DO NOT TAKE MALKAN FOR ASTRO 6 ... I REPEAT ... DO NOT TAKE MALKAN FOR ASTRO 6 ... I am currently sitting in Week 6 of Malkan's class, and let me tell you, it will be the worst class you have ever taken at UCLA. In the beginning, he claims that the class is designed for nonmajors (I'm a polisci major) but is taught in similar ways as he teaches his astronomy major classes, which is the first red flag. However, I thought I had a general enough knowledge of math/science to get through this class (I took AP bio, chem, calc BC, and stats in high school). Boy was I wrong. It wasn't until later in the quarter that I realized unless you have taken college chem and/or physics, you are absolutely screwed for this class. He claims this is not a math-based class, but literally the whole free response is complicated math problems which he doesn't even teach. I have not taken physics, and I was literally screwed for almost all the free response. Mind you I had a 4.46 GPA in high school and took 10 AP classes and 2 community college classes, and I al afraid I'm going to fail the class. Don't put yourself through this.

I took this class P/NP online, which I recommend doing if you are not a science major. I think like 30+ people dropped this class in the first 2 weeks because it is really not for you if you are bad at physics. Malkan often operates on the assumption that you know some physics already so he doesn't explain basic principles. The workload isn't bad. You have a weekly quiz along with homework questions and some textbook readings and two midterms and a final. The homework and textbook readings often seem unrelated to the lecture and quiz content. The first midterm was very hard but he curved a lot. The second midterm and the final were much easier because he kind of tells you what is going to be on them. DO THE PRACTICE SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS HE GIVES YOU. The grades for this class seemed all over the place so I would definitely take it P/NP. Malkan is incredibly enthusiastic about astronomy so it makes his lectures interesting (he also sometimes mentions his wife which is cute). He is the kind of passionate that makes him go one a lot of little tangents so remember to read the slides instead of just listening to him talk. Overall, an interesting but semi-stressful class.

Genuinely the worst class I’ve ever taken in my entire life. I tried my best to not listen to the bad reviews because at first he just seems like a sweet old man, but once we got to our first midterm, I realized everything he says during lecture makes absolutely no sense. He can’t explain concepts in a way that you can comprehend, he just rambles and assumes you know it. When people asked questions he gets so passive aggressive. He is the worst at answering questions and will instead be totally hostile and question your intelligence. Also the tests are extremely difficult considering they consist of minuscule details that he doesn’t explain properly during lecture. I genuinely liked him at the beginning, but now he’s the worst teacher I’ve ever had in my entire life and this is the first C I’ve ever received in my academic career.

Matthew Malkan. MM. Flip it around. WICKED WITCH. This man is the wicked witch reincarnated. Do NOT take Astro 3 if Malkan is the professor. I had originally signed up for Astro 3 with Larkin (who was very engaging, helpful and fun). Malkan was the opposite. Arrogant, demeaning and unhelpful. If you tried to email or ask for help he would be very narcissistic and rude. He would say comments about your overall knowledge of the class, as if he was personally offended that you had a question. His emails are extremely unprofessional as well. Don’t even bother going to office hours either, waste of time. Midterms and finals were all multiple choice or short answer which seems manageable except the stuff we learn in class is impossible to understand. TRUST ME Malkan is not the one for Astro 3.

DO NOT TAKE ASTRO 3 WITH MALKAN.

Matt Malkan is by far the most arrogant, incompetent, and insolent professor I have ever had the displeasure of taking a class with. He seems like a nice guy from the outside but is incredibly demeaning when asking for clarification or during office hours. He does not know what a professional email looks like and takes any confusion as a personal jab to his ego, which leads him to insult your intelligence. I signed up to take the class with a different professor and had a mid-quarter change to Malkan against my will. Midterm II was mostly MCQ with a couple short answer questions in the back. Final was entirely MCQ. If you take this class I wish you good luck, nearly everyone I have talked to has the same thing to say about this professor. The class concepts themselves arent that terrible, especially if you have a interest in astronomy such as I do, but the way Malkan expects us to retain info makes me wonder if anyone reminded him that this is a GE and not a intro to Astrophysics class.

The average final grade for this class was a 68. a sixty eight. a SIXTY EIGHT. this is a GE, a class that people are supposed to take to get a survey level knowledge of a subject they are not concentrated on. They are supposed to be relatively easy, because if they weren't then you wouldn't be able to focus on your actual major. the average grade on the final was a SIXTY EIGHT. how do you justify this?

I did get an A in the class, but only because 1) malkan took over halfway through the quarter 2) lab grades carried 3) I did technically get a good score on the final, but only because I studied my ass off, which I maintain no one should have to do for a GE

The course starts with difficult physics if you've never taken physics previously, and the professor often doesn't elaborate on the more basic physics concepts that much of the class simply didn't know. The professor is a passionate and interesting lecturer and the content is fascinating if you have an interest in astronomy. However, this is not an easy GE class and you should not take this class expecting that. If you have a genuine interest in astronomy, this class will be great. Otherwise, I would consider other GE options.

If you are taking this class as a GE, THINK AGAIN! This class was an absolute nightmare. I went into it thinking it would be my easy class for the quarter, and then I found myself spending hours and hours preparing for each exam, only to preform at the average. If you don't have a strong astronomy or physics background, be prepared to likely receive a grade lower than an A. I didn't have a strong physics background, but I did study a lot, and I still got a B. The professor was passionate, but he also was sometimes rude and didn't respond to emails in a polite way. This discouraged me from wanting to go to office hours or ask questions, as I felt I was more of an irritant than anything else. I really, truly, and deeply regret taking this class, because that B sucks. I learned a lot and enjoyed the material I was learning, but the grading of exams was insane. He didn't even curve them one bit, OR offer extra credit. My kind advice, be very weary of this class.

I was so interested in taking this class at first and after two weeks in I had to drop! The professor is not clear with his lectures.. anyways I'm selling my book the cosmic perspective for $7 email me if wanted- *************

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