NoNoNo! DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!! This course was one of the most discouraging and poorly managed academic experiences I have had at UCLA. The instructor’s communication style was unnecessarily confrontational, creating an environment that felt punitive rather than educational.

When students sought clarification about grading policies, the instructor responded with accusatory language, often implying student incompetence rather than offering constructive explanations. Questions were not treated as part of the learning process but as personal challenges to his authority, and responses frequently felt aggressive. This approach discouraged students from asking questions or seeking help, even when they were genuinely confused.

Grading standards were communicated in a confusing and inconsistent manner. The tone used to justify grading decisions felt defensive and condescending rather than supportive or transparent. Additionally, the instructor appeared to disregard the fact that this is a General Education course rather than an upper-division major course. Many students in this class are not specialists in this field, nor do they intend to pursue careers in science, yet expectations and communication did not reflect this reality.

The instructor was also careless and disrespectful in basic interactions, including repeatedly addressing students by the wrong name. Simple requests for clarification were met with unnecessary defensiveness, as if students were challenging grading authority rather than trying to understand course policies. This pattern of behavior contributed to a stressful and unwelcoming learning environment.

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

DO NOT TAKE MALKAN IF YOU HAVE NO PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE IN ASTRONOMY OR PHYSICS!!!

I took him for astro 5 and even when I felt confident about the midterm he put topics that WE DID NOT FOCUS ON. He assumed we had previous knowledge in physics which I did not. Lectures were interesting, but the exams were by far too difficult for a GE.

Would only take if you are prepared to invest a lot of time into this class.

I took this class as a freshman and boy do I NOT recommend this class for a GE. It was very technical and was an unnecessary pain for a GE class (all of which should be easy). He goes into Physics and hardcore Math, so if you don't have a solid background in that, forget it.
So, I went to his office hours when I didn't understand the concepts and he "helped" me in such a way that I NEVER wanted to go back. He was condescending and didn't care for people who had a little less background in math and had trouble understanding. I pulled off a B+ without any help from him. Do yourself a favor, take an easy science GE like Atmo Sci 3 for an A and avoid this guy.

Take Astro 3, but NOT with him. I thought this was going to be my easiest class, but I had never taken Physics. I was screwed. I love astro, but lectures are boring and it is easy to fall asleep. There are better options for astro 3 teachers. I thought that material was really interesting, but I know I would have received a better grade and done less work with another teacher.

If you're looking for an easy Astro 3 class, don't take it with Malkan. I heard nothing but how easy Astro 3 is, and I took is with Malkan and I suffered greatly. If you never took physics, even more reason to not take this class, Malkan just expects you to get things and his lectures make no sense at times. The midterm and final are based on like what he thinks astro is about, so think twice.

DO NOT TAKE MALKAN FOR ASTRO 3 ... I REPEAT ... DO NOT TAKE MALKAN FOR ASTRO 3 ... take Mclean ... Malkan does not understand that this is a GE class nor non-science majors ... his midterms and finals are very specific ... and even his take home quizzes are hard ... Astro 3 is supposed to be fun and easy ... he made it aweful and hard ... he is a super nice guy with a zest for the topic ... but don't take him and think you'll get an A in astro 3 ... you take him and pray for a B!