Review posted on Wed 02 May 2007
Course(s) Taken: MIMG C159

Dr. Simons is a great teacher for MIMG C159. He can be a bit abrasive and his tests can make you feel stupid at times, but he does this to make you work hard - and it works. Every now and then he'll throw you a bone like pointing out exactly what to study the night before an exam, so even though you'll feel like an idiot half the time he gives you enough to do well. He has a system of getting students to work together in groups, which is also excellent. It was a welcome change from other courses and required a lot more thinking than memorizing, which was very appropriate for the subject matter. If you are serious about the biological sciences, take this class.

When I took it the class was being co-taught by Dr. Sanders-Lorenz. She's also a good teacher. In some ways she'll make it easier for you to learn, but she doesn't motivate as well. They work well together, and if you can take it with both of them, do so.

Review posted on Mon 02 Apr 2007
Course(s) Taken: MIMG 159

If you have to take ONE class at UCLA, take Dr. Simmons' class, preferentially MIMG 159, Advanced Molecular Genetics. He's a great guy, fun to listen to. He inspires people, makes students confident, he respects students and I can honestly say, he is the smartest and classiest professor I have ever met. His lectures are extremely interesting, the exams are difficult and he is a very fair grader! He taught us a lot of valuable things during short 10 weeks and I wish he would teach more classes, so I would take more classes with him. I don't understand how can people not like him, because if you want to learn, if you want to earn your grade, you will absolutely love his class. He even makes UCLA feel like a small community!!
Prof. Simmons, you are the greatest!!Thanks for everything, and thanks for that talk in your office hour at the beginning of the quarter!
He is hard , no doubt, but if you are a BRUIN (inside joke ;) ), you will LOVE him and his class!!

Review posted on Sun 16 Apr 2006
Course(s) Taken: LS3

I have no idea how this guy became head of the LS department. He is a horrible lecture, arrogant and doesn't care about his students. He talked down to us like we were idiotic 5 year olds and then preached to us about how amazingly smart we should be since we are bruins. His tests were really hard. His class was hard, the material is very dry and he is not a good proff. Avoid him.

Review posted on Thu 23 Jun 2005
Course(s) Taken: LS3

LS3, Spring 05

Not a very good professor. I did not take notes in his class, nor did I attend office hours. I went to the review sessions the TAs held and they were decent.

All he does is go over slides, which are exact copies straight out of the book. All I really did was read the book, and worked hard to understand the concepts and I had no problem doing well in the class. I went to all the lectures, but upon reflection, this was a waste of 3 hours every week since all the material I needed was in the book. Course reader was useless as well - just the slides he showed on powerpoint, but of course these are EXACT copies from the book.

His tests are fairly well written. I saw one of the reviews above me, which said he makes tricky questions, and cited an example in which Simons asked when "DNA synthesis replaces RNA synthesis during recombination". Any buffoon who even has half an idea of these concepts would realize they have nothing to do with eachother. Even before the test, Simons said there would be a trick question, where the answer was so obvious, ie there was no answer. It would be like being asked on a history midterm, "discuss the reasons the South seceded from the Unions, and its effects on the consturction of the Pyramids of Egypt". The person above would have wrote pages of crap about the South seceding and the pyramids, and spit out even more crap coming up with some foolish connection. I suppose I have to thank people like this, since I know it gives me an extra 7 - 10 pts on a midterm, because over half the class misses such simple questions as these.

So overall, Simons is a decent professor to take LS3 with. His tests are pretty easy if you read the book and understand the concepts. Lectures are pretty useless though. I got an A- in the class.

Review posted on Mon 20 Jun 2005
Course(s) Taken: LS3

Wonderful professor and class. The class does require a little effort to do well, but you will learn some really interesting things in his class. He doesn't try to trick you, despite what others may think. If you know the material, you will do well. I loved this class.

Review posted on Wed 15 Jun 2005
Course(s) Taken: Life Science 3

Posts lecture slides online after the lectures which was unhelpful. Students had to scramble to copy down diagrams, slide notes, AND what he was saying, as he gave us no time. Midterms were picky. He states that he does not give trick questions, which is ridiculous because for one of the short answer questions on one of the midterms, the prompt was something like "RNA Mechanisms replace DNA mechanisms. Give and describe an instance where this happens". The answer was: "rna mechanisms dont replace dna mechanisms". Incredibly misleading! Would not recommend unless you plan on studying this till your brains fall out. Even then, you still might fail the final. Good luck. Youll need it.

Review posted on Wed 15 Jun 2005
Course(s) Taken: LS3

Professor Simons is an extremely hard professor. I had a really hard time staying awake in class. Maybe it's the low voice or the material, but the tests were very, very difficult. I also thought his lecture slides didn't explain very much and his explanation of things was very confusing.

Review posted on Tue 14 Jun 2005
Course(s) Taken: LS3

In my opinion, I think Dr. Simons is an awesome teacher. No, I am not getting an A, nor a B... maybe a C- if I'm even lucky. Why am I saying he is awesome? It's because he is there to help you if you need help. Yes, his tests are hard. But, it is to test you on your knowledge of the material. If you go to class, read... maybe you'll get average. Don't get upset. He really gets you to truly learn the material. If you are having any trouble at all, Dr. Simons is really helpful and is concerned with your problems. I really recommend taking a course with him, but don't expect to get an A without lots of time spent on the course.

Review posted on Mon 21 Feb 2005
Course(s) Taken: 159

159 with Bob Simons was the hardest class I took at UCLA. It required me to work and think harder than I ever had before, and the coursework was brutal. The material was conceptually difficult to understand, and I often visited his office hours. He forced me to expand my thinking and it was not easy, but it is certainly one of the best decisions I made for myself. Taking Bob's class helped me learn to read scientific articles, understand how scientists make connections in their work and prove abstract hypothesis. I am now a grad student at a top 10 school in the biomedical sciences, and I am more than well prepared thanks to Bob's class. In fact, I am now taking the most difficult course in our curriculum, and it's manageable because of the foundation provided me by 159. Those who think the material is archaic should know that science today still based on those concepts. I will always hold Bob in the highest regard.

Review posted on Fri 04 Jun 2004
Course(s) Taken: LS3

One of the best professors at UCLA