EXCELLENT PROFESSOR!!!

Lots of work, but really makes sure you learn the material

I learned a lot in his class.

this class was super hard

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To do well, ask someone that's had him for advice

Easy programs, easy tests.

The programs are a pain, but he teaches well and enthusiastically.

HARD, but the best teacher I've ever had. Long assignments, but learned alot.

Very hard, but effective teacher. Give the man a cookie!

Great teacher! The courses may be hard, and that's why they are weeder classes for CS and CSE. But as a teacher, if you do what he assigns and you pay attention you really learn the material. Overall hard programs, average tests, fair grading.

Excellent lecturer. Easy to understand, comprehensive. Definately challenging, but if you can't hang you shouldn't be a CS/E major.

Difficult course, you wont sleep too much if you want that A. He likes linked lists, learn them. Also, get a good partner for your programs and take ADVANTAGE of the office hours.

A good teacher - I had him back in 1998, but he was good back then too. He's a lecturer, so he actually has time for his students unlike some of the full professors.

very cool guy

Sean is a nice guy and a great teacher. He's very through, knowledgeable, and stimulating. You won't be doing busy work, but the tradeoff is the course can be challenging. If you're in the CS major, shouldn't you know/like to program anyway? P0sers be

Sean's a great guy, very willing to help in OH's, and it's easy to do well if you do/understand the programs and go to class. The tests aren't that bad. Best CS lecturer I've encountered.

Hard programs, Fair tests....

a good professor. really easy too. it's common to get over 100% inhis class

Really tough. I programmed for hours, skipping precious dinner and sleep time. But i learned a lot in this class. Work on the programs early and you'll do fine...usually.

I heard he's hard for other ECS classes, but for 15 he was really easy. He's very nice and open for discussion.

difficult class, but if you can handle them then you can probably pass as a programmer. very nice, very helpful (as opposed to those professors who only care about their research and are never there to help you)

Sean is a great lecturer, he is clear and to the point. His practice tests are very representative of the real ones. His programs are probably what make people drop the class, but if you can pass him, then you know that you're cut out for Computer Science

I have no problem with him weeding out the undesireables out of the CS program. He's actually a great lecturer, very clear and precise. You must work hard, those lazy people who complain shouldn't be in CS.

Sean is a great lecturer. The class is comes with a great workload. He is a nice and helpful guy.

LOTS OF WORK!!! but a great person and teacher

a good instructor, resonable workload, cant c y ppl r complaining

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If Sean were teaching other upper div classes, I'd sign up anyday. He's a great lecturer, and although his pgms are a bit challenging, you learn a lot from programming them! He's cool too. :D

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I got an A in the class and I never programmed in C++ before. I started programming in ECS 10 and 30 (both with Sniegowski). The class comes with a huge workload, but he's not nearly as hard as people make him out to be. He's a great teacher.

AWESOME AWESOME. If you want to learn and finally GET A JOB in this market, take some pain to go through his class. I am working at microsoft due to this guy and Matloff. Awesome teacher.

Excellent teacher. Fully explains every detail of Java. Completely organized lectures that follow the excellent choice of text. He converted me to Computer Science and Engineering from Chem E. Programs and tests enlighten.

This prof. knows his stuff. He's very energetic in his lectures so you don't fall asleep as easily. He may digress a lot in his lectures, first he may be talking about this, then something completely different! Class may be hard sometimes. Great prof tho!

He teaches well and does plenty of examples. But his assignments are pretty difficult. Especially when you get to his "challenge programs". You'd better have an A going into those...

Excellent professor. People that complain about this guy are the people that drop out of the major. He really teaches you what you need to know in life.

he is HARD and his lectures are EXTREMELY FAST, but he's really welling to help student understand the stuff. just go to his office hours, do every single ass. and programm, don't even need to study, just ask him lots Q's, A should not be too hard...

Sean Davis is an excellent teacher who is also very hard. If you get lost, spend time in his office hours; he gives out lots of information there.

The class is really easy if you pay attention. He's very energenic and willing to help, all you need to do is ask. Don't forget to read and do ALL the assignment or else your grade will suffer in the end.

This professor is just excellent. I had him last quarter and his was the only class that I actually looked forward to. Okay, fine, I find the subject interesting already, but I think non-majors would find this class on the ideas of computers interesting

A sometimes challenging course, but gets you prepared. Fair grader with tons of partial credit on midterms. Programs are challenging, but usually reasonable. Doing well on programs almost ensures you a good grade. Usually explains things well.

Excellent teacher!! Not that hard at all ...I eased and cruised through his class. Dont look at what other people say.If you are serious about cs take him otherwise not. He can get hard on the programs but such a lienient grades. Our class average was B+.

he teaches well. but is a really tought grader. his programs are difficult but are understandble if you don't try and do them in one day. his midterms and finals are hard. one of his midterms was so hard that a class had to retake it. you will learn a lot

His lectures are clear, and as long as you go to discussion and do the programs you won't be very screwed. The midterms/finals are based on previous programs that were assigned in class. His OH are really helpful too.

anybody who thinks his class is hard must be stupid. They deserve to be filtered out of the CS major and go back into managerial econ.

Sean Davis, what can I say. He lectures like programming should be easy as heck and you must think of it the same way. Maybe 10-15% of students are destined Rocket Scientists but the rest are leyman. Arrogant attitude at times. Should stick w/grad teachin

Amazing teacher. Very hard, but you definately learn in his class.

