Dr. Heitz is so kind, welcoming, and supportive, and the overall setup of the class is very ideal. The assignments immediately help you to get started and moving quickly on research, which is necessary given there are only 11 weeks to solidify a topic, conduct the research, & write the research paper. There was no busy work or extra long readings—everything assigned felt very useful. I honestly have never had a better research experience in a UCLA class! If you are interested in geog research, I very much recommend taking this class. And in general, I would recommend any class with Dr. Heitz!

Dr. Heitz is hands-down one of the best geography professors at UCLA!! She is super approachable and caring. She is also a good research advisor who supports you no matter what you do. This is a good class if you want to learn how to conduct independent research; however, this is also a packed quarter. You need to have the research question in mind when you step into the class—you have two weeks to decide your topic and then jump in right away. Unlike other so-called research papers that you may have done (which were basically literature review), you will be expected to conduct your own independent research with your own analyses from the primary sources of data. Despite the overloaded workload, I found it wonderful to explore my interests deeper through my research and learn how to do it well. Her office hours were super helpful and personalized. I would recommend dropping in during her office hours to check in and set your internal deadlines for yourself. It was hard to push myself through if I did not set solid goals when meeting with her during office hours.

Every class, she started with a quick write, counted as your attendance, and then moved to the peer presentation, where you will learn about each other's research. Then, she gave lectures and moved to the class discussion or the in-class activities. The class was super interactive. Since it was an extremely small class, you would remember almost everyone, and the discussions were fruitful. She gave you a couple of checkpoints to submit your proposal, annotated bibliography, and final draft. The last week of the quarter was a peer-reviewed session, and the whole class writing review feedback. She also gave a lot of extra credit opportunities from attending the geography colloquium to writing up detailed peer feedback or to lead the class discussion. The class structure allowed students to express themselves and learn much about independent research. You will finish the class feeling more equipped to do research in the future. GEOG 187 was a precious experience; however, please note that you must also put in much work yourself. I highly recommend taking this class with Dr. Heitz—it was one of the best classes I have ever had in the geography department and at UCLA.