RUN!This is a graduate level instructor, and a researcher for USC, so I will not deny his apparent credibility. But if you are taking an UG class with him, he is just filling in, and making up the material as he goes, with a graduate level approach.. Does not work AT ALL. I have a 3.7 GPA, and had to drop after getting a 30 on the 1st test (40 avg)

He expected graduate level work out of undergraduate students he teaches in the mindset of a graduate teacher has very vague explanations. To many pop quizzes on material never covered and the worst tests possible for that same reason. He is a great guy but as a teacher he is a nightmare

Lectures are not clear, he asked us to write code but when i went to his office for help, he has no idea how to write code. Even he did not solve HW clearly.

Very unclear professor, his lectures are confusing because he covers material very fast and does not upload his slides. Also for grading he does not work with well with students and does not give partial credit.

Worst class ever took

Really just doesn't care how students perform. He belittles students for asking fundamental questions.

Professor Majumdar was the worst teacher I have had at the University of South Carolina. He is the definition of a researcher who couldn't be bothered teaching his EMCH 260 section. He spends half of his lecture telling the class why they are failing his class and spends the other half getting mad at students who ask questions.

These ratings keep getting deleted. Watch out for this professor. He is not very helpful. He is more interested in his own ego than helping students learn. You will not learn much in this class because there is no clear direction in his teaching. He does not use a book and his notes are very poorly composed. Lazy lecture since he reads slides

The class is not fairly graded. This is the first time that I have been asked to submit just an answer and no work to support it. He is showing us that he is not interested in educating students; rather, he is interested in fulfilling his teaching requirement with as little effort as possible. You will not learn much here. BUYER BEWARE!!!

This class should be avoided due to the lack of interest in teaching on the professor's part. You would be better to purchase a textbook and learn this topic on your own rather than give away your GPA with this professor. I recommend that you avoid this class and any other that Majumdar teaches. I do not see the value in taking this class.

AWFUL

I have trouble understanding this professor. He is very unclear and borderline unprofessional. He told the class the other day that we should not submit any proof of how we arrived at an answer because he did not want to take the time to read it . Does this sound like a professor worth your time? Be careful with this one.

This professor does not care if you understand what he is presenting. This is not a good class if you want to learn a topic. He will just make your life difficult with nothing to gain on your part. I'm fine with a tough class but I do not feel there is a good exchange between the professor and the students here. should not be a professor.

I found Dr. Majumdar to be unorganized and belittling to students. He wants to let you know that he is intelligent at the expense of your learning opportunity and GPA. Do no take this professor if you have the option. Be prepared to shake your head a lot at how pretentious he is during lecture. never again.

This is a required class for my major and this professor did not help me achieve my educational goals. I would recommend that you wait until another professor teaches this class. He does not understand the needs of students yet. He is more interested in trying to confuse you rather than trying to help you. He deserves 0 stars but must give 1

If you saw his lecture you would not sign up. I'm surprised a major university would allow this person to educate it's students. We get a slide of copyright laws in each lecture. "You may be responsible for following federal copyright laws as applies to different contents of the lecture notes" I wonder if he will come after me for posting that

It is hard to understand this professor during lectures and assignments. He is all over the place and presents more detail than required to understand a topic. The extra detail is not helpful in getting a better understanding. It is like he wants us to be confused rather than learn the content. I would like to drop the class but it is too late.

I was asked to rate this professor by the university. This was a miserable experience. He took up too much of my time. The presentation was not clear (as the other reviews mentioned) and he asked too much on assignments. He gives opportunities for extra credit but I think this is poor management on his part. How does he keep teaching?

The only possible way this professor gets a good review is if he is posting them himself. I want to get out of this class now but I'm stuck. take heed of the reviews here. I can't add anymore to the discussion. It's all true.

This professor has not figured out the difference between teaching an "engineering weeder" and a 3rd yr/4th yr/graduate level class. Simply put, this guy will consume your time tasks that are not going to contribute to your ability to be an engineer. I'm qualified to say these things with 3 eng degrees and 10 yrs... as he says "real life exp".

