spend your time better.
Econ is definitely not my strong suit. However I needed this as pre-major requirement. Rupert is a cool guy and definitely keeps it real. He worked for the Federal Reserves in Chicago which is interesting. Not an easy class, but definitely better than Econ 1. GO TO SECTION.
The teacher likes to comment things and countries,which is a little bit rude and arbitrary for me. He likes to show the economic data and graph.But they are not helpful at all. In general,I prefer econ 1 teacher's style.
Knows what he is talking about but hard to follow in lecture. Sometimes switches back&forth between slides, so it's hard to copy notes much less listen to him. He should provide slides before lecture, but just read book before lecture anyway. Explains macroecon w/ only one perspective on what is valuable/successful w/o proving, which is offensive.
what he teach has no connection with the exam!!!!!! if you don't want to fail class, then don't take his class!!!!
Econ 1, Econ 2, & Econ 10A are designed to weed people out. This class definitely does the job. Also, this guy is the Chair of the Econ Dept. If you are ready to work hard for this class it is definitely worth it, as the guy knows what he's talking about.
Hard to understand what he is talking about, and he always skip some important chapters, never review, what he said has no connection with quiz and tests
BUY THE BOOK. The book will help you do all the homework even though he says it's optional. IClicker class. If you put in a good amount of work you will do well. Tests are hard.
Prof Rupert's lectures are very boring and irrelevant to the chapters because he just talks about the real world yet the midtermfinal have nothing really to do with the real world. You have to go to lecture because of iclickers and the questions are basically impossible unless you look them up. The midterms are tricky so make sure you're careful.
the lectures "technically" cover the midterm problems, but they're completely different. You need to 100% focus and understand the concepts of the material, midterms are designed to trick you. My biggest issue is that his lectures just don't really tell me what to expect. like at all.
This class is more difficult than most just because of the grading system of the Economics department. Rupert is pretty political with his lectures, but I would agree most of the time his viewpoints are valid and warranted. They make sense. He uses alot of real life examples, which isn't a bad thing at all.
Rupert's lectures are filled with more discussion about current issues than teaching, which is great if you have a passion for the economics, but it requires doing the reading beforehand if you want the lectures to be helpful. Study the practice tests starting way in advance and use the internet to explain the key concepts; very hard tests.
Horrible. His lecture slides are so confusing to follow, 75% we won't know what it is unless we follow economics news daily and he moves through them way too fast. Clickers holy this person needs to stop clicking back and forth and let us see them clearly before pressuring us with a time limit as well. Would not take this class if I didn't need it
Rupert seems like a nice guy and is interested in the subject. I really enjoy the connection to the current events. The tests and homeworks are meh, but hey, it's Econ.
Didn't like his lecture style. Mainly just covers current data from the BLS. You'd expect this class to be easier than econ1 because it should be but its not. Got an A- in 1 and a B+ in this one and studied way more for 2. Tests given were harder than past exams. Can't avoid if you're econ major so have fun. he says no need for textbook but get it!
I honestly did not like this professor. His lecture slides are really disorganized when he presents it to the class. His lectures are also confusing to follow as well and iclicker questions are just a horror. "No book needed" ha yea.... 80% of his test question are from the book so that's a giant lie. Would not ever want to take his class again.
Rupert wasn't a very good professor. His lectures are often not very relevant to the midterms and final, but can be interesting at times if you enjoy econ. He often clicks past slides so fast you can't take notes on it. Not very organized with grades and distributions of tests, which is important in the econ dept. Doesn't take the class seriously.
The content covered isn't difficult at all, and yet this was my most frustrating class. The lectures cover 1/3 of the material if that, the homework is very poorly written and often very confusing, and the practice midterms are outdated. The organization is just sloppy. Dont take this class. If you do, buy a book and hope for the best.
Easily the worst class I've ever had. Lectures are of no value, because he doesn't teach terms so much as ramble statistics. Homework usually asks you at least 2 questions on topics that haven't been covered. I attended lecture, section, and tutoring, and there was still material on the final which was never covered in the course. Avoid if you can!
Professor Rupert's lectures weren't relevant to the homework or tests at all. He spends most of his time talking about current events. You really should get the textbook and go to section even tho it's not mandatory. Don't blow off homework b/c missed points here and there come back to bite you in the butt. Do CLAS!!!
