Tbh I originally signed up for the course because I had a bad enrollment time but I ended up loving the class. The lectures were super engaging and I loved professor Illes short stories and personal anecdotes. The field labs were super fun and I enjoyed getting to look around Sage hill and the UCLA garden. The labs are graded the harshest out of any of the class material. My tip is to start them before class if you can, that way the material is more manageable during lab. The discussions overall are chill though. My TA was nice and knowledgable but didn't really understand personal space which as a woman (or really anyone) is kind of frustrating. Some things to be cautious about. The lectures ARE NOT recorded. If you don't go to class or have a very kind peer who records the lectures for you, you will not be able to obtain the material. There is no textbook for the class which is nice in terms of both having outside material to go over. There is also no actual homework which is a plus. The exams are pretty simple, mainly multiple choice and matching. For reference I studied for about an hour and got a 100% on the midterm. The final project was fun to complete and although I disliked it at the time I'm glad the professor had us turn in portions of it throughout the quarter since it made the end presentation SO much easier to complete. I'd recommend this class to anyone since an A is easily obtainable so long as you go to lecture, complete the labs, and put effort into the final project. Plus, you'll come out of the course with tons of fun animal facts :)

I took this my first quarter at UCLA and I thought it was pretty easy. The lectures are very surface level and it was about animals and the environment, the class is about memorizing basically. The lab section was an absolute joke though, learned nothing, but easy points. I feel like I had somewhat of a unique experience though since my TA left halfway through the quarter so she lightened up on the lab assignments. So it was easy, but not the easiest. We had a final presentation on an extinct animal and a multiple choice final and midterm. Pay attention to the little reviews that she does during class before the tests, she basically gives you all the answers then. Be sure to pay attention in class and take notes and you will do well!! We also talked about current events in the beginning of every class which was interesting.