Easy class, good teaching. It's only hard if you refuse to dedicate any time at all to it. Grading system is somewhat unreasonable (favors people with a lot of time to waste), but his overral grading is so generous that it hardly matters.

Sean D is Da Bomb! Pass 40+110(A/B) with him and you will be golden for almost any upper div Ecs courses. He's a cocky guy(but know his stuff).

awesome

Sean's pretty cool

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I took his classes from the very beginning. He is very helpful during office hours. Basically you need to know the material to ace the class. Lazy people would not success either in his class or in life. PS: He got plenty of xtra credits to bump up your grades

Sometimes seemingly very hard, but gave alot of hints in hw and was leniant on test curves. Great teacher.

Took him for 40 as well. Good teacher that's pretty lenient in terms of grading (class average > 83%, very good) Midterms are somewhat tough, but you know what to expect based on practice. Nice guy that's down to earth. Only bad thing is that he trips himself up in lecture sometimes.

My first programming class, had no prior experience. It's not that bad as long as you show up to lectures on time. Assigns crazy programs and tells you to figure it out, but if you show up to class, he practically writes down the entire code on the board. Extra credit is awesome. (I pulled an A).

Great professor, this was my favorite class of the quarter. He is very fun, and gets into what he is teaching. Admittedly his class can be hard without prior experience, but he mentions this the first day, so it is hardly his fault. Very helpful with answering questions during office hours.

If you go through Sean's 110 class with his notorius programs, every other upper division ECS course will seem like a piece of cake.

Sean is an excellent teacher and his programming assignments are usually interesting and not too difficult to do, although once in a while there will be a fairly hard one. He makes up for this by giving loads and loads of extra credit and curving enough that anyone can get at least a B (or A).

Sean is a great professor, as long as you go to lecture , and review sessions and take notes you will be fine. (I only used the book for HW and got an A). One thing to be careful of is the HW, it is assigned the first day in the syllabus and he rarely ever mentions it again. Because of that I missed the first HW assignment. All in all,a great class

Stop whining. If you're in ECS and can't handle Sean's assignments, you should probably find a major more suited to your.... intelligence level. Sean's pretty darn good.

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Sean will make you a great programmer. Putting the effort is the key!

The negative reviews say it all: You have to like to code, you have to be proficient at it, you have to like problem solving and you have to think and work. Otherwise, you will be cut down by the 110 Weedwhacker. Sean's a great instructor.

teaching style takes awhile to get used to, he goes over examples quickly and usually only once, review sessions are VERY helpful tho, sometimes goes over everything learned in 2h in case you missed it the first time...EC really helpful, average is usually a B+ in his class from my experience..heard his 40 class this quarter was abysmal tho

Sean doesn't mess around, but he's awesome. This really is a weeder class: if you're not cut out for CS, you'll know it after this class. And Sean--who's put in time in the trenches--will teach you to be a real coder.

omg people that gave bad ratings for him must have had him for ECS 40. such dumbasses. He really is a nice guy and he really tries to get to know his students. Go to his office hours and he will pay more attention to you in class. This class is SUPPOSED TO BE a WEEDER class, so if you failed, then good, you know the major isnt for you so dont whine

Not quite as structed as Sniegowski in ECS 30, but tries to make the class fun and enjoyable. Midterms and finals are pretty close to practice tests. Overall, a fair professor.

very helpful in class but .............the programs are very difficult to handle. if u want to take his class. prepare to spend at least 5hrs every week in programing

Not a hard class. He does have a different lecturing styles than most profs, but overall he is the best prof to take if you're a CS major.

Easy class. Tries to get the class engaged in the topic. Really laid back and makes lots of funny comments. I even made fun of his hair during lecture and he didn't care. That's how laid back he is. Cool and awesome teacher. Yes, go triple pointers!

Very difficult class. This is the great weeder class. 36 people in the beginning. Only 17 took the final. Great teacher. He teaches veyr well. I was interested in the class. Stayed up the full two hours with no breaks. Great Teacher and hard class. Expect to spend at least 15 hr./week on programs. I spent from 10-40 hr./week and got an A+

The Weeder course. I made the mistake of taking this one along with two mathematic courses. I have nightmares about that quarter. I spent 30-40 hours a week on ecs40 and got a C. And that was my best grade that quarter. If I hadn't loaded myself up, perhaps I would have enjoyed the class more. Since that quarter I am a straight A student. Go figure

hands down, ucd's best computer science lecturer

great guy, prior experience really recommened, but you can survive without it. start early on the programs

Really great teacher, but the programs you have to write become time consuming. I would definitely reccomend having programming experience before taking this course, or you will suffer. Do not expect this course to be easy, you have to work to get a good grade.

Sean will teach you everything you need to know on a subject and test you on all of it. go to ALL the lectures and do all the work on time and you be fine. He is a very good teacher and his lectures are funny and interesting.

Sean (he likes to be called by his first name. "Non of this Mr. Davis crap" as he says) is an approachable guy. It is very common for him to be smiling for a good part of the lectures. He's usually very fair about grades and will usually sympathize with students when there may be conflicts or unreasonable deadlines for programs.

Had him for ECS30, class was pretty hard, took ECS40 and it was too much for me, decided to drop the course or receive a failing grade. Lectures are interesting but he has a tendency to skip through some parts, though he will explain concepts thoroughly if you ask specifically

expect to spend plenty of time on his courses especialy ECS40. If you are not CS major, I don't suggest taking his class. His exams and labs are pretty hard. BTW, he does not curve the overall grade. He only curves the exams. So , good luck!

