Neuroscience & Behavior @Barnard · Columbia University
This class has a much lighter workload than many of the other labs I've taken at Barnard. Exams are hard and require a lot of memorization (especially the neuroanatomy exam), but the week-to-week work such as homework and labs is all very chill and requires a reasonable amount of work in my opinion. There is a significant coding portion of this course. Assignments and exams are weighted so that you can succeed in the course even if your performance isn't stellar on every exam/assignment.
Expect a fair amount of work, and grading that reflects how the Professor doesn't compromise on his belief that every student has the capacity to do excellent work. The work, however, is extremely rewards, and actually useful, which I found rare, if not non-existent, in other science courses at Barnard and Columbia.
There was definitely more coding than I had anticipated, but it is totally doable if a bit tedious. Luca is a very chill professor, and although he sometimes came off as a bit strict at first, he was generally willing to answer questions, check our work, chat while working, etc. Overall, you learn skills that will be helpful if you intend to pursue neuroscience, and I definitely recommend taking this class with him–I feel like I gained a lot.
This was a daring class that covered a unique area of neuroscience. The professor cares deeply about expanding the way students think. He genuinely wants each student to excel and make work they are proud of, which can contribute to a passion/intensity of his in regards to the material that I and classmates found contagious. It is clear he is interested in what he is teaching, and of course he is, as the topic is really cool. This was the first science course I took at Barnard/Columbia that actually taught me useful and transferrable skills, e.g. to engage with scientific literature in a helpful way, produce my own insights, and generate output like research posters, which I ended up using in the future.
High amount. Pre clas HW’s, during class assignments, post class HW’s… SO MANY homeworks…
Definitely passionate about the field and cares about his students and their understanding of the material. However- he is a NITPICKY grader and isnt afraid to load up the workload… he must spend an incredible amount of time grading everything for the minute things he found in assignments to take point off. If you dont give the work your all he will pick up on this…
lot of work LAB SHOULD BE FIVE CREDITS BEC WE STAY TILL 6 PM CONSISTENTLY, BUTTTT made great friends, love the class, its so fun!!
slays. so invested. amazing professeur. willing to compromise on workload. always wants students to be happy. funny guy. dresses with cargo pants that unzip at his knees.