This class was definitely not bad at all but I would not consider it to be a guaranteed A. However, the workload was really light as all we had were the labs and the exams. The labs were definitely easy and could be done in easily one hour, if not less. The midterm and final exams were each divided into a lab exam and lecture exam. The hardest part of the class was how extremely specific some of the exam questions are. He curves the exam though, so I believe as long as you study all the material then you should be good. Also, the textbook was not necessary in my opinion as only the lectures and notes were enough to help me study.
Overall, the class wasn't so bad even though the 1st half of the quarter was online and 2nd half switched back to in-person learning. This was not too much of a problem since he still uploaded the asynchronous lectures for us so attending in-person lectures was not necessary. However, I do not know if he will continue to upload these recorded lectures in the future.

This professor was the BOMB. If you're looking for a class to fill your science GE I would definitely recommend this one. The professor gives really interesting lectures and I felt like I really learned something of value after each one. Each week there are these lab assignments but they are not too difficult and the TAs are pretty helpful. Only thing I didn't like was how much of the final grade is determined by the final, the final is 58% of your grade and the midterm is 30 or 35% and they are both pretty detailed. This class has 2-3 hours of lecture each week plus lab, but lab attendance was optional, so it wasn't too extreme.

[Online Format] Professor Schopf is endearing ("Oh golly gosh!") and has a lot of fun stories from working around the globe. There isn't much work at all, except perhaps an hour of homework each week that we completed during the optional discussion section at our own pace. The exams (midterms+final) are really hard, with most students getting around a C or lower due to a lot of really specific and tricky questions. However, he curves everything generously at the end, which helps offset the difficulty of the exams. Overall the class isn't too bad if you need to knock out a GE but it's pretty tough as far as GEs go in my experience. Personally I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend the class but it's not a terrible one to take either. If you're particularly interested in studying Precambrian life then it seems that Professor Schopf is one of the foremost experts in the field and is always willing to chat with students after class.

I took this GE because the professor had good reviews and I wanted to get my LS GE reqs over with. I was not particularly interested in fossils or paleontology, but MY GOD THIS CLASS WAS AMAZING.

Given that this quarter was online, Prof Schopf still managed to make every one of his lectures engaging and fun. He cares about every student and it is clear from the get-go. He got to know many students through Zoom – which can be very difficult and hostile – and started conversations before class just out of the care and kindness of his heart. The material was very interesting and you learn a ton about so many different scientific disciplines.

The midterm is a good wake-up call if you haven't paid attention in the first few weeks but his curves are forgiving. I recommend Professor Schopf 100%, he's amazing, funny, and probably the best professor I've had at UCLA so far. God bless this man.

Review for EPS SCI M118 (Advanced paleontology):
Definitely take it with Bill. Ask for a PTE number if you need to, he wouldn't mind, he's just happy you're there to learn. You do need to participate in class, he likes to call on people and get to know them (only if the class is small enough, of course). I honestly think he's better than a professional motivational speaker, he spurs me to work harder (he still works 7 days a week at his age simply because he loves his job and enjoys what he does everyday, which is incredible work ethic imo). He's accomplished a tremendous amount too, just read his somewhat autobiographical book 'Life in Deep Time' (it was required reading for our class, but mostly for the purposes of illustrating the growth of precambrian paleontology as a field of scientific research). I'm sure many people have already said many good things about him. I just think everyone should try to take a class with him if possible, I'm sure you'll take away something valuable considering his vast scientific career. He also always tells us that students are his priority, which is nice to hear.

For the actual class: grades come from class participation, 2 presentations & manuscripts + 2 manuscript reviews. There's a lot of freedom on what you want to write and present on as the prompts are open-ended. If you show some effort it's an easy A, and the bulk of the class is done way before finals week. The material is interesting, interdisciplinary and he has contributed to a lot of it! He rambles a lot though, so sometimes you might not be able to an exact answer to your question...

Professor Schopf is an actual sweetheart who is very passionate about this course, he tells jokes and gets to know his students. Overall this class isn't too terrible for a GE only thing is the lab is essentially its own class with a midterm and final ! The TA's don't seem to be so organized or attentive (at least my TA Andrew Parisi). I went to one makeup discussion with Jeffrey and he was also very sweet and helpful.

One of my favorite professors I've had at UCLA so far. Like many of the other reviews says, this guy really cares about his students and wants everyone to succeed. He is a really down to earth guy and has office hours pretty much everyday. I had Jeff O. as a TA and he was very nice also. The material isn't very difficult and Professor Schopf always tries to make the lectures very engaging. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a science GE.

Overall, I had a fun time in this class. Professor Schopf has pretty engaging lectures, which are all on CCLE, so you could potentially ditch lecture if you wanted to, but it is fun to go to lecture. The content in this GE is generally pretty straight forward, and if you took AP Biology in high school, a lot of the evolution/ecology content should be pretty familiar to you. However, the tests can be a bit tricky in the way the questions are worded. He purposely tries to trick you in the way he asks the test questions so be sure to study hard and read carefully! Sadly, there were no practice exams of his when I checked the test bank. Textbook is not required but pretty helpful and can be easily found online. Don't worry too much about the required reading, just take notes in lecture! Labs are required because you need to turn in homework at the beginning of each lab, but you can leave once you are down with your work, which should only take about 20-30 minutes. I would say that this isn't the easiest GE out there, and many people say that it is worth it because Schopf is an absolute legend in his field and has a lot of knowledge to share. The only thing I can complain about is that there are two midterms (lab and lecture) and two finals. If you get a below a C on the first midterm, which I think over half the class did during my quarter, you are required to go to tutoring. Just make sure you know you're stuff in this class and you should be fine :) Definitely not an easy A though.

Professor Schopf is a great professor! He is really funny and cares a lot of about his students’ learning. However, this class is not super easy. It will require you to memorize a lot of information. Looking at his slides, lab manual (which he provides), and asking for help during office hours will help you pass the exams. I did not study for the two midterms thinking it was going to be easy and I spent most of my time studying for chem and math. When the time came to take the exams, I knew almost nothing. I ended up failing the lecture midterm and got a C+ on the lab midterm. I changed my grading type to pass/no pass b/c I could not let this class affect my gpa. I know I screwed up but as long as you go through all the slides and lab manual you’ll be fine. But the exams sometimes does ask specific questions, so familiarizing yourself with the material as much as possible will help you out in the end. The TAs are really nice and funny as well. Overall, this class was very interesting but it’s not the easiest class.

I took the online version of this class.

For one, Jeff Osterhout is a great TA and I highly recommend him for the online version. Can't speak for the regular version of the class.

There are two components to the online class: video lectures and a live lab section. The video lectures are pretty good and the slides are always posted so that helps. There's a lecture midterm and final, both of which are in the test bank and exactly the same every year (or so I've heard). Memorizing old exams is probably the best way to study for this.

I think the TA made the lab exams for both the midterm and the final, so make sure you come to the live lab section and ask good questions. He'll sort of hint at what'll be on the exam. The exam is memorization-heavy and seems to test more facts than general concepts, so go through the slides and find the trivia.

The lab reports took me less than an hour each to do, and I mostly just went through the slides or internet to find the answers.

The exams for the online version are proctored online using a service called ProctorU. It's annoying, but it works okay. I had to wait an extra hour to take my midterm because of technical difficulties, and I had to wait for a live proctor, but they give you the full amount of time to take the exam.

Overall, pretty easy class. Would recommend if you want to get your life science requirement over with.