Sean is an awesome teacher, and he is more than willing to help his students. The key to this class is to do all labs and written assignments well. The midterm and the final are hard, but luckily, they're heavily curved. Stay on top of the reading and you'll be fine.

Davis is a really great teacher. He's pretty clear at lecturing and is totally willing to take the time to answer students questions. This class was hard don't get me wrong (like at least 10 hours a week), but I don't know what I'd have done if I wasn't in his class. If you can take him you should.

he's the bomb! take him cuz his programs are always useful & challenging! :)very nice too and sexy...rawr ;D $6

Really helpful teacher, attendance is a must, otherwise you won't learn anything and won't be able to do the hw. Homework is really complicated, tests are pretty hard. Gives you the option of fixing hw. Overall, good teacher if you want to learn, and are willing to start on the hw at least 4 days before it's due.

Expect to spend at least 10, usually 20 hrs per week just on this class, outside of lecture. If you can't handle that along with your other classes, too bad. He will offer help when asked (not begged) and is fair. He will not spoon feed you, however.

One awesome dude

Great teacher, knows everything he teaches. his homework is probably the most helpful I've ever had. I learned most of the class because of the homework. if you miss the class it will be really hard to keep up. I will be taking more classes from him.

I am not a sci or eng major at all. I'm not even good with computers. But I took ECS 30 as a freshman with no prior experience and got an A. I then took 40,60,50 w/ him and did well too. I think he's a great teacher, but you just have to dedicate 20hrs+/wk to his classes & be smart. Some degree of interest helps, but like in my case, not necessary.

Very nice guy and pretty funny. Besides this, he is a great teacher if no the best. Pretty hard class though and you need to be updated all the time. Be prepared to work a lot in this class, but you will learn even more.

Interesting professor, never boring, helpful and sympathetic when you run into trouble etc, I took 30 and 40 with him. His programs are never simple as he tries to make you implement and utilize the stuff taught in class, he knows theres an easier and more efficient way to write the program but then you wouldn't be familiar with the new material.

Amazing lecturer. Pushes you through the material and assigns boatloads of work, but very helpful in and out of lecture. Willing to work one-on-one with you at office hours when you have problems. Just be prepared to give this class everything you've got. If you can stick with the class, you'll learn a ton from him.

Hard teacher but much better then the rest at UC Davis. He's really funny and helpful. Lectures are easy to pay attention to. You will learn a lot from this class. Go to his office hours if you are having a tough time.

Excellent lecturer, very helpful in OH. If your program doesn't receive full credit on operation, he'll give you 5 minutes in OH to fix it. Exams are fair, review sessions are a must (he all but gives you the exam), and programs are challenging, but you learn a lot. If you don't pass with Sean, consider a different major.

If you did well in CS 30, this class will be very straightforward. There isn't much critical thinking involved, and Sean provides lots of hints and advice on how to design the programs. If you do the programs and attend lecture, the exams are a piece of cake. Definitely a recommended lecturer, easy class.

Unreasonably Difficult. If Sean Davis was my only class, I would still have had trouble. If you have other classes, you get to choose between failing his class or failing everything else. If you survive, you're prepared; I believe that. However, surviving is somewhere between difficult and impossible, just from time input. Avoid if at all possible!

I had no prior experience and am doing well in the class. He's a nice guy, helpful, and entertaining. The class is definitely work, but read the book and attend lecture and you'll be fine. His tests are easier than his programs. Overall, a great lecturer.

Structured, helpful, straight forward, entertaining, difficult, and awesome! You will learn! You will get out exactly what you put in. Honestly would never recommend anyone else. He knows how to teach and although difficult, is very fair about points and will not abandon you. He will help until you get it!

A great lecturer. He's very personable and humorous; he treats his students with respect and makes the class enjoyable. His program assignments are sometimes a little vague, but a quick e-mail is simple enough to get a clarification. Overall, I recommend him. If you are new to programming, go to every lecture.

I rarely went to class. But when I went, he was enthusiastic and explained everything exceptionally well. Homework is fair, definitely tests your knowledge and prepares you for the exams, which are a good test of your knowledge. Overall, highly recommended if you want to learn programming. He's a great lecturer.

Nice guy. Good lecturer. Helpful. But if you have no prior experience, be prepared to spend huge amounts of time on this class because it is very time-consuming. If you slack off, you will most likely not make it. You need to read the textbook, or else you'll fall behind. Small curve on tests. If you are looking for an easy class, this is not it.

C++ always intimidated me, and let's just say after taking the course I absolutely hate C++ and the STL. Not because the class was hard, though -- on the contrary, you'll write code for hours and it'll be worth it. Exams are super easy if you do the work. It's a lot of work, but you'll know a ton about OO programming and UNIX if you stick with it.

Attend lecture because he teaches things that aren't covered in the books. No need to go to lab, only go if you need help on the Blackjack program. I'm glad I was able to learn some Python. Sean explains things very well and he's nice. Good class.

ECS 040. This class is not easy, but ignore the horror stories you hear - you'll work your you-know-what off but you reap the rewards by learning an awful lot. Sean is a great, outgoing instructor who is dynamic in class, honest about what he does and doesn't know, and is incredibly helpful in his frequent office hours. Take if p

Had him for 30, 40, and 60. Best instructor I have had at Davis thus far. His classes are difficult in the sense that you have to work hard, but the material covered is not too tough. It is a breath of fresh air to have a class with someone who not only likes teaching but is good at it. If you are serious about CS, take classes with him.

