Reviews of professor Shawn Massoni

Rating: 1.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
I can tell Dr. Massoni really loves microbiology, but the way he teaches is just awful. The only thing you're graded on are five exams, none of which he gives any feedback on. His lectures only consist of him reading off the slides and there are no other materials to help you understand. Poor teaching, poor feedback, and poor expectations.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
There is a written exam at the end of each unit that is manageable if you put the time in to study. Lectures are interesting but aren't recorded. You can tell Dr. Massoni has a lot of passion towards the subject and he's overall a great person.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Shawn was probably the most fair professor I've ever had. I really appreciated that he wanted to challenge us, but also not expect too much from us as a class and respected us as his students. He really took responsibility in his teaching, and would admit when he made a test too hard and graded us more fairly. Medium difficulty, but good guy!

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 1.0/5
Shawn is one of the worst professors that I have ever had. Shawn creates discussion boards for his courses, yet does not reply to student questions. He has yet to reply to emails that I have sent him months ago. Do not take his courses if you expect to receive a response--you are truly on your own when dealing with him and his obsession with TH.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 3.0/5
Had two courses with Dr. Massoni. Fantastic layout and clear grading criteria. Make sure to fill out the weekly worksheets and you are golden. Wish more classes were like this. Would take again.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
Dr. Massoni is a fantastic instructor and what a professor should be. He gives detailed feedback to all assignments, answers questions almost immediately and makes sure you understand the topic. The text is free and very well written. No trick questions. All answers are given to you on practice exams and homework assignments. Take this class!

Rating: 4.0/5, difficulty: 1.0/5
Very easy class, boring teacher. Most of the time there's just a guest speaker. Show up, do the like two assignments and you will pass.

Rating: 5.0/5, difficulty: 2.0/5
I took this class right before graduate school because I wanted to be more competitive in applications and let me say this has been one of the most enjoyable classes I've ever had in biology. The content is very approachable. The text is free or low cost if you buy the e-book. Dr. Massoni has been super responsive to me and he's really inspired me!

Rating: 2.0/5, difficulty: 4.0/5
The lecture content is adequate, but the tests are difficult, and the grading heavily relies on them. Would not recommend taking MB 302 with him and setting your expectations low. He did not make an effort to support students by providing additional practice materials. You essentially need to memorize every slide to be prepared for the test.