Why take MCDB 60 as a GE class when there are so many other choices available? Trust me, it's not worth the effort. The workload for this class is pretty crazy, especially for a GE. I mean the exams are just pure rote memorization. To do well in the class, you have to memorize WORD FOR WORD ALL OF HIS POWERPOINTS, and there is A LOT to memorize. The only way you can do well in the class is if you get past exams and memorize everything. I mean Pham seems like a nice guy, but hey, that won't help your GPA. Avoid this class if you can.

I took MCDB 40 in the fall of 2011. Although not a science major and therefore only taking science classes as GEs, I took an incredibly thorough AP Biology class in high school and passed the AP with a 5. With all that biology experience, I found this class to be quite basic; in fact, none of the material was as in-depth as my AP bio class. However, to be fair, if you have very minimal experience in biology, you will likely find this class to be difficult. While Pham had great teaching intentions and seems like a nice guy, he is very hard to understand and the lecturers are dull. I honestly wouldn’t have bothered going to class, but he requires a clicker for every lecture and does count clicker participation in your grade. Some pluses are that there is basically no homework as the minimal reading (not even from a textbook but from a self-help type book for those living with HIV/AIDs) is unnecessary and no one bothered. The only other homework was watching 3 different movies, which was actually quite fun. Discussion sections are also required and not much happened in them, although I would recommend my TA (I believe his name was John). Another caution is that service hours are required for this class. If you are without a car, as I was, you will have to find a way to get to West Hollywood or downtown LA, where all of the AIDS-related organizations seem to be located. Thank god I had Fridays off or I never would have completed those hours, so be forewarned when you sign up for this class. In the end, I did end up with an A+ but it was far from being a great class.

Course taken: LS4

ABOUT THE PROF:
Pham is one of the professors who you describe as "He's a good person at heart, but just insane when he writes his tests" it's not all his fault, the LS Office sets standards on what the curves should be, politics, blah blah, etc.

TESTS:
HIS TESTS ARE HARD!
You need to be a wiz kid to be in the top 5%, and if you study what you would normally to get average to B+ (relative to the curve). I took the class in Spring 2013 and the averages were 65% and 67% for the midterms.

THE CLASS:
The material is like you can learn on your own.
Pham explains things slowly sometimes spends 45 minutes on an example. If you have trouble understanding accents, Best of Luck. A good alternative is to try using your TA sections to introduce the concepts, do some self study, and go to office hours.

RESOURCES:
Best resource to study for this class are the practice tests. For some topics, the book helps as well. Don't buy the textbook, it's available online so are the solutions! Just ask around your friends.

THINGS I WOULD'VE DONE DIFFERENTLY:
I'm not gonna say don't study the night before the test. But more importantly get good sleep (none of that 8 hour B.S. I'm talking a solid 9-12 hours of sleep) It's in your hands, make it happen and best of luck!

Took LS4:
This class was absolutely terrible. I came into this class excited since I'm into genetics (turns out I really only cared about Molec. Gen). To put it bluntly, they could categorize this under the Math department and it would be a more accurate classification than an LS class. Seriously, this class is all about learning to do probabilities. I did well on the first midterm because I took AP Bio and I was riding off that knowledge for the first 4 weeks. Didn't learn a single thing until he started talking about gene linkage, at which point stuff got confusing real fast.
Weekly quizzes sucked. All it came down to was memorizing answers to homework problems and regurgitating them onto paper for 5 measly points a week, for 8 weeks.
Apparently he does this thing where you can bomb the first 2 midterms and as long as you do really well on the final he'll give you an A in the class.
Can't speak English, can't teach, keeps saying "I want you to do well in this class/on the next midterm" and he makes the next test harder so the average is 13% lower. This guy seriously cannot teach, I learned everything from the TA's. I don't have a single positive thing to say about this guy. He's not even that nice of a person.

LS3

So Dr. Pham is really a nice guy. He has a lot of office hours, and is always willing to help. However, he is a really bad teacher. He has a very thick accent and his English is sub par. I thought his accent wouldn't be a problem when I read bruin walk the first time, but trust me it is. Often times you are left clueless when he is explaining slides, and even basic, material is made confusing because of his lack of communication skills. I studied a lot for his class, and did well however his tests were always unfair. I really liked Pham as a person, however he just isn't a good professor.

Pham is the best professor in ls I've ever had. Yes he has a strong accent but he teaches so well. When you get familiar with his accent, you will enjoy his lecture because he makes you think about biology. It's a lot of memorization but he makes you understand before memorizing. He gives you a big picture in class, explain the process. Your job is memorizing after you understand. It's not that hard. I hope people won't hate him just because his accent. He has so many other good things that can make up for his accent.

LS4 Summer 2016

"Take him during the summer." These are the words of my TA and I can see why. He graciously provides SO MANY PRACTICE TESTS and it is so clear that his tests were noticeably easier during the summer. We skipped a few topics and he told us that because we had less time, we would not go in depth in some questions (for example, he would give a "two gene" mapping problem instead of a "three gene" one; this may mean nothing to you, but it's shiz like this that made me, and the rest of the summer class, crazy (with joy). This man cares. His accent is a little rough, but it's honestly not something that should deter anyone. He goes slowly enough during the summer to guide us through problems that are similar to the exam. TAKE HIM DURING THE SUMMER. I don't know my grade yet, but I have no reagrets (hah).

LS4 with professor pham is a good experience. Workload is low because he walks through the problems with you in class so you can save time going to office hours. His exams are also fair and easy if you understand the problems he goes through in class and do the practice midterms. He also explains problems clearly and repeats the important parts so just attending the lecture and discussions alone is sufficient to prepare for exams.

Pham is great as long as you are able to get past his accent. He repeats important content over and over again so if you miss it the first time, you should be fine. Tests are very fair, and if you memorize whats on the slides, you'll be set for the class.

2 midterms: 100 points/each
Final cumulative : 200 points
online quizzes: 2.5 points/each
weekly discussion quizzes: 5 points/each

Professor Pham are very nice and helpful. The way to do well in the class is to go to office hour, WORK on his practice exams EARLY. Reading the book is not important as doing practice problems on his passed exams. Think of every exam like running a marathon, in order to do well, you HAVE to practice. Although the workload is somewhat demanding, it is reasonable for the nature of the 5-units-class. I fall in love with genetics after I take the class and I am sure you will too. LS4 could be challenging but it is fun, like solving puzzles!!!