Professor McDonnell is absolutely wonderful. I would recommend this class even if you don't have to take it. This class made me actually look forward to class, but if you get Hilary as a TA definitely switch because she's completely terrible and no help at all. Having her as a TA is my only complaint, otherwise this class was great!!!

Best professor I had last quarter! She is really funny and she really wants students to do well in the class. I thought it was going to be a boring class but it turned out to be super interesting. If you attend lectures you don't have to do the reading because she covers everything in class. You should definitely take this class if you have the chance.

Best. Professor. Ever.
The class is easy and she quizzes and tests you on things that you are very prepared for. Don't do the reading but you have to go to class because although she posts her power points, they're just pictures and dates and she says all of the important material in her lectures. She's really funny and obviously knows her stuff. Take this class!

I took her class last quarter and I got a B (but that's cuz i slacked off and I don't really care for archeology aha). If you like Roman art, go for it. It was alright I guess and you don't have to do any of the reading because she only tests you on what she lectures. SO GO TO THE LECTURES!!!! One thing I really hated from this class were the slide quizzes. About every two weeks you gotta memorize about 50 slides (sometimes even 60). Need to know name, date place, and significance and she only quizzes you on like five of them. So there is a lot of memorization. But if you study early you'll do fine. But she is a good professor. She lectures VERY well and very clearly, but she can go a little fast sometimes.

Amazing professor! You're lucky if you take her class. Really well organized, gives out really thorough notes that are basically what her tests and quizzes come from. Puts all her powerpoints online so you can refer back to them. Also a really nice/funny person in general. Went to her office hours once and she knew my name the next lecture. Good class even if you don't have to take it for your major, take it as a GE!

Midterm and Final are very fair and she drops and she'll give you lots of chances to do well. Actually wants her students to do well. Definitely going to take another class with her.

I would say one of my favorite professors at ucla. She is a great TEACHER. not like other art history class where the prof just states the obvious. her classes are very interesting and you can tell she puts a lot of time into them. She tells fun stories and it's really difficult to zone out in my opinion. Class was very fair and not that difficult, which allowed me to enjoy the class and just learn.

Professor McDonnell is a great lecturer! She teaches the material well and the class is easy but there is some reading to do. She gives out 6 essays but you only have to do 3 and the 1st one is required. The essays are not bad at all and they're only two pages with interesting topics to write about.

I went out of my way to take this upper division class after taking a lower division with Professor McDonnell. In the upper division I noticed her classes are a lot less "structured" than they were in the lower division, she doesn't need to prepare too much, though, because she is so knowledgeable in the subject. I learned a lot about Pompeii, more than I ever thought I needed to, and I thought the class was certainly worthwhile. The class was broken down into one exam, one project, and a research paper.

Her exam was not too difficult. The only complaint I have is that there was very little time and she graded very leniently on some sections but more harshly in others. (To avoid this problem when you take her class just make sure you do the test in the order of point allocation. So if the essay is 50%, short answer 25% and 25% identifications, do the essay first.)

The project was actually really fun. Some people got to do really creative things, and I get the feeling that she appreciates the amount of time students put into their projects.

As for the research paper; it was not too bad. She is totally willing to spend some time helping you find sources and will even loan you books from her own personal collection. Just make sure you do EXTENSIVE research on your topic. If you use any sketchy sources or something like that she will probably call you out on it and that's no fun.

Overall very fun, knowledgeable, and excellent professor. I would take her again, and I'm not even a classics major. She's just so devoted to teaching her students you can't help but be excited to attend class. Don't miss out on the opportunity to take her IMO.

McDonnell is the best professor I have had at UCLA, period. This upcoming spring will be my third class with her-- whenever she is teaching an upper-div, I go out of my way to take it. Now, she does require a lot of her students, especially if they already have a background in Roman art and archaeology.... but her teaching style and approach to instruction are phenomenal. She always answers questions to the fullest extent in class, has a great sense of humor, and is absolutely brilliant in her field. Her grading is never tricky or unfair. Fantastic professor-- if you're an Art History or Classics major/minor, DO NOT miss out on her!

Really a great professor, her lecture presentations are always extremely organized, she's very articulate, and clearly knows the material very well. Not only that but she's very funny and (shockingly) manages to learn a very large number of people in the class' name. (As a side-note, if you even speak to her once and mention your name I guarantee she will make an effort to remember it) Whenever someone asks questions in class she is able to produce an answer. Not only is she knowledgeable but she's also VERY understanding of student circumstances. Really a fantastic lady.

Her quizzes are a bit intense, but they are very doable. Just make sure you totally over-study for the first one so you get an idea of the format, and then gauge how hard you will have to study in the future. She also had a midterm which was very fair, but very writing intensive. She didn't have a final either (instead, we got an in-class essay) which had three different topics and we got to bring a page of notes.