Why can't I give this guy a 0 star rating? HE DESERVES IT!! lectures and homework are not clear. I feel that he is trying to confuse me not help me. I've never experienced poor quality like this at university.

Terrible in all capacities. I seek tough classes, and took this class after seeing these ratings, but this class is not well structured or planned out. Good professors can teach without using books... Majumdar should be following a book so the class has a reference. The notes that are serving as the reference are horrible. stay away from 585

In his mind he is better than everyone around himself. I learned from the internet.

Participation does not matter. It will take away from his opportunities to hear himself talk. I tried to answer a question and he made me feel like an idiot. The funny thing is, I think he just doesn't understand English very well because he gave the same answer (I said geometry... he said shape). seriously, don't take this class with him.

Confusing but not because it's a hard class. The professor asks for very confusing information and clouds lectures with his very strict rules governing everything. He is wasting our time. Does very little teaching. Scribbles on lecture slides. lazy professor

This class is not worth it. He takes too much of your time with busy work that will not help you progress. Lectures are him scribbling on slides so you will not get good notes. He intentionally leaves things out or brushes over them like he is trying to hide info from you and then test on it. Truly the worst professor you can think of.

The worst lecture person in the mechanical engineering department. He does not try to teach you. He tries to trick you. You will not learn much because he spends too much time talking about unrelated topics. You get the feeling that he is trying to steal your GPA with tricks. I would not recommend him for class or research.

He is tricky but not is a good way. This is a waste of my time and I would not recommend that anyone take a class with this instructor. He spends more time gloating and putting down students than he does teaching the material. The class is unorganized and you feel like he is making it up as he goes. I don't see value in this instructor/class

It is difficult to understand him. He uses slides and scribbles on them during lecture. This method makes it hard to take notes and each time he scribbles more of the slide is unreadable. This is a bad class.

Don't expect much from this class. he confuses us. students are not treated well when they ask questions.

He does not seem to care about student. Class is full of tricks. why trick when we want to learn? I did not get education here.

I would not take this class again or this professor in any other setting... class or research. He tried to make students feel shamed for asking questions. His lectures are unclear and full of information we do not need for the current class. This is not helpful for learning

The class is great but the professor is horrible. worst professor EVER! Unreasonable grader. The class requires too much time for number of credit hours. Relatively easy topic.

don't do it

If I was you I would wait for another professor to teach this topic. He tries to make things too complex. Great teachers can convey tough topics in easy to understand chunks. He makes it hard to understand easy topics.

I never again enroll with this professor

This is a coding class hidden under topic of composite materials. The kicker is that he grades you based on a final answer... no code. This is probably the worst professor and class I have ever taken. I would not recommend that you take this class. There is a difference between tough learning and what this class is.

VERY bad class. Do not decide to take it or you will be suffering. No learning potential. not good professor.

It is unclear what he wants from us most of the time. The lecture is more about what is not in the class rather than what is covered. This class requires you to code so don't take it if you are not very good with coding. I'm not happy with the class, how the teacher treats the students, and the amount I'm learning. Very poor performance.

Truely a bad class taught by a professor who does not care about students. The worst professor in the USC engineering department. He laughs at students when they ask questions. He tells you over and over how great he is and how bad you are.

this class should be labeled as a math software class. I did not learn much about the topic. He did not give a schedule or even a syllabus. he plagiarizes a number of textbooks directly cut and paste for his lectures and has the nerve to list his plagerization rules over and over. don't ask questions in class or he will make you feel badly.

Very confusing person to try and understand. He tried to make it more confusing than it needed to be. We did not know what he wanted us to do. not good class.

bad. even he is from my home country and he pokes fun at us during lecture. I don't ask question anymore.

don't take it with him. no good

This class is not well organized, does not use a textbook, had unclear lecture presentations and discouraged class participation. I'm surprised a university would let this happen. be very careful when considering this class/lecture person combination. You will regret it for sure.

