Professor

Edward McDevitt

AD
4.0
Overall Ratings
Based on 241 Users
Easiness 2.5 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 3.0 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 4.2 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 4.1 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (241)

1 of 26
1 of 26
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Dec. 17, 2010
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A

For an economics teacher, sure. I'll give him that - his lectures are clear and concise. But when you're going into this class, don't bring your hopes up. UCLA Economics requires you to do a lot of self study and understand the material by yourself.

The "best" teacher I ever had is Ravetch. This guy does not belong in this league of teachers. When you mumble and recite from memory an insurmountable amount of information, I am not impressed. This guy is NOT as good as everyone else says he is.

Do not buy the lecture notes, take your own notes. You need all the help you can get internalizing the theory.

Short answer is not tough, but multiple choice questions (answer choices a-k) are pretty ridiculous sometimes.

Overall, it really doesn't matter what professor you take for any economics class, as it's going to be ridiculous and BS anyway.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 101
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 22, 2020
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A

Professor McDevitt is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA. He is extremely receptive to feedback and understanding of students struggles. He really wants to make sure his students understand the concept. He was by far the best at accommodating to the change in learning environment due to COVID19. He would prerecord lectures and then do them again live. He is very clear on what is on each test and gives lots of very similar and helpful practice problems. His teaching is clear and easy to follow. The only thing I had a slight problem adjusting to at first is that his multiple choice questions can have up to 10 choices including choices like "two are correct" and "none are correct" and there is no partial credit so if you get one wrong you've already lost 10 points. However, if you do the practice problems they should be pretty manageable. I would highly recommend taking this class with Prof McDevitt!

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 121
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
March 27, 2022
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A+

This is a very doable classes. The key to success is to make sure you show up everyclass, and complete all his study questions before his exams.
There are not too many workload, and all exams are open books which means that you can even print his study questions out since many exams questions are taken directly from the practice questions(maybe changing some number or some wording, but same idea).
Professor is very clear and as an international student with weak English skills, I am able to follow his lecture without any confusion. Gradings are 25% midterm1, 25% midterm 2 and 50% finals. His office hour is helpful as well.
The content is interesting for me, I would absolutely want to take his class again.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 101
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
June 17, 2020
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A

McDevitt is by FAR the best econ professor i've encountered at UCLA. His tests are hard and his tests make up your entire grade (45% midterms, 55% final) but he never tries to trick you and the tests are fair (nothing he doesn't cover in class are on exams). He gives practice exams which are incredibly helpful in studying for the tests, and provides detailed notes that are almost word for word in what he goes over during lecture, so if you miss something in lecture you can go back. McDevitt is so accommodating to his students, and gives extra office hours in the days leading up to the exams and always gives detailed answers and more to whatever you ask. I cannot sing higher praises for this professor, he knows his stuff and is fair to his students.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
April 5, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: B-

Maybe I am different from most of the students, I am not really like this professor. He will curve but not round up 0.1 ever. He never replies emails after the final exam, and usually in rude or confusing words, like " I told this balabala" instead of Yes or No. Recording has a blurry quality, too.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 150
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
March 30, 2021
Quarter: Winter 2021
Grade: B

Professor McDevitt is the best lecturer in the Econ department. To be fair, I put in minimal effort in the class due to extenuating circumstances from the COVID-19 pandemic. I didn't watch a single lecture, studied maybe 3 days before each of the 2 exams and final, and somehow managed to get a B. Getting an A is definitely doable if you put in the work to fully understand the material (which I've managed to do in other courses I've taken with him). I find his curve generous, and it only serves to help you. If you're not great at graphs, you'll struggle a bit like I did. You're only graded on the 2 exams (20% and 25%) and 1 final exam (55%).

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 121
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
March 27, 2022
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A

The "theory" part of the title is accurate - not many case studies like some other upper divisions, think Econ 1 and Econ 2 type graphs and theory.

Has a different style of teaching and tests which takes the first midterm to get used to. Listening to his lectures is the best way to study, not reviewing notes. He is a good teacher that clearly understands everything he is saying extremely well. Questions will be answered thoroughly. He explained some basic econ 1/2 concepts better than I had ever heard before.

Very unorganized lecture notes. Tests are NOT math-based plug and chug type but more concept based with free writing response sections where you are expected to copy down graphs and explain.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
March 16, 2024
Quarter: Winter 2024
Grade: A

Professor McDevitt is passionate about economics and very knowledgeable in what he teaches. He has very well prepared and very well explained lectures and presentations every class meeting. I am extremely grateful to learn economics from him! He makes everything so easy to understand with so many examples.
He does get a bit snappy with students, but it's understandable to lose your patience after teaching so many years. He offers so many office hours and is very supportive towards his students.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Oct. 16, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A

I think the class was not as hard as other reviews say. Do not follow the bruin walk grade distribution because it is misleading. The professor is a good lecturer and he knows what he's talking about, during his class he'll make references to other Econ classes (from Econ 1 to Econ 106). The exams are pretty tricky for the multiple choice but if you do all the study questions and practice problems you'll be more than fine. the grade is based only on three exams. I personally took very good notes (do not try to understand the notes without the lecture because he provides exams questions during the lectures). I studied for this class probably for 8 days the whole quarter. Go to the regraded sections that he holds after each exam, my grade improved by 8/10% for every single exam after the regrade section.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Oct. 16, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A

this class covers interesting topics. I think professor McDevitt is not a bad lecturer and during the lectures he will talk about all type of topics, from Econ 1 to Econ 106. the workload is not that bad, you just need to watch the lectures, and study for midterms and finals. some questions on the exams are almost the exact same from the practice exams. my biggest advice is to go to the regrade section that he offers after each exams. For each exams on average my grade improved by 8/10%. Overall a good class, in the same quarter I was taking three other Econ classes and I was able to manage all As.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 102
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Dec. 17, 2010

For an economics teacher, sure. I'll give him that - his lectures are clear and concise. But when you're going into this class, don't bring your hopes up. UCLA Economics requires you to do a lot of self study and understand the material by yourself.