I programmed before, so the course in general was easy. Starts to get hard once he starts talking about triple pointers and recursion though. It was hard at times, but I learned a LOT and enjoyed his class. He (perhaps unknowingly) tends to humiliate students who don't know much CS and singles them out. Grading is easy, the class averaged a B.

Class is easy at first, but gets real difficult near the end. He's grading is generous, but watch out for the midterms/finals, they can creep up beside you and kill your grade very quickly!

Sean is a good professor in that he makes you work very hard. I put in at least 20 hours a week on his hw. And then theres the exams which can kill your grade. He helps you a lot though and the grading is very reasonable. He can be anal about his style of coding. If its not spaced correctly, you get points off. Overall, hes one of the better ones.

the best compsci professor

Very nice professor. C programming is a hard course regardless of the instructor so be sure to have programming knowledge prior to this course if you want to do well. I also cannot stress enough how important it is to do your programs way ahead of time. They aren't too hard in the beginning but they will become hell.

The class is fine, as long as you read the book and work hard later on in the quarter. BUT if one of the TAs for your class is Arlie Capps, BEWARE. He is a terrible grader. Twice he marked me down for nonexistent problems. Another time he looked for obscure ways to crash my program and then gave me a 0 for submitting an "incomplete assignment."

I love Sean Davis. Even though ECS 40 was hell, he was an excellent teacher. He makes sure you learn everything you need. You'll spend hours coding in this class, and the tests are pretty hard, but you'll know your stuff when you are done.

Sean is a good teacher in that he makes you understand the concept. His homework is really tough and time consuming but if you put in the amount of work needed, you will be well prepared for the exams so you dont have to really cram. He has reasonable curves for the exams. Take his class, but know you will have to do a lot of work!

Everyone knows Sean is great. The class itself is cool. You learn about assembly language and CPUs through a simulated computer called CUSP. In the end we did a little bit of x86 and MIPS but didn't really dive in. Classic sean, programs are hard which prepare you for the exams and also the knowledge stays with you after the class. Great class!

I absolutely enjoyed the class, you'll need to have a good partner who will work with you. Otherwise the class gets a bit tougher as the workload starts to kick in. Sean is very approachable and is willing to help you out. Excellent lecturer!

Most difficult undergrad CS class. Sean is a great as always. 5 programs, last two are "challenge programs", you have to beat his program's time. Two weeks for each program, definitely get a partner, will be VERY difficult on your own. If you can do well here, then you'll do well in upper div. Exams weren't crazy, you have to think for essays q's.

Very thorough teacher and excellent lecturer. His pace is fast and the homework can get long, but you will get so much out of the class if you try hard. You need to attend lectures to get the absolute most out of the class.

He is very good at lecturing so make sure you go! This is a very important class so don't slack off - you will learn a lot from him. His programs are difficult but doable and his tests are easy if you just study his practice exams.

A very helpful and approachable lecturer, but teaches algorithms mostly through example, which leads to poor notes. Think of & write down the steps for each algorithm; it will help you on the homework. He does lecture pretty fast, but you get used to it. Tells you exact assortment of problems on tests during review sessions. I prefer Chen over him.

Approachable and very helpful, Sean did a great job teaching this course. All his lectures were very clear and produced good notes. Had to work very hard, especially on MIPS and the assembly game. Review sessions let you know exact types of problems on test. Workload is reasonable. Open book/note tests.

Great teacher! I learned a lot! He is not a professor. His official title is master lecturer. So he doesn't do research at the university and therefore focuses a lot on helping students unlike professors. His office hours are the best. Take him!

I feel like I've spent way too much time on this class. Homework takes 10-20 hours to complete, studying for tests didn't save me from getting C's on both midterms and the final. He does a little curve depending on highest score. I regret taking this class, I've spent hours and hours and still got an A-. I liked programm beofe this class though...

If you want to learn C++, take this class from him. If you want an easy A, definitely don't. Homeworks take a LOT of time, but you'll learn how to program. His lectures are engaging and generally explain the material well. He really cares that his students learn, and is very helpful in office hours. Highly recommended.

I took ECS60 without any prior C++ programming experience. Sean's class was very hard at first but he was so helpful during office hours. He is infectiously enthusiastic and it definitely makes the class interesting. Great teacher.

He is a very interesting lecturer. He engages the students very well, makes sure we get it and since he was teaching this course for the first time, he was sort of learning this at the same time as we were, so he sort of understood what we would have trouble. At the end when learning about caches, he somewhat got less clear, but overall very good.

Excellent teacher. Tests are fair, straightforward, and he tells you exactly what's on them. Really works hard for the class. Clear, fun, willing to help. Tests are chopped to a max, not curved, so top students will have over 100% in the class. And you will actually learn the material very well. Highly recommended.

Great lecturer, highly recommended. He does move fast but is very helpful in OH (many TAs as well).

I learned a lot from this course.The course is generally easy with a class average of 84%, but there are a lot of codes to write in this course such that I do not feel like to do coding anymore after taking this course.

The material was easy, just a lot of work. The amount of work does prepare you for the midterm/finals though. You will learn a lot from this class, just do the work. He is a great lecturer as well.