This class does not use a textbook. I would make sure he is following a textbook before agreeing to take the class with him. He is really unclear and hard to follow like he is trying to trip you up instead of trying to help you learn. maybe he is an OK teacher in 10 years from now but I would not count on it. This is a poorly done class

terrible class/lecture/professor. the most bad experience for me and my classmates

some classes are bad because of the content... some are bad because of the professor. This one is miserable all because of the professor. Totally a waste of time. You are warned

made my time in lecture bad. He laughed at a question me and my friends wanted to understand. He thinks you should already know the subject. he is a professor worse than any I know

This is not a good lecture or professor. This is a coding class that is labeled incorrectly as a composite materials class. He does not present material clearly and asks unreasonable things on exams. I did not learn very much from this class.

I took this class a couple semesters ago. It was so badly executed. This one is definitely not worth your frustration. The topic is pretty easy but he will make it extremely difficult for your to understand and learn. This will hit your GPA unless you are willing to spend 2 or 3 times the effort of a normal class with minimal additional value.

Awful class. The teacher should use a text book. The lecture is all over the place and hard to follow. A textbook would help in this situation. I would not take him again for anything.

NO GOOD! We will make you feel bad about asking a question

not worth it. We didn't know what he wanted us to do most of the time and i think he does this on purpose. Worst class I have ever taken and all due to the teacher. I learned from the book but had to pay someone a salary

This class is not worth your aggravation. only a little learning but a lot of work. You should buy some books but not the ones he recommends. the class is all trickery with no education gained.

a poorly done class by an unorganized pretentious teacher who puts students down during lecture

I did not find value in this class. mainly because of the professor not teaching much of what he should have. I recommend not enrolling with him

If you are looking for a discussion of what classes come next after the current class then take this one. he is not interested in the low 585 topic. don't expect for him to actually teach you the current topic. also, i felt that it was unfairly graded and not clear what he wanted generally. if you do not write code then certainly avoid it!

it was a bad class because the teacher made us feel like we could not ask questions without being his joke. never take this teacher. worst in our school

I did not find value in this class. The professor was emailing us a lot but they were just long emails that felt like he was trying to counsel us on life in general. This is not what I signed up for... more engineering less lame talks please

I'm new to engineering school so take this for what it's worth. This teacher was rude to us and we felt he was trying to make thing tougher than needed... like he was trying to make himself look like some type of brilliant mind. Seriously though, this was a bad class and I feel it could be great with a good teacher. I got some books and learned

I would not take him again for any class. This was a miserable experience for me and my friends. The teacher clearly does not care about students.

The professor teaches the class like we area all in elementary school. Lots of silly rules and busy work that did not help me learn. Avoid him at all cost... even if you have to take another class and wait for this one to come back around with another professor.

I cringe thinking back about how bad this class was. The topics are pretty easy but the professor was SO BAD! I don't know how a university hires such a bad professor. He is the worst in our school.

I would avoid him. Don't suffer like we did. Not a good teacher. very confusing and it seemed like this is on purpose. really unprofessional and immature for his age and position.

Don't bother. You will regret it. Not much educational value here with him but the subject is great

I can't think of one reason that you should enroll with this teacher. Seriously, not even one. He is the worst example of a teacher that I have encountered. He laughs at students when they have questions, imposes ridiculous rules, and asks unreasonable tasks on tests. This is the definition of a bad teacher who doesn't care for students.

This was a bad class. He should use a textbook to make things more clear and easy to follow. poorly executed and he does not act like a professional when dealing with students.

Unreasonable . Lots of pointless busywork. He pokes fun as students ask questions to show us how special his mind is

You will regret taking this professor. This is not a good example of an upper level engineering class where you expect to come away with a deep understanding. Rather, you will be subjected to the teachers self serving attitude, lack of effort in lecture, and rediculous maze of rules/laws. Bottom line, this is not worth your frustration.

