Jonathan Shidal
4 courses · 46 reviews
Courses
All Reviews
He's a great professor who cares about students. The late coupons system works well for the homework assignments and he is very upfront with expectations for the course.
4/21/2026
Prof. Shidal is a great professor who genuinely wants his students to succeed. Pre-recorded lectures can be a little easy to fall asleep to, but studios during class time clear up a lot of the confusion. Shidal offers pretty decent explanations to questions and is responsive on Piazza. Lab assignments are doable (get a good group for labs 4 & 5).
12/19/2025
Great professor with nice calm lectures. He talks pretty slowly so I would suggest watching videos on like 2x speed, but overall he is good at conveying material. Class has plenty of extra credit and you generally can ensure you get a 95+ on any lab. Exam was a bit difficult but overall I think the class was fair as it was balanced by labs.
12/16/2025
Prof. Shidal is very knowledgeable and helpful 1-on-1. Recreation and online lectures are very boring and at times difficult to follow; felt like I was supposed to know more than I did. Labs were not too bad, but the exam was REALLY difficult, and tried to trick you on every question. My biggest advice: DO THE OPTIONAL READING and EC from day one!
4/30/2025
Overall good professor. I think sometimes he needs to bring more enthusiasm to class. I also think he is a much stronger professor in 332S but I think hes been teaching that for longer. I generally do not recommend Computer Security so if not that class, take this professor!
4/24/2025
Class takes up a normal/reasonable amount of time. Lecture videos, recitation, and the studios definitely help. Exam might be rough if you slack off, but it's only 17% of the grade, and there's extra credit offered on every lab. Professor Shidal is accessible outside of class and he's always willing to explain a concept further.
4/8/2025
I really enjoyed this class! I think the grading is very fair and you can always submit regrade requests if anything looks weird. He genuinely cares for his students and is easily accessible outside class. The assignments can be workload heavy, even more if you have a bad group for last two labs and studios.
12/21/2024
Challenging but good class, Jon cares about his students and will help any understanding in class. He knew my name pretty quickly, and he and his TAs all were very available and helpful. Midterm is hard, but only 17% of final grade. This class is not as hard as people say, even for someone with no real world CS experience.
12/14/2024
Super nice, one of the only comsci profs I've had with actual helpful lectures. Very present in class and always happy to answer questions. Class was challenging but very doable and he is super available to help. Exam is tough.
12/6/2024
shidal is rlly nice but the grading was so inconsistent bc its done all by TAs which can be annoying. if u go to shidal he will be helpful which is good tho. all the lectures r async on canvas which can be tricky if u r a procrastinator. the midterm was hard but if u stay on top of watching the videos and asking questions during studio its fine
8/6/2024
2-4 hrs/week
The exam is brutal but there is no final (only one exam). The class is not that bad other than the exam, and Shidal is a good professor.
5/21/2024
2-4 hrs/week
Shidal lays out the guidelines very well, so the class is very straightforward. Start on labs early and you will do well on them. Exam is hard but curved and worth a smaller portion of grade. One of my favorite CS courses
5/18/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Shidal's lectures can get dry but the class itself is structured really well and has really good information and does a great job and improving your programming abilities. The test can be a shitshow if you don't prepare very well but with the extra credit opportunities getting an A really isn't that bad (you get unit tests for all labs)
5/18/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Theres like a flipped classroom approach where you watch videos and then go to class, which I didn't really enjoy. I found the videos kind of boring and hard to stay engaged, so I would just go to lectures and figure it out from there. The professor is great though and is super helpful and wants to make sure you understand everything. There is 1 test thats 2/3 of the way through the semester that like everyone does bad on, but doesn't affect your grade too much. The final project is a lot of work, so make sure that you find a good group to work with, and if you find a group and they arent splitting up the work ask the professor if you can switch, because it is a lot of work to do alone, especially during finals.
5/17/2024
Prof. Shidal is a great professor. His explanations are very clear if only a little drawn out. If you go to his office hours with a bug in your code he will likely find it in less than a minute and explain why you have the issue.
5/5/2024
RMP doesn't give me the option to select CSE433 with Shidal (so putting this review under 422). But this is the second class I've taken with Shidal and he's just as caring, accessible, helpful, smart, precise, and illuminating as always. He remains my favorite prof in WashU's CS department.
4/29/2024
Shidal is an amazing teacher. He is always available to talk to students and teaches the course really well. I left this course learning a lot and would love to be able to have him is my professor again. I recommend anyone to take a course with him if you can.
4/25/2024
Lectures are certainly boring but mainly serve to reinforce the material presented in module recordings; they can be safely ignored during studio if you have a good understanding of the content before class. Studios themselves are super helpful and give great hands-on experience for C++ principles
4/1/2024
A flipped class style with in-class studios. You mainly learn C++, which is not a super interesting topic. He is quite boring with the lecture, but a nice guy overall. Exam is hard but curved.
