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☆ Rating
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Difficulty
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GPA
Average GPA
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Students Measured
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The workload is minimal, with your entire grade hinging on a few exams that prioritize memorizing precise definitions and textbook concepts over complex analysis. Lectures frequently drift into personal anecdotes and market stories, making independent study of the assigned readings and slide decks essential for actual exam success. Grading is notoriously strict and heavily dependent on evaluators who look for exact keywords and rarely award partial credit, turning prep into a rigid memorization task. If you are targeting a finance career and can navigate a loosely structured format for the sake of networking, the low time commitment is a solid tradeoff, but anyone looking for clear instruction or a predictable grading curve should steer clear.
Burton is an old man that likes to hear himself talk. He's very accomplished, but his arrogance really outweighs his accomplishments. But his classes are probably the easiest ECON electives so take them and suffer through his boring lectures. Two midterms and a final. Go to lecture and get summaries for the readings and you'll be fine.
Instructor
2.0
Enjoyability
2.0
Recommend
4.0
Difficulty
2.0
Hours/Week
1.0
Not a great class. Lectures and pointless, irrelevant, and boring. Class uses professor's own written text, which is laden with typos and contradictions. Midterms are primarily made up of trick questions with double negatives intended to confuse the student. Just another bad economics course to avoid-although it seems impossible to find those worth taking.
Instructor
2.0
Enjoyability
3.0
Recommend
2.0
Difficulty
4.0
Hours/Week
2.0
Learn lots about current events and financial theory. Lots of interesting stories from Burton who is knowledgeable yet fairly arrogant about his past. Exams aren't too bad
Instructor
4.0
Enjoyability
4.0
Recommend
5.0
Difficulty
3.0
Hours/Week
2.0
Awful course.
Burton's textbook, "Financial Market Theory", is the biggest joke of a text I have ever encountered. Seemingly written by an 8th grader and littered with typos, the book makes me want to commit suicide while reading. His lectures are painfully boring, and his soft, arrogant voice does little to keep your attention. I stopped attending because it was so bad. Avoid Burton in general - I don't know why he's so popular because he is pretty stupid.
Instructor
1.0
Enjoyability
1.0
Recommend
1.0
Difficulty
3.0
Hours/Week
0.0
Easy class. Do the readings, class isn't necessary to attend unless you like hearing about current events in the world of finance
Instructor
4.0
Enjoyability
3.0
Recommend
4.0
Difficulty
2.0
Hours/Week
2.0
Very interesting course. Really no work other than midterms and finals, but midterms and finals can be tricky. Highly recommend for anyone interested in finance.
Instructor
4.0
Enjoyability
4.0
Recommend
5.0
Difficulty
2.0
Hours/Week
2.0
Great professor with interesting lectures. Emphasizes what the tests are on in class, so attendance is important. Graders are horrible.
Instructor
4.0
Enjoyability
4.0
Recommend
5.0
Difficulty
3.0
Hours/Week
3.0
I would recommend this class to people looking to take a 4000 level econ that doesn't require much of a time commitment. It is one of the less time consuming classes as there are only two midterms and a final that encompass your grade. For exams, if you know what is taught in class really well and take good notes then you should do fine. It's not easy to get an A but it's pretty easy to get a B. I enjoyed the lectures and material overall.
Instructor
4.0
Enjoyability
4.0
Recommend
5.0
Difficulty
3.0
Hours/Week
0.0
I DONT WANT TO STUDY FOR THIS FINAL
Instructor
4.0
Enjoyability
3.0
Recommend
3.0
Difficulty
3.0
Hours/Week
0.0
Lectures are boring and exams are tough. But the curve is pretty nice.
Instructor
2.0
Enjoyability
1.0
Recommend
3.0
Difficulty
4.0
Hours/Week
3.0