He lacks preparation for lectures. just read slides. didn't use a textbook which made things very confusing trying to read his poorly composed slides which were just copies of random textbooks. Certainly not worth your money and time

I don't recommend this teacher. bad lectures. unprofessional. unreasonable.

You know how a great professor can really help you to understand tough topics with ease? well, this is NOT one of them. don't sign up!!!

horrible. I have nightmares. don't take a class with him.

I found this class to be run in a really unprofessional way. The professor routinely discouraged class participation by humiliating people with questions. It was as if he didn't want questions. perhaps because he really doesn't have a firm grip on the topic. I was unimpressed and he made my semester a lot worse than normal. This one is not good

I would never site through his lecture again. Even if it was free. He tries to make things more complex and finds it funny when someone asks a question.

sometimes you run into a truly great professor. WELL, THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM. I took this class a couple semesters ago and it still aggravates me to know that I didn't get much out of it. Why not just read a book instead of wasting your efforts with a poorly run class? take it with someone else.

very badly run class. don't take it. he will laugh at you even if you ask a question that your study group really wants to know more about. bad professor

The class was easy but the teacher was terrible. He has a power trip type of attitude with lots of needless rules and regulations. He's very unhelpful to students during and after lectures. I will not take him again for anything.

Kindly, I recommend to you to pick another class. frustrating man who doesn't really want to teach you

wow, horrible class. run the other way from this teacher. seriously don't do it. unprofessional in his dealings with us.

There are a few professors who teach this class. Its the general opinion of me and my colleagues that you should wait for another teacher. We found this to be taught in a way that did not help us learn like a better professor could convey a topic. The professor wants you to feel little and inferior to him. he is the worst professor in ME dept

After my experience with this man I would never take another class with him. he does not want to be a teacher.

This class is not taught in a professional way. The teacher routinely ridiculed students during lectures. This did not help me learn the subject any more than reading a text book would. I would not take a lecture with him again.

Avoid

Aweful class. Be aware and don't take him

The class was poorly composed and run in an unprofessional way. Take it with him only if there are no other options and be ready to play his lame games

This was the worst professor I have ever had. Don't take it!!

I have a bad taste in my mouth still from dealing with this professor. He was very unorganized and put down students who spoke in class. even he would attempt to hide information that would appear on an exam. he is not helpful to your studies

I would not take it again. The professor was not interested in teaching the subject. He is just checking the box for his research job.

I would wait for another professor to teach it so you get a fair student/teacher interaction

i did not find this class helpful in advancing my knowledge due to the unprofessional attitude exhibited by the teacher.

This class wasn't very helpful. more, it was just a pain to try and keep up with all of the crazy rules and regulations of the teacher. lots of unnecessary regulation. very little learning as a result. I wouldn't take class with him again.

The class felt unorganized and unthoughtfull in content. It was as if the professor was trying to reinvent the topic but gave up halfway through designing the class. I would not take this or any other class with him again.

Frustrating and not very helpful

The professor's style of teaching makes this (or any) subject harder to grasp. In addition to the clarity level of presented material (flipping slides, scribbles, etc.), I found the information ambiguous which seems odd given the precise nature of what we were learning. Two thumbs down from me in an otherwise good department of professors.

TERRIBLE CLASS

Easy class but the professor makes it a painful experience. I won't take another with him in charge

we only have 8 semesters in an undergraduate degree. Why waste one of them on a low caliber professor? don't make the mistake i did and take a class with this guy. wait until someone else teaches it. Lots of good teachers work in this department but he is definitely not one of them.

The lecture format is not very clear. He will flip slides quickly and literally scribble all over them as he goes. I found the presentation disjointed at best and this did not help me learn the topic. On top of all of this, the teacher acted very unprofessional when dealing with students.

WOULD YOU TAKE THIS PROFESSOR AGAIN? NOPE!

This class didn't help me more than a textbook would. infact, since he did not use a textbook it made things confusing . I'm not interested in taking classes with him.

