I really appreciated this class because it covered so much material that was never a focus of my other classes, and I obtained a more integrated view of earth history. If you have any interest in evolution or the history of life, and also understanding all the rocks you see everywhere all the time, I highly recommend this class.

That said, it is a 6 unit class, and the workload reflects that. There are weekly reading quizzes, pre- and post-lab assignments, which for me totaled around 5 hours per week outside of class. The exams are doable, if you take notes in class and make sure to review the reading questions every week (you basically get the potential questions in advance). Also you should go to office hours! Lectures can move quickly, but Dr. Jacobs is very available, and it really helped me clarify topics, and work out ideas for my project.

The field trip was fun, and I enjoyed the deep dive in my project, though it did take a lot of time. To get the most out of this class, you have to commit, but if you are eager to learn it is super valuable. This is one of the few classes at UCLA where, in the future, I will remember specific, important knowledge that I know I learned in this class.

This class was definitely a lot of work. That said, I learned a lot from this class, and I think it helped me understand how to better use interdisciplinary techniques in science. I thought the class was very interesting and well taught. I found the tests and quizzes pretty hard, but even though I didn't get amazing grades on them, I still did well in the class overall. On top of all of that, Prof. Jacobs was ALWAYS willing to meet one on one about the class content, or to just give advice. I have never had a professor at UCLA who was so willing to make time for me, and who was so invested in my learning. You'd be hard-pressed find a kinder professor at UCLA. If you get the chance to take a class with and meet Professor Jacobs, I encourage it (though make sure to do it in a quarter where you are taking an otherwise lighter load!).

The workload in this class is a lot. There are reading quizzes, pre lab, in lab, post labs, 2 midterms, cumulative final, research paper, and presentation. Therefore, it is definitely not an easy class. Additionally, not all the topics covered in the class are interesting so it is often hard to pay attention. In regards to the exams, he gives you study questions at the end of each lecture slides. This set of questions are crucial for the exams as you will see once you take the midterms. Despite the heavy workload, the class is doable. The professor also cares more about the student's learning as he was willing to extend deadlines, drop some quiz scores, and have review sessions. You just need to be ready to spend a lot your time in this class. Goodluck :)

WORST CLASS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE. Seriously, if you want a 4 unit EEB class with the workload of 20 units this is the one. He posts approximately 140 slides per lecture and he does not go over any of them properly. The dude is not clear at all! Just try to write a sentence he says and try to make a sense of of it! The readings are ridiculously long and there are quizzes based on the readings every session. The labs are unnecessarily long and hard and there are also prelabs and post labs for each week. There are a reasearch paper and a presentation at the end of the quarter ( like 2 midterms and 1 cumulative final were not enough). If you are a masochist and like to be tortured for 10 weeks wish you the best in this class!!!!