All you need to do to do well in the class is show up at discussions where you are given the answers to each week’s quiz. You don’t need to watch the lectures or do the reading (though it is very interesting). The weekly slack participation just involves commenting on a news article. The group project is pretty easy, and just takes some minimal effort. The only difficult assignment in the class is a 5 page research paper about diversity issues in stem cell treatment. As long as you can handle that, the course will be a breeze.

As someone who is interested in biology and politics, I found this class to be very interesting. Dr. Lee is clearly very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. The lectures were very understandable even without background knowledge in biology, as Dr. Lee explains the concepts very clearly. The lessons eventually get a little repetitive and you generally grasp the main idea of the class after the first couple weeks, but I found the content interesting so that wasn’t a problem. Aside from lectures, there are weekly readings which generally cover the same topics as the lectures, so they weren’t that important. The discussion readings were lengthy and could get repetitive, but skimming them would do the job.
The only tedious part of the class was the weekly assignments. The TA was a little harsh on the grading, but the questions were based on that week’s discussion and the TA’s slides usually had all the answers. I really liked Auriana as my TA; she was very understanding.
There is also a final group project and five page midterm paper on a diversity issue topic of your choice. Since the essay prompt was basically the entire idea of the class, it wasn’t that difficult to write.
Overall, the class is pretty easy, especially if you like the subject. If you are interested in politics/ethics and/or medicine, I definitely recommend it!!

Absolutely fabulous class. Prof Lee is awesome, you can tell she loves teaching and makes such an effort to connect with class even though its such a large lecture setting. I went to discussion sections literally once, and my TA would essentially post the homework answers every week. You didn't even really need to go to lectures if you didn't want to but I found them super interesting so I went and just listened, no need to take notes or really do the readings but they are interesting. Midterm group project is super manageable and essentially peer graded...Final essay is super easy as well and fairly graded. Awesome class and super interesting taste of biomed ethics for nonmajors.

This class is very interesting and lectures are very engaging. The class starts off focusing on the biology of stem cells and then halfway through it switches to health care access and the ethics of scientific experimentation as a whole. I loved this class and would recommend if you are interested in public/community health. There is no textbook and all the readings are provided.

Prof Lee's class was by far the easiest class I took this quarter, and I won't be surprised if this is the easiest class I take over the rest of my years at UCLA. This class doesn't feel like it's worth 5 units because of how light the workload is. Prof Lee is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the field of stem cells, which made listening to her lectures a very pleasurable experience, and the discussions the class had on ethics were extremely captivating; however, the class was just that, listening. There is a single assignment every week that should take about an hour to complete and it's fairly easy to do so as long as you attend the week's discussion section, which basically gives the answers. I love the material and Prof Lee, but unless you were an MCDB major or you truly loved the content, you didn't really need to sit in class, much less take notes during lecture to get a good grade. The midterm project was a group project where you had to give a description on a disease and discuss how it can be treated using stem cells. The final was a five page research paper on how a specific diversity issue causes inequality in access to healthcare. Both can be done without stepping foot into the class. Kind of an easy A for people who want to get their LS diversity requirement finished, but if you pay attention this class opens your mind to the field of ethics and the possibilities of stem cells in medical therapy.

The course was very light in workload and was very interesting as well. It wasn't very biology heavy, especially in the last couple weeks which focused on the ethics regarding stem cells. There were no exams, but rather there was a group project in the middle of the quarter and a final paper at the end. In the group project, we were assigned a disease that could be treated by stem cells and had to create a website, infographic, or presentation regarding it. It was not a big time commitment and was graded through peer and instructor reviews. The final paper was straightforward and simple as well, being a paper about health disparities with a 5 page limit, which was not graded harshly. Other than that, the class had weekly quizzes that usually revolved around the content discussed in discussion that week and the questions could easily be answered using the discussion slides that were posted on Canvas. They were free response and were not graded harshly. Discussions were not mandatory, but it was necessary to look at the slides for them to complete the quizzes. There were also weekly article responses starting week 3 where you had to write a 50-100 word response to one of the articles Dr. Lee posted for that week, very straightforward as well. Lectures were not mandatory as well, but were interesting and were usually recorded. Overall, I really recommend the class as a light GE, especially if you need to fulfill your Social Analysis or Life Science requirement.

I took this class as a GE requirement and it went very well. I would say that the workload was light. There were weekly articles responses (easy points), weekly assignments (free response questions based on material covered for the week), a group midterm project, and a final paper. Attendance in discussion and lecture were not mandatory but I found going to discussion very helpful for the weekly assignments. The midterm project was a group project on a disease and you have different format options (website, poster, etc.) to do. This is mostly graded on peer reviews. Finally the final paper, this was a 5 page paper on health disparities and wasn't too bad. I had NO prior knowledge of stem cells and most of the biology discussed but this class was very smooth.

I love Dr. Lee's lectures! She is incredibly engaging to listen to and there were so many interesting aspects to this class. BEWARE: do not take this however if you do not have a strong biology background because around 7 weeks of this course is geared towards biology and not ethics/politics. I will say that as a warning, but to those who love science and have a strong foundation in biology, this is the course for you. We also do not need to purchase any course materials which is another plus! Attend and participate in your discussions, do your weekly assignments and readings, listen to lectures is typically the average week's workload. The midterm paper is heavy and a bit of work but start early. The final is a group project that is also intensive but if you set a pace and meet with your group, you will be totally successful in this class and walk away with some fascinating information.