I took this class as a freshman at UCLA in my fall 2021 quarter. Everyone on BruinWalk said it was really easy, the professor was great, etc., so I decided to take it for my science GE lab credit. However, don't be fooled by these reviews, as this class is not as easy as everyone says. Professor Coffey is great and gives pretty engaging lectures. He makes learning about rocks as interesting as it can be. But he went into pretty vivid detail about the concepts and I was surprised by how much we were required to know for an intro level course. (To be fair, I am not a science person, so if you love science, you probably won't struggle too much in this class.) The material isn't hard to understand, but there is a lot of it that you have to know. I studied maybe 3-4 hours each for the 2 midterms and the final and got a fairly low grade on each one. I had to pass/fail the class because the tests and labs were pretty difficult and were bringing down my grade. Some of the labs are tricky as well. We did the labs through CCLE and they were mostly multiple choice with a few short answers, but you do not really receive partial credit for anything in the labs. The labs consisted of identifying different types of rocks (harder than it looks when you have 10 black rocks in front of you that look exactly the same) and going through Google Earth stimulations (these were pretty easy as you just follow the instructions that guide you through it.) There is also a 5 or so minute presentation on a science book at the end of the quarter. This presentation is pretty easy and you can skim the book, make a slideshow, and still get an A. Overall, this class wasn't necessarily hard, but it is definitely not a super easy science GE. You are required to go into pretty vivid detail on the midterms and final in order to get an A. You really need to know the material inside and out because the TAs are looking for detailed, specific answers on the exams. You definitely can't bs your way through this class, and you have to put in a pretty big amount of effort to get an A. There is basically no math in this class besides converting measurements, and it is easier than any chem, physics, or bio class I have taken previously. Also, I had Jake as my TA and he was pretty chill, nice, and funny. He let our lab section retake a lab because the average score was like a D or something like that. Anyway, this class is overall one of the easier science GEs at UCLA, but is by no means easy. Put in a LOT of effort into really studying and memorizing the material, and take the labs seriously (don't slack off), and you should be fine.

Kevin was awesome! He is uber-passionate about geology and geophysics and is super knowledgeable. I learned a lot in his class and found myself laughing at all his jokes. The class does require memorization of key concepts and ideas for two midterms and one final, but it's pretty manageable. I think South Campus majors might be disappointed by the lack of technical speak in the class, but North Campus majors will love Kevin's GOT analogies and simplified, easy-to-understand geo models. Not much homework at all, except for weekly labs which were essentially just really tedious busy-work. Lots of people stopped going to section since labs were online, so not very collaborative, and they're worth 30% of your grade. The TA's also grade the science-book presentation quite harshly for some reason. That would be my only complaint with this class, Kevin is an amazing and engaging Professor. He's super clear on what is expected on exams, and he actually made me interested in geology. He's very affable and always down for a chat during Office Hours. It's super easy to get an A if you put a little effort in — I bombed the first midterm and still ended up with an A-. At the final lecture, one of my classmates gave a send-off to Kevin by saying, "From Plate Tectonics to Kevin's mineral collection. This class rocks!" If you think this an abhorrent pun, this may not be the class for you, but if you're into that kind of cheesiness and candidness, I think you'll find a lot to love in this class.

TL;DR: Cool, casual, and genuinely kind-hearted Professor, very approachable Science GE with interesting concepts.

Kevin is very engaging and very passionate about geology and getting students engaged. He's very approachable and likes to get students involved in lectures, usually with some jokes, gimmicks, and demonstrations. It's a science lab GE, so a lot of people are just taking it to fulfill a lab requirement but he definitely ended up getting a lot of those students to enjoy the course. Lab is not too difficult and is a pretty light workload, be prepared to be able to memorize and name certain rocks and minerals. How enjoyable lab is really just comes down to the TA. I would definitely take a class with him again! He's been the most fun professor I've had so far at UCLA.

I took this as a GE and it was not my favorite. I think it was supposed to have been easy but it was, for some reason, a lot harder than I was expecting it to be. Science is not my thing, but Kevin Coffey did really try to make the class fun & enjoyable...I just didn't like it. Barely squeezed by with an A-

TLDR: EPS 1 is a very easy and fun GE! Pretty slow at the beginning and sometimes the lecture material about rocks is slow but overall really fun. Easy exams, only a bit of memorization required, and labs are fun and easy.

