You dumb fucks managing bruinwalk got the WRONG Hung Pham. Hung Ding Pham is a completely AND utterly useless. He teaches LS4, and his accent it terrible.

If you're looking for a review of Dr. Hung V. Pham, here it is. Dr. Pham is definitely a character. He always tells us that he isn't that smart himself, and that the only reason why he is better at ochem than we are is that he had 5+ more years to learn it than we did. This professor is a very humble and super approachable. I got destroyed in 30A, and I thought that I was just not good at ochem. I took 30B and 30C with Pham and got A's in both classes. [I worked pretty damn hard though] Dr. Pham intertwines methods of learning and life lessons into his ochem lectures, and it's pretty engaging. He won't give you any practice tests or anything, so if you want to get ahead of the curve, go print out his old exams. If everyone has his old exams though, it'll raise the average to a 70ish, I think. [Happened in his 30A class].

I don't really feel like saying much more, but I hope the stupid fuckers at bruinwalk fixes this professor.

Dr. Pham is one of the most entertaining professors I've had at UCLA. Although this class is difficult and requires tons of memorization, it's doable because of all the resources he offers (do the TA worksheets- they're MUCH more similar to his exams than the suggested book problems). His tests are difficult, but they're also very fair (he never tested us on something he hadn't covered in lecture). Make sure to participate in all the extra credit opportunities!

Chem 14D is a difficult class but Professor Hung does a great job explaining every reaction thoroughly. His exams are difficult but as long as you pay attention to lecture and understand every concept, you should do well. Also, every TA creates their own discussion worksheet so you have lots of practice problems available for exams. The professor also gives out some extra credit on exams and in an extra credit project. Overall, this class is hard but it's definitely worth taking it with this professor.

This class was...interesting. Pham is an amazing lecturer, likely one of the best that I've had in my time here at UCLA. However, with that being said, he is incredibly condescendign and expects you to just know stuff without studying. I recommend that you don't ask any questions in a lecture setting, as he can humiliate you for asking it. However, apart from that everything in this class is fair. The problem sets are hard, but I recommend working on them with some friends in the class, and definitely going to office hours if you need help. The midterms and final are very reflective of these problem sets, and also require some higher order thinking.

My advice for this class is to practice practice practice. This class is unique in the sense that the TAs tend to design their own worksheets. DO AS MANY OF THESE AS YOU CAN during Week 1, and based on which TA has the best worksheet, switch into their section. For instance, there was a TA in the quarter that I took it named Tony Moreno, and he was the absolute best. I wish I switched into his discussion :-). Anyways, from then, try to do the discussion worksheets every week, and use them as a study resource for the exams. Problem sets are due on the even weeks, and released on odd weeks. Before each problem set was due, I would meet with my study group and we would compare answers and talk through the problems. 10/10 recommend this approach. Also, the class goes pretty slow the first few weeks, in that you learn like 4 reactions for the first midterm. However, this number increases a crazy amount for the other exams. To keep up with the material, I recommend making a "cheat sheet" with the gist of each reaction, and making sure you understand when to use which mechanism. I definitely think this is one of the hardest classes I've taken at UCLA, but with the proper time management and practice, you can definitely do well!

OVERALL: This class was definitely tougher than Chem 14C, so it's important to stay on top of the content covered. Professor Pham's exams were challenging but fair, I would recommend keeping a list of all the reactions he goes over separate from the lecture notes so you can easily refer to them as you solve problem sets and study. I did this, and an LA uploaded her own list of reactions (shout-out to Hedi!), which was super helpful for exams.

PARTICIPATION POINTS/EXTRA CREDIT: To be honest, I was a little intimidated by Professor Pham so I didn't really attend office hours (I was afraid I would ask a stupid question), but he was a pretty fun and engaging lecturer. Each of his exams had a unique "extra credit" opportunity on them (I would recommend checking the box if there's ever any question about it), and he also provides extra credit in the form of a Chem 14D themed group project. Since I took the class online, each poll question answered also counted as extra credit for a maximum of 8 points. (There was no required attendance). The class also has online modules called "BACON" (easy points, just screenshot all of the slides to answer the questions) that are due each week.

PROBLEM SETS: The problem sets are good preparation for exams, so definitely make sure to solve them on your own instead of relying on outside help. I would recommend checking the answers over with a trusted friend after both of you have completed the problem set because some of it is graded on correctness.

EXAM TIPS: Synthesis problems are what most students have trouble with, so in preparation for midterms/final, do as much of them as you can! There are a lot of great synthesis problems online and they also help you further hone in on the reactions that are being tested. For exams, I would also recommend doing the TA worksheets of the TAs that are most popular in the class/have the best review.

DISCUSSIONS: Discussions are mandatory for participation points, although you don't have to submit your discussion worksheet. If you see Tony Moreno as a potential TA, definitely try switching into his section! I wasn't in his discussion, but attended some of his discussions because he has good slides and great worksheets.

