SDS 4010
Probability
Mathematical theory and application of probability at the advanced undergraduate level; a calculus based introduction to probability theory. Topics include the computational basics of probability theory, combinatorial methods, conditional probability including Bayes' theorem, random variables and distributions, expectations and moments, the classical distributions, and the central limit theorem. permission of the instructor.
Instructors
Bill Katsianos, Bowen Xie, Brett Wick, Chetkar Jha, Debashis Mondal, Debjoy Thakur, Jimin Ding, Jose Figueroa-Lopez, Liberty Vittert, Russ Woodroofe, Vasileios Katsianos, Xiaoyu Wang
Reviews
Bill is very chill, and his exams are sometimes hard, but he also gives out extra credit sometimes.
9/16/2025
493 Probability is a hard class. Bill is a new instructor, obviously he needs more effective teaching methods instead of just copying from the slides. The slides he provides are clear and you can basically learn by yourself. Tests and hw are not easy. But Bill tries hard to raise the average, such the nicest grader ever. The final is easy.
2/5/2025
Really good professor who takes the time in class to not only teach concepts clearly, but go over plenty of proofs and examples in class. He does a great job of teaching you the concepts underlying everything, but not demmanding perfection on the exams. He is a very fair grader and puts out practice exams which are reflective of the real exams.
12/18/2024
2 or less hrs/week
extremely generous grader, the final exam median was around 90 something bc of potential for 20 extra credit pts. also he’s fine af
12/18/2024
exams are a lot easier than hw, both are pretty reasonable. grading is fairly lenient imo, also he's hot
11/15/2024
The averages on the midterms were 89% and 84%, grading was very lenient and the exam Qs were very easy compared to the HW and content covered in lectures. Bill is a very intelligent and caring teacher and imo this class is only slightly harder than SDS3211. If you are paying attention in class and not ChatGPT-ing the HW you will probably get an A.
11/15/2024
4-6 hrs/week
good professor when explaining things, can sometimes go over content too fast. exams are hit or miss. interesting and challenging content
6/11/2024
Everyone absolutely failed every exam, so the class was insanely curved. She projects her iPad onto the screen, then hovers over the iPad and doesn't look up at the class for the entire duration of the period.
12/20/2022
He is a very knowledgable professor and always ready to help. But as a human being he needs help too. So, as long as a student is ready to help, he will go above and beyond to help him back.
6/12/2022
I think he made this class a lot harder and more confusing than it had to be. Lectures were kind of all over the place, and tests were extremely difficult. Really bad with technology too, to the point where it became a distraction (how did this man survive online teaching in 2020??). Very nice man, but I wouldn't take him again.
12/26/2021
Professor Wick is really kind and nice. Though the course material is kind of difficult, Professor Wick explained everything carefully. And he is always welcomed for every students' questions at any time. He replied to questions really fast and clearly. I am personally really grateful for the chance he could teach the probability course.
4/25/2021
Pretty straight forward about what will be on exams, VERY easy grader if you show work. She is looking to give as much partial credit as possible. Shes looking to make stats accessible to everyone and will meet you where you are with math as long as you seek out help. Office hours are extremely helpful.
2/1/2019
honestly not a 5/5 math teacher generally, but a 5/5 math teacher for washu. super impressive statistician - has amazing credential and a real gem for the school. can be a little hard to follow sometimes but overall solid teacher and super charismatic/funny lecturer
12/19/2018
I learned a lot in class. It was definitely tough but that had more to do with the material than anything. He cares about his students and is super accessible outside of class. His notes were helpful too.
1/30/2018
Unclear lecture notes with many typos; un-curved exams made of random stuff from nowhere in the textbook or homework that questions you the necessity of studying for his exams. As a student who previously made As to all other math classes, I chose to stop letting him add more probability to my transcript. Please avoid him at all cost.
11/16/2016
Class is somewhat boring, attendence rate is about 60%. However, class notes are wonderful and helpful, and the professor is nice.
12/29/2012
When there was a challenging homework due, students would gather in his office way past his office hours, and Russ was always patient and encouraging. His photo was the background picture on the math department computer for the two semesters. That's how much fun we had!
4/29/2012