Ethan Katz-Bassett

2 projects (30%) 4 assignments (22%) Midterm (15%) Final (33%)

Ethan is a good professor. He is very knowledgeable of networks and can answer all questions. If you attend lectures, you will learn a lot about computer networks. My main issue with this course is the assignments. I have taken other 4000 level courses at Columbia and none have felt so monotonous. He gives out 4 written assignments and 2 projects. These are very relevant to the coursework, but the amount of time it takes to complete each is extremely long. Some classmates and I already had experience in computer networks yet still found the assignments to be way too long. Some written assignments were ~20 pages worth of questions (that are not trivial). The course will deepen your understanding of networks at the cost of your free time. The projects themselves come in multiple stages and also take at least entire days to complete. In conclusion, while Ethan is knowledgable and taking this course will help you learn a lot about networking, Ethan's version of the course simply has an unnecessary amount of workload that at a certain point no longer is helpful.

written HW, each 9-10 pages long with just questions not counting the blank space; 1 midterm; 1 final; 2 projects, the first one is a super leveled up version of AP Lab 7

Oh lord, where do I even begin. At this point of my college career, I truly think incompetence of an instructor (not to judge their academic or research capability, just the teaching ability) does not necessarily make or break a class, disorganized staffs definitely do. I was truly upset because despite the syllabus being arduously long, he failed to mention how many written assignments are there and how long they would be (9-10 pages each, questions alone). I like the content, and after being bullied by the class (and also mildly by Ethan himself, but I am not in his session so I imagine I suffered from less trauma that my peers who had to face him every other day), I still like the content. The book definitely played an important part in maintaining my passion. If you can’t make it to class and slides are not enough, read the book. Regarding workload, all of the reviews above are legit, although network is complicated, and we kinda need that many materials to do them justice. But, clearer wording and less running-in-circles would cut down time (meaninglessly) spent on the assignments. He clearly doesn’t expect you to finish all of the work for sure as you are given 4 late days (later increased to 5) and at the beginning of the semester, when everyone was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work thrown at them, he repeatedly told you to use them cautiously as projects are weig…

Heavy. None is reflective of the teaching material or the textbook. Grading is so messed up too.

Oh my gosh this professor is beyond me. He is the ultimate nightmare.

He gives out super long and poorly written homeworks & projects. There are 4 or 5 homeworks, 2 projects, a midterm, and a final.

Ethan Katz-Bassett has single-handedly destroyed my passion for computer networks. The homeworks and projects are awfully long and irrelevant. His lectures are merely copied from the internet. He also does not know how to answer students' questions. Multiple times on Ed, his answers are super condescending. Never before has a professor talked to me like this. I wish there were more reviews on Culpa before I took his class, but it's probably too late for me now.

5 very long and unclear homework - 17% of the grade 2 project - they are very cool projects, but intructors will make your life hard with unclear and poorly worded and ambiguous instructions. 33% of the grade. 1 midterm - they will do everything to fail you. 15% of the grade. 1 final - 35% of the grade.

After being in Columbia for four years and taking many CS classes under many instructors, I found the worst. Nevertheless, you can get a good grade out of this class (I stand on an A-). That said, Ethan builds this class to make it a living hell by dropping long, irrelevant assignments with odd deadlines. For example, HW3 was due two days before the midterm, and the course project was due three days after the midterm, leaving you with no time for anything. The lectures are dull and dry. The material is interesting, but Ethan only shows off his time in google and how great his research is. He will not teach you anything. You cannot express yourself in class. He will answer you condescendingly, and whenever you do so, he will come later in class and threat to ban you from OH by saying that unacceptable behavior is forbidden in our classroom (as he did for a couple of classmates). He will mark you for the rest of the semester. I am so disappointed with this class because Computer Networks is just an essential and cool topic. TL;DR DO NOT take this class with Ethan. Gil Zussman is a better alternative.