Very good professor. The class is not difficult in terms of making a grade but it requires a lot of time and dedication. Hours will go by programming. However, it's worth it because you will learn so much from this class if you put in the effort. Sean is very helpful during office hours. He allows you to correct your code after it's been graded too

Although the programs were sometimes really hard, once you finish them you really learn a lot! If you've done the homework, you'll do well on the midterms. He explains things very clearly and makes sure that he covers everything that is relevant to completing the homework assignments. I really enjoyed his class.

This class is definitely meant for cs majors. I would strongly suggest not taking this class for fun unless you want a strong understanding of C. If you want the grade, go to office hours after submitting your programs (and after he releases the answers) to "fix" your programs and get full points. Other advice: Get a partner ASAP.

This class has an extremely heavy workload. Expect 10-15 hours per week on a typical week; 20 hours for at least a couple weeks. Sean is extremely helpful if you take the time to talk to him. He allows you five minutes to edit your programs in his office hours. He all but gives you the exams in review, so with that and doing programs you'll be fine

He's a great professor. Very fair in his grading and willing to correct his mistakes, but also willing to experiment. His lectures are concise and he tries to involve students as much as he can. You will learn in this class! Homework can be difficult, but his policies help alleviate some of the difficulty.

Nice guy. Very fair grading. Hard homework. Easy exams. Learned a lot. Don't take as a GE, too much workload.

Course started off reasonably difficult but after the first few weeks the professor expected way too much dedication to this course for being an intro class. But a nice guy and easy to talk to

Sean is a great lecturer and very nice/approachable teacher. Explains things very well, and clearly lays out expectations. Expectations are high, as is the workload, but you will leave this class KNOWING C, and not forgetting it right after the final. Not easy but fair: a good proportion of the class got As and Bs, but we def worked for them.

Do NOT take this class unless you are CS, etc. Weekly programs take forever to complete, but you learn a lot from them. Take advantage of office hours. He offered a midterm retake because of a low average. Ask a lot of questions, or you'll fall behind. Some programs build on previous weeks, but he will give you his version after the due date.

Although it was his first time, Sean did a pretty good job. Some of the circuits were needlessly time-consuming to make but still easy to design. Overall this class is pretty easy, even though some homework takes really long to complete.

Sean is a good lecturer. His homeworks are also good learning tools but his grading is convoluted in that he puts too much emphasis on small details like indents and comments in the programs. Midterms were fair and similar to the practice midterms.

Awesome class, but not easy. You put the time in and you are rewarded. Definitely knows his stuff, and is pretty approachable. Good lecturer, engaging.

If you want to learn how to program, take this class. Sean is an excellent lecturer and is really entertaining to watch. Don't take as a GE. The programs are time consuming and it's a challenging class. It is for those who are serious about learning how to program.

Sean is a good professor. His exams are based off the projects. If you complete the projects and understand it, you will do good on the exams. BE SURE TO GET A GOOD PARTNER. I had a partner that did not work on the projects and I did all the assignments on my own(spent 30+ hours a week and my other classes had to suffer).

Sean Davis is an amazing lecturer with a true passion for Computer Science. Be prepared to work VERY HARD if you want a good grade in this class. I would not recommend taking Sean if you are not a CS major, but if you are wiling to put in the work you will learn a lot and have a great experience. He is also really helpful in office hours.

He's an amazing lecturer(note he's not a professor). Programs are weekly and are challenging especially the last couple ones. Tests are challenging but fair. If you learn by doing, then you'll learn a lot in this class.

Great professor. This class is a lot of work but you will learn a lot. Two midterms, a final, and 8 homework assignments. You will invest a lot of time into this class but it is very enjoyable if you like computer science. Good lecturer. Reading the textbook helps a lot and reinforces all the concepts. The tests are graded pretty easy and curved.

He is a very good teacher and his assignments are very good for learning programming, however, he is asks a lot out of you and the work load can be very tremendous especially if taken the same quarter as other core classes. If you are serious and passionate about CS you should definitely take sean, but don't if you are a beginner

Programming project will demand quite a lot out of you, using about two of your nine lives. But Sean's helpfulness more than makes up for it. You will learn a lot if you ask questions, come to class, and be active learner.

Sean's assignments can be kind of a pain but they force you to learn how to program in assembly well. He's the kind of instructor where you might hate him sometimes because of the difficulty and large time commitment required but you'll love him in the end because you'll learn a ton. Really helpful, great guy, great instructor.

Easy if you can devote 20 hours a week to homework for this class alone. If you can't, good luck.

Had him for 30, 50, & 60. The only good thing that he does is introduce important material your textbook doesn't cover but is a real-world application + handouts. Other professors do similar too, but he wasn't an extremely good at explaining the reason behind a concept. He vaguely just told you how things work, not even where they are used, or why.

Unlike many professors he really puts in the work and focus on teaching. In ECS-154 I always felt lost in lectures. I think you need to read ahead because he blazes through the material and doesn't really do a lot of explaining. Maybe trying to cover too much. Doesn't waste a second of lecture time. Some of the homework felt like busy work.

Sean Davis is very hard. His assignments take a long time, he may say that something is a 2 hour assignment, but it will take most people 20hrs. Having said that, he is a great prof, you'll learn a ton, he is a really interesting guy, and he's very fair. Exams are generally difficult, but his extra credit helps. Also... He doesn't curve..

Get this guy an award. Very smart. Will find the bug in your code in seconds. The class was fast paced and really worthwhile.

