Professor

Mason Porter

AD
4.0
Overall Ratings
Based on 4 Users
Easiness 3.8 / 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 3.5 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 4.5 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (4)

1 of 1
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MATH 42
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
July 7, 2020
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A

Mason is one of my favorite professors in the math department. He rarely teaches undergrad courses, but he designed this course for the data theory major. There's a big focus on creating your own math models. This is much different than other lower div math--grading is on your process/assumptions and not necessarily getting the "right" answer. Mason has corny jokes and shirts and showed us his extensive collection of plushies which was awesome. Live lectures and discussions were clear and recorded, although his handwriting is hard to read (which he openly admits several times lol). He posts his notes from class as well. Both Mason and our TA (Gyu Eun is the best!!!) were very flexible about due dates--we had a 1 week grace period to turn in assignments and more if you just talked to them about your situation. They were especially accommodating at the end of the quarter with all the protests which was really nice. We had 2-3 weeks for a group project on one of the MCM problems with a 20 page write up but it wasn't too bad if you split up the work. Some of the HW problems (esp. the project ones) can be tricky and take a few hours but OH and disc are really helpful. Def recommend taking with Mason if you can!!

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May 31, 2023
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: A

We had one 24-hour take-home midterm and a final project. In my opinion, the midterm was relatively easy since it was similar to the homework. I mostly used the textbook instead of the lectures for homework, since lectures can be slightly unhelpful. However, Mason is incredibly passionate about the topic and loves cracking jokes during class which kept us engaged. Grace, the TA, is very helpful and nice and is always willing to help with homework. The final group project was very fun since we got to pick our own topic and apply what we learned in class, and also it's pretty useful when applying to jobs. We worked on the project for about 5 weeks (I think) and had meetings with MP to go over our progress and get suggestions. Even though it's been almost a year since I took this class, I still think about the project and how cool it was! I also liked the concept of a group project because normal math courses tend to be very antisocial, and the group project really helped alleviate that.

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Oct. 24, 2022
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A

Most stressful class of my ucla career, more stressful than Eggert tbh. The lectures are super dense and the assignments/exam are very difficult. Don't get me wrong, Mason's a nice guy, but he uses different terms and definitions from the book and his explanations just aren't that helpful.
Also, this class is mostly linear algebra and probability theory, if you're hoping to learn about graph theory or neural networks, this ain't it.
However, the curve is pretty good tho.

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MATH 168
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
March 23, 2022
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A

Dr. Porter is absolutely fantastic, and our TA Grace is no less awesome! The lectures feel more like seminars and truly Dr. Porter just wants us to learn without worries about grades. The midterm is 24h online but this is the first time I have a test that is doable in 1 hour as promised. The final is a fun group project and we learn a lot from one another. Homework is hard but Grace helps us tremendously with her notes, discussions, and generous office hours. Overall, the class exceeds way beyond my expectations, as it is one of the few classes that I don't feel stressful at all!!!

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
MATH 42
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: A
July 7, 2020

Mason is one of my favorite professors in the math department. He rarely teaches undergrad courses, but he designed this course for the data theory major. There's a big focus on creating your own math models. This is much different than other lower div math--grading is on your process/assumptions and not necessarily getting the "right" answer. Mason has corny jokes and shirts and showed us his extensive collection of plushies which was awesome. Live lectures and discussions were clear and recorded, although his handwriting is hard to read (which he openly admits several times lol). He posts his notes from class as well. Both Mason and our TA (Gyu Eun is the best!!!) were very flexible about due dates--we had a 1 week grace period to turn in assignments and more if you just talked to them about your situation. They were especially accommodating at the end of the quarter with all the protests which was really nice. We had 2-3 weeks for a group project on one of the MCM problems with a 20 page write up but it wasn't too bad if you split up the work. Some of the HW problems (esp. the project ones) can be tricky and take a few hours but OH and disc are really helpful. Def recommend taking with Mason if you can!!

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
MATH 168
Quarter: Spring 2022
Grade: A
May 31, 2023

We had one 24-hour take-home midterm and a final project. In my opinion, the midterm was relatively easy since it was similar to the homework. I mostly used the textbook instead of the lectures for homework, since lectures can be slightly unhelpful. However, Mason is incredibly passionate about the topic and loves cracking jokes during class which kept us engaged. Grace, the TA, is very helpful and nice and is always willing to help with homework. The final group project was very fun since we got to pick our own topic and apply what we learned in class, and also it's pretty useful when applying to jobs. We worked on the project for about 5 weeks (I think) and had meetings with MP to go over our progress and get suggestions. Even though it's been almost a year since I took this class, I still think about the project and how cool it was! I also liked the concept of a group project because normal math courses tend to be very antisocial, and the group project really helped alleviate that.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
MATH 168
Quarter: Fall 2022
Grade: A
Oct. 24, 2022

Most stressful class of my ucla career, more stressful than Eggert tbh. The lectures are super dense and the assignments/exam are very difficult. Don't get me wrong, Mason's a nice guy, but he uses different terms and definitions from the book and his explanations just aren't that helpful.
Also, this class is mostly linear algebra and probability theory, if you're hoping to learn about graph theory or neural networks, this ain't it.
However, the curve is pretty good tho.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
MATH 168
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2022
Grade: A
March 23, 2022

Dr. Porter is absolutely fantastic, and our TA Grace is no less awesome! The lectures feel more like seminars and truly Dr. Porter just wants us to learn without worries about grades. The midterm is 24h online but this is the first time I have a test that is doable in 1 hour as promised. The final is a fun group project and we learn a lot from one another. Homework is hard but Grace helps us tremendously with her notes, discussions, and generous office hours. Overall, the class exceeds way beyond my expectations, as it is one of the few classes that I don't feel stressful at all!!!

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
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