This was the class that convinced me to double major in Spanish. Kip is perhaps one of the best professors that UCLA has ever seen: he cares for his students' learning and will go out of his way to make class engaging for them, making sure they're doing their best to improve their Spanish.

This class focuses primarily on writing skills and intermediate grammar topics. I've tended to notice that most Spanish professors at UCLA tend to shy away from this while simultaneously expecting high-quality writings, so I think Kip's way of handling the topic was not only very helpful but also insightful.

Profe Kip cares about what he does and his students. He is nice but I will say that if you miss an assignment/quiz he has little to no mercy. Other than that, a very thorough professor.

This is the second class that I have taken with Profe. Tobin and I cannot recommend taking his classes enough. You will learn new perspectives on topics that you never would have though of and will explore genres that you may have otherwise overlooked. There are a few weeks when this class was a lot of work to the point that it was difficult to keep up with, but there were others where I found myself doing very little for the class. You must like participating in and outside of class as there is lots of group work, but our whole class was very involved so I had no issues with this. All in all this class is very interesting and I would absolutely recommend it especially if you are taking lifescience/environmental course work in other departments.

This class was called Topics in Contemporary Studies: Latin American Climate-Change Fiction and it was very informative. Kip is great, you can tell he put a lot of thought into the materials we used in class and he incorporated different works, like readings, podcasts, even a film. The class is definitely discussion based rather than just listening to lecture slides, so it's important that you do the readings beforehand so you can participate. There is sometimes a good amount of reading to do before class but in my opinion the works were interesting and very different from one another, so it felt engaging. There are 2 response papers and a final project, and the final project has room for a lot of creativity– overall, the graded assignments were very manageable. If you are interested in climate change, I would definitely recommend this class because you learn about a lot of different ways that authors depict the issue in fictional works. I will also say that Kip is super understanding and a kind professor. He was very accommodating of us during the TA strikes and he also asked for our feedback halfway through the quarter, then implemented a lot of the feedback that was given. This was one of my favorite classes at UCLA so far, and definitely a manageable workload with some other intense classes going on.

Great class! clear writing assignments, structured class time to brainstorm and compose work. Fair homework load. He cares very much about student success. Very transparent with grades and standing. Plays music at the beginning of class!

Stephen ("Kip") Tobin is overall a very friendly and engaging professor! He knows how to cater his classes to the individual needs of his students and often spends time reviewing tricky concepts. Final grades include participation points, online homework, three essays, five pop quizzes, and a final oral presentation. The workload was not too heavy, but consistent and constant, with homeworks due before each class (three times per week). Students are required to buy new copies of the textbook in order to utilize the online book access codes for the homework, which is extremely annoying because it is so expensive, but this is a Spanish 25-wide issue, not specifically for Professor Tobin. Occasionally he will get a little short or noticeably irritated with students but ultimately is a great professor who plays music before class and knows how to cater to the students!

Professor Tobin is by far the best professor I have had at UCLA. I have taken his classes a couple of times, and he never fails to make the class exciting and engaging. His in class quizzes are fair, he'll let you know everything that will be on the quiz, and his take home papers are not too difficult if you have been going to class and paying attention. After his class, I ended up loving the topics of science fiction, and I definitely recommend anyone who has an opportunity to take this class, even if you think science fiction is lame or you've never read it.

This was a very fun class overall. I came in thinking it would be an easy class with little interest, but after a few weeks, I got hooked into the subject. Such a fun an interesting subject. All the readings and discussions were great! They were interesting and fun and it made you view different view about robots, cyborgs, and clones. Made you think about the world that we live in and were technological are taking us and what our future might look like. Would highly recommend the class to anyone who wants to have a fun and interesting class. Professor Tobin has been the best Spanish professor I've taken so far due to his passion about the subject and just how carrying he is about student learning and understanding of the subject. Would love to take another class with him if possible. Amazing class and professor overall.

Professor Tobin is amazing. He truly cares about the material he teaches. His grading is fair and if you have any questions office hours are great to go to. He is one of the best professors I have taken here at UCLA. Lectures are easy to follow and he posts the slides. He is a very forgiving professor. He will tell you that you are wrong on something which is good. The class is in spanish but if you need to switch over to english he is fine with that as long as your idea or comment is clear. There are group essays that are done in class. They are not extremely difficult but you do have to analyze the reading/movie. The readings are fun and not too difficult. I had more trouble with the readings in english than spanish. They were the theoretical texts like Haraway but everyone had a little difficulty. He also broke the readings down. You have to do the readings in order to do well. Like I said, the readings are not hard . He even asks at the end of the quarter on his weaknesses or ideas for his next class. He is the only professor who does that to my knowledge. TAKE HIS CLASSES. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

He loves the phrase " O Sea" which I find funny. Everyone has their own words they like to use. Seriously though. Take his class and you will not regret it.

Professor Tobin is one of the best professors at UCLA. I have taken two Science Fiction classes with him and they have been one of the most innovative classes I have taken. His readings are clear and above all very informative. All the information that he provides to his class is very relevant and up-to-date. It is noted that Professor Tobin prepares himself very well before his lectures, but above all, he cares that his students understand very confusing concepts about robots, cyborgs, and clones.