Prof. Malkan was unacceptably disorganized but was at least enthusiastic about the material. His lectures were not great and the wording of his exams was very confusing, but he meant well.

Very unorganized class, enthusiastic and happy Professor, loves to answer questions, harsh grading.

Professor Malkan is an excellent professor and lecturer who is passionate about astronomy and explains the course materials in great detail. I was very captivated by many of the lectures and thoroughly enjoyed the course. The problem sets are reasonable difficulty and on par with those in other upper division astronomy courses. The tests have a combination of mathematical problems and a wide range of conceptual questions. Make sure you actually understand the material and not just the mathematics. The professor is happy to meet with students during OH and has review sessions before the midterms that are very helpful. I recommend audio-recording his lectures and taking pictures of what he writes on the blackboard as that will make studying for exams an easier process. He also allowed an index card for formulas and any cheat sheet information you deemed necessary. Extremely helpful for being prepared for exams as we weren't expected to memorize every tiny detail but understand concepts and the greater picture. As long as you review all the lectures, attend the reviews, and organize a good index card then you'll do fine in this class. I highly recommend taking this class with Professor Malkan if you have a chance as he is incredibly engaging and cares about making sure his students learn the material in a meaningful way. At the end of the quarter, he also organized a group dinner with all the students in the class along with his wife (Professor Shoko Sakai) and children. It was a great experience and awesome way to end the quarter. The TA (Helen Kim) was also solid the quarter I took the class. This was definitely the best astronomy class I've taken at UCLA and I enjoyed every lecture and review.

Some older reviews seem to suggest Professor Malkan is condescending or rude at times, but that's definitely not the case. He doesn't mind explaining details to students and doesn't expect every student to be a master of the material going into the class. Questions are welcome, and he's happy to explain and discuss in a friendly manner.

Some days he is good at teaching, others not. Some days he is gone to a telescope or conference and just cancels class or has someone fill in. Some days he is really awkward, others really nice.

Although he does a good job of getting across the basic ideas, the details (which the homework and tests are based off of) he is not so good with.

The tests are pretty tough and there is not enough time for them.

No reason to avoid him, but I wouldn't take a class just because he is teaching it.