Well structured class, so you are good as long as you keep up with the weekly assignments. Enjoyed this especially because of my TA Sammy Feldblum!! Such a chill, helpful, and understanding dude!! 11/10 would recommend.

Honestly, this was an APES class with a little bit more work. That's all. Really not difficult material. Professor Cavanaugh clearly loves what he does and I appreciated how he laid out this course in COVID times, as I was able to pace myself with the recorded lectures and such. Also LOVED the absence of tests and quizzes, I actually felt like I could learn without stressing over a test grade. The workload itself isn't too bad but in conjunction with other classes it did sometimes get annoying, so try to turn things in early. My TA (Furnaro) really engaged with us, too. Note that medical notes are required for discussion absences to be excused.

I took this class asynchronously. The lectures were great, fun and interesting. The discussion sections were super helpful. It is a lot of info but nothing too crazy. I recommend this class.

You were expected to complete five things each week: reading, lecture videos, discussion posts, lab assignments, and weekly quizzes. The lectures for this class were entirely asynchronous, pre-recorded, in my quarter. The lectures were very concise, resonating with the readings. The weekly quizzes came from both readings and the lectures and were not too hard because it was all open books, open notes. You have two attempts to do the weekly quizzes. For the discussion post, I felt like the first half of the class was a lot heavier than the second half. The discussion posts were graded based on completion. The lab assignments were the heaviest workload of the week. Sometimes I spent 5-7 hours completing them. Overall, you might spend five up to 10 hours for this class a week. This class had such a heavy workload compared to my other class; however, you did not have any midterm or final. You'll have a final paper that is quite long, but you will have three weeks to start constructing and thinking about your paper.

This class has a heavy workload, especially as a GE class. But, the content is very interesting; you'll learn from physical to human geography and their interactions. So, it is very comprehensive if you want to study more in geography; this would be a great beginning course. My TA wasn't very prepared for my discussion session, but it was very chill, just sitting in the class for participation points. My TA graded quite harshly, so hopefully, you get a good TA. Read instructions for the lab assignment carefully, especially the rubric if they have ones if you expect a good grade. Overall, take this class if you are interested in geography. If you do work (read instructions carefully) and complete everything by deadlines, you can expect good grades in this class.

For those trying to get a copy of the book, DO NOT text **********’s post below.

I do NOT have the book for sale; it’s been sold ( I am unable to edit previous posts).

Try finding a copy on Thriftbooks/Amazon ; using the second edition should be just as fine as the most recent (although speak to professor directly to make sure).

Thanks.

I really enjoyed this class. There is a good amount of weekly work (watch the lectures, read a chapter or two from the e-textbook, complete a discussion post, quiz, assignment) but the information is really interesting and valuable, the work is not too difficult and it's easy to get an A. The class is extremely well-organized. You can re-take the quizzes so it's pretty easy to get a 100% on all of them. Prof Cavanaugh is great, really helpful and an engaging, clear lecturer.

This class was one of the easiest classes I have taken, but you definitely still had to invest the time to study for the midterm, final group project, and final. He always posted the slides even though attendance was not technically mandatory. Professor Cavanaugh was always happy to help and listened to the students' inputs. The most workload you had was the discussion sections, which were mandatory, where you had to do assignments in every class and you had to write a short one paragraph summary for given articles every week. Again, all very doable and easy if you actually do it. The book was definitely useful during discussions and especially during the final group project.
That being said, I am currently selling the mandatory textbook Professor Cavanaugh used throughout the quarter, "Visualizing Environmental Science" the 4th edition. Selling it very cheap! Contact me at **********.

I took this as a GE over the summer and it was great! I was worried about taking an online class over the summer, but this class was so manageable! The only thing I disliked was the weekly lab reports. They were very interesting and fun to do, but if you got behind at all on the material for that week it would be a mad scramble to try and finish the lab report. Basically if you can stay on top of your work, this class is very interesting and enjoyable!

This class was pretty interesting, but it is not an easy GE since you still have to put in work, especially during labs. The midterm was kinda hard but the final was all multiple choice and it was pretty easy (I got a C on the midterm but still managed to pull an A in the class). His readings and lectures don't line up, but most of his test material is from the lectures anyway. Class and lab have a heavy workload; I had a final group presentation week 9, the final week 10, and a final paper (2nd part of the group presentation) due Tuesday of finals week. Professor Cavanaugh is a good lecturer, cares about student input, posts lecture slides online, has great hair, and gives up to 2% extra credit.

Professor Cavanaugh is a very clear and engaging lecturer. He genuinely cares about his students and is always asking for feedback and recommendations. Overall one of my favorite professors and classes at UCLA! The material is not challenging and the final was entirely multiple choice. If you've taken any type of environmental science class before, this class will be a breeze.