Rupert's strategy for teaching Econ 2 is very poor. Most of his lectures he rambles on about pointless columns of statistics that will never have any relevance to the course. His tests contain problems on topics we had never covered. GET THE TEXTBOOK. Even though he says it's optional, it will give you a heavy advantage over those who don't get it.
Rupert is a cool guy. I enjoyed his lectures on the history of monetary policy and The Wizard of Oz
The lecture is dry, a lot of things in exams are not even mentioned in lectures. Buy the book even he says the book is not necessary. I don't understand why is not fired yet. Don't take his Econ 2 if you have any other optional classes.
Lectures were a joke and not applicable to the material he was testing us on. His lectures are riddled with newspaper article links that he just reads the headline for, essentially just wasting our time. CLAS helped me immensely, but I still did rather poorly despite putting in a lot of effort. If you take his class, expect to work very hard.
Taking his class is wasting your time, you will never get any solid understanding of macroeconomics from his lectures, I don't understand why he still has the job. The best you can do is not taking his class, but if you have to take his classes for some reasons, like fulfilling the major requirements, go to CLAS, they will help you pass the exams.
The most disappointing professor/teacher I've ever had in my life. No organization in grading policy... don't know what I have in the class a few days away from the final. Lectures are close to pointless as exam content is out of the blue. Doesn't even have office hours and makes no effort whatsoever to help students. Why's he still teaching?
You do get a sense of some relevant and current topics in macroeconomics. Still, very frustrating course, lectures, sections, readings and tests not aligned. Would not recommend taking, interesting course but very badly organized course. If you have to take it: practice with past exams will help to pass.
Rupert's an awful professor, and I'm shocked he's still the department chair. Tests are disorganized and sloppily written, while practice exams are outdated and watered down. Unfortunately, the class is required for the major. Get the textbook, learn the concepts inside and out, go over the section slides (lecture is useless and boring), and pray.
Hes a funny guy who is passionate about economics. However his lectures have nothing to do with the tests. Posts practice tests but the answer key has no explanation so youre just guessing. More interesting but more difficult than Econ1. I put in no effort so its my fault I did bad. You will have to teach yourself. Get the textbook. No iclicker.
Rupert as a professor is interesting. Real world examples he provides are cool, but the class is unorganized and unpleasant. Get the textbook. It helps prepare you for the exams and gives you a huge advantage. I found it easy to succeed since everyone else in the class was not willing to put that much time because of how frustrating Rupert is.
Absolute worst professor I've had at UCSB. Very disorganized, he blew through important slides way too fast, and his lectures had nothing to do with the material on the exams. Go to CLAS, do all of the practice tests, and practice doing problems with situations he didn't go over (and super nitty gritty ones) because they'll be on the test.
He didn't have any office hour when I took the class. Maybe I like macro more than micro, I think he gives a clearer presentation. But definitely go to CLAS, it saves you.
I won't take his lecture ever cuz what he teaches in the lecture has barely relation with the exam contents and the tests are tough. You may fail in the tests even you carefully review the contents.
He is absolutely the worst professor in this whole world. He does not care about the class or the students, and he doesn't hide it. Dont go to lectures nobody does they are confusing and boring (waste of time). The lectures have nothing to do with the test, actually, maybe 1 question out of 40 is. Get a textbook online! Doesn't provide u with one.
Do not do this to yourself! He teaches stuff that is hardly relatable to midterm 1 and suggested to not using textbook, then we had a midterm 1 that is strongly relatable to textbook, so we, a couple of people who got A in Econ 1 started to read the textbook. However, for midterm 2, he tested lots of things from lectures...
Worst and the most overrated professor ever seen. I would give him zero if I could for his terrible lecture and poorly written exam
The worst teacher i've ever had in ucsb. Taking his class is the worst choice for me ever. I need to think about repeating this course because obviously i won't pass
Worst professor Ive ever had
The professor and his course are so boring, and the test is not strongly related the lecture. In other words, although you review the lecture, the notes, the PPT, you still cannot have a good grade. This sucks!
