Smith

2-4 hrs/week

This has been by far the best course I have ever taken, and it is so so worth it if you are interested in medicine. The material is very challenging, and I had to study a lot for this exams, but course is genuinely really interesting and I learned so much. Professor Smith is an amazing teacher, and he really cares about helping you succeed.

11/13/2025

Learned a ton in a field I thought I knew about. Great guy who keeps the class simple with his explanations. All you have to do is review the lecture and ask one question about the material during class, and prepare for exams. Informative if you want to go into the major. There's a reason why his classes have massive waitlists, the secret is out

7/9/2024

Easy class and chill professor

6/13/2024

2-4 hrs/week

Exams weren't too bad, just make sure you stay on top of consistent studying.

5/22/2024

One of my all-time favorite professors at WashU. Very knowledgeable about his field and able to dissect any question you have about the content. All you have to do is come with questions and willing to discuss to succeed. Also the sweetest guy possible, will be the first to ask about your day outta class and how you are doing. Truly a gem.

4/22/2024

This was the easiest class. All you have to do is come to class with a prepared question based on the slides, and he just answers it. That's basically the whole class. take for GPA boost, and ignore other rates because they are really old

3/18/2024

Loved Dr. Smith! She was very knowledgable, funny, and always excited for lectures. Helpful and highly accessible outside of class. Baked cute, EEPS-themed treats for the entire class. The class/exams are challenging and content-heavy (not an easy A!) but the professors are truly excellent. Great intro to EEPS.

1/8/2024

I went to office hours for Prof Smith's class almost every week just to do the homework assignment, and was always met with help. I took this class just as an NSM, as I don't have much interest in science at all. It was a good experience, although it is unnecessarily difficult for an intro level class.

11/28/2023

Jen herself is great, but the class is horrible. You will have to fight for your life to get a good grade in this class. Maybe it's just the TAs grading super harshly, but damn, they turned a class for my major into something a dreaded. Jen is cute though. Milf hours. But damn what a super hard class. Avoid it if you calue GPA, or your time.

5/14/2023

Took this class as many other engineers have, to fulfil the upper level science requirement. For a topic that I have zero interest in, Phil and Jen are pretty entertaining, but that's about where it ends. They said that this course isn't a memorization course... It definitely is. Make sure you take good notes because the slides are very brief.

2/27/2023

Dean Smith teaches very challenging material. But, he is kind, caring, and always wants the very best for his students.

1/15/2023

Funny and kind person. Frequently baked science-themed treats for the 100+ person class. The lectures were boring because of the subject matter. It's difficult to do well on the exams, merely due to how much material is covered -- even if you study. Office hours aren't helpful, she speaks in parables rather than answering simple questions.

1/5/2023

Jen is an amazing person and teacher. She tries her best to make jokes and keep the lectures entertaining. However, the class is extremely boring and you have to do alot of work for it, its 14 billion years of rock history. If you aren't interested in rocks DON'T take this class, it is not intro level. As a freshman it was not the move.

12/19/2022

Jen is so kind! She really loves her job and is genuinely excited to teach. She's a great person to get to know, she is always learning more about her field and loves engaging with students. Love love love Dr. Smith!

10/7/2022

Prof Jen Smith is truly an amazing professor. She is on the docket to teach the updated version of Earth and the Environment renamed to EPSC202 Intro to Earth and Planetary again for the next few years. She is extremely knowledgeable and speaks about her personal experiences, brings in food, teaches creatively, and really cares for her students!

6/26/2022

10/10 would recommend taking any class offered by Prof Smith, he really cares about his students and wants everyone to get the content +succeed. Really sweet guy and clearly cares about his field a lot.

2/28/2022

He's such a great guy. Bio of cancer is definitely very difficult but he is very committed to making sure you get the outcome you want.

1/14/2022

Prof Smith is really funny and walks through each lab clearly so everyone understands. However, I think his lab AI does all the grading for the lab reports, so I found that the grading was weird/random. I would get points off for calculations where my friends would not get points off even when they used the same equations and got the same numbers.

12/25/2021

I took Introduction To Global Climate Change In the 21st Century with Smith and it was, hands down, the worst class I have ever taken at WashU. Completely incoherent, expectations weren't clear, we were tested on stuff we weren't taught, HE'S A CLIMATE SKEPTIC! He said Arctic ice melt was good bc warm water is more biodiverse. Avoid at all costs.

10/30/2020

Professor Smith is very friendly and willing to patiently answer questions. The material is interesting, although it is easy to get lost. However, as all of the taught materials are available to view outside of class, it is not difficult to do well in this course.

1/9/2019

Class isn't interesting (unless you're passionate about ocean tides) but take it for the easy NSM A. Doesn't take attendance, uploads powerpoints/recorded lecture on blackboard, all exams/assignments are take-home and submitted via email. I stopped going to class after week 1 and was easily able to figure out the take-homes on my own.

12/29/2018

This professor is absolutely wonderful if you like the text material, but awful if you don't have any interests in the class. He is very talky and would answer your questions very patiently. He gives classes by presenting powerpoints. He is great for the course GCC.

8/3/2018

Dr. Smith is hands down my favorite professor ever at WUSTL! He plays awesome music in lab, he's super helpful and caring, and he's an amazing teacher. One of the nicest people I've ever met. Jokes around with students and makes the lab section something to look forward to weekly! I can't recommend his subsection enough!

12/18/2016

Great guy, but boring professor. Attendance is literally optional and you could still get an A. Extra credit for going to class though which is a plus. Take it if you need a gut, but not if you want to learn about GCC.

6/20/2012

I took this class to fulfill a requirement because I heard it was easy. Friendly guy, content is not very stimulating, tests are harder than you would think, but in the end I got a grade that was much higher than the amount of effort I put in (and probably higher than the actual mathematical grade I had.)

1/13/2012

Very nice guy but terrible professor. Attending class is not mandatory but he gives extra credit quizzes. Lectures are very unorganized and extremely boring--entire class fell asleep. Asks very stupid questions on tests--multiple choice and T/F. Sometimes leaves entire lectures off of his tests. Like I said, he's nice but a bad teacher.

12/6/2010

This class is easy as long as you study for the tests. All of the lectures and power points are online, so you don't have to go to class, although there are some extra credit pop quizzes. The lectures are usually boring, so I would not recommend going to class if you are going to fall asleep.

12/7/2009