Shawn Miller at University of California Davis | Rate My Professors (2024)

Shawn Miller

Compare

Get ready to readGraded by few thingsClear grading criteriaLecture heavyAccessible outside class

Check out Similar Professors in the Philosophy Department

• 4.90Alejandro Sandoval
• 4.70David Glick
• 4.60Elaine Landry

• PHI31

  Jun 21st, 2024

  Quality

  3.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI31

  Jun 21st, 2024

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : Yes

  Overall, the main parts of this course were readings each week, 2 papers, and an online final. The readings were tough to understand but his lectures made up for it. The papers are tough so make sure to ask TA for help. The final was easy, all answers are in the lectures and practice final. 3% extra credit to final grade if you show up to lecture.

  EXTRA CREDITSo many papersLecture heavy

  Helpful

  

  

• Advertisement

• PHI030

  Jan 10th, 2024

  Quality

  3.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI030

  Jan 10th, 2024

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A-

  Textbook

  : N/A

  This course was decent. I'm not too invoked about philosophy, but overall Prof. Miller does a good job at explaining it. The writing assignments every week were relatively easy, same with the papers and final, if you do the reading and pay a little attention in lecture you should be fine. Make sure to talk to your TA because they grade everything.

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI038

  Jun 18th, 2023

  Quality

  3.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI038

  Jun 18th, 2023

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Mandatory

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : Yes

  He posts lecture podcasts but lectures are kind of boring. He reads off the slides that are posted online, so going to a lecture isn't worth it unless you have specific questions about the content. Essays have a heavyweight but the TAs aren't given strict rubrics so you really have to go to office hours and ask others to proofread for you.

  Lecture heavyGraded by few things

  Helpful

  

  1

  

• PHI038

  Apr 6th, 2023

  Quality

  2.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI038

  Apr 6th, 2023

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : Yes

  His lecture was his chapter summary of the textbook (that you're supposed to read before class) and he read his notes (aka the "slides" he provides) verbatim the entitle class period. Graded by two papers, weekly small writing assignments, and MC final. TA's grade work so it all depends on them. Truly felt like I learned nothing from him. Easy tho

  Lecture heavy

  Helpful

  

  1

  

• Advertisement

• PHI030

  Jan 3rd, 2023

  Quality

  1.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  See Also

  Greg Miller at University of California Davis | Rate My ProfessorsLee Miller at University of California Davis | Rate My Professors

  PHI030

  Jan 3rd, 2023

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Grade

  : Rather not say

  Textbook

  : N/A

  Do not take this prof.

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI030

  Jan 2nd, 2023

  Quality

  1.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI030

  Jan 2nd, 2023

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Grade

  : B+

  Textbook

  : N/A

  Do not take this professor. The day the quarter was over, everything was graded and done. 3 weeks after the quarter was over, this professor went back and changed grades on assignments that were already graded and made them lower with no communication and went ahead and submitted it to the registrar without any notification.

  Get ready to readGraded by few thingsAccessible outside class

  Helpful

  

  

• Advertisement

• PHI030

  Dec 5th, 2022

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  2.0

  PHI030

  Dec 5th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : Not sure yet

  Textbook

  : N/A

  A nice professor that teaches an easy course that is easily accessible outside of class. Tons of weekly reading. There are two major essays that make or break your grade, so do well on them.

  Get ready to readGraded by few thingsAccessible outside class

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI038

  Dec 4th, 2022

  Quality

  2.0

  Difficulty

  2.0

  PHI038

  Dec 4th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Grade

  : A+

  Textbook

  : Yes

  Super boring lectures that were unengaging - he read directly off notes word for word. PHI can be mind-boggling and confusing in of itself and he used even more complex academic language that was almost unintelligible. Grading was fairly generous so I did well but felt like I did not learn much.

  Get ready to readLecture heavyGraded by few things

  Helpful

  

  1

  

• PHI005

  Jun 21st, 2022

  Quality

  3.0

  Difficulty

  1.0

  PHI005

  Jun 21st, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : Yes

  Not the most interesting class but it is very easy, I would recommend taking if you want some extra units or a simple class. We had two papers, both which you did not need to attend lecture to know how to do, just use the lecture notes for help. Easy final exam and good TA's :)

  Clear grading criteriaGraded by few things

  Helpful

  

  

• Advertisement

• PHI38

  Mar 23rd, 2022

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI38

  Mar 23rd, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A+

  Textbook

  : Yes

  Discussion participation was 5%, weekly complete/incomplete writing is 30%. This means 35% is free point. Final was 20 multiple choices truly based on his study guide, worth 15%. Remaining 50% were two 5-page papers. My TA Isaac was excellent, choose him!