Pham is a great professor and explains the content in a way that's easy to understand. His slides are organized and super useful! He's also pretty funny and you won't get bored during lecture. He does go a bit fast times, but this allowed us to have extra time at the end of the quarter to go more slowly instead of cramming a bunch of material in. Exams were reasonable with time being the most difficult part, so I'd recommend having a good grasp on the material and not constantly referring to your notes. To study, I'd recommend doing as many TA worksheets as you can since they're all available to you and cover the content well (some are harder than tested material). Your grade also consists of problem sets (one due every 2 weeks), BACON (online tutorials relating chem to pop culture, mostly free points), and extra credit points he offers through in-class poll questions. Pham can be kinda blunt and almost condescending at times when you ask questions, but his actions show that he cares about students and will help you if you show a desire and interest in learning and not just getting a grade. That said, he's not super accommodating with online learning and I think most people all had to take the exams at a set time. Overall, I'd definitely recommend taking Pham because he really teaches you the material well and is also a good lecturer!

Organic chemistry overall is already a pretty tough subject. I had an A in the course before the final and a C after.
I think it really depends on what type of learner you are if you want to succeed in this class. There are no study guides for tests along with no worksheets other than those made by the TAs and LAs which can be helpful (if you have Jessica as your TA). If you want any type of practice it's hard to decide what is actually worth doing for the class.
Be prepared for lowish averages! 60% for the first midterm and 71% for the second. He said he might scale the average to a B- or B depending on the class, I'm not sure how true that is and do not count on it to save you.
I had multiple difficult classes and since I was doing well in this course I let it fall through the cracks. It didn't help that with the way 30A is structured, the beginning at least to me was very simple but the final 1-2 weeks we started learning around 20 reactions and mechanisms. We were also a little behind so we were rushing through it all.
Pham is a very likable person outside of class. In class, however, he is a lot less pleasant and the same goes for office hours. I went to office hours one time because I was genuinely confused and every question I asked I was given the answer of "you should already know this" and "we already went over this." but isn't the point of office hours to go over things you don't understand just from what you got in the lecture or get help on what isn't clicking?
From reading his reviews I expected him to be the best professor ever but that was definitely not the case, I would avoid taking him if possible but you will be able to survive if he's your only option like he was for me.
The whole class is out of 440 points.
100pts for each midterm (there's 2)
200pts for the final
40pts for online BACON (online quizzes, super easy to get 100%)
He gives out 6pts total of extra credit in the form of post-midterm surveys and the professor review. There are also some extra credit points on the exams but not that many (probably 4pts on each).
Pham is a great and funny person but not the best professor, you can definitely make it through if you try. Good luck!

Overall, I thought this class was fine. Professor Pham is clear during lecture, but I wish that he had more time to spend going through examples or solving problems. A lot of material builds on information from 30A, so if you didn't do well in that class (like me), you need to really look at what went wrong and try to improve, or else it's likely you'll also do poorly in this class (like me). The class is broken up into two sections of reactions/mechanisms with a spectroscopy section in the middle, which is totally new and a nice break. The latter half of the class moves very quickly, so you need to make sure you are keeping up with content. Practice is the key to doing well.

TL;DR: Organic chemistry is hard. This will not change no matter your professor. Dr. Pham is amazing in spite of this, and gives fair exams, engaging lectures, substantial extra credit, and excellent help.

After taking this class, there seems to be two types of people: those who hate Dr. Pham, and those who think he is the best professor at UCLA. I really do think Dr. Pham is one of the best at UCLA, and that he does a lot to help students succeed in this class. The main complaint people have is that Dr. Pham seems condescending and unhelpful at times, but honestly, he is just being realistic.

Organic chemistry is not easy, and you shouldn't expect a professor to make it easy. Dr. Pham's exams and problem sets are nowhere near easy—but they are fair and based on exactly what he lectures on in class. He provides slides and lectures are BruinCasted for students' benefits and there's not much mandatory work. This might be a benefit, or a detriment for those who would rather have work outlined. You'll need to do a lot of studying since this class heavily relies on memory of reactions and reagents as well as some intuition in terms of the spectroscopy unit. Discussions are also optional.

In terms of grading, things aren't weighted (but tests are worth substantially more than problem sets). There are a total of 300 points you can achieve, but there are lots of extra credit opportunities (this quarter there were 2 points on each test, plus 6 points for various surveys, 5 points for an extra assignment, and 6 points from inherent curves on tests for a total of 23 points, so nearly an entire letter grade.) Problem sets are graded on both completion and correctness, but just check with some friends or in office hours for guaranteed points. BACON is an online program that is also just free points. Again, tests aren't easy, but they are fair.

A lot of people say to not listen to the really long BruinWalk reviews from people who got an A in the class because their review isn't reflective of what the average student thinks. If you'd like to disregard this review, feel free to. I will say that I thought the workload for this class was much higher than any of my other classes due to self studying, and that anyone can get an A if they truly put themselves to understanding the concepts behind the reactions and spectroscopy instead of pure memory. Dr. Pham makes a very difficult subject much more digestible, and he's extremely approachable and fun as a bonus. I would highly recommend taking this class with Dr. Pham if possible.

Dr. Pham is good because he is straightforward. He gives problem sets for homework, which have clear instructions and straightforward questions. His exams are very similar to his problem sets. His grading scheme is clear. His slides are clear. His difficulty is moderate. The class is hard because there are a lot of reactions to cover, and it’s very easy to fall behind. It’s not always obvious that you’re behind until you’re studying for the test and realize you have so much to learn.

Dr. Pham is a good professor. He’s not easier than other professors, but he gives you the tools to succeed, just don’t expect it to come easily. Tests are 2/3 of your grade, and your workload on weeks where there is no test is basically up to you.