EPS 1 with Kevin Coffey was really fun! He is really passionate about the topic, makes puns, and really cares about us as students. Lectures can be a bit slow at times, especially when talking about rocks, but he brings in some really cool rock samples to look at and touch! A lot of the material is actually not just about rocks though and we talk about climate change, tectonic plates, etc which were actually really interesting. Lectures were recorded and not mandatory to attend.

Labs were a big part of your grade but most of them were pretty straightforward. They can be pretty long and sometimes the wording for some of the questions can be confusing but you can ask your TA for help (they are all really nice)! The only tedious lab we had was rock identification labs but it is pretty cool to see and touch them. During the lab section, you also have to do a book presentation where you choose an earth science book to read throughout the quarter and make a presentation about at the end. It got canceled this quarter but writing the journal abstract rewrite and the book presentation wasn't too bad (even if you did not read the book and read summaries online).

Exams were really easy, like you can finish within the first hour. Only a bit of memorization is involved in regards to rock characteristics and vocab words. I only studied a few hours before the exams and I ended up getting a good grade. Homework assignments: we only had 3 of them and they were all straight forward too.

Overall, great amazing class that was super interesting and easy as well!

Professor Coffey was one of the best professors I have encountered during my time at UCLA. He was extremely enthusiastic about the subject material. Kevin was very engaging and was able to deliver the concepts flawlessly (and easily). There are 2 midterms and one final, all based on the goals which he taught in class and were relatively easy as well as a presentation on a book related to Earth Science (do not let this scare you, I did not read my book but still managed to get a decent score). The only problem I had with this class was the Lab section, they were not hard per se, but were slightly confusing at times, if you find some friends in the class and solve them together it would be helpful.
All in all, I loved this class and would recommend it to anyone who wants to fulfill a science GE.

I would like to preface this review by saying that Professor Coffey might be the coolest and most caring Professor I have ever had at UCLA. He is funny, kind, understanding, and overall pretty knowledgeable about the stuff he teaches. Having taken him for EPS 1 and EPS 61 and had various conversations with him personally, he is seriously just an all-around good guy. However, if you are going for an A and need it for graduate school, avoid his classes. I have maintained a near 4.0 through my course at UCLA and have had to P/F his classes to avoid a GPA drop. He grades very toughly (including the T.As), tests can be tricky if you don't know your stuff all the way (the "goals" on his slides he tells you to study will get you a B, you have to know things significantly more in depth than what is listed for the A), and he makes percentages of things small so everything counts. His classes were harder for me than most tough pre-med classes at UCLA, so unless you are super passionate about EPS stuff or care for learning more than getting an A, avoid his classes forsure. Personally, it was just not worth it.

This class is really great and honestly made me super interested in earth science. The lectures are fun and pretty engaging but many people do not show up to the lectures because they are broadcasted. I think this makes the class more flexible. Office hours are super helpful. There is A LOT of term memorization in this class and was more work than I though from the reviews. I really liked the subject so it was worth the work. The labs are not too bad just rock identifying and the TAs are pretty good. YES I would take this again.

Professor Coffey himself was pretty good. He was funny and engaging and I didn't really have much of a problem with him. But if anyone in the future gets Heather Kirkpatrick as the lab TA, I'm sorry. Ms. Kirkpatrick is one of the most difficult, unfair, harsh people you will ever encounter in your life. She makes the lab really difficult, grades too harshly, and is less than a help during lab sessions. She is very incompetent and really doesn't even know what she is doing to be honest. Overall, I have absolutely nothing against Professor Coffey and would 100% recommend him as long Heather Kirkpatrick is not involved.

Do not trust these reviews! Professor Coffey is a self-important, dismissive, and rude individual, and is extremely unprofessional. Coffey strongly exhibits favoritism, which is especially directed towards the attractive female students. He grades largely based on likability, not on actual academic performance. Yes, when I first met Coffey, he had this kind, charming, and goofy charisma. However, something changed about halfway through the quarter and he made a complete 180. This professor cannot be trusted to evaluate students in an unbiased way, and should no longer be allowed to continue serving in the role of lecturer at UCLA.