Bad for ECS50 during summer. You spend the first 4 weeks learning an outdated, useless assembly language called CUSP and have to write an entire game in CUSP by week 4. You then only have ONE week to learn x86 AND MIPS but in such a short amount of time you don't learn enough to do programs he assigns. 2Midterms ,Final spaced extremely close togthr

4 years ago I took 30, 40, and 60 with Sean Davis. I am currently a SE in the bay area. This class was one of the harder class in the major. But if you want to be a software engineer, thisECS60 is the foundation of everything. I am much appreciative to him on the stuffrealizing he was great at teaching and worth the hard worktime spent

You really learn the material with Sean. Great lecturer but prepare for crazy long weeks of coding non-stop

One of the best professor I ever had for 60. Lectures were not insane overall, I literally took notes with my legible pencil that is crystal clear. Exams were straightforward, no tricks to solve. However, Programs very hard.

Employs a real-active learning approach that gives good feedback prior to the real time on your programming assignment. Gives good programming assignments that is how much hours spent, but fair . Also, gives good midterm exams similar format to practice exams. He can be hard, but excellent class.

He's a good lecturer but programs can take a lot of your time. Exams were fair and similar to the practice one.

Exams are okay. Great lecturer. It's the programs that are hard. You'll spend quite a bit of time on the programs in his class. You'll definitely learn something by the time you've finished his class.

Sean is a good teacher, but his programs and tests are wayyy hard. The average for program 1 in our class was a 56, which was an F.

You're allowed to partner up for your programs (which I DEFINITELY recommend) and it still took us a good 20+ hours a week for the weekly programs. Granted, my partner and I had only taken ECS 30 and had only that as programming background, but even some friends who knew a lot still had a bit of a struggle. You will learn SO much, though. Worth it.

This is the hardest class I have ever taken. Expect 20-30 hour assignments due every week. Very good lecturer, but assignments are confusing the specs are poorly worded. Over half the class dropped due to the difficulty. Sean is very helpful in office hours though. Don't take any other major classes with ECS 40 or you will not pass the course.

These reviews are pretty accurate. To add onto what most people say, Sean cares a lot about his students and spends as much of his time as he can to make our lives easier, and to set us up for future success. This class is extremely tough, and will break the students who aren't serious about CS, while being invaluable to those who are. A is doable.

So glad I took only 15 units this quarter. Sean's tough. There's a huge spike in the difficulty level from ECS 30 to ECS 40. Manageable with ECS 20, but you'll need at least 1 bye day in your quarter to survive him. That being said, you will really learn the material from Sean. On top of that, he's funny and goes out of his way to help.

Awesome teacher that will make you work for your grade. Regardless of the letter you get in this class - you will learn - and that means upcoming interviews for possible jobs or internships will be significantly easier after going through Sean. He's quite stubborn, but only does this to help YOU as a student become a better engineer in the future

Extremely time consuming class. Book is useless, just go to class and take notes. Homework takes very long to do and is very difficult. Make sure you have at least 20 hours a week to dedicate per week to this course as the projects take forever. You will learn a lot, but you will need to put in a lot of effort or else you will fail.

I've taken ECS30, 40, 50, and most recently 60 with Sean Davis. This guy is the most passionate computer scientist that I know. I HIGHLY recommend going to his office hours and getting to know him. I work like crazy in his classes, and the effort you put in really pays off.

Suddenly I see that he is hard on the material. Why? It should be a crystal clear of what you need to prepare. ECS 40 was EXTREMELY difficult than 60. Programs were very difficult and time-comsuming. His 60's homework questions were same each quarter like genies so answers were on the hallway. Assumes lecture is all you need.

A fantastic professor with excellent assignments. Seriously, his homework's are more than enough to prepare you for the tests. Didn't even need to touch the textbook. Long homework's, approximately 12 hrs each, but definitely worth it. He makes you realize if you can actually be a good programmer. Would definitely take again.

Straightforward class. Much easier than his ECS 40 was. If you go to class and read the book you will get a 100 on the first 3 programs and all the written homework. Last 2 programs only 20% of the class even got credit for them. Exams are easy if you go through the sample midterm and workout the problems. Overall I learned a lot.

This guy's ridiculous. This isn't a 4-unit class, more like 10+ unless you're already C++ guru. CS dept. should have him teach 40 every quarter tho to weed out the unfit. Pro tip: start working on the programs the very moment he assigns them, nonstop. If you can finish all the programs on time, congratz, you're truly qualified to be a CSCSE major.

Overall the class was very hard. 2 essays, 5 programs, and 8 written hws. The challenge programs were insane with only about 15 of the class getting any points. He is the master of this subject & only one at UCD to teach 60 so you can't avoid it. Tests were straight forward and not hard besides the essay portion. Doable, but you'll work a ton.

Sean is a great teacher and is extremely helpful. His assignments are very long and you will struggle over them. Definitely don't procrastinate. Also, he will run all your code through a plagiarism checker so be careful unless you like being sent to SJA. Tests aren't bad if you get the HW. The course prepares you well in C++ and linux

Took him for ECS 60 in Spring and ECS 50 in Summer. By far the hardest I've worked for two classes. Expect to sit behind a computer screen coding for numerous hours for both classes. Challenge programs for 60 were ridiculously hard, and game for 50 was hard as well. You know what to expect for midterms if you wrote the code yourself. You will learn

I took ECS 40 and 60 with Sean. I now work in the Bay Area as a software engineer and can easily say I learned more in his 40 and 60 courses than I learned in every other course at UC Davis combined. Expect to spend a huge amount of time per week on the classes. They are very hard but you will learn a lot. Go to office hours. Sean is very helpful!

