Melissa Paquette-Smith
Department of Psychology
AD
4.5
Overall Rating
Based on 106 Users
Easiness 4.0 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.8 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.6 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
  • Would Take Again
  • Has Group Projects
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
29.4%
24.5%
19.6%
14.7%
9.8%
4.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

27.8%
23.2%
18.5%
13.9%
9.3%
4.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

32.7%
27.2%
21.8%
16.3%
10.9%
5.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

29.8%
24.8%
19.9%
14.9%
9.9%
5.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

35.0%
29.2%
23.4%
17.5%
11.7%
5.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

41.8%
34.9%
27.9%
20.9%
13.9%
7.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

33.7%
28.1%
22.5%
16.8%
11.2%
5.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

41.0%
34.2%
27.4%
20.5%
13.7%
6.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

35.4%
29.5%
23.6%
17.7%
11.8%
5.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

53.1%
44.3%
35.4%
26.6%
17.7%
8.9%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

28.9%
24.1%
19.3%
14.4%
9.6%
4.8%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

23.9%
19.9%
15.9%
11.9%
8.0%
4.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

60.2%
50.2%
40.2%
30.1%
20.1%
10.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

26.3%
21.9%
17.5%
13.1%
8.8%
4.4%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

24.9%
20.7%
16.6%
12.4%
8.3%
4.1%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

21.6%
18.0%
14.4%
10.8%
7.2%
3.6%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

AD

Reviews (89)

2 of 9
2 of 9
Add your review...
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A-
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 15, 2025

She was such an incredible professor for this course! She was very interactive and approachable, she really encourages students to ask questions and attend office hours. The labs are very straight forward, just make sure you keep in touch with your group members because the group work is pretty spread out so its a lot easier to just already have good contact with them. The lectures are clear and concise, super easy to review as long as you take notes because she posts the slides with key terms and concepts on them. She does use i-clicker for participation but you only have to get 50% of the questions to get participation points for the day so not bad at all! Her midterm definitely covered pretty much every topic discussed in class so make sure to study every lecture a decent amount. I didn't do the readings as much as I should have but studying the lecture notes and (LABS! REVIEW YOUR LABS TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF THEM!!!) got me through the midterm and final just fine. They are very fair, nothing feels like it came out of nowhere or was intended to be impossible. If you have the chance to take this class with her definitely do it, she was so nice!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2025
Grade: A-
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 9, 2025

Super fair assessments but if you do bad on the final you are cooked. She is not the most interesting lecturer, but she cares so much about all of her students.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
March 5, 2025

For any psych undergrads, TAKE THIS CLASS FIRST. If you lock in and learn key concepts here, other prerequisites and even other GEs will be a breeze because topics were already touched upon here. She's a great lecturer and made the class really engaging and entertaining. My only critique of her lectures is that she can go a bit fast at times, so you might miss some stuff (you can go off of slides later), but she's definitely a great professor nevertheless.

Exams are tricky, but use the test bank they give you as much as you can. The midterm really felt unfair and vague even if you studied a lot, but the final was a breeze in comparison. Do yourself a favor and start here.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Feb. 12, 2025

She's chill and nice. Did not try that hard on the midterm and ended up with a B+, and got a good score on the final, but it didn't bring it up enough to an A. There's requriments to do 6 hrs of participating in studies or write 3 abstracts. I wrote the 3 abstracts, much less work than committing 6 hrs to research lol!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Winter 2024
Grade: B
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Feb. 11, 2025

Tests are not bad but it is a lot of memorization. Going to class is pretty mandatory because there is iClicker. The workload is okay not bad but not ideal. The class itself is really easy to get an A in if you actually try but you also could breeze by and get a B.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Jan. 6, 2025

Loved this class sooo much. Although it's a long lecture (1 hr 50 mins!), Dr. Paquette-Smith is an amazing lecturer, is super engaging, and also gives us a 10-minute break in the middle. She answers questions well and has really really good slide decks. She also showed us videos of studies and concepts and even demonstrated some of the concepts on us as well. There are a decent amount of readings (idk if you necessarily have to do them or not), but they're not that dense, just tedious mostly. I made flashcards from the readings and slides and was fine. There are also group projects, which was fun. Although I didn't think the final accurately reflected what we covered in the class super super well (it emphasized some things wayyy more than others despite them being covered for the same amount of time), the class was very fair and very interesting. Overall loved this class and would HIGHLY recommend having her as a teacher.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 20, 2024

This was an amazing class—an overall great introduction to psychology! Professor Paquette-Smith is an incredible instructor. She is very clear about her class expectations, super helpful to students, and easy to follow. Let me give you a rundown of the class:
Monday's: Every Monday Professor Pacquette-Smith lectures the entire time using slides. Because the class is two hours long, she does provide a 10-minute break in between lectures. The lectures are recorded and posted after class, along with the slide presentations. That said, attendance is not mandatory but highly encouraged as she does use i-clicker questions to count towards participation.