The "best" teacher I ever had is Ravetch. This guy does not belong in this league of teachers. When you mumble and recite from memory an insurmountable amount of information, I am not impressed. This guy is NOT as good as everyone else says he is.

Do not buy the lecture notes, take your own notes. You need all the help you can get internalizing the theory.

Short answer is not tough, but multiple choice questions (answer choices a-k) are pretty ridiculous sometimes.

Overall, it really doesn't matter what professor you take for any economics class, as it's going to be ridiculous and BS anyway.

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 101
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
June 22, 2020

Professor McDevitt is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA. He is extremely receptive to feedback and understanding of students struggles. He really wants to make sure his students understand the concept. He was by far the best at accommodating to the change in learning environment due to COVID19. He would prerecord lectures and then do them again live. He is very clear on what is on each test and gives lots of very similar and helpful practice problems. His teaching is clear and easy to follow. The only thing I had a slight problem adjusting to at first is that his multiple choice questions can have up to 10 choices including choices like "two are correct" and "none are correct" and there is no partial credit so if you get one wrong you've already lost 10 points. However, if you do the practice problems they should be pretty manageable. I would highly recommend taking this class with Prof McDevitt!

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 121
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A+
March 27, 2022

This is a very doable classes. The key to success is to make sure you show up everyclass, and complete all his study questions before his exams.
There are not too many workload, and all exams are open books which means that you can even print his study questions out since many exams questions are taken directly from the practice questions(maybe changing some number or some wording, but same idea).
Professor is very clear and as an international student with weak English skills, I am able to follow his lecture without any confusion. Gradings are 25% midterm1, 25% midterm 2 and 50% finals. His office hour is helpful as well.
The content is interesting for me, I would absolutely want to take his class again.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 101
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
June 17, 2020

McDevitt is by FAR the best econ professor i've encountered at UCLA. His tests are hard and his tests make up your entire grade (45% midterms, 55% final) but he never tries to trick you and the tests are fair (nothing he doesn't cover in class are on exams). He gives practice exams which are incredibly helpful in studying for the tests, and provides detailed notes that are almost word for word in what he goes over during lecture, so if you miss something in lecture you can go back. McDevitt is so accommodating to his students, and gives extra office hours in the days leading up to the exams and always gives detailed answers and more to whatever you ask. I cannot sing higher praises for this professor, he knows his stuff and is fair to his students.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ENVIRON 134
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: B-
April 5, 2023

Maybe I am different from most of the students, I am not really like this professor. He will curve but not round up 0.1 ever. He never replies emails after the final exam, and usually in rude or confusing words, like " I told this balabala" instead of Yes or No. Recording has a blurry quality, too.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 150
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2021
Grade: B
March 30, 2021

Professor McDevitt is the best lecturer in the Econ department. To be fair, I put in minimal effort in the class due to extenuating circumstances from the COVID-19 pandemic. I didn't watch a single lecture, studied maybe 3 days before each of the 2 exams and final, and somehow managed to get a B. Getting an A is definitely doable if you put in the work to fully understand the material (which I've managed to do in other courses I've taken with him). I find his curve generous, and it only serves to help you. If you're not great at graphs, you'll struggle a bit like I did. You're only graded on the 2 exams (20% and 25%) and 1 final exam (55%).

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 121
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A
March 27, 2022

The "theory" part of the title is accurate - not many case studies like some other upper divisions, think Econ 1 and Econ 2 type graphs and theory.

Has a different style of teaching and tests which takes the first midterm to get used to. Listening to his lectures is the best way to study, not reviewing notes. He is a good teacher that clearly understands everything he is saying extremely well. Questions will be answered thoroughly. He explained some basic econ 1/2 concepts better than I had ever heard before.

Very unorganized lecture notes. Tests are NOT math-based plug and chug type but more concept based with free writing response sections where you are expected to copy down graphs and explain.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 101
Quarter: Winter 2024
Grade: A
March 16, 2024

Professor McDevitt is passionate about economics and very knowledgeable in what he teaches. He has very well prepared and very well explained lectures and presentations every class meeting. I am extremely grateful to learn economics from him! He makes everything so easy to understand with so many examples.
He does get a bit snappy with students, but it's understandable to lose your patience after teaching so many years. He offers so many office hours and is very supportive towards his students.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 134
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Oct. 16, 2023

I think the class was not as hard as other reviews say. Do not follow the bruin walk grade distribution because it is misleading. The professor is a good lecturer and he knows what he's talking about, during his class he'll make references to other Econ classes (from Econ 1 to Econ 106). The exams are pretty tricky for the multiple choice but if you do all the study questions and practice problems you'll be more than fine. the grade is based only on three exams. I personally took very good notes (do not try to understand the notes without the lecture because he provides exams questions during the lectures). I studied for this class probably for 8 days the whole quarter. Go to the regraded sections that he holds after each exam, my grade improved by 8/10% for every single exam after the regrade section.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
ECON 134
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
Oct. 16, 2023

this class covers interesting topics. I think professor McDevitt is not a bad lecturer and during the lectures he will talk about all type of topics, from Econ 1 to Econ 106. the workload is not that bad, you just need to watch the lectures, and study for midterms and finals. some questions on the exams are almost the exact same from the practice exams. my biggest advice is to go to the regrade section that he offers after each exams. For each exams on average my grade improved by 8/10%. Overall a good class, in the same quarter I was taking three other Econ classes and I was able to manage all As.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
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