Iqbal Hamza

This professor has taught: ANSC327, ANSC627, BISI899

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Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/31/2023	Despite what other reviews say, it is very possible to do well in this class. While there is a lot of material to learn, Dr. Hamza does a really thorough job at explaining everything that is important to know in the class, and if you don’t understand something he is always willing to answer questions during lecture. There are no homework assignments or quizzes so it is important that you do not fall behind, and review the material regularly. A good way to do this is to go to the GSS sessions held weekly by the undergraduate TA. As for the exams, they are not the type of exams that you can get an A on without studying at all, but if you put in the effort and go to the review session, you can get the score you want. The exams are not designed to trick you, they are made to see if you truly understand the information. My advice to do well in this class would be to attend every lecture if you can and do not try to copy down what is said on the slides but really focus on what is being said. Finally, Dr. Hamza is a fair professor who gives his all during lectures and wants to see his students do well, so ask a lot of questions during lecture if you do not understand something.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 07/06/2023	Taking Dr. Hamza's class is a visceral experience. It is not unlike a passionate relationship, immortalized forever in your memory as a four month courtship of molecular genetics. There will be sleepless nights, tossing and turning, unable to remove Polymerase Chain Reaction from your subconscious, as you prepare for his exams. Listening to his lectures will leave you overwhelmed with feelings of jealousy as you come to realize that when you meet someone, no matter how special they may be, no matter what experiences you may share with them, your love for each other will pale in comparison to Dr. Iqbal Hamza's feverish devotion with molecular genetics. There will come a day when he consults the class roster, searching for a new face, only to exclaim the name of which you were assigned at birth, and you only. You might quiver and plead, but he will refuse to relinquish his tight grasp of inquiry, asking more and more questions, your peers anxiously awaiting a response, until you finally give him the sweet release of an acceptable answer. And yet, beneath the brutality of the emotional warfare that he seems to wage against his students, you will have an epiphany. You will understand that he cares about your learning and that his intensity in class is simply a reflection of his own devotion to genetics. And in that moment, you will ascend above intimidation and you will understand his commitment to you.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting a C Anonymous 05/16/2023	Unless you're Einstein, get ready to be stressed. The only grades come from exams and the exams are HARD. He asks questions as if we're geneticist ourselves ( the short answer parts of the exams). A lot of students get intimidated by him because he asks questions back at students and often cold calls. So much information is given that isn't even covered on exams. I had to go to youtube and google to understand some concepts because he makes a lot of things and explains things in such a hard, "I have a PhD type of way". The GTA is useless as well. Honestly, I would check with the ANSC department and ask if they'll allow you to take BSCI222 instead (they probably won't but it's worth they try.) The final was absolutely a disaster. The only thing I'll say is if you're scoring within the average and you're a graduating senior, you have hope. I found out this semester that he does have a heart. He was a bit lenient this semester with the final grade, but it definitely wasn't a huge one. Honestly, if you score way beyond the class average on the first exam, like in the 40s or below, drop the class. I'm still in shock that I passed. Good luck, cause you'll need it.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Anonymous 04/16/2016	The course is not as difficult as it seems, and that is precisely my problem with Dr. Hamza. Most professors in Animal science try to make things seem more attainable to understand, meanwhile Dr. Hamza seems to get some weird enjoyment out of thinking basic techniques need to be trumped up into something we'd all have trouble understanding. He is smug and pretentious and his attitude is insulting to everyone's intelligence. He will push you to think, but there is not one class where I didn't find him to be condescending. He is incredibly smart, but at what cost? He's rude and often intimidating to approach.