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MAE 3620 Machine Elements and Fatigue in Design
Last taught: Spring 2016

Ratings

21 ratings
Instructor
Enjoyability
Difficulty
Recommend

Weekly Breakdown

hrs/wk
Reading
Writing
Groupwork
Other

Grade Distribution

Average GPA
Students Measured

13 Reviews

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Spring 2013
3.0
Average

Meh, he's a bore, but the stuff he teaches is good to at least expose yourself to just once. Most of the material is covered in software you'll learn to use once you get a job, but I guess if you want an advantage you can learn this stuff well enough to know how software does what it does... Just get through it and you'll learn something at least.

Instructor 4.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 9.0
Spring 2012
1.7
Average

Class is boring; Thacker's lecturing style tends to put you to sleep. Most of the HW were notterribly hard, but very time consuming. The tests are ridiculous in that at least 10% of his answers are wrong, and the class has to correct him after the fact. On the plus side Thacker is a nice guy.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 2.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 10.0
Spring 2011
2.3
Average

This is a classic Thacker course. He is not the best professor, but he is not the worst either. If you are taking this class its cause you have to, not cause you want to.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 2.0
Recommend 3.0
Difficulty 3.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Spring 2011
1.0
Average

Thacker just shouldn't teach anymore. you have to take it, so get a good homework group together. the tests have nothing to do with the homework. Ask him for a curve and he'll give it to you

Instructor 1.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 5.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Spring 2011
1.7
Average

This class is about as boring as they come. The material is ancient and aside from the occasional quirky joke, Thacker never fails to disinterest me, partially because of his teaching methods and also due to the dry nature of the class material. Homework can be a real pain, but the TA is great and really saves you a bunch of time if you attend his Office Hours.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 2.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 5.0
Spring 2011
1.0
Average

Probably the worst class I've taken at UVA. Material is dry and poorly covered. Thacker makes no attempt to make the class interesting and teaches it as if it were 20 years ago. Tests are poorly made and homeworks are inconsistently graded. Prepare for a miserable class.

Instructor 1.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 4.0
Spring 2011
1.3
Average

Professor Thacker is overwhelmingly boring. He takes attendance so make sure you go to class. The homework assignments are impossible so just wait for your TA help session. Grading on the homeworks is arbitrary at best. The tests are miserable but everybody does poorly.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 4.0
Spring 2011
1.3
Average

You basically have to go to the recitation in order to do the homework and the tests are nothing like the homework.

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 5.0
Hours/Week 6.0
Spring 2011
1.0
Average

Most miserable class ever. You wont learn anything.

Instructor 1.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 5.0
Hours/Week 0.0
Spring 2010
1.3
Average

Well it's a Thacker class so what ccan you expect. Reading from lecture notes, show and tell, awkward pauses, and long tedious hw. Besides that the class is doable. All the test were on collab this year and there are some complications with that. The test are mostly conceptual so make sure to know your bearings...no pun intended

Instructor 2.0
Enjoyability 1.0
Recommend 1.0
Difficulty 4.0
Hours/Week 10.0