ECON 4820

Super easy class. Will have online quizzes that are on the chapters in Holt's own textbook. I highly recommend getting the Amazon version as hitting control+f is useful. Though the material is a bit dull and there is a 5 page paper with little guidance at the end, Holt is a super sweet guy who really cares about his students. Try getting your presentation done early in the semester if you can, as most of the classes will consist of a group's class presentation on a chapter in the book then some version of an economics experiment, both super low key. Holt also throws some version of a pizza party at his house after the semester is over.

This class is mind numbing. The experiments you do in class are relatively interesting, but there is a lot of sitting around and doing nothing. There are also daily quizzes on chapters that are open note, but it gets very overwhelming to read each chapter in depth in order to do well on the quizzes. Holt is an interesting professor who is clearly passionate about his work, but if you're not interested in what the different experiments in the class are about, you simply won't have a good time. The grading is fairly easy and straightforward, but the class itself is extremely tedious. I would not recommend if you're actually trying to learn something.
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Charlie Holt is one of the nicest guys ever and this class is not hard at all. I enjoyed the experiments we did every class, however, I did not find lectures super engaging (maybe because I took this during COVID semester).

This class is alright. I took this during the covid online era so I'm not entirely sure how it changes when it is in person. Classes itself were pretty useless since after the second week, it is all student presentations. You have to participate in terms of experiments every class and maybe when you are mentioned in a presentation. There's a final paper as well and Holt didn't provide clear instructions for it but I don't think it is impossible to do. After seeing what else the Econ department has to offer in terms of electives, this really isn't any better you can do than this class.

If you want a course that doesn't take a lot of effort at all, take this class. It's not that interesting and Prof. Holt is a little boring (which is exacerbated over Zoom), but the only work you have to do for the majority of the semester are quizzes (twice a week, around 20-25 total) that are open-note. Each class is basically divided into two: in the first half, a group of 3-4 students presents on a chapter from the textbook and in the second half, another group (the group that'll present in the next lecture) will conduct an experiment in Veconlab. You don't have to pay attention for any part of any of this except for Veconlab - doing the Veconlab experiments is a pretty big part of your participation grade (participation is 30% of your final grade). The rest of your participation grade comes from how you do on your group's presentation and experiment.

Besides the 30% for participation, your grade is based 30% on the grades from the quizzes and 40% on the final paper. The final paper is only five pages (double spaced!) and it's basically a commentary on any experimental economics research paper that you choose (what did the experiment do well, what did it do poorly, what are some extensions, limitations, etc.).

My biggest criticism of the course is that you have no indication of how you're doing in the course until the very end. Your participation grade is not something you can see updated throughout the semester - that, along with the final paper, comprise 70% of your grade and you literally have no clue what that could end up as until you see your grade posted in SIS.

This is by no means an easy course, but it is definitely the most enjoyable course I've taken. It's not high-stress which is very conducive to learning. It's evident that Holt really cares about his students and the material, which makes for an excellent class. He is so knowledgeable and knows so many economists; it's truly incredible. I'd recommend this class if you are interested in economics experiments or wish to pursue grad school. 33% of the grade is participation/a group presentation, the other 33% is twice weekly open notes reading quizzes, and the final 33% is a five page paper critiquing an experimental economics paper of your choosing.

Fantastic class. Unfortunately, not sure if Holt will be teaching it again, but he is an outstanding professor. His book is really well written There are 2 Collab quizes a week on the readings (usually 10 pages or less). Everyone does a group presentation on one of the chapters (based off an experiment done in the previous lecture) and short paper at the end. Besides the relative ease of the course, Holt is incredibly knowledgeable, especially about auction theory.