I loved Winter quarter of this cluster, especially because I really enjoy biology (though not a bio major) and it was therefore also much easier than Fall in my opinion. The big change from Fall quarter is that Friscia lectures on evolution instead of Larkin lecturing on astronomy. Friscia is hilarious and great at explaining the concepts he presents.

The textbook (Tangled Bank) is "mandatory". If you have a good grasp on the bio concepts, you can probably do without it, but it's definitely a good resource if you struggle with bio. It's not a difficult read so it's worth having around.

Again, they guide you through the paper throughout the quarter so that it's not so daunting. I would definitely recommend going on the field trips (there were 3 in Winter quarter alone when I took the class), as they are all paid for (in terms of transportation, lodging, etc. except food). The overnight one to Nevada was super fun and we got to collect fossils. I would say this is one of the few classes that has a field aspect to it.

I would recommend sticking it out for Winter even if you struggled with Fall because the material is more familiar to most people, especially if you've taken some sort of biology class in high school. Overall a great class and one of my favorites.

This is by far my favorite class I've taken at UCLA. Dr. Friscia is awesome and although it's a lot of material (o/i/a of all muscles from 107 + blood supply and innervation) it's totally worth it. Friscia is very reasonable with grades, but to get an A you should memorize everything, take advantage of the open labs, and start studying from day 1 to not fall behind. Dissecting cadaver limbs as an undergraduate is almost unheard of so if you get the chance to take this class definitely do!! It was such a rewarding experience and is great preparation for anyone interested in medical school.

Cluster 70A is a great class for non-stem majors. It is super interesting and you can really learn some fascinating and interesting things if you open yourself up to it. Throughout the quarter the main grades were five quizzes, a paper, and some lab assignments. The quizzes were 10 multiple choice questions and a few free responses. The free response was generally straight forward, but sometimes the wording could be a bit confusing on the MC. The paper was also not too difficult and there was a lot of opportunity to work on it. In addition to these assignments there were lab assignments. These were not too difficult but could all build up if you procrastinate. Professor Friscia was a great lecturer. He was super informative, answered questions well, and used his slides effectively. Overall, he was really clear and covered a lot of information without the lecture feeling too dense.

Doctor Friscia is a great lecturer, his exams are fair, and he cares about his students learning. This class has weekly quizzes, one midterm and a final (quizzes were super easy, midterm and final were doable and not tricky). For the lab portion, we had 2 presentations instead of practicals. I would recommend taking any classes with doctor Friscia, he is one of the best professors I ever had in undergrad.

Cluster 70B was an incredibly fun quarter where you revise aspects of evolution that you've learned before and also learn a lot of new information. Overall, content is decent, quizzes are biweekly and based on content taught in lectures. The class is recorded, and my favorite point is that there is no final exam, you submit a final paper after selecting a topic out of several choices at the end of the quarter. The paper is 4-5 pages, and double spaced. I enjoyed this class and would definitely recommend as a GE!

This was by far the most fun yet most difficult class Ive ever taken at UCLA. A group of 3 students get a part of a cadaver and a portion of your grades goes to how well you clean and dissect the cadaver. This class is disgusting and be prepared to dissect the bodies. There is a quiz at the beginning of each lab, and is based off of the lab manual which is pretty dense. The class is divided by lower limb unit and upper limb unit. And each unit has a written exam and a practical. This class is incredibly dense, you will need to memorize all the muscles(including their innervation and actions), all the nerves, blood vessels( artery and veins), and bones. Imagine 107 but 10x harder. BUT getting an A is doable and has been the most rewarding class Ive ever taken at UCLA.

The cluster was interesting but I got an A- because of the final paper. My advice would be to use office hours religiously, it greatly helps. The workload for this class is very manageable if you stay on top of your assignments and the scoring of the participation grade is based on weekly labs which you will be guided through by your TA.

The material focuses on biology and chemistry, and it is somewhat easier than CLUSTER 70A yet still hard. That said, if you follow instructions, you can get the grade without learning; this class is very obviously designed just to knock off GEs. The lecture and discussion are two separate classes. There remains a quiz (online, half multiple-choice and half free-response) every other week, and they are hard. Everything else is in discussion and again graded primarily on completion.

Cool and easy cluster, definitely recommended if you need to get your science GEs out the way

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