I took the legendary Corbin for the entire 1 series and I don't regret it. I'm not sure I can say anything about his classes that hasn't already been said, but I'll go ahead regardless.

Corbin is an excellent lecturer who wants nothing more than for everyone to understand the material as well as he does (that's actually his informal criterion for an "A" grade). He teaches and tests physics the right way, which is in variables only (no "plug and chug" here), and correspondingly ditches the useless "mastering physics" homework. He assigns book problems, but you can really do as many or as few as you want at your discretion since he doesn't collect any. You can really do problems out of any good physics textbook you can get your hands on, but it's safest to go with the recommended book (he posts recommended problems for the last few editions). Not collecting homework also means that your grade is entirely dependent on the two midterms (25% each) and final (50%).

His lectures do tend to be fast and math-intensive. You have some time to get your math skills to where they need to be during 1A, but if by 1B and 1C they are still lacking, you won't be able to keep up with his lectures, and you'll end up having to do way more work just to make sense of the notes you scribble down. But make no mistake: knowing your math doesn't mean you'll necessarily do well. It just means you have the chance to.

All of his classes are difficult with good reason. His main testing philosophy is that an easy test with a high average doesn't tell him (or you) how well you know physics. He makes ludicrously difficult exams with low averages so that a high score means you really know your stuff, and that a low score doesn't seal your fate. He is well aware that his tests are brutal, so he tries his best to reward hard work with generously-curved grades at the end of the quarter, particularly taking it into account if you do well on the final. But as he likes to say, you can't fake your way through physics, at least not with him.

The bottom line is that, in my opinion, Corbin is a solid choice for the 1 series because you come out of it well-prepared for whatever physics-related upper divs you have on the horizon as a physical science or engineering major.

Corbin's reputation precedes him.

As many other reviews state: Corbin genuinely cares about learning, something that you won't find very much of in South Campus at UCLA.

He's one of the few professors, if not the only professor, that's made me *want* to go to lecture. Never did I want to skip a lecture because I wanted to learn, I wanted to be engaged with what was taught. I made it a priority to attend lectures.

That being said, there's no podcasting. His lectures aren't posted. He doesn't use slides. You *have* to come to class. And it's worth it! He explains the material very very well.

His exams are brutal. Do-able, but not in the time-frame given. To study, the best way is to master the material such that you can do problems FAST. Doing textbook problems under time constraints is probably the best way to do this.

He doesn't care for mastering physics, which is great, and he doesn't assign homework, which is greater. However, if you're going to stand any chance of surviving his exams, you better knock out a lot of practice problems.

In regards to his office hours, they're entertaining. I wouldn't necessary say they're beneficial (I only went a few times), but there's always a lot going on. That being said, if you take the extra effort to go out every week and really get to know him, the chances that you'll fail do get slimmer.

Good luck! and enjoy.

I am not a physics major, and if I'm honest I'd rather not take physics. That said, Corbin made the class fairly interesting and engaging. He went a bit psycho on the last day talking about gravity waves and no one really knew what he was talking about. His midterms have hard problems but they are more a test of speed than knowledge. Fortunately on the final there was enough time to work through the problems which I think helped bring up my grade. One big advantage of Corbin's class is that he doesn't require a textbook or mastering physics, which are big checks down the drain for the other professors' classes. Overall he is a good professor; would take him again but I have a time conflict next quarter.

Yes, Corbin's class is difficult. However, that does not mean that it is difficult to do well in his class. People who claim that his class is a GPA killer are just plain wrong. All you have to do is stay ahead of the curve, which is not a difficult task when the averages on his midterms were 38 and 42 out of 90. Do the homework problems he recommends, take note of the problems he mentions in lecture could be tested, and pray you have a TA as helpful as Agnieszka.

As for Corbin himself, he is a wonderful professor. However, unless you had an absolutely terrible high school physics experience, he will not "rebuild your physics understanding from the ground up," as previous reviewers have argued. What he will do is ensure that you fully understand the important concepts in mechanics and are able to apply these principles to complex problems.

Take Corbin. You'll be fine.

Is it the toughest physics class UCLA has to offer for the series? Yes

I've heard he uses only variables in all his questions "Yes. You've heard right. Nowhere in the course would you encounter a single problem that uses a number"

But do you feel fucking awesome and a deep sense of fulfillment after reaching where he wants you to reach? FUCKING YES. If you plan to have a career in a science, don't miss the opportunity to have this man as your professor and his squad of awesome TAs

I took his class a few quarters ago. He is a great teacher. He teaches you physics like how it should be in real life. His exams are hard because he expect students to use what they learnt. And it is not going to be a problem if you don't get a high score, you just have to comprehend what he teaches and you might be able to get an A with a 60 points.

Corbin is like all other reviews before said, awesome. He geniuely cares about his students and them doing well in his class. I came into this class with great scores on both AP Physics C classes and got a pretty big shock. He essentially rebuilt my knowledge of physics from the ground up and taught it in a very detailed way. I go to most office hours and he actually mentions a lot of what goes on the midterms and exams during this time. He needs a bigger office. Great man, loves to curse, funny as hell, loves kit radios.

By far the funniest lecturer I have ever had. He definitely makes physics very interesting and motivates people to learn physics for fun, and not as a chore. That being said, his midterms and final were the hardest tests I have ever taken, and if it weren't for his generous grading and partial credit, everyone would fail his class. Go to the lectures and office hours if you can, do lots of practice problems and an A is not impossible.

I took Physics 1A, 1B, and 1C with Professor Corbin. If I hadn't, my first two years at UCLA would have been much worse. Not only is Professor Corbin an excellent lecturer, he has a way of making 200-person lower-div physics classes seem very small (this is especially due to his tight-knit office hours groups). In short, take Corbin. He actually is not that hard (that is, if you do problems in multiple books and go to office hours frequently) and you will leave his class a better thinker (and I got A's in 1A and 1B and am expecting an A in 1C, so it definitely is possible!)

Professor Corbin is easily the best professor that I have had thus far at UCLA. I have taken Physics 1A and 1B with him, and I will be taking Physics 1C with him in the Fall. I will be entering my Sophomore, and from what I have heard about my future professors, Corbin will eclipse all of them.
DO NOT listen to the people who say that he is intentionally trying to screw people over in terms of grades. Those people obviously never went to his office hours (which he has nearly every day). He genuinely cares about our education, and I find that to be the best quality a professor can ever have.
I'm not saying this because I have gotten an A in both of the first two classes with him. I am a C and B student, trust me. I just think that the value of the education I receive from Corbin is better than what I would get from anybody else.
I'm not going to lie to you, his tests are really hard. And when I say hard, I mean the average is usually around 30-40%. But don't think of that as a reason not to take him. He is making sure that you understand the material more than just merely memorizing the equations. He wants you to be "fluent", not "familiar".
Definitely take Corbin. It will make your education experience better here. And everyone can take a slight hit to their GPA, even though it is definitely possible to get a B or maybe an A in his class.