STS 1500

OK so everyone hates on this class, but I don't think its too horrible. To start with, Carlson has many opinions, and he does test on them, but I don't think there is anything wrong with that, because he is a leader in the STS field. Furthermore, the exams are difficult because they do ask trick questions, but if you put your time in, it isn't that bad. Everyone says Carlson is bad, and he is a pretty average lecturer, but you barely deal with him, the people you get to know are the TAs: Ben, Pete and the other dude (forgot his name, didn't have him). All the TA's are great, and they are really nice people. Although they can grade harshly on the papers you have (technical description and PPA), the assignments teach valuable skills. In fact, I applied for a provisional patent, and had it not been for this class, I would have no idea how. Also, I strongly encourage people to go to office hours. They are very lenient on what they give back. I went and reason through why I should get points back here or there, and I came out of the office with a letter grade higher on my exam and technical deception. Getting an A is difficult, as you probably saw by the graph, but I managed to do it, and I really did nothing extraordinary. Just keep up with your work, and as a pro tip, do not leave the idea notebook to the last minute (if you do, try to take inspiration from things around you, and add something to them!).

This class is useless. But you have to take it, like many other useless classes, so prepare yourself. STS 1500 is what you get when diarrhea and piss amalgamate.

So this class is pretty terrible. But that being said, it's not a difficult class. The midterms aren't too hard if you review the powerpoints and videos beforehand. The technical description and patent application aren't hard either, just follow the rubric. The most annoying part for me was the idea notebook, but they care more about quantity not quality, so as long as you're consistent you'll get a good grade. The class is not a very big time commitment so as long as you put in effort, you can get an A.

This is by far the most pointless class that I have ever taken. Dr. Carlson is the most narcissistic person that I have ever met-- a significant number of readings are written by him and he even cites himself in the readings. The TAs worship Carlson and quote him in lab. The readings are often long and not very interesting, and the lectures are pretty much a summary of the lectures. However, do not let this fool you-- the readings are necessary because the midterm and final will have nitpicky questions from the readings. Attendance is mandatory, and you are not allowed to use technology during class because you "need to absorb on Dr. Carlson's word" (actual quote from a TA on the first day of class). However, if you do well on the technical description and Patent Application by making sure you religiously follow the rubric, do all of the readings before the tests and learn the PowerPoints you should come out with a B+/A-. Don't take this class if you are not required to, but if you are an engineer there is no way of getting out of this class so you will need to buckle down and tolerate the BS that is this class.

I did about two readings all semester and slept through the lectures and pulled out an A in the class. The videos on collab are more useful that the lectures for the first half of the semester. The final was significantly more difficult that the midterm, so preparing more for that is a good idea. There are two written assignments, which are somewhat informative. Not too bad as long as you follow instructions precisely. They'll take off points just to take off points. They like to make the class harder than it actually is. Overall, boring and dumb class, but it's required!!!! So you can't get out of it!

This is definitely the most useless class I've taken at UVA, and should not be required. I would honestly rather just take an ENWR to fulfill a writing requirement. The readings are helpful for the exams, but if you just do all of them a couple days before the exam you should be ok. For the technical description, just do EXACTLY what the TAs say to do and make sure to submit it as a PDF. Make sure you pick a good group in lab section as you will count on them for the PPA.
Overall, no matter how you work, you will probably get a B+ or maybe an A-. Please do not take this class if you don't have to.

I was probably one of the ONLY people to get an A in his class, and only because I got a 99 on the technical description. His test questions are confusing and often bias. I hate that we learn from papers that he writes and are tested on his opinions on the subject. They need to majorly revamp this class in order to make it worth students' time.

This class is terrible. Your entire grade is based on the group you pick on the first day of class. It's virtually impossible to get an A. You can work extremely hard or not at all and you will get an A- or B+. Its not hard at all but it's just a pain.

As with everyone else - this is a very poor course, but its mandatory. None of the information will be used in engineering. All the TA's love Carlson so much, for some reason. You can see from the course forum that very few people are able to get a full A in the course. That is not because it is hard, but because this course is SO easy to neglect. That being said, you can basically do little to nothing in the course (except the TD/idea notebook - be sure to divy notebook up at least a little. Most people end up doing it last minute and suffer.) and end up with a B+, easy. Only recommendation if you want to try to stretch for the A: follow ALL the rubrics to the point. For the few written assignments, they basically follow the rubric and take off unnecessary points.

This class really isn't that bad. Professor Carlson provides thoughtful insights that yield true in today's society. Don't do the readings; it really is just busywork and only several specific questions from the readings will show up on the exams. For the exams, just review the lectures. The TechDescription and PPA are assignments that test if you know how to follow a rubric. The IdeaNotebook is hell, but not too bad. Overall, I put the MINIMUM amount of work into this class and got a B+. I studied the day before each exam and did the TechDescription and PPA the day before. Just chill and focus on your other classes.