This class was broken down during my term like this:
- 2 Problem Exercises (30% total, 15% each): You are asked to read a statute/regulation and answer 10 specific questions about it. Overall manageable, but some of the answers were pretty tricky/picky. The second exercise had an extra credit question.
- Midterm (30%): All multiple choice online through CCLE. Overall, was a reasonable test with a handful of specific questions to check reading comprehension. Read really carefully! Given over a 24 hour period and you had (I believe) 1 hr 15min to answer 50 multiple choice questions.
- Final (40%): All multiple choice through CCLE. Was a bit easier than the midterm and came with 5 extra credit questions. You had a bit over 2 hrs to answer the total 55 questions and was open for a 24 hr period.

Grading: This course was graded on a curve, where Boyd said that he would make the median a B+ or an A-. I don't know what he ended up doing. In the end, I was never too stressed about my grade in the class.
Textbook: This class had two texts that were moderately priced and then additional readings posted on the class website. Most of the readings were pretty straightforward, but could be a little dry at times. Each lecture had accompanying readings, so it was also a bit time consuming. I did all of the readings, but he did not test on any material not covered in lecture. They did directly tie to each lecture, so I think they were beneficial for me.
Lectures: The 2 recorded lectures for the week were posted on Tuesdays and they generally ranged between 50 minutes and 1hr 15min. The lectures had a straightforward structure. Boyd would begin each lecture with an in-depth overview of the previous lesson, which was nice to see what he emphasized/thought was important. After that he would cover new material. These lectures were pretty dense and covered lots and lots of material. Despite this, Boyd was clearly very passionate and enthusiastic about the material which helped engage me through the online format. We began the class covering general policy issues regarding pollution, etc, then transitioned into lectures that covered specific statutes (what they regulate, the parties that it regulates, etc). These statutes (there were about 7-8 big ones) provided a good background to understand the backbone of environmental policy and regulation in the US.
Professor: Overall Professor Boyd is by far the best professor that I have had at UCLA and I would jump at another chance to take a class with him. He was very clear in his lectures and provided fair assessments for students to show their knowledge. I felt like I left each lecture having learned something of importance and covered material relevant to the topic of environmental law. Boyd was a very clear lecturer. He also was very receptive to input from students on the class format, which was really nice with COVID and everything. During office hours, we could ask him anything. Usually the 2 hour session would begin with about 10-15 minutes of logistic questions, then about an hour discussing/clarifying lecture material, and the rest of the time we usually talked about his professional experience and other real-world issues at hand. Boyd would answer questions in a way that was clear and contextualizing, so everyone there could understand what he was talking about, but also targeted. He was very approachable in that sense and I never felt silly asking "stupid" questions. On top of everything, Boyd just seems like a really chill, smart dude.
In the end, I highly recommend this class. While it was not super super easy, I never felt overwhelmed or stressed out about it.

Truly one of the best if not the best professor I have had at UCLA, and also probably the only person who could make learning the details of environmental policy so engaging! His lectures were so organized (there are slides but they aren't posted, and sometimes it was hard to get everything down by hand) and he really works to ensure that students are learning and reviewing material. The two problem exercises (30%) were pretty easy, just requires careful reading. Tests were a little hard given that's pretty much the whole grade (70%) but he is a very fair grader. Readings are helpful and his selection of sources was great, but one could potentially do well enough without reading all of them. Professor Boyd cares so much about the subject and his students and it really shows- I genuinely wouldn't want to miss a class. Even though I usually love taking notes on my computer, I will admit the no technology rule did help me focus and absorb course material better.

This was my very first asynchronous class for the Environmental Systems and Society Minor and I honestly didn't know what to expect. I was blown away by the sheer quality of the lectures. Despite never interacting with him once, I felt like I had known professor Boyd for years by the time the class had finished. He is so personable and passionate about what he teaches, it's only a tragedy that we've been robbed of the chance to take classes with him in person. Environmental law is a tough class in and of itself due to the language and sheer breadth of the material; however Boyd made it absolutely a pleasure to take and I learned an unbelievable amount despite being an Economics major with absolutely no background and limited interest in law. Despite being a law school professor and clearly being more used to teaching graduate students with more expertise than us, he tried his very best to make the class as relevant and interesting to us as possible. You have no idea how much I appreciated that. After taking a boatload of classes that can only be described as "glorified Khan Academy", this class was an absolute treat and something I looked to watching every single week. I would say in terms of improvement, perhaps we could've been a little better prepared for the close reading problem exercises. Perhaps in future iterations there could've been reading questions to go along with some of the important statutes or court cases we read, especially in the first few weeks where many of us were not intimately familiar with legal and statutory language. Other than that, I truly enjoyed this class, and despite changing it to P/NP this quarter for personal reasons, I would rate it as one of the best classes I've taken at this school. Thank you!

Love the professor. Boyd really makes this class- he is so enthusiastic about what he teaches and it's obvious. He really tries to teach people rather than focus on grades. He is super funny and I love his anecdotes.

As for the class- GO TO CLASS. That's probably the biggest difference between having a good grade and a bad grade. And when you're at class, PAY ATTENTION. Basically everything on his exams are based directly from lecture.

The readings are incredibly helpful and really get down to the nitty gritty of the legislation. I would say if you are really really short on time you can skip some but they are actually all enjoyable reads that I would highly recommend reading even just for fun. The readings really cement the ideas and clear up on some things.

