One of the greatest professors I had at UCLA. He is very clear and understands that it is an introductory class filled with students who are trying to fulfill GE req, especially those students from non-STEM backgrounds. He is always willing to help through email, office hours (both regular office hours and 1-on-1 appointments if those hours don't work), and through review Zoom sessions before exams. He is very clear and teaches extremely well. His class made me interested in earthquakes and natural stuff that I never knew I would be interested in. Even though it has been more than half a year since I took this class, I still know why earthquakes in LA is much less harmful than those in Japan. The lab sessions is also very important, but if your TA is chill, it won't effect your grade so much unless you slack off significantly.

Grade breakdown:
- Midterm exam #1 = 15%
- Midterm exam #2 = 15%
- Weekly laboratory exercises (total) = 25%
- Homework (total) = 10%
- Popular Science Book Presentation Project = 15%
- Final exam = 20%

I would definitely recommend this class for those who need to fulfill lab-credit science GE.

Though this class was a major requirement (so I really had no choice), if I could go back, I'd take it again and again. Kevin is an extremely passionate, outgoing person and both of these attributes made his lectures extremely entertaining.

The workload of the course was extremely light: There were weekly lab assignments for the first 7 weeks which often only took 1 hour out of the 2 hour lab time to complete; 4 total homework assignments which often only involved looking at Google Earth, watching short videos, and answering multiple-choice questions; a quarter-long project in which you chose a popular science book to read and present to your lab section in the final week; and of course two midterms and a final exam (all of which were entirely MCQ).

The course content was, in my opinion, very fascinating as we sruveyed numerous earth-science related subjects without getting bogged down in the nitty gritty.

If you have the oppurtunity to take this class with Kevin, I would HIGHLY recommend!

As a STEM major who took this class as a GE I don't think there is a better lab-credit science class available to take. You are given the guidelines to study for every test and the questions are not hard. If you watch the lectures or memorize the information the class will be very easy for you. Kevin does a great job of making introductory geology about as interesting as it can be. For the labs you just fill out essentially a google form each week and the TAs will go question by question with you to check the right answer. Any homework/project assignment can be bs-ed as long as it looks like you put effort in. Great GE, good professor, and a good class to take if you are feeling imposter syndrome because some kids in this class are dumb as rocks (no pun intended).

I love this class, he made studying so simple and easy through "goals" and each goal is clearly stated and explained and always align with questions on the exams. Tests are only 50% of the grade, the rest is lab quizzes which are pretty simple especially if you ask a ta for help, a presentation and homework. He is really helpful and very passionate about what he does and what he is teaching, his lectures are recorded and he hosts review sessions before tests where he goes over most of the goals and questions people ask. Would highly recommend this class as a ge and lab credit.

Kevin Coffey is one of the best professors I've ever had! He's very helpful and cares about his students! The workload isn't too bad and is very manageable! There's a lot of content to take in but the class itself isn't hard and the exams aren't hard at all as long as you study the goals he gives during his lectures. Also, if you ever get stuck on something wether it be a lab or homework assignment, please use make use of office hours with him! He's super nice and welcoming and even offers tea as you talk about whatever questions you have! He's truly a great professor!

This is a good, fairly easy science GE. Professor Coffey was extremely helpful and was very on top of answering emails, holding review sessions, and making sure students felt prepared for the midterms and the final. He was also very accommodating with the TA strike, and I did not feel like my grade was jeopardized at any point. Lectures were also not as dry as I expected (coming from a humanities major), and if you pay attention you will be fine. The workload was also manageable, and we were given a very reasonable amount of time to complete homework and labs. I would definitely recommend this class to anyone looking for a pretty easy lab credit.

Even though I am not majoring in Earth sciences, Professor Coffey made the class interesting and fun. He was incredibly accommodating during the TA strike and had fun lectures (which were recorded and posted on the class page for everyone to access at any time). It felt like a perfect introduction to the subject and I highly recommend the class, especially as a GE.

Kevin is one of the best professors I've ever had at UCLA. He makes a dry subject so interesting, and lectures clearly and in an engaging manner. He's clearly very passionate about what he's teaching. He's also incredibly organized, which I appreciate based on other professors I've had. He posts all his lectures and slides in a timely manner, gives frequent updates and deadline reminders, and is incredibly accommodating on homeworks and labs. His exams are very fair and are exactly what you would expect, no surprises. If you answer the goals for each slide deck as you go along, you should be set for the exams. The labs are quite easy too, and you don't even need to attend lab in person. There's lots of chances to boost your grade, and Kevin is so approachable and helpful if you're confused about the material. Highly recommend this class, and this professor. I wish my major required more classes taught by Kevin, I'd love to take him again!

Extremely good professor....very passionate and easy to get an A if you put in a bit of effort; super helpful and I def look forward to taking another class with Prof Coffey in the future

This class was a super great GE! I found his lectures easy to follow and interesting. His passion for the subject makes it super rewarding to go to class. The only thing I would caution about is the labs, which were 2 hours sessions every week. Since COVID was still pretty rampant, attendance wasn't mandatory but the labs themselves took a long time to do and sometimes had difficult questions. However, all the exams were very fair and related to his unit goals that he would put on his slides. I enjoyed the Popular Science Book Presentation because there was a lot of flexibility in the topics you could choose for your book, as long as it related to earth science in some way. Classes were in person but also on zoom and recorded, and he made the exams online for simplicity with COVID. My major is not related to Earth Science at all but I really enjoyed the subject and would take more classes with him and within the major!