Professor profile for Karl Miller
Student reviews of Karl Miller
Review from a student who took HIS 315K and L
History has usually been boring for me, but with Miller, I started actually enjoying lectures, and that's something. He lays out expectations of "what makes a good essay" before tests and papers, and the TAs seem to more or less conform to it. As someone else mentioned, the amount of time it takes to write two good essays for the midterm is just a little longer than a MWF 50-minute class--and that hurt my midterm grade. Like any class, it's best if you keep up with the readings, but he assigns interesting things instead of textbooks so it's a lot less burdensome.
History has usually been boring for me, but with Miller, I started actually enjoying lectures, and that's something. He lays out expectations of "what makes a good essay" before tests and papers, and the TAs seem to more or less conform to it. As someone else mentioned, the amount of time it takes to write two good essays for the midterm is just a little longer than a MWF 50-minute class--and that hurt my midterm grade. Like any class, it's best if you keep up with the readings, but he assigns interesting things instead of textbooks so it's a lot less burdensome.
Review from a student who took 315L
Great lecturer. Lots of notes to take, but Miller is a very interesting story teller- makes you understand history very well. You're supposed to read 6 books throughout the year, but you can get by without reading them all. The grading of this class is rather crappy. 1/3 is midterm, 1/3 is your paper and 1/3 the final- that's it, so don't screw up! The tests are all essay and graded by the TAs, so they usually grade pretty harsh. You're supposed to write 2 essays about 3 pages each for the midterm- in 45 minutes! For the final you have to write 3 essays, which is made a little easier because you have adequate time. He gives you possible essay topics before the tests, but then he picks certain ones that you have to choose from to write about. No homework besides the readings, which are sometimes pretty cool books.
Great lecturer. Lots of notes to take, but Miller is a very interesting story teller- makes you understand history very well. You're supposed to read 6 books throughout the year, but you can get by without reading them all. The grading of this class is rather crappy. 1/3 is midterm, 1/3 is your paper and 1/3 the final- that's it, so don't screw up! The tests are all essay and graded by the TAs, so they usually grade pretty harsh. You're supposed to write 2 essays about 3 pages each for the midterm- in 45 minutes! For the final you have to write 3 essays, which is made a little easier because you have adequate time. He gives you possible essay topics before the tests, but then he picks certain ones that you have to choose from to write about. No homework besides the readings, which are sometimes pretty cool books.
Review from a student who took HIS 315L
Miller is awsome. His lectures are really interesting and you'll always want to come to come class. You take a midterm and a final(both essay, but he gives you the questions in advance), and write one paper. Unfortuantely the TA's do all the grading. My TA had extremely weird grading on the papers. This class isn't too hard though. I'm making a solid B and I've never done any of the reading. You do have to go to every class though and take really good notes.
Miller is awsome. His lectures are really interesting and you'll always want to come to come class. You take a midterm and a final(both essay, but he gives you the questions in advance), and write one paper. Unfortuantely the TA's do all the grading. My TA had extremely weird grading on the papers. This class isn't too hard though. I'm making a solid B and I've never done any of the reading. You do have to go to every class though and take really good notes.
Review from a student who took HIS 315K
Dr. Miller is a very enthusiastic professor and really seems to enjoy what he is teaching. The workload is pretty reasonable, but he grading is not. All of his teaching assistants have a different way of grading (you cannot go to another review session in place of your own) and expect you to know even the unsaid parts of the lecture. The tests are essay, but if you are taking it as a MWF class, I guarantee that you will not have enough time to divulge yourself into the essay. The tests require too much information in a short amount of time. However he is a good teacher.
Dr. Miller is a very enthusiastic professor and really seems to enjoy what he is teaching. The workload is pretty reasonable, but he grading is not. All of his teaching assistants have a different way of grading (you cannot go to another review session in place of your own) and expect you to know even the unsaid parts of the lecture. The tests are essay, but if you are taking it as a MWF class, I guarantee that you will not have enough time to divulge yourself into the essay. The tests require too much information in a short amount of time. However he is a good teacher.
Review from a student who took HIS315K/L
Miller is great... probably one of the better US History profs out there. Workload is reasonable (not light, but reasonable). He's excited about what he's teaching. All tests are essay (there are 2), but not so bad in the long run. If you apply yourself, it is possible to make an A in this class. If you are completely convinced that you HAVE to take history at UT, then I highly recommend this professor.
Miller is great... probably one of the better US History profs out there. Workload is reasonable (not light, but reasonable). He's excited about what he's teaching. All tests are essay (there are 2), but not so bad in the long run. If you apply yourself, it is possible to make an A in this class. If you are completely convinced that you HAVE to take history at UT, then I highly recommend this professor.
Review from a student who took 315K&L
miller is AWSOME! definetely the BEST prof out there! he has got a great sense of humor nad makes his lectures soo entertaining! i have always dreaded history, but after taking him for 315K had to take him for L!! there is no need to read the books, however you MUST go to lecture and take detailed notes. but that is not bad considering he is so great and passionalte abt his subject. 1st semester, i got a b in his class, my ta had said that if i improved he would give me an a, but he was unalbe to bc at the end my avg was still a B. i went to miller, and he reviewed my essays, and decided to give me an A (this is 2 months after the end of the class). he is also really helpful and encourages students to go to offive hrs. however, drawback is that tas do grading so it all depends on them. you can get stuck with a horrible one too! final note: TAKE MILLER! you wont be disappointed!
miller is AWSOME! definetely the BEST prof out there! he has got a great sense of humor nad makes his lectures soo entertaining! i have always dreaded history, but after taking him for 315K had to take him for L!! there is no need to read the books, however you MUST go to lecture and take detailed notes. but that is not bad considering he is so great and passionalte abt his subject. 1st semester, i got a b in his class, my ta had said that if i improved he would give me an a, but he was unalbe to bc at the end my avg was still a B. i went to miller, and he reviewed my essays, and decided to give me an A (this is 2 months after the end of the class). he is also really helpful and encourages students to go to offive hrs. however, drawback is that tas do grading so it all depends on them. you can get stuck with a horrible one too! final note: TAKE MILLER! you wont be disappointed!