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.

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.

This class was definitely harder than expected and I think the bruinwalk grade distribution is MISLEADING. I think that the material is relatively straightforward and McDevitt is a good professor but I think there's the impression that Econ 134 is a pretty easy doable class, which honestly, I disagree. The material is like microeconomics on crack but environmental themed, which was cool for a bit until I was doing shifts on 5 graph systems. The exams are also pretty challenging, especially the multiple choice. I think if graphs are your strength this class is good for you, but if you're not into that stuff I'd pass on Econ 134. Also, your whole grade is based on exams so if you're bad at test taking that's another thing to consider, but he curves pretty generously.

This class was a pretty average econ elective. Grades are based on midterm 1 (20%) midterm 2 (25%) and final (55%). The material itself was fairly difficult, although the first part of the class builds off of econ 101 (present value, externalities, taxes, etc.). McDevitt is a solid lecturer. He writes incredibly disorganized notes during lectures but also provides typed lecture notes so it wasn't a huge problem. His tests are fair, and he provides study questions and a sample test, but the long multiple choice questions are a bit ridiculous. Overall 6/10.

Easy class. Prof. provide clear lecture notes, you can print them for the exam. He also provides sample exams, and practice questions, that could provide you with a basic idea about the exam. He gives a review class before the exam, pays attention to what he said, and it is almost the questions ask in exam. However, if you are not strong in econ and familiar with 101 materials, it might be a hard class. the class average is quite low, but he provides curve

To get it out of the way, no, this is not an easy Econ elective. However, I don't think any of McDevitt's classes are easy, and he himself admits his tests are quite difficult. Nonetheless, unlike most Econ classes, he is clear in what he expects from you and is going to test you on. You definitely have to put the work in, but you will learn a lot. I can't emphasize it enough, go to his extra office hours the weekend before the exam!!!! He will give out clues of some of the harder questions that might pop up.

Grade is made up of two midterms and a final, and the final was not completely cumulative. He records his lectures, which is extremely helpful because the content is quite complex and he goes quite fast in his lectures. He uploads typed notes so you technically don't have to take any, but I would HIGHLY recommend taking the notes yourself instead. He is EXTREMELY big on graphs and you have to know how to use them. All of his exams are completely open note, but that does not make the exams a cakewalk.

I studied for all 3 exams for at least a week each, and still got a D, a B, and a C on each of them respectively. However, he curves the class so I ended up with a B.

This class has a lot of graphs and I’m not a graph person so it was a hard class for me but anyone who tells you to not take him doesn’t like Econ. He’s very competent and clear in his explanations and he knows A LOT. His tests are tough but they are very similar to his practice tests so if you can do those, don’t stress too much. Would definitely take another class with him.