Wednesday's: For the first hour of class every Wednesday, the professor lectures just as before on Monday. However, during the second half of class, you do a lab. The labs aren't your typical "lab coat, conduct an experiment lab" they're more assignments related to some of the material you're covering in class. During this time, the TAs and LAs walk around the room if you have any questions.

Tests: There are quizzes that you'll take about once a week covering the material you learned in the lecture (unlimited attempts). The midterm was about 35 MC questions and 2 short answer questions. The final was a total of 60 MC questions.
This class is honestly very hard to fail. There is a required textbook, but to be honest you can get away with never looking at the textbook. There were a few questions from the textbook that were on the midterm, but not so much on the final. As long as you're attending lectures and taking useful notes, it's pretty easy to follow the material. I found the best way to study for this class was by making flashcards and taking the practice tests that Professor Paquette-Smith created on her website: https://testyourself.psych.ucla.edu. Overall, great class, and an amazing professor. Would take it again and recommend it to all (not just psych majors)!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: B+
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Dec. 10, 2024

honestly a pretty solid professor. her classes are really engaging and fun to attend. i would highly recommend taking this class because it is relatively easy if you pay attention in class and take notes during the lectures. there are four quizzes that you can retake until you get the score you like and then there is a midterm and final. homework is pretty light with only one lab per week (most of the labs are completed in class so not really homework) and then there are sona requirements. summary- great professor, easy class, interesting/fun lectures, and not much work.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Oct. 13, 2024

I loved this class, she was super passionate about what she was teaching so it made the class interesting. Attendance was mandatory which was kind of annoying sometimes, they checked through clicker questions. There were weekly labs that were take home and manageable. Easy intro class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2024
Grade: A-
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
June 24, 2024

The professor taught in a cohesive and direct way. Honestly, I feel like you could just pay attention to the slides and memorize everything and get a good grade. The midterm was light, most of us thought the final was more rough. The final got moved online last minute which, in theory, should've made it easier, but damn I think it dragged my grade from a solid A to A-. The labs were a little tedious and basically every other week, but besides that, I actually did really f with the format. With that all being said, I lowkey FUMBLED but it was my fault...I had like a 92.5 and she wouldn't round it up and was kind of mean when I asked her - which, valid, but also, damn. I think in general, you should be chilling, after all, it is intro psych just don't treat it as something you can not study for just because it's an easy class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A-
March 15, 2025

She was such an incredible professor for this course! She was very interactive and approachable, she really encourages students to ask questions and attend office hours. The labs are very straight forward, just make sure you keep in touch with your group members because the group work is pretty spread out so its a lot easier to just already have good contact with them. The lectures are clear and concise, super easy to review as long as you take notes because she posts the slides with key terms and concepts on them. She does use i-clicker for participation but you only have to get 50% of the questions to get participation points for the day so not bad at all! Her midterm definitely covered pretty much every topic discussed in class so make sure to study every lecture a decent amount. I didn't do the readings as much as I should have but studying the lecture notes and (LABS! REVIEW YOUR LABS TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF THEM!!!) got me through the midterm and final just fine. They are very fair, nothing feels like it came out of nowhere or was intended to be impossible. If you have the chance to take this class with her definitely do it, she was so nice!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2025
Grade: A-
March 9, 2025

Super fair assessments but if you do bad on the final you are cooked. She is not the most interesting lecturer, but she cares so much about all of her students.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A
March 5, 2025

For any psych undergrads, TAKE THIS CLASS FIRST. If you lock in and learn key concepts here, other prerequisites and even other GEs will be a breeze because topics were already touched upon here. She's a great lecturer and made the class really engaging and entertaining. My only critique of her lectures is that she can go a bit fast at times, so you might miss some stuff (you can go off of slides later), but she's definitely a great professor nevertheless.

