I took this class summer 2022 for session c6. The first week, I thought I was going to have to drop the course because how information heavy it is initially. If you're not familiar with biology its a lot to digest in 6-weeks, I am familiar with a little but with my busy summer schedule I was spreading myself thin at times. To my surprise, the midterm was very easy as long as you used to textbook. Thankfully, the textbook itself isn't dense and cuts straight to the point for topics. I didn't take the final so I can't speak on that, she was VERY accommodating for my situation and I wasn't expecting that at all. The final research paper I got a "C" on only because I had written it on a topic that wasn't considered a paleopathological topic- which I wish she specified more in class what counts and didn't count because I didn't know until after my paper had been graded. Other than that, the class was interesting. I honestly would not take it again but I think she's offering workshops for fall since her summer courses were offered only online.

The first time I took this class I failed, and not because I didn't try but because there was just so much information that I could not remember it all. Her midterm is composed of multiple choice questions, definition fill-ins, and about 3-5 short essay questions and one big essay questions. The final is cumulative but it weighs mostly on the latter half of the course. The material she teaches is wonderful and engaging. But it is the way she teaches that makes this course so hard. She uses powerpoints which are helpful for visuals, but what she says takes precedence over the powerpoints. Meaning, not all the information you need will be on those powerpoints so attending lecture is crucial for passing this class. Also, she is a very fast talker and goes through all the material quickly. She does not bruin cast her lectures and she allows no recordings nor laptops in class and this makes it quite difficult to get down all the concepts and major factors when she speaks 1000 words a minute.
She requires a book that is quite costly, but honestly, I never read it and it wasn't needed for testing, so don't spend your money. You are required to know anatomical terminology and will be asked to conduct a research paper which is not hard if you chose a topic discussed in class.
As a professor, she is very responsive, and she does try her best to give you pointers on how to succeed in her class. She also gives extra credit which is a bonus. If you take this class, consider building up a study group within the class, take GOOD notes, attend all lectures, and read the dumb article that she posts.

I think it’s a great class, and Dr. Rashidi is incredibly knowledgeable. She’s very engaging, but don’t expect her to handhold you throughout the course. The slides are not always clear, and she’s a fast talker. But if you supplement lecture notes with the book, you’ll be fine. Electronics are not allowed in her class, which I think is great.
She doesn’t always come across as the most organized. At the end of the quarter we had to hand in a 8-10 page research paper- you have to come up with your own topic and it must be related to class.

I definitely enjoyed her class, and would recommend her- unless you don’t like to put in the work.

Getting an A on the first try is doable, but you have to put in the work!

I loved this class so much, and a year and a half later I still remember so much from it and it stands out as one of my favorites. Professor Rashidi is definitely a tough professor and this is definitely a college-level course. There is a ton of memorization involved and you really have to pay attention and be engaged with the lectures and review the slides. However, the content is so interesting and Professor Rashidi also helps make it interesting. I had no trouble coming up with a paper topic and I had so much fun writing it (I know that sounds so lame but honestly I usually hate writing papers but this one was so enjoyable).

tl;dr: it’s a difficult course and you have to put in the work and study and come to class, the material is so interesting and rewarding to study that it’s still been one of my favorite classes at UCLA.

If you don't mind lectures slides that haven't been updated since 2003, then this class is for you. Professor Rashidi doesn't allow electronics in her class so all notes must be taken pen / paper - what makes this class a little annoying is that the professor talks at about 500 words / minute. On the flip side, there isn't much that is covered in class for each topic so their is only so much that can be on the exam. This quarter she decided to post a study guide, and to her surprise it was the best tests grades she's ever had as a class... mmm. There is a research paper that one must write, it expands on a topic covered in class. To be honest, this class wasn't as difficult as she made it out to seem, her study guide states that one must commit to a solid of 8 hours of studying / week to do well in her class but much less is needed, maybe a solid 2 hours / week.

I took this class online due to the pandemic. The workload is fairly high and the material is pretty dense. Homeworks were usually a 2 page (Double space) write up of a subject using one or two peer reviewed articles. There was a 5-7 page research paper on a topic of your choosing that was actually pretty engaging. Midterm and final were short answer, short essay, and an essay. Open resources. Communication via email was poor. Grading was reasonable, not nit picky. Overall a fun class but necessarily an easy A.

I took this in Summer C 2021. I got a Pass but based on the grades I got I would've received an A-. Dr. Rashidi is amazing and this class is super interesting. However, it is a lot of work especially if you're not well versed in biology. Also she isn't the best at responding to emails, and often took a while to upload lectures. But her teaching style was very clear and you got all the information you need from lectures. There was a final research project that wasn't tough (I got 40/40), and the exams were open book open note (except for the practical portion which was in class with cameras on and closed note/book) so it wasn't difficult to do well. Highly recommend her and this class!

Even though going into this class there's a lot of memorization and a slightly heavy workload, if you find the course content interesting enough then you should be just fine. Personally I went into this class not knowing how much I'd enjoy it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how engaging it was. If you're a kinesthetic learner then the in-person discussion sections are perfect for you as you get to handle real human bones and other related course materials. Rashidi and my TA were EXTREMELY helpful and held office hours often. The only thing I'd say to watch out for is the difficult nature of the exams considering they're graded pretty meticulously, as well as the amount of studying you have to put in to actually do well enough on them, but even considering that I would definitely take this course again :).

Rashidi is the worst professor ever. I would never ever recommend this class to someone. It is unfortunate because the material is super interesting. She goes through a lot of material very quickly and does not explain her slides very well. The class is paper only and she does not allow laptops for note taking, but honestly her lectures are not much supplement to the slides. She expects you to remember every little detail for her exams and she does not even give a study guide. She also is not very responsive to emails, I emailed her three times in the quarter and never got a response back. She seems to have a lot of going on in her personal life and even cancelled a week's worth of class, which meant that she went through the material really fast so it could be on the final still. Her grading for the exams are not consistent and she was not clear about what exactly she was looking for. Some people were not docked down for only putting one word answers, while others were. She also assigns a lot of reading on top of the class lectures slides. It is like she expects people to be a paleopathologist. I would never take a class with her again.