I did not find much value in this class. The lecture was all over the place. There was no text book so we had to rely on incomplete notes that were just copied from random textbooks. I got the feeling that he did not put much effort into preparing the lectures. This was a poorly done class with little educational value.

THIS IS THE MOST WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE TAKEN

truly a badly executed class. If you are looking for a life coach then take him. if you are looking for an education then pass on his classes

such a bad lecture. very little effort on the teachers part.

The class is an easy A but the professor makes your semester miserable. Not worth your money/frustration/time. just my opinion.

shockingly poor lecture, organization, and lack of interest in students education value.

Laughs at students when a question is asked

I don't feel that I made a wise financial decision to take this class. the lectures are deplorable

condescending professor. mediocre lecture at best. Bad quality class.

I had to take the class a second time because this professor was not very clear in his presentations. also, his hand writing is just a bunch of scribbles. He was not professional when dealing with students. We were a joke to him because he is a big time guy in his mind.

This was a poorly designed class. The lecture was more fluff than useful knowledge. He should follow a textbook. A forgettable experience.

relatively simple class but it's not always clear what he presents or wants us to do. Little effort from the teacher. not like other great classes at this college

sometimes it's better to just avoid.

I enjoy the topic. The professor is really confusing like he is trying to make it harder for us. His presentations are not very clear. he is not very friendly to students needs. Several times he put down students when they asked questions. It seemed like he was putting the students down so they would not ask additional questions. Strange

Overall, not a very well run class. I could not recommend that anyone take it with this teacher. no added value here.

pretty simple topic but the professor is terrible. he literally laughs at students who ask questions.

There is a difference between tough learning and what this professor does. not worth the frustration.

This class is hard to follow. it's not the material

This class really needs a textbook to keep things on track. The lectures are not very easy to follow. I suggest being careful if you decide to take it and consider that you will be tricked every step of the way. Confusing learning rather than a good solid engineering class

I struggle to find the added benefit from taking this class with this particular professor. It feels like he is intentionally trying to confuse the class on rather simple ideas.

I will not be taking his lecture again. The presentation is not clear and little respect for student is shown

unimpressive. confusing. no textbook used. reconsider your class choice.

This class seemed to be taught in a really tricky way. As if the teacher was trying to trip the students up with unnecessary rules and regulations that exceeded what is common in the department. I also felt that he was reluctant to answer the questions that my study group had; we often went to other teachers to ask our questions to avoid him.

My PhD advisory warned me to stay away from this class. He felt that it would not add to my area of focus and that the professor teaching it was under-qualified. I can see why he spoke up now. Be prepared for an unorganized and confusing experience with a teacher that wants to be your career counselor instead of your teacher.

I don't find this lecture helpful to my learning process. The teacher acted like he is trying to hide information from us... Then it appeared on exams. Literally, he refused to answer questions that ended up on our exams.

I will never forget how we all laughed at him when he laughed at students who asked questions. It was like a perpetual motion machine of laughter. This was an egregious display of teaching.

I find the style of teaching to be counterproductive and restrictive to learning. Too many rules and regulations and too little actual instruction. Also, the professor wanted to be our life counselor for some reason. I read some books rather than learn from what I paid for in lecture

This class should follow a text book because the professor is not very clear or helpful. It appeared to me that he intentionally set traps for the class in preparation for exams rather than try to help us learn. I discourage you from taking his classes.

I don't feel that this class is living up to it's potential. maybe if the school changes out the teacher next time it will be worth it.

The overwhelming amount of rules and regulations takes away from the learning potential. pompous seems to be the best way to describe the teachers attitude toward students. This class did not help me to be a better composites engineer.

Worst class I've ever taken

This one really doesn't match what the limited syllabus describes. The lack of organization and effort detracts from our experience

I came to college to learn from professionals not to be treated with disrespect and laughed at when I ask a question

I had high hopes for this class which were deflated quickly by the lack of organization and effort on the teachers part. This does not have the feel of a professionally run class. Instead my impression is that he is just doing the minimum to get by. Also , it's unclear what he wants from us most of the time

He treats graduate classes like undergraduate weeder classes. Disappointed is an understatement.