Exams are tricky, but use the test bank they give you as much as you can. The midterm really felt unfair and vague even if you studied a lot, but the final was a breeze in comparison. Do yourself a favor and start here.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: B+
Feb. 12, 2025

She's chill and nice. Did not try that hard on the midterm and ended up with a B+, and got a good score on the final, but it didn't bring it up enough to an A. There's requriments to do 6 hrs of participating in studies or write 3 abstracts. I wrote the 3 abstracts, much less work than committing 6 hrs to research lol!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Winter 2024
Grade: B
Feb. 11, 2025

Tests are not bad but it is a lot of memorization. Going to class is pretty mandatory because there is iClicker. The workload is okay not bad but not ideal. The class itself is really easy to get an A in if you actually try but you also could breeze by and get a B.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A
Jan. 6, 2025

Loved this class sooo much. Although it's a long lecture (1 hr 50 mins!), Dr. Paquette-Smith is an amazing lecturer, is super engaging, and also gives us a 10-minute break in the middle. She answers questions well and has really really good slide decks. She also showed us videos of studies and concepts and even demonstrated some of the concepts on us as well. There are a decent amount of readings (idk if you necessarily have to do them or not), but they're not that dense, just tedious mostly. I made flashcards from the readings and slides and was fine. There are also group projects, which was fun. Although I didn't think the final accurately reflected what we covered in the class super super well (it emphasized some things wayyy more than others despite them being covered for the same amount of time), the class was very fair and very interesting. Overall loved this class and would HIGHLY recommend having her as a teacher.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: A
Dec. 20, 2024

This was an amazing class—an overall great introduction to psychology! Professor Paquette-Smith is an incredible instructor. She is very clear about her class expectations, super helpful to students, and easy to follow. Let me give you a rundown of the class:
Monday's: Every Monday Professor Pacquette-Smith lectures the entire time using slides. Because the class is two hours long, she does provide a 10-minute break in between lectures. The lectures are recorded and posted after class, along with the slide presentations. That said, attendance is not mandatory but highly encouraged as she does use i-clicker questions to count towards participation.

Wednesday's: For the first hour of class every Wednesday, the professor lectures just as before on Monday. However, during the second half of class, you do a lab. The labs aren't your typical "lab coat, conduct an experiment lab" they're more assignments related to some of the material you're covering in class. During this time, the TAs and LAs walk around the room if you have any questions.

Tests: There are quizzes that you'll take about once a week covering the material you learned in the lecture (unlimited attempts). The midterm was about 35 MC questions and 2 short answer questions. The final was a total of 60 MC questions.
This class is honestly very hard to fail. There is a required textbook, but to be honest you can get away with never looking at the textbook. There were a few questions from the textbook that were on the midterm, but not so much on the final. As long as you're attending lectures and taking useful notes, it's pretty easy to follow the material. I found the best way to study for this class was by making flashcards and taking the practice tests that Professor Paquette-Smith created on her website: https://testyourself.psych.ucla.edu. Overall, great class, and an amazing professor. Would take it again and recommend it to all (not just psych majors)!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: B+
Dec. 10, 2024

honestly a pretty solid professor. her classes are really engaging and fun to attend. i would highly recommend taking this class because it is relatively easy if you pay attention in class and take notes during the lectures. there are four quizzes that you can retake until you get the score you like and then there is a midterm and final. homework is pretty light with only one lab per week (most of the labs are completed in class so not really homework) and then there are sona requirements. summary- great professor, easy class, interesting/fun lectures, and not much work.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Fall 2023
Grade: A-
Oct. 13, 2024

I loved this class, she was super passionate about what she was teaching so it made the class interesting. Attendance was mandatory which was kind of annoying sometimes, they checked through clicker questions. There were weekly labs that were take home and manageable. Easy intro class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Verified Reviewer This user is a verified UCLA student/alum.
Quarter: Spring 2024
Grade: A-
June 24, 2024

The professor taught in a cohesive and direct way. Honestly, I feel like you could just pay attention to the slides and memorize everything and get a good grade. The midterm was light, most of us thought the final was more rough. The final got moved online last minute which, in theory, should've made it easier, but damn I think it dragged my grade from a solid A to A-. The labs were a little tedious and basically every other week, but besides that, I actually did really f with the format. With that all being said, I lowkey FUMBLED but it was my fault...I had like a 92.5 and she wouldn't round it up and was kind of mean when I asked her - which, valid, but also, damn. I think in general, you should be chilling, after all, it is intro psych just don't treat it as something you can not study for just because it's an easy class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 9
4.5
Overall Rating
Based on 106 Users
Easiness 4.0 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 3.8 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.6 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Uses Slides
    (66)
  • Would Take Again
    (53)
  • Has Group Projects
    (56)
ADS

Adblock Detected

Bruinwalk is an entirely Daily Bruin-run service brought to you for free. We hate annoying ads just as much as you do, but they help keep our lights on. We promise to keep our ads as relevant for you as possible, so please consider disabling your ad-blocking software while using this site.

Thank you for supporting us!