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 08/31/2015	As stated below, Hamza's class is definitely difficult, but he is not a bad professor, he is not mean, he does not want his students to fail. These are all things I had previously heard before taking his class, and it scared the crap out of me. However, Dr. Hamza is really eager to help his students learn and fall in love with genetics, while discovering their critical thinking abilities, as long as the students are able to put in the effort. This class really allowed me to become involved with the lecture. It is one of those classes where, if you miss a lecture or doze off, you've missed something really valuable. Dr. Hamza often engages students with questions (even though he calls people out and the questions are sometimes difficult), but he really just wants to get his students to think critically and to learn, not just memorize information to regurgitate on exams and then forget about it a few months later. I definitely recommend this course, but be prepared to put in the work.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting an A mdvet 01/20/2015	Yes, Dr. Hamza is a difficult teacher. Yes, the material is hard. And yes, at first, the class can seem intimidating. However, Dr. Hamza is eager and more than willing to help students learn and discover their learning capability if YOU are willing to put in the work and make an effort! Dr. Hamza's class is one of the few classes that required me to engage in the class instead of just passively taking notes- and because of this, I still remember many of the principles he taught in class. It might not have been the "easy" thing at the time, but this has helped me tremendously as I continued my education. It also made me a more active and curious learner. Do not be afraid to speak up during class! Dr. Hamza might ask you challenging questions back, but he is doing it for your own good, not to embarrass you. And quite honestly, most of the people in the class, if not all, probably have the same questions as you do. I constantly asked questions, and I sincerely believe that is one of the reasons that I enjoyed the course as much as I did. The class is presented via easy to follow power points. I found exams to be extremely fair. If you listen in class, take detailed notes (don't just rely on the power point slides), and ask insightful questions to clarify points, the exams will be straight forward. This is a great course- easily my favorite in the animal science curriculum- as long as you come engaged and willing to learn! Dr. Hamza truly wants to see his students succeed and is a great mentor- you just have to show that you WANT to learn.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting a B+ mshaugh1 01/13/2015	Hamza will probably scare you at first because he is extremely intelligent and intimidating. BUT he is an awesome, passionate teacher. He hates teachers who make students memorize stuff and just regurgitate it on tests. His teaching style forces you to gain a deep understanding of the material. Advice: REVIEW MATERIAL FROM THE PREVIOUS LECTURE. Every day, he asked us questions about the last lecture, and I felt stupid when i didnt get the answer right. Just make daily genetics review a part of your routine. For tests: textbook is a helpful supplement, but focus on his powerpoint slides. GO to his office hours as often as possible. He is great at explaining stuff and drawing pictures until you get it, and he is more than willing to help. All in all, this class was awesome and taught me how to apply the concepts to real life. Id rather get a B+ in this class knowing I worked my butt off and actually understood the material than get an A+ in a class that only involved memorizing words and spitting them out on tests. Dont take anything Hamza says personally. He's hard on his students because he likes to push us and knows we can succeed. He's passionate about genetics and teaching as a whole.
Iqbal Hamza ANSC327 Expecting a B mschneid 05/06/2009	Dr. Hamza scared the bejeezus out of me in the beginning of the semester. He stressed me out and I really 'hated his guts' (as he would say). The way he randomly calls out students can be very stressful and demeaning. I felt like a total idiot more than once in this class for my inability to answer a simple question because I was so freaked out from being called on (my heart rate would seriously spike). He makes it very difficult to get away with saying "I don't know." - On the plus side, if he asks you a question and you can't answer it, he will make you feel so bad about it that you will never forget the answer...and I suppose that's one effective method of teaching. ...When students don't know the answer to something, he likes to tell us that we're breaking his heart. This is about the nicest thing he will say to you if you can't answer one of his questions. Anyway, he has grown on me throughout the semester. He says his exams are very challenging, but I was pleasantly surprised by his first exam - I expected it to be completely ridiculous, but it was actually very fair. (He gives an exam - 25%, Siewerdt gives an exam - 25%, there are pop quizzes - 25%, and a final - 25%). I found his material VERY interesting, but I was not so intrigued by Siewerdt's material. However, Siewerdt is incredibly nice and was a huge relief to have in the classroom - you could feel the stress levels in the room drop when he was teaching.