Quit League of Legends and break up with your girlfriend because you won't have time for either of those two things when enrolled in a Sean Davis course. Seriously. You will question whether or not CS is worth it in this course. You will literally cry at some point. You will want to drop out. But you will learn more than you ever thought possible.

Didn't pass the course, but learned so much that I don't mind. Each assignment was brutally hard but interesting. Exams were difficult because I wasn't doing well on the assignments. Basically, if you understand the assignments inside and out, you will do well on the exams. Take advantage of OH. I'm glad I went through Sean's class.

I disagree when people say 40 is harder; the challenge programs will kill you. No matter how hard you try, Sean always finds a way to make his run faster than yours (you can work for hours and get zero credit). Still, you'll learn a ton about data structures, good work ethic, and be well prepared for interviews. You'll appreciate Sean's toughness.

In my 4 years at Davis this is the one lecturer I remember. Funny guy and great lecturer for ECS 40 and 60. Classes were very hard though. Over half of the class would drop by the deadline. I can honestly say I wouldn't be half the software engineer I am today if I wasn't so motivated by Sean. Seriously amazing class and great person. I miss him.

One of the famous CS professor in UC Davis. Very hard but doable as long as you attend lecture and do homework. Never let you partner do all homework because it's the easiest way to fail in his class. I like him. But I am happy that I don't have to take his class again.

Great lectures, but brutal homework. Sean is good at teaching, and if you're dedicated, you'll learn a lot. However, his classes are extremely difficult. Avoid if possible.

Just graduated with a ECS degree and this was the only course I got a B in my entire time at UCD. Course is extremely difficult but Sean is awesome. Expect to have no life for a whole quarter. The tests and projects are incredibly demoralizing and challenging. Prepare to learn a lot if you put in the time but those programming assignments are tough

I took ECS 40, 60, and 154A with Sean (I dare you to try taking both of his classes in one quarter) with 40 being the most time consuming. Expect tons of homework, and make sure you don't procrastinate as i did. Missing one of his assignments result in 1/3 letter drop. Take full advantage of his 5min regrades. Midterms+final are easy, programs hard

Absolutely brilliant professor. After taking two weeder CS courses with him, I know this: You will hate him, sometimes despise him, but at the end hope for another professor like him. Best professor I've taken so far. Very very patient with teaching, and tests are clear cut, assignments are clearly laid out. If you're serious about CS, take him.

the class is a lot of work, but Sean is good teacher, you can do well in the class if you read the material and have a decent partner

Graduating this year. This class was the hardest ECS class I ever took. Way harder than 60 and all of the upper div classes I took, including 120, 122A, 140, and 150. I remember when I took this class 2 years ago that I would spend my entire weekend programming and I still wouldn't even finish. That said I passed, but the class was incredibly hard.

Let's put it this way: there is a considerable gap between what he taught you and what he wanted you to do.

I quit League of Legends for this class and probably cried a handful of times and considered changing my major. I also considered dropping out but if this class taught me anything it's that if you're not failing you're not doing something right. I'm retaking this class next quarter because I'm not giving up.

If Computer Science is your life then you better take a class with Sean! Probably one of the best instructors out there. You will learn a lot in this course if you take it with Sean. Expect very long programming assignments, you better start early! Expect to spend approximately 20 hours a week.

Best CS professor at Davis! If you manage to graduate with a CS/CSE degree and you haven't taken a Sean Davis class, you're missing out on such a valuable experience. His class really tells you whether you belong in a CS career. If you don't mind writing his programs, you'll be a great computer scientist.

Had Sean for 40 and 60. Both classes were A LOT of work. 40 had programs every week, 2 MT, and a Final. 60 had written HW every week, programs every other week, 2 MT, and a Final. Get a good partner and make some friends and you'll survive. Go to his lectures because he's great and clear at explaining everything. Go to discussion to get EC!

By far the hardest class I have ever taken at UC Davis, along with his ECS 60. Way more work than any of the upper div ECS classes I took. I barely scraped by with a C but somehow finished the major, graduated, and got a software dev job. I remember spending 30 hours per week programming just to not even finish. Extremely time consuming and hard.

He is God of programming. Especially C and C++ You should take a class with him if you are a CS major. I was hesitant to take his class ECS 40 after hearing how much of a task master he is. Initially I wasn't doing well but hard work pays off and i ended up getting a B+ . Please take him and attend all lectures, text book is useless.

You do not have to go to class, you can watch previous old lectures. He is 100% clear cut on what he wants and what he does not want. His midterm review sessions are AMAZING he tells you exactly what will be on test. If you start codes early and get good partner definitely easy A. midterm and finals not hard at all got 93 and 95% on them.

This is the course I took with the most homework in Davis. But it is really helpful even thou I just take for fun. If you write the program, you will master what he want you to master even if you don't read the book. He is clear what he wants you to know and what is not necessary for you to know and will tell you what is on the midterm and final.

A lot of the reviews for this professor say that though you work very hard, you learn a lot. The only reason people learn is because his assignments are so hard that you have no choice. 20 hours a week of homework, and zeros if it's not perfect. A good teacher can teach without requiring enormous amounts of work. Avoid this teacher if possible.

Expect a lot of homework, on average 15 hours per week. The class itself isn't necessarily hard in that homework constitutes a huge proportion of you grade, and midterms aren't terrible as there is usually a nice curve. Textbook is optional and lectures aren't super descriptive, usually Google and StackOverflow is good enough.

