Lectures are clear, organized, and often entertaining - Dr. Pham explained things pretty intuitively and his lectures are definitely worth attending. Attendance isn't counted for lecture or discussion. Exams were challenging, but not unfair - I think the averages were around 70%, generally. Office hours were very helpful. The content of the class is relatively difficult, so I'd recommend keeping up with the textbook if possible. It's definitely a lot but reading and taking notes on it before covering the content in lecture was definitely worth it for me.

I want to start off by saying I really do not enjoy chemistry and I was really dreading taking ochem. I (like many others) have not necessarily had the best experiences in the chem department so that really made it worse. In fact, I actually liked chem before I came to UCLA...But anyways, as much as I was afraid of ochem, I was pleasantly surprised by Dr. Pham. I really enjoyed his teaching style, he made everything very clear and relatable to us as students. I really appreciated his funny analogies that actually helped me understand the topics well. He actually made me kinda like chem again. And I actually got a better grade in his class than my other chem classes, which I honestly didn't think was possible considering the stereotype surrounding the difficulty of ochem and how much I sucked at chem in general lol

The breakdown of this class is midterm and final heavy (2 midterms = 33%, the final = 33%), so 66% for 3 tests. This is pretty standard for a chem class. His exams are doable. Maybe it's because I've learned to study better this year but I really found his exams quite a bit easier that the chem exams I have taken in the past. If you redid the problem sets you could have a good idea of the test layout and types of questions. However, to really prepare for the exams and to get down a concept really well, I highly suggest doing as many of the practice questions from the TA worksheets as you can!!! This is what I think made me the most successful in the course. I was really able to get an ample amount of practice problems from these worksheets that help me understand how to apply what we were taught in lecture, as well as be prepared for the questions on the exams. Just watch your time on the exams! This class is where I took my first in person exam in college (bc of COVID) and I was nervous, but it was not bad as long as you watched the time and tried to ignore everyone dropping their calculators lol. He even projects the time on the screen so that was super helpful!

Though I really liked this course, I definitely would have liked it more if Dr. Pham were more approachable. In lecture, anytime someone asked a question, he seemed to answer it a little condescendingly. Maybe I am overthinking it, but I talked to a few people and they seemed to agree. Something about his tone made it seem like we should have already known the answer. If you like asking questions in class, hopefully this does not discourage you. I am not sure what he is like in office hours, so I can't speak for that.

Overall, I am glad to have had a chem class where I feel like I learned, but I wish Dr. Pham would be kinder to our questions :)

I attended office hours and discussions. The test was significantly different from what we went through in lectures and discussion worksheets, much harder than expected. Class average was less than 50%. He doesn't explain clearly when asked a question or provide a straightforward answer to discussion questions. I likes chemistry beforehand, and after every lecture I looked down on the highest floor of my dorm and contemplating sanity or peace.

take with Pham! no complaints

fire orgo class. pham is a pretty bomb professor and teaches well. lectures are pretty surface-level because he only has 50 mins to teach each lecture but thats okay. discussion section is very helpful. 2 midterms and a final, both pretty fair. homework is not bad and lecture and section are not mandatory.

Pham was such a great prof for Chem 14D. The class was really difficult for me but Pham was so nice and helpful all throughout the quarter. Plenty of extra credit opportunities and lectures were always engaging!

Dr. Pham is an engaging lecturer, and his slides are well-formatted while the class page is organized. However, I have an unpopular opinion: I wouldn't want to take this class again. My main concern is how challenging the tests are. Although they are manageable and mostly based on the practice problem sets we complete for homework, the fast pace of the class is overwhelming. He usually finishes teaching the content just three days before the test, leaving little time to fully understand everything.

Additionally, he doesn't hold review sessions, and the only reviewing options are those led by the Learning Assistants (LAs). It would also be helpful if he posted practice exams or past exams since he shares answer keys after the tests anyway.

Personally, even though I disliked Scerri's teaching style for Chem 14B, I would prefer taking his multiple-choice tests over Pham's. I've attended nearly every lecture and completed numerous worksheets provided by the TA, but the pace makes it difficult to grasp the concepts thoroughly. On a positive note, attendance is not mandatory, and the classes are recorded.

I also found the BACON assignments, which constitute only 10% of the grade, to be unhelpful. Although you can search for the answers, they are difficult to understand without some prior knowledge. I would prefer if the BACON assignments were eliminated because, despite being easy points, they tend to be more of a nuisance than a benefit.

Overall, I admire Pham as a lecturer and appreciate his efforts to make Organic Chemistry enjoyable. However, the tests are a significant drawback. I still recommend taking Pham, but be prepared for his exams. Make sure to practice a lot and fully understand the concepts. If you find yourself struggling, seek help as soon as possible and utilize online resources.

Hung Pham is the goat for 14D, and all generations should have him for this class. Very clear lectures, funny guy, fair weekly assignments, and easily understandable slides. While the concepts are hard, he does a good job explaining in class and as long as you put in the work things will make sense. Expect to work hard but all while appreciating the guy who's got your back throughout the course.

Honestly an amazing professor and an amazing class. Went to most if not all office hours and was able to gain a much better understanding of the material. Don't get me wrong, the content for this class is pretty hard, but only if you fall behind. If you stay on pace with the lectures and work on the problem sets when the material is fresh and in increments, the class becomes much more manageable. Dr. Pham's exams are extremely fair, and directly based off of the problem sets and lectures/slides. I would definitely recommend taking the class with Dr. Pham as not only will you gain a great understanding of organic chemistry, but you will also become immersed and interested in organic chemistry as well. Overall, a great teacher.

Dr. Pham was not a good professor whatsoever. He talked down to his students during lectures, frequently made passive aggressive comments about the mistakes we would make on exams, and made us feel dumb instead of trying to encourage our learning. He does not provide curves, even though organic chemistry is known to be one of the most difficult lower division courses. I would never take a course with him again. His previous exams, which we had to scavenge for on our own, do not remotely reflect the difficulty of his exams provided this quarter. He also mades snide comments like, "if you ask for a curve, I will make the exams more difficult." I do not understand why he thinks it's okay or funny to inflict more stress on his students that are already struggling. Dr. Pham further invalidated our feelings by posting on his instagram about "how difficult teaching has been since covid." I found it so disrespectful for him to be complaining about a class that he is fully in control of, when his students have been feeling pressured to do anything possible to somehow make it out of his class without destroying our GPA.