Econ 2 and Econ 1 are DESIGNED TO BE WEEDER CLASSES. Rupert is a very knowledgeable guy and he does well explaining the concepts. HOWEVER, he goes off on tangents a lot after giving us real data as examples for class concepts so it's hard to keep track of what we really are going to be tested on. All things aside, he's a cool guy and funny too.
Exams are hardly related to the lecture. Many extra staffs you need to self-study outside the class. Overall, a good professor who explains concepts clearly, but u really need to prepare yourself.
Expected the worst because the things I've heard about him, but he wasn't all that bad. Worst thing I can say was that at times I didn't know what was going to be tested and I had a hard time reaching him by email (he also jumps around from chapter to chapter at random). Recommend going to lecture since lecture notes may be hard to understand w/o.
worst econ professor in ucsb
The prof himself is fine but he actually never talks about what would be tested and he's hardly accessible outside the class. For homework and exams u have to study by yourself with Mankiw's textbook/other macro materials. Past exams only have keys w/o explanations, so just try ur best on those tricky questions, which are usually not clear enough.
do not get me wrong, peter is a smart prof and you will get a good score if you work for it, other than that he is one of those arrogant econ profs in colleges and most of the quantitative questions on exams were never taught in lecture, lectures were useless. clas and ta's couldn't even do these questions when I showed them exam 2. worst econ prof
He is very nice and accommodating and teaches the conceptual/intuitive aspects of labor economics instead of throwing equations and formulas at you. His reviews are mostly negative, but Econ2 is a weeder class and designed to challenge you no matter the professor. Don't let the reviews stop you from taking other classes with him. He's great!
You'll get a 0 on an R assignment if you make one mistake and theres no late work allowed. Light math needed since the whole class is MC based. Lots of HW and readings but they'll prep you for the midterm if you also go to class. You need to put in work but its not a bad class. The prof is very responsive which is helpful.
I love Peter so much! My only complaint is McGraw Hill, but the homeworks are easy, everything is on quizlet too, and his lectures are hilarious and easy to follow. For my class there was no "final" just 3 non cumulative exams (and hw) and the lowest was dropped.
I love Peter so much! My only complaint is McGraw Hill, but other than that the homework was easy (and on quizlet), and his exams are manageable, not to mention his lectures are hilarious, even tho the topic is not the most interesting. My class only had 3 noncumulative exams and one was dropped, as well as light homework.
Professor Rupert is a nice guy who wants his students to succeed. There are 3 equally weighted exams and the lowest gets dropped. Do the work for the first two exams and then you're basically done with the class 2/3 through the quarter.
He is one of the laziest professors at UCSB - he requires McGraw Hill + Connect for his classes, a $133 service, and then you just do hours of busywork. On top of all that, the homework assignments are poorly written and often contradictory. Aside from the lack of effort put into the class, he is likable, knowledgeable, and grades clearly.
Professor Rupert is a great lecturer - his classes are engaging and the exams are manageable. Using resources like Quizlet and unstuck ai made studying a breeze. Overall, a solid class!
This professor is one of the least caring professors I have ever had in my life. He has no empathy for students and doesn't care at all about a students success.
If you have to have to displeasure of taking a course with this “professor” I pray for you. Truly one of the worst educators I've had much to my chagrin. Pays no mind to students or their needs, and thinks he has the most important class in the world. If you want to learn from someone with an ounce of empathy, I would avoid him like the plague.
A student's dad recently passed and the professor provided zero accommodations for their upcoming final. Do I need to say more about the type of professor and person he is?
I don't understand the hatred directed at this professor. I would say that he was the least problematic and difficult Economics professor I've had at UCSB. All the materials are simple and easy to understand. I ended up with a B because I didn't attend the lectures or prepare for the midterms, but that also proves that this isn't a hard class.
Prof Rupert was an interesting lecturer. Took him in spring and only had a few 5-question homework assignments. Midterms and final were all MC and had small logic puzzles (hard to describe) based on the content so it was an unintuitive way of testing for an Econ class. Included random links in his slides he didn't test on. He also used non PC terms
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
23%
Textbook Required
29%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.32 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON150B
4.5
(2)ECON002
4.0
(1)ECONOMICS2
4.0
(1)ECON150A
3.2
(10)ECON1
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
2
4.0
ECON002
4.0
ECON1
4.0
ECONOMICS2
4.0
ECON2
3.8