Zijun Tian

Overall not an inherently bad professor but grading criteria incredibly unclear and you don't know where you stand until the last second. Grades essentially get distributed by the final which she makes slightly challenging not too bad but most people got Cs or low Bs. Ended with a high 93 still got an A-. Good with emails though.

5/29/2026

Prof is very nice in person and clearly knows her stuff. Very little work throughout the semester besides three group assignments which were straightforward (20% each). Final exam is challenging and you will be unprepared. Also - doesn't curve, and less than 15% get an A. Would NOT recommend if you want to keep your GPA.

5/12/2026

If possible take with a different professor. Lectures are her just at the front reading off slides, despite being participation based it's not engaging whatsoever. TAs often record attendance wrong and skimp out on points. Avoid professor at all costs!!

5/11/2026

Tian is a perfectly nice person and clearly knows marketing well. For an intro class, there is simply too much focus on textbook ideas and conceptual material (literally infinite marketing models). Class is not engaging, and this feels like a waste for what could be a fun area of study. Even with a participation grade, students are not engaged.

5/14/2025

Worst prof I've had at WashU. Thought it'd be an easy A, but peer evals dropped my grade a full letter—even though my team didn't mean to. Final exam is on the syllabus but nothing prepares you for it. No quizzes or tests before. Total waste of time and money. Avoid!! Much more interesting profs.

5/12/2025

Grading is unfair—peer evals can tank your grade even if group members didn't mean to. She won't fix it and doesn't seem to care about students. Turned an easy, interesting class into a boring, stressful mess. Worst WashU class. Take another marketing prof (some are good). Tian's class is a waste.

5/12/2025

Nice person and knows what she's talking about but should not be a teacher. Has no idea how to engage students, and cannot teach what she knows. Class is insanely boring. It's basically a study hall. Students interject about nothing bc of the participation requirement. New teacher and you can tell. Worst class at WashU so far. Worst professor too.

5/12/2025

2 or less hrs/week

This class is deceptively difficult. There is basically no homework and quizzes until one final exam at the end of the semester. While the content is somewhat interesting, it's a lot of content to study for on top of a very strange final presentation. You also have no clue what your grade is until it's posted at the end of the semester.

5/25/2024

It was her first-semester teaching. It is a very easy class, although the lectures can get boring. There was not much work throughout the semester. This is probably the easiest class I have taken at WashU

4/29/2024

She cares about her students and marketing. She is willing to make sure all her students understand her course and it's an easy class.

4/24/2024