1/17/2024
Shidal is a pretty good professor. My only complaint is that it's hard to understand his lectures in the beginning (not super good at dumbing things down) but once you understand how to code in c++, it's so much easier. Do the assignments early cause they can take some time to complete. He's really attentive to students and helps as much as he can
1/8/2024
Best CS professor I've had so far at WashU. Genuinely cares for students. Class not super difficult, especially if you've already used C++. Assignment instructions are super clear, just need to follow those. Sometimes graders are a bit tough, but not excessively so. Can do studios asynchronously, which is nice.
12/17/2023
The course is very straightforward and doable except for the one test which is disproportionately hard relative to the rest of the class, but it isn't that bad if you just focus on memorizing C++ syntax & understand pointers (you get a cheat sheet)
12/13/2023
Jon is one of the best professors in the CS department. His lectures/explanations are clear, precise, and illuminating. He really understands how to make potentially daunting concepts incredibly digestible. Beyond that, he is caring, super nice, and approachable. I found 332 incredibly organized and an exceptionally valuable class.
12/11/2023
His CSE332 course is awesome. It's elective but I highly recommend this course.
9/10/2023
Shidal is knowledgeable and a good lecturer. Each class is a required studio, and sometimes a free day to catch up on studio or hw. The assignments can be large, but he will frequently accodomate for any difficulties the students may face. He is decently active on piazza. The 1 exam is the only flaw which does not suit the class. He curves it a lil
8/31/2023
Shidal is a great professor, he is so passionate about the material and wants you to learn. The class is cool and you get to work on a variety of projects. It is very code heavy, so be ready to do a lot of coding, and it is not an easy A, he makes you work for it, but he is a great prof and loves to see you engaged, so make sure to make an effort.
12/23/2022
Know his stuff, and seems alright as a guy. However, he is rarely around to help you and doesn't try to seem open. Lectures are informative, but the one test is easily the worst part of this class and you do not get prepared for it.
11/16/2022
After taking this class, I also TA'd for him multiple semesters. I appreciate Prof Shidal not just as a lecturer but as a mentor. If you get the chance I recommend not only the class but coming back to TA, he's a great supervisor and really values feedback both from students and TAs.
11/8/2022
Professor Shidal is very caring in the studio and will explain everything in the easiest way to let you understand.
5/24/2022
Professor Shidal is very accessible outside of his office hours and was willing to meet with me just about anytime I emailed him. He gives really thorough explanations and actually cares about you as a student. He pretty much gave everyone extensions as long as you asked in a reasonable amount of time.
5/16/2022
Professor Shidal was a great! The recorded lectures were long but helpful. Definitely go to office hours! He walks through problems until you understand them. He was also understanding about extensions as long as you ask early. The labs get progressively harder, but not too bad! I would definitely take a class with Professor Shidal again!
4/27/2022
Shidal is fantastic. He obviously cares about his students but if you do not do the work you will not do well in the class. The midterm was definitely difficult but is not worth much of the grade and he curves it pretty nicely. The recorded lectures are long and a little boring but if you watch them on 2x speed they really aren't bad.
4/27/2022
Shidal's great! The class has its rough moments, but that's more my fault than his. There are online lectures, but I didn't watch them and did fine. I love going to his OH and he always answers my questions. He's willing to give an extension for labs as long as you ask in advance. Almost everyone fails the midterm but it doesn't count for much.
4/27/2022
I hate seeing Shidal slander. Obvious some of you haven't seen the rest of the WashU faculty, because Dr. Shidal is a gem. He's incredibly knowledgeable of the topics he teaches and he puts in the work before and after class to make sure everyone understands the material. Hard class but I never once felt like I wasn't given the knowledge to succeed
4/11/2022
not great at explaining concepts, and the professor basically talks in loops. don't take his class if you want to learn
2/7/2022
He's a nice prof. He cares about students and quickly responds to students' questions via both email and piazza. Tbh the lectures are quite boring, but the overall class structure itself is quite fair and clear (No doubt about it!). He is there to help u if u need help. The guidance and instructions are super clear. Recommend this class.
5/11/2021
Dr. Shidal is a caring and good professor. Although, his lectures can sometimes be boring as there is no interaction. He just talks for 45 mins or so. Studios and Labs are fairly manageable. There is only one exam, during the middle of the semester, and worth 19% or your grade. This exam is pretty tough tbh. Stay updated and study weekly
11/13/2019
Professor Shidal was awesome this past semester. I was able to grow, not only as a student, but as a human being. I would recommend this guy again!
7/11/2019
Very helpful during/after lecture. Willing to explain things in laymans terms if need be, but also knows how to articulate ideas using niche vocab. Helpful coding examples provided in lecture slides. Lab instructions are hard to read; would recommend reformatting them before starting labs (if you have time).
10/11/2018
Very chill professor. Willing to help and pretty laid back. Very reasonable as well. Would recommend.
11/13/2017