Professor
Tina Austin
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I had a great experience with Professor Austin. The class included research seminars from UCLA faculty, learning about research techniques, how to effectively read scientific papers, write your own research proposal, and present your work. I looked forward to every lecture because of the supportive and passionate energy Professor Austin brought in. She made class a fun, interactive place and showed her commitment to teaching by asking for feedback often. I always felt comfortable to participate and ask questions during class. The assignments called for a lot of collaboration with peers through which I made amazing new friends. The class is structured in such a way that you gain a lot of knowledge during the beginning of the quarter and use it for assignments that are due towards the end. It is important to stay on top of work and reach out when you need help, and Professor Austin was always more than happy to provide guidance. I loved everything about this class!
Fall 2022 - I had a great experience with Professor Austin. The class included research seminars from UCLA faculty, learning about research techniques, how to effectively read scientific papers, write your own research proposal, and present your work. I looked forward to every lecture because of the supportive and passionate energy Professor Austin brought in. She made class a fun, interactive place and showed her commitment to teaching by asking for feedback often. I always felt comfortable to participate and ask questions during class. The assignments called for a lot of collaboration with peers through which I made amazing new friends. The class is structured in such a way that you gain a lot of knowledge during the beginning of the quarter and use it for assignments that are due towards the end. It is important to stay on top of work and reach out when you need help, and Professor Austin was always more than happy to provide guidance. I loved everything about this class!
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2022 - This course was informative, organized, engaging, and interesting! I love that Professor Austin updates her slides to current research and any new findings. Also, participation is very important for this course. I highly HIGHLY recommend going to office hours if you can. Professor Austin is very open to meeting new students and is helpful with any questions you might have. Another tip for exams is to go over the slides. There are things that are emphasized in lecture that you will want to take note of, as they will probably be on the exam. Make sure to allot a proper amount of time for studying by looking through the slides, discussion recordings, and info that was gone over during office hours. Overall, I learned so much more about stem cells, and participating in class only helped me learn more. Professor Austin truly cares about student learning, so be vocal in class (when appropriate) for answering questions or taking part in discussions. Another note: this class requires a short individual presentation via zoom. Be creative and add some personal elements to yours! These presentations, while they may seem a little intimidating, become a great way to get to know your peers and relevant topics more. Definitely a course that I think everyone should take if they get the chance!
Spring 2022 - This course was informative, organized, engaging, and interesting! I love that Professor Austin updates her slides to current research and any new findings. Also, participation is very important for this course. I highly HIGHLY recommend going to office hours if you can. Professor Austin is very open to meeting new students and is helpful with any questions you might have. Another tip for exams is to go over the slides. There are things that are emphasized in lecture that you will want to take note of, as they will probably be on the exam. Make sure to allot a proper amount of time for studying by looking through the slides, discussion recordings, and info that was gone over during office hours. Overall, I learned so much more about stem cells, and participating in class only helped me learn more. Professor Austin truly cares about student learning, so be vocal in class (when appropriate) for answering questions or taking part in discussions. Another note: this class requires a short individual presentation via zoom. Be creative and add some personal elements to yours! These presentations, while they may seem a little intimidating, become a great way to get to know your peers and relevant topics more. Definitely a course that I think everyone should take if they get the chance!
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I am writing a review on this class because I do feel like the other reviews are a bit misleading. Tina was by no means a bad teacher, but her slides were incredibly disorganized. Her exams were hard. They required you to memorize her slides word for word, and there were about 300 slides for each midterm. Pretty sure the average for the second midterm was a C. She's a very nice person, but honestly, after taking other MCDB classes that require 165A, I genuinely did not feel as prepared as I should have. One professor I have for an MCDB upper div said to my class "you should have learned this in 165A" and I had literally never heard of the topic. I do believe she tried her best, and she got better as the quarter went on. She did give extra credit, and the presentations were pretty fun to do! But do not go into this class thinking it's super easy and fun. It still requires a lot of work.
Fall 2022 - I am writing a review on this class because I do feel like the other reviews are a bit misleading. Tina was by no means a bad teacher, but her slides were incredibly disorganized. Her exams were hard. They required you to memorize her slides word for word, and there were about 300 slides for each midterm. Pretty sure the average for the second midterm was a C. She's a very nice person, but honestly, after taking other MCDB classes that require 165A, I genuinely did not feel as prepared as I should have. One professor I have for an MCDB upper div said to my class "you should have learned this in 165A" and I had literally never heard of the topic. I do believe she tried her best, and she got better as the quarter went on. She did give extra credit, and the presentations were pretty fun to do! But do not go into this class thinking it's super easy and fun. It still requires a lot of work.