I loved this class. Professor Boyd is a fantastic teacher and I genuinely enjoyed attending his lectures. I never missed a class except when I was sick, even though lecture attendance is not mandatory. As a person though, I went to Office Hours a lot and I found that Professor Boyd could be a bit condescending at times. I still would recommend going to OH because he'd give tips for the tests sometimes but just be sure to be very professional and tbh ask him about his work haha then he'll like you. He would answer questions during lecture but again sometimes he'd give off a bit of a condescending vibe if you asked a question or made a comment to add something to the discussion so be careful with that too.
Class structure was just the lectures, two Problem Sets, a midterm and a final. The First Problem Set wasn't "hard" per se, they just graded it so anally for no reason. Just make sure you are VERY specific in your answers and DO NOT add more material other than just what the question was asking, and check your work with friends in the class. They graded the second one more easily. The Midterm was good if you study (study the PPTs and your class notes), the Final was harder.
There's no discussion but the two TAs each have their own weekly OH. Our TAs Lorena and Emma were not helpful. They did not know our class material. OH was nice for getting to know them but if you have questions about material go to Boyd's OH he knows everything.
I would recommend reading the textbook as it is helpful for understanding the concepts and truly being prepared for the tests but you don't have to. The other readings were good too. I'm actually finishing the two books we read excerpts of because they're so good and informational.
Overall, good class, I'd recommend, would take again, you'll love Boyd, read go to OH and study for the tests. Gonna sell the books when I'm done reading them so text me if you need them or have Qs abt the class **********

Helped me realize the importance of environmental law! Boyd is an amazing professor- highly recommend getting to know him

This is by far one of my favorite courses I’ve taken at UCLA so far! Very interesting material, and the Professor always keeps its lighthearted and engaging, plus he really stresses that he does not want anyone to fail/do bad in the course. While it is only broken up into a few assignments (the practice problems) he really helps you out by curving the class—I got a C- on the first PP which had me spooked but I ended up with an A- in the class because of the midterm and his curve. And he is overall a very kind and understanding man, due to the TA strike this quarter he mixed our 2nd practice problem and the final together, made it only on the material covered in the second half of the course, and put it online, which lifted a lot of stress in my opinion. You definitely still need to pay attention in the class, put effort into the practice problems and study for the midterm/finals, but if you do that you’ll for sure get a grade you’re happy with.

words simply cannot describe the level of passion and approachability that professor boyd has. if he offered another class, i would happily take him in a heart beat, no questions asked. the professor is very engaging and the material learned, although it covers law and can sometimes be difficult, is taught in an understandable way. if you ever need help, go to his office hours! i got the lowest score on the first midterm but still managed with a B in the class. this is what the class consists of for more context for what the 10 weeks will entail.

two individual projects/write-ups on a statute: for us, it was on the clear air act and RICRA. not extremely hard, but can be confusing with the legal terminology, highly recommend going to the TAs office hours for more assistance since when i went, nobody was there so it was basically 1-on-1 learning.

midterm: like i said before, i legit got 20/40 on the midterm, but still managed a B in the class. Boyd is by far the most understanding and fair professor you will take so long as you demonstrate you want to learn.

final: multiple choice and fill in the blank covering everything in the class. make sure to study for this since some questions were straight from lecture, but some required additional thinking by taking concepts from one statute and applying it to another.

overall, whoever takes boyd will absolutely love him, his teaching, and his lectures. 75 minutes goes by extremely quick with him and his level of engagement. just wish he'd use a reusable water bottle that was the only negative about him :)

Professor Boyd is genuinely an amazing professor. For a class that I fully expected to be boring (case studies, policies, law), he did an amazing job at breaking down the information in understandable chunks, and making the lectures extremely engaging. Not only does he interact with the students throughout lecture, but his overall tone of speaking and presenting truly make a difference when it comes to understanding things. He's very friendly and approachable, and will answer any questions you may have thoroughly and enthusiastically. No homework, just one midterm, one final, and two problem exercises spread throughout the quarter. Everything is extremely straightforward: no surprise questions, no curveballs. Study what he talks about in class, and you'll be perfectly fine. Highly recommend.

UCLA is very lucky to have professor Boyd. He is such a passionate, engaging professor and it's really obvious that he is good at what he does (environmental law). The class itself is pretty chill in the sense that there isn't much work, but it definitely isn't an easy class. I don't fault Boyd for that, as environmental law can be difficult to grasp for undergrads who have never taken a law class before.
Your grade is made up of two homework assignments, one midterm, and one final.
For the homework, you have to read two statutes and answer some specific questions about them. The first statute assignment was really difficult, and many people did poorly. However, being the fair professor that he is, Professor Boyd made the second one a lot more doable, and there was even extra credit on it.
The midterm was tricky, and he made ours completely multiple choice. You really need to know your stuff, as there are so many little details about environmental law that you need to remember. Our midterm was only 40 questions, so you couldn't miss too many.
The final was mostly multiple choice, but there were also a few short answer questions. I found the short answer questions very fair, and some of them were kinda freebies (Rachel Carson questions, for example).
Boyd truly wants you to succeed, and if you are ever concerned about your grade, talk to him! Seriously, he will listen and actually take your concerns seriously. He is by far one of the most generous professors I have ever met or had at UCLA. I legit got a D- on the midterm and a C- on the final, as law is just something I struggle with. Straight scale, I had a C- in the class, but in the end I got a B-! Boyd bumped me up an entire 9 percent, which is insane, and I am so grateful to him. Seriously, I thought I was going to fail this class.
Even though this class is hard and I struggled, I would totally take it again, as Boyd is just that great. You won't regret taking this class!