If you happened to take AP Environmental Science in high school, or already have a little knowledge on those concepts and are looking for a relatively easy GE, this class is definitely for you. Fricker is funny, laid back, and makes his lectures interesting. Any homework assigned can easily be completed in section each week.

Dr. Fricker was awesome, and made the class really fun and engaging. The textbook was a little annoying to deal with/expensive, but most of the questions on the tests were based off of the lectures anyways. A great class with a reasonable amount of work. I highly recommend taking a class with Fricker!

One of my favorite classes I've taken at UCLA. Definitely the most applicable. Fricker is an awesome professor and lecturer. He's very laid back but also clearly passionate about his subject and makes you want to be interested in it too. Fricker and this class actually made me decide to be a Geography/Environmental Studies major. Fricker is very approachable and tries to make lectures engaging. As any class, the experience can be jeopardized by a poor TA. My TA was not my favorite but Fricker and the material made up for it. The textbook was expensive ($100) and you had to buy it as it contained the lab material. I know it was his first quarter doing that so I'm not sure if it'll continue into the future. LASTLY, it's extremely awesome for non-science majors because it fulfills one of the science GEs and the lab component. One group project/paper at the end, two multiple-choice test, very manageable. Would absolutely recommend this class :)

The class is good only for those who are native and able to memorize those tree names by haearing the name. But for those who dont know how to spell many terms you gonna struggle with this class. The material is not that interesting for me as well.

Hands down the coolest professor I have had at UCLA thus far. TAKE HIM! A super chill guy that makes lectures fun and engaging, often jokes in class and also is very open and approachable if you ever need help.
The class had a midterm and a final (non-cumulative) the were pretty easy as long as you attend class and listen to what he saying. I skipped more than a few classes and as long as you take basic notes on the powerpoints and you listen to audio, that's all the real studying you need. Although he doesn't podcast, he does record audio of his lectures and then posts his powerpoints both on CCLE. As for the book, it wasn't really necessary for the lab, or for exams, because his powerpoints cover everything you need to know. That being said, having the textbook is helpful as it reinforces the ideas presented in lecture.
The bulk of your grade comes from your lab section though, where you will have almost all 'group work'. I say 'group work' because you do have to talk to other people in lab but not really have to work outside of lab with them. There are some minor group presentations you have to do here and there that are all in lab and not that bad at all, just have to talk for 3-5 minutes as s group. There are more assignments here and there but all are very doable. Now, the big chunk of your grade will stem from a final research paper you have to turn in week 10. This one of those things that you don't want to procrastinate on because it is so easy to put it off but as long as you give the essay a good week to two weeks you're good. My TA was amazing and very chill but she made progress assignments for the essay to make sure that we wouldn't leave it to the last minute which was really helpful.
Overall the best class to take for your Lab GE and the professor makes the material very interesting and makes it all relevant to stuff going on today. TAKE HIM!

I LOVE FRICKER AS A PROFESSOR! He is the best Professor I have had at UCLA. He makes Lecture fun and not a dread to come to. Thus I am actually learning. He does NOT emphasize memorizing things which I absolutely appreciate. I don't find memorizing a worthy way of learning. He emphasizes learning and understanding the process of everything which sticks into student's mind for a lifetime. I wish all my professors could teach like him. He's not boring or monotone, he is passionate and upbeat about the topic. I would take this class again if I could. I WISH TO NOMINATE HIM to the Academic Senate Committee for being an outstanding professor! He definitely deserves it!

easiest class I've taken at UCLA thanks to Fricker. such a rad professor and made the class so interesting! midterm and final were both multiple choice and very straightforward. awesome GE!

Fricker does a great job of breaking down complex concepts of remote sensing into something digestible for students. His lectures are engaging, and though long, are usually split between an hour-ish of lecture and then another for group work/labs.
His tests (midterm and final) mostly cover subjects discussed in class/on the slides and during lectures, he emphasizes material that you should know for the exams. Guest lectures and lab material is included in tests as well. In terms of homework, there are only labs and the culminating final group project. The labs can sometimes be long and tedious but the instructions literally walk through all the steps needed. Make sure to start the labs early(not the day of!) so that you have time to clarify with the TA or Fricker about some conceptual questions. It's sometimes very hard to decipher what the question is asking for and where to find the answer. I think there was only one TA for the class, Jun, and he was so helpful as well!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed taking this class and it has definitely piqued my interest in doing more remote sensing in the future. Fricker is a great professor! (super chill/helpful/understanding/knowledgable)

This class was really, really easy and required almost no work outside of the lab sections. Seriously the easiest A I have ever received at UCLA. Course material is entirely review from whatever science classes you took in high school. Lectures are interesting and the professor is just a really cool guy. I'd definitely recommend this class to anyone who needed a science GE and specifically Fricker as a professor for this class for all of the Geography majors who need to take this as a requirement.

This class was pretty easy and I would definitely recommend it! Fricker is a laid-back guy who was fun and passionate about the material. He lectured through his slides pretty straightforwardly, and the lectures were bruincasted so not many people showed up for them. The lab was straightforward and the assignments and group presentation was not too bad. The textbook required was not much help so I do regret buying it. Studying for the tests was just rewatching the Bruincasted lectures and making sure I was familiar with everything that Fricker had said in lecture.