Sumati Gupta

3 exams, last is non-cumulative final 4 in class quizzes (print out the slides for class so you have the answers) 1 extra credit paper (to raise your grade by 1%)

This is Gupta's first year teaching, and it is painfully obvious. Her lectures were pretty ordinary - there was nothing that could not have been learned by just reading the textbook. She often slipped up in her teaching or did not have answers for student questions. She did not seem confident at all in her teaching, although by the end of the semester she did seem a little more comfortable in this position. This class was nothing special and I don't recommend taking it if you are actually interested in abnormal psychology. Her grading was pretty annoying, there was no curve at all, so a few missed questions on each exam would leave you with a pretty bad grade for a super easy class. It seemed that this no curve situation was a result of a first-year teaching complex, because the grading was pretty ridiculous.

Light, 3 exams not cumulative. Weekly reading that will help you do better on the exam

This class was very interesting and Professor Gupta did a great and thorough job of teaching it. She is clearly an expert in the field and gave a lot of personal insight into each of the disorders we studied, which made them much easier to understand. She puts a high emphasis on attending lectures; if you come to every class you will do much better on the exams because most of the questions come directly from the lecture. My only complaint is that she speaks very fast so it can be difficult to take notes. I started the semester taking written notes and had to switch to a computer. Overall, I thought she was a wonderful lecturer and really enjoyed this class!

3 exams that are 50 multiple choice questions. The final is non-cumulative. Optional 5 page paper criticizing the DSM, this paper will only help your grade and not hurt it. Each exam is 33.3% of your grade but if you choose to write the paper then everything is 25%.

This was my favorite class I have ever taken so far at Barnard. PROFESSOR GUPTA IS A DELIGHT. She is so organized and timely and very knowledgeable about the material. This class expanded my knowledge on many many disorders and Professor Gupta's slides were concise and clear. She always encouraged questions and answered them honestly and to the best of her abilities. One of my favorite aspects of this class were the little anonymous anecdotes she would give about patients; it made the subject more relatable and was very interesting to hear. Another great thing she does is show video examples of people with a disorder which was a great tool to go back to help study for the exams and were very fascinating to watch. The workload was very light; all you have to do is come to class and pay attention to the lectures. The exam materials are almost entirely based on her lectures with only one or two questions from the textbook or articles. She even says herself that you can still get an A-/A on the exams without reading the textbook. Overall, if you're interested in learning about a range of psychological disorders this is the class for you; especially because it is taught by a current psychologist with many examples to give.

2 midterms, final all noncumulative and one 8 pg paper

I love Prof. Gupta - she is inspiring as a person and therapist as well as being a great teacher. she's very straightforward and clear whilst also being thorough and engaging. Her teaching style is very clean and structured which suited me really well - if you're looking for someone more philosophical and tangential, look elsewhere. Her course material is extremely interesting and she brings a lot of her personal experience with patients and anecdotal examples to help explain concepts better. 10/10 would recommend - she's brilliant.

This class was by far one of my favorite classes taken at Columbia. The lectures were fascinating and Professor Gupta would always bring up examples from her own personal experience. There were three exams and Professor Gupta would give clear instructions on what to study in order to get an A. There were no surprises in this class and Professor Gupta made her self available by email or office hours to answer any questions. I enjoyed the class immensely and since the material was interesting, studying for the exams was not as much of a burden as it is for other classes!

3 multiple choice non-cumulative exams An optional 5 page paper on the DSM V - If you choose to do this, the exams will weigh less in the calculation of your final grade