  Participation mattersSo many papersRespected

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI031

  Feb 28th, 2022

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  2.0

  PHI031

  Feb 28th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : B

  Textbook

  : No

  I took this class as a first-year and it was hard to understand the readings, but tutoring helped and I was able to pass this class. There is only 3 essay and the final was 20 questions that were based on the slides he posts online. He records his lectures so no need to go. he posts readings for each week but he goes over them in class.

  RespectedAccessible outside classCaring

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI031

  Feb 12th, 2022

  Quality

  3.0

  Difficulty

  1.0

  PHI031

  Feb 12th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Textbook

  : No

  The class is graded by very few assignments(2 papers and a final). Essays are graded pretty easily. Lectures are just a repeat of weekly readings and are really monotone and boring. Final was multiple choice and fairly easy.

  Get ready to readGraded by few thingsClear grading criteria

  Helpful

  

  

• Advertisement

• PHI031

  Jan 8th, 2022

  Quality

  5.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI031

  Jan 8th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : No

  The weekly assignments are marked as complete/incomplete. With 2 papers about 5 pages each. TAs grade the papers but they are usually not tough. Weekly readings may be hard to understand but are interesting. Ask him any questions, and he'll answer you. A nice person.

  Gives good feedbackAccessible outside classGet ready to read

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI38

  Jan 5th, 2022

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  4.0

  PHI38

  Jan 5th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Textbook

  : Yes

  Two 5-page papers 50%, eight weekly grade-by-completion writings 30%, multiple choice final 15%, discussion 5%. He delivered lectures by podcast and had accompanying notes.

  Skip class? You won't pass.So many papers

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI30

  Jan 4th, 2022

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  1.0

  PHI30

  Jan 4th, 2022

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A+

  Textbook

  : No

  The readings can be hard to understand, but can be pretty interesting. Weekly writing assignments (250 words) graded only on completion. Use the lecture recordings to for your papers and keep up on the readings. If you do that, you never have to go to class. The 2 papers were graded easily and the final is an easy 100% if you do the reading.

  Get ready to read

  Helpful

  

  

• Advertisement

• PHI031

  Dec 17th, 2021

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  4.0

  PHI031

  Dec 17th, 2021

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : No

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : No

  Not entertaining or one bit interesting, however, very easy to pass! My guide to passing: 1) don't go to class, but listen to lecture postings and take notes. 2) Make friends with 2 others in the class (avoid the internationals). 3) Get to know what your TA likes in writing style. 4) be clear in writing assignments and GO TO DISCUSSION!

  Graded by few thingsLecture heavy

  Helpful

  

  

  Reviewed: Dec 18th, 2021

• PHI030

  Dec 17th, 2021

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  2.0

  PHI030

  Dec 17th, 2021

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : No

  Professor Miller was really nice. Lectures were boring and the readings were horrible, but he does a good job of explaining the readings in lecture. Honestly, you could get away with just relying on his notes and skimming over readings. There were two essays that were graded really fairly, with helpful feedback from the TA. The final was not bad.

  Gives good feedbackGet ready to readLecture heavy

  Helpful

  

  1

  

• PHI30

  Dec 15th, 2021

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  4.0

  PHI30

  Dec 15th, 2021

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Textbook

  : No

  Professor Miller is a pretty good professor, he offers a practice final and records the lectures. There is not an overwhelming amount of work, just weekly assignments, 2 essays, and a final. He is also very understanding and down-to-earth. The readings are difficult to understand but he explains them well and makes slides to aid in analysis.

  HilariousLecture heavyCaring

  Helpful

  

  

• Advertisement

• PHI31

  Dec 15th, 2021

  Quality

  4.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI31

  Dec 15th, 2021

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A

  Textbook

  : No

  Nice professor, he lectures directly about the reading, provides extensive lecture notes, likes to share about his dog. His voice is very soft so it was kinda easy to fall asleep in lecture, but overall interesting content! Short writing assignments weekly graded for completion. Class is graded on two midterm essays and 20 mc final exam.

  Graded by few thingsClear grading criteriaCaring

  Helpful

  

  

• PHI31

  Dec 14th, 2021

  Quality

  5.0

  Difficulty

  3.0

  PHI31

  Dec 14th, 2021

  For Credit

  : Yes

  Attendance

  : Not Mandatory

  Would Take Again

  : Yes

  Grade

  : A+

  Textbook

  : Yes

  The professors lectures were clear because they explained the readings well, which made the two papers and the finals easier to write. His class was doable because there wasnt too much work. His criteria was very clear, and I found myself enjoying philosophy. Love how passionate he is about the subject. Taking another class with him next quarter.

  Graded by few thingsClear grading criteriaLecture heavy

  Helpful