While Dr. Illes was generally an engaging lecturer and the content she covered was interesting, her exams and assignments unnecessarily, and excessively abstract and vague. She is also very unresponsive through email, thus you may have to heavily rely on the TA.

For the final exam, there was not a single person that received >89%, and no, she did not curve the final grade...

Professor Illes is hands down one of the coolest professors in the Geography department. She is funny and extremely passionate about this class, considering that she has done a lot of field work in Africa. For summer, there are weekly assignments which are a one page, single-spaced response paper to readings she posts (easy points). There are two field trips, one to a small zoo (Wildlife Learning Center), and a large zoo of your choice. The tests are very easy if you go to class and take good notes on the slides and things she says. I would take this class again. The topic is very depressing though, so be prepared.

I have taken two of Illes' upper division classes, and I wish I was able to take the third. This class was hands down my favorite class in my entire UCLA experience! She made the subject matter interesting and gave us exposure to the field in a way most UCLA professors do not. She is a good and entertaining lecturer, as she explains concepts interspersed with relevant personal stories. The work load was manageable, and I always got a lot out of the readings. Yes, her class is a bit difficult, but as long as you do what is required you should be able to get the grade you want. She cares that you understand the material and is available to discuss it with you. A knowledgeable, passionate, and entertaining professor. One of my favorite professors at UCLA. You should definitely take her classes!

Professor Illes has a very different teaching method, especially when compared to other UCLA staff. She is eccentric, which you need in the multi-disciplinary field that is geography: never have I ever had a professor that can give me the complete history of California and then tell me about field work in Zimbabwe and Nicaragua. A truly fascinating person.

If you are looking for a checked out prof, she is the exact opposite. Having a professor ACTUALLY care about your performance in class is rare. She isn't an "easy" professor, its that the work is just so straightforward that if you do it, you'll be graded accordingly. If you don't do the work, you won't succeed.

Professor Illes is an excellent resource. Go to her office hours.

I've already rated the professor, so I'm just rating the course. I definitely recommend it. I learned SO much about Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa. There are a plethora of issues going on in these areas that I knew nothing about and I felt very enlightened about world issues by the end of 10 weeks. She has spent a lot of time in African countries, so it's cool to hear her two cents about certain regions as well. For example, during her lecture on elephants when she was talking about how people often treat them like horses when it comes to riding them she said rather nonchalantly that the only time she's ever ridden an elephant was in Nepal to get across rapids.

I got an A in the class and didn't feel like it was an overwhelming effort. I definitely recommend it to Environmental Studies and IDS majors.

AMAZING PROFESSOR. You learn A LOT about the subject. The class I took was very interesting because she was really passionate of the subject. Very knowledgeable of African Wildlife. Class is based on 4 things. 1) Weekly 500 word responses to videos or readings she posts. 2) Midterm. 3) Final. 4) Final 2600-3000 word conservation paper. The paper is not bad at all. Illes is VERY fair about grading.