The professor told us not to get the textbook. This was a mistake. The material is rather easy but the professor tries to trip you up. Easily the worst professor/student interaction for me so far. I will not take his classes again

Class isn't that hard, but you really have to put in time and understand the material (not just problems). Tests are pretty tough but it is possible to do well and pass. He is extremely arrogant and comes off as disrespectful to students a lot of times - ignore it. Try to avoid him if possible. Final was really tough also

I don't think he really enjoys being a teacher. It comes through with his messy lectures that feel like they were planned the night prior. He told the class that if we pass his class the industry will know we are worth it.... comeon man... he hasn't even written a book yet

Not a good example of a graduate engineering class. This professor treats a grad class like a first year weeder class. I did not get a good education from this class and would not take him again for any other topic.

I dont think this teacher has a students best interest in mind. This was an unnecessarily confusing experience. He spent more time covering his rules and regulations than talking about composite materials. Easily the worst teacher I have had so far.

Isn't a teacher supposed to be a person who cares about conveying a topic to a student? This teacher seems more like the type to trick and feel empowered by putting people down. ridiculous

This lecture was discouraging instead of helpful like the other professors in the department.

I would rate this class among the worst I have ever taken. The material is great, and I use it a lot in my work, but the teacher was shockingly bad. This s a professor who will intentionally try to confuse you. If that's not bad enough, he will laugh at you when you ask a question during the class. very much a detestable experience.

his teaching style did not match my learning style. I was unimpressed by the lack of effort he put into the lectures. did not feel that this was worth my time and effort.

seems best to wait for Sutton to teach it so that you will get a good education.

he told us that we would not need a textbook. If you must take this class with him then I would recommend buying a text and not one that he recommends since they are all just books his friends wrote. This was a bad class. pretension at its finest.

You would have to look hard to find worse

This teacher should work out of a book. The lectures are not very well put together and the teacher acts unprofessional towards students.

seems like he adds unnecessary complexity in attempts to confuse us. this is not helping me

This is not helping me like other classes do

Its harder to learn with him couldimg yout mind with his pretentious tricks

Take home tests, so no memorization which is the only plus of the teacher. He grades hard, based off what he got, if you got something else you're always wrong. He laughs at students who ask questions or answer incorrectly, so don't expect an understanding professor. He openly admits to wording questions in a confusing manner. TL;DR Don't take him

consider your options carefully. This professor will try to confuse you rather than try to help you gain talent in composites. This class took away from the other, more educationally valuable, classes I took. I will not take him again even if I REALLY want to take the class.

GREAT TOPIC. bad teacher. I can't understand why a person would teach if they intend to laugh at students and attempt to trick.

Took this class last semester... it felt thrown together. The teacher presented in a very defensive way like he was trying to protect his honor. I'm surprised the department approved his teaching of this topic. I will put my time toward better learning opportunities in the future.

I think he should use a textbook to keep the class on track. His presentation style is lazy... just powerpoint slides that he scribbles on.

Really great class with a really bad professor. If he didnt act unprofessionally towards students who ask questions I would have better things to say. Im going to avoid him

I took his class about a year ago. I like the topic but really found him to be a distraction from the learning process rather than a help like some other professors at this school. He really tries hard to show us how much of a big deal he is. For my money and time I will find a better teacher for topics in solids next time.

not very well done

After feeling the degrading nature of this professors delivery methods, I decided to change the focus of my studies . terrible.

This was a bad experience and Im being nice . The professor is not treating us with respect of humans. Im out off by this person

Majumdar can't teach; can't find time for his students; answers every question with an insult framed on an inability to understand how any student could fail to understand what he's so clearly and brilliantly explained. He's a lazy (two take home tests), dispassionate fraud who should be fired. I did well in 585, but no thanks to him.