Shahriar Shamsian - University of Southern California

Professor: Shahriar Shamsian
Department: Computer Science
College: University of Southern California
Rating # 1
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Great professor. Has to be one of the best at USC. Explains the concepts really well. Exams are a bit tough but you learn a lot preparing for them. The class size is huge. The TAs and graders need to manage the class better.
Rating # 2
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: No
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: N/A
Comment:
Materials and Lectures are good but this course is so poorly managed. A lot of unanswered questions on piazzas. HW questions are not very clear and solutions have mistakes. A lot of regrade requests after each exam. Some TA cannot answer student's question correctly.
Rating # 3
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: B
  • Overall Rating: 3.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Well professor is great but TA and graders need a LOT of work. Inconsistent , moody results ,regrade takes forever sometimes never responds. I would suggest to take at the end.
Rating # 4
Overview:
  • Course: CS570
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Does not release cutoff scores and keeps percentages secret. No feedback provided on project at the end. The grade assigned at the end is a mystery to everyone. Try to get on his good side to get a higher grade.
Rating # 5
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I took this class cz I wanted to do better in the interviews. However, his lectures are not good like many other people say. I can even find much better lectures online. Also, he liked to hide grade distributions and curves to students, and grades are all based on exams. Hiding grades related stuff is really not something I can accept as a student.
Rating # 6
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Sets students up for failure. His response when class asks about a grade curve: "figure it out". Insists having a final (35% of the grade) before final week/study days follows USC policy. Grade is test-based but study resources are given at last second before exams. Completely ignores students on class forum. Aspects of final project kept changing.
Rating # 7
Overview:
  • Course: CS570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Very very good lectures but all that knowledge crammed into a summer session means you are going to do a lot of work!
Rating # 8
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Professor Shamsian explains the topics in-depth and makes them easier to understand. Make sure to practice problems as understanding the concepts at a high level won't fetch much in the exam. The course is test-heavy, homework problems are graded but not counted towards the grades. Grades will be curved so don't worry if the exam is too difficult.
Rating # 9
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Defiantly one of the best course I've ever taken. Prof Shamsian is very good at teaching algorithms and all of the things are clear in lecture even in short summer sections. Though this is a test heavy course, score is 100% depend on exam, but they are open book & note. The course material itself is hard, especially if you are not good at puzzles.
Rating # 10
Overview:
  • Course: CS270
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Very generous and lenient when it comes to grades. He definitely cares about your understanding of the content more which is why I love this professor. I learned a lot.
Rating # 11
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI270
  • Grade Received: Not sure yet
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Amazing class, best professor for it at USC. Super well prepared for lectures and taught algorithms (really hard ones) in such a polished and effective way for the motivated CS student. Homework is hard as hell but not graded, make sure to try your best on them and the tests are a breeze even if you can't figure some hw questions out. Hilarious guy
Rating # 12
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI270
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 2.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Shawn is one of my favorite professors in the department. He is a brilliant, gifted lecturer, explaining concepts incredibly clearly, and also very reasonable and caring on Piazza. His theoretical knowledge and industry experience are unparalleled. Take him.
Rating # 13
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Professor Shamsian explains the concepts in this course clearly and is a good lecturer, but the grading format of this class is awful. Your whole grade is dependent on your performance on 3 exams and not enough time is given for them. Students would perform a lot better if there were other opportunities to demonstrate their mastery of the material.
Rating # 14
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: A-
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 5.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Professor Shamsian is one of the best professors at USC. I took CSCI 570 coursework with him. His lectures are some of the very best that I have ever attended as they ensure conceptual clarity & provoke curiosity. I really loved his lectures on NP completeness & dynamic programming. The course is test heavy and practice is the key to do well.
Rating # 15
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: B+
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Clear assessment throughout the whole class and detailed explanations on important concepts. Very helpful course and nice grading.
Rating # 16
Overview:
  • Course: CS570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 4.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
I just changed my major to CS and it was the first class I took. He explaines everything very clearly, uses a lot of examples and is very open for questions during lectures and tries his best to clarify the consept.
Rating # 17
Overview:
  • Course: CS570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Mandatory
Comment:
Wonderful teaching
Rating # 18
Overview:
  • Course: CS570
  • Grade Received: A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: No
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Very nice prof in and out of classroom. Course materials are ok, but lectures are really good and interesting. Very accessible person.
Rating # 19
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 1.0
  • Course Difficulty: 3.0
  • For Credit: No
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: No
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
The worst professor I have ever met at USC. He taught 570 and his TAs are very bad and he is also not responsible at all, for example, he never looked at the piazza which is a discussion forum and once a student answer it he will never look at it. He always escape what he should do like teaching and if you give him a suggestion he will ignore you.
Rating # 20
Overview:
  • Course: CSCI570
  • Grade Received: N/A
  • Overall Rating: 5.0
  • Course Difficulty: 4.0
  • For Credit: Yes
  • Textbook Used: Yes
  • Would Take Again: Yes
  • Attendance: Not Mandatory
Comment:
Awesome Professor!
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