Comm156 with Lamberson can be frustrating. He's a funny guy and that's nice, but it's also clear that a lot of the quizzes (six per quarter) and tests (midterm and final) are meant to be tricky. That's part of learning, obviously, but it doesn't necessarily feel like genuine learning vs. figuring out the ins-and-outs of his questions. The tests felt easier and were what boosted my grade. I attribute that in large part to figuring out how he words things.

Overall this class wasn't too bad in the end but ONLY take it if you're SURE the other computer system communications core classes are harder...

- This whole class covers unnecessary concepts that you natively know but don't think about, and it ALL revolves around the same point he makes clear in the FIRST class... It just gets boring and boring...
-His power points have VERY few words so it is very useful to take notes.
-He makes us do 6 easy in class quizzes but the lowest grade is cancelled. The quizzes are all like 5 questions consisting of true or false, multiple choice (of 2 options), and drawing ones.
-There's no textbook required
-His midterm is like the quizzes in question types but WAAAAY harder (multiple choices have up to 5 choices this time) and he basically said after everyone got a bad grade "the midterm was hard so I can separate who just knows the facts, and who knows how to apply these facts"
-He assigns some readings online but they are not necessary at ALL
-There's 2 homework assignments in the Gephi application he makes you download, and theres one class he devotes to teaching how to use Gephi (for these homework go to the professor or T.A. since this is the only thing the useless T.A. will know how to help its students so use him/her!!!)
-Office Hours are horrible cuz the professor is suuuuuper nice and helpful but he has too many students who want to ask him questions so there's even times when a student won't get time to speak with him (by the end of the quarter he used a system of signing up for 10-minute slots for office hours) which means only 6 students could sign up which is horrible.... make him invent a newer system for office hour that will benefit everyone...
-The final was SURPIRISINGLY more easy than the midterm (and sooooo short to be a final exam) and people did way better in the final. The final exam was actually more like the quizes than the midterm.

Interesting topic. Wording in quizzes and exams can be confusing.
Projects are fun, but difficult to create networks using the software.

Professor Lamberson is amazing. Absolutely brilliant to learn from, a great communicator, and super helpful. COMM 156 is such a fun class. Not too much work, and the "required" readings are not really required. Just come to class and you're pretty much guaranteeing yourself a good grade. 5 Quizzes per quarter, and the lowest grade is dropped -- he does have a tendency to make the wording intentionally tricky to make sure you actually understand the material. Exams are mostly multiple choice and super feasible. Also 2 really cool homework assignments are included in your grade. Would recommend him to anyone. Great upper division course, if you need to take one!

This class was incredibly interesting and actually applicable to real life I found myself applying the concepts even just for fun. Lamberson carefully and slowly goes through his lecture, ensuring every student understand what is going on. Some concepts are a bit tricky but nothing a quick trip to OH won't clear up.

I thought this class would be horrible, but I took it to fulfill an area requirement for my major. I can easily say this has been the best class I have taken at UCLA so far. Of course this is a subjective matter, but the material was so relevant and teaches you so many useful things in life especially towards the end of the quarter. I thought it was very related to marketing in a way as it teaches you how things spread within the population, how to identify relevant information through a network, and how to make use of the data you find. Professor Lamberson is amazing, his lecture was really fun and engaging, and he isn't afraid to repeat himself over and over again.
You should expect a quiz once a week, and the level of difficulty of the midterm + final are basically like the quizzes (which are not hard at all). There are 3 projects you do throughout the quarter that are relatively easy. Would recommend this class 100%

Highly recommend this class! One of the best comm studies classes. The Professor is engaging and efficient. The course material is tough, but Prof Lamberson does a great job introducing you to the material and making the class enjoyable.

This class was a surprise and I enjoyed it a lot. I never imagined that creating mathematical models of digital networks could be interesting, much less creative. Lamberson is smart, funny and makes the material fun and engaging. He posts the slides for all of the lectures BUT a fair amount of each exam is drawn from the lectures - take good, concise notes and review them soon after class or you can get lost. Five quizzes, a midterm, a final and two or three homework assignments. The exams are substantially more difficult than the quizzes, don't get too comfortable. A small amount of very simple math. My only concern was a general lack of support for students seeking help/tutoring. The TA was pretty useless, and Lamberson didn't keep very accessible office hours, but it got better as the quarter went on. He was new to UCLA this fall so there were some adjustment issues that I feel will probably get worked out moving forward. Good class. I wo take him again.

I LOVED Professor Lamberson's 156 class! Honestly my favorite class so far at UCLA. I hate math with a burning passion, and while he'd include scary math in the powerpoints, we weren't required to know it for exams.

A must take. The only issue is the homework can be confusing, but if you can make it to office hours he is extremely helpful.