Took 3 classes with sean and finally wrote review. He is the best cs prof I've ever had! He cares about students, really patient and passionate, and has great sense of humor. 40 is the hardest, I dropped on week 3. 60 is really hard but if you really put in effort, you'll get the grade you deserved (I got B+). 154a is manageable and not that hard.

I took his 40 and 50. Definitely the best CS teacher I have had so far! For his class, as long as you start early and work hard, getting an A is not hard because there are 5% extra credit for just participation, and certain amount of extra credit for tests and homework. However, getting an A+ in his class can be a challenge. Only top 1% can get A+.

I took ECS40,60 and 154A with Sean (Took ECS60 and 154A together in one quarter) with ECS40 being the most time consuming. If you took 40 with Sean, his ECS60 is relatively easier. 154A was easier than his 40 and 60 combined. However, you definitely have to work for your grades. I spent almost 15+ hours of programming assignments in his classes!

I love Sean so much!!! Choose him and get a A++++++

hes a FINE CHOICE!!! YEAA!!!

Sean is a great professor. His lectures are also very good. The class itself isn't as hard as everyone says it is. The exams are super simple. He does not try to trick you. The programs are also pretty easy until the challenge programs. Those last two challenge programs aren't too difficult either. I was able to finish them in a few days. Take him

Took winter '16. Great lecturer, wants you to succeed. Not as horrendous as people make the class seam but still have to put in the work. I think we had an easy quarter because the challenge programs (the last 2) were easy to do. Lots of OH to help you debug or ask questions. Written hw, 5 programs, 2 midterm,final, discussion is extra credit -MA

Sean is a good lecturer. He offers detailed explanation and plenty of examples. Also, he has a good regrade system. Recommended!

ECS060 is a high workload class but after getting through it, you will learn a lot. Sean doesn't teach you any code at all, his lectures are all about concepts of the data structures. Midterms and final test your knowledge of the general concept, and his lectures will make sure you know what you need to know to do well in his class.

You will want to cry and jump off the building, but in the end you will be a better programmer.

Definitely the most time-consuming class I have ever taken. You will learn a lot of you make this your priority. Get yourself a good partner if you don't have much experience coding. I found it difficult to manage time with work and 16 units -- I would recommend lessen your responsibilities during the quarter in which you take this class.

I can only imagine the amount of time he spent on designing the homework, it makes you feel like you are really learning stuff. He is often funny in lectures . Only con is that he can be a little fast in lectures at times. That being said, this FINE CHOICE is retiring after this quarter. If he ever returns to teaching, take him!

I had Sean for ECS 60 and 154A. He is a great professor. He has great lectures. Tests were easy if you complete homeworks and programs. This review doesn't matter though because he is retired.

I am happy I could take Sean in his last quarter here at UCD. He made me learn a lot and I loved how he cared about his students. I have never seen such a caring professor who held 9hrs of OH/week, review sessions and so on. Sean is a real gem and I wish him the best and I hope he will have a deserved rest travelling the world.

One of the greatest professors I had in ECS 60. Feel free to get in contact with him! I'm pretty sure he is available.

Definitely gives a lot of homework, but is kind and teaches amazingly. The workload is tough, but the sort of thing you'll have to get used to if you want to go into programming.

Probably one of the best teachers ever. He really knows his stuff and take him if you can. The class size dropped by more than half but staying in the class was fulfilling. It's a shame he will only teach once more next winter.

I almost used to hate CS but I took ecs 36c with sean and it was the best thing that I ever did. Everyone advised me against it but I learned so much! His lectures are to the point, and easy to understand. I spent the whole quarter in his office hours,but let me tell you, it was worth it. Take him if you get the chance.

Best CS teacher I have had to date. Would spend his days helping students in office hours, super time-consuming class but considering how essential it is to CS majors you want to take it with a good teacher.

I graduated from UCD about 7 years ago and am now a senior engineer. Sean was by far the best lecturer I had at UCD. His courses were immensely time consuming and extremely difficult but I wouldn't be half the engineer I am today without having taken his ECS 40 and 60 courses (now called 36B and 36C I believe). Incredible professor.

I dropped due to this class requiring too much time from me, and that's the general consensus around this class. It's very rewarding, HOWEVER, it's really hard. Good luck with this class.

Sean Davis was the hardest programming professor I've ever had. I spend 30 hours per week, and many late nights debugging. However, he is THE BEST professor I've ever had. I've learned more in the 10 weeks with him than I learned my previous 3 years coding. He is very accessible and will help. He's retired, but take him if you have a chance.

this class was undeniably difficult. however, sean really commits a lot of his time hosting office hours and discussions. he really cares for his students. the amount of time he's spent re-explaining examples for students is insane. he is retired, but if he happens if come back to teach again, take him!!

Great professor. Learned a lot. Not as difficult as people say, but definitely a little more work than 36A and 36B.

Sean's class was quite difficult, but he taught me how to unlock all 9 of my chakra gates and learn the rasengan. Too bad this is his last quarter here.

He is by far the best professor I have had in my entire life. Genuinely great guy that cares about all of his students. He literally devoted the entire quarter to this class. Held hours upon hours of office hours and spent days writing the assignments and programs to make sure they were perfect. His lectures were also amazing and inspirational

Lectures are somewhat rushed and makes some mistakes, but understandable due to his first quarter online. If you read the book, you will be fine since it gives you a different approach that may clarify what was taught in class. Challenge programs are interesting and fun to be fast, essay questions on tests don't make sense, like testing on proofs