Natural Science & Environment

I found this course far more interesting and worthwhile than previous reviews indicate. The problem set assigned to each unit was relevant and graded fairly. Reading was minimal and interesting, and lecture was compelling. Lab work was engaging and relevant to the field. The only issue I found was that there was a disconnect between lab and lecture, which made it feel like it was actually two separate classes. I really enjoyed Monica Pryzperhart as a lab professor! Also, while the information is relatively basic, that is to be expected from a beginner class.

I found this course far more interesting and worthwhile than previous reviews indicate. The problem set assigned to each unit was relevant and graded fairly. Reading was minimal and interesting, and lecture was compelling. Lab work was engaging and relevant to the field. The only issue I found was that there was a disconnect between …Read more

I remain annoyed by how much I hated this class: I wanted to be an ES minor, and hate to say that I was weeded by this bs weeder class. I found the content extremely interesting, but I found the professors to be pretty condescending (not dash, she was awesome!), the problem sets to be my nightmare (they were not that hard but they were really harshly graded with little explanation of expectations prior/why the answer was wrong) and the class environment super disengaging. I was excited about this and learned a decent amount, but I would rather do many bad things than take it again. I would literally not recommend it to anyone ever.

I remain annoyed by how much I hated this class: I wanted to be an ES minor, and hate to say that I was weeded by this bs weeder class. I found the content extremely interesting, but I found the professors to be pretty condescending (not dash, she was awesome!), the problem sets to be my nightmare (they were not that hard but they we …Read more

This class was just very disorganized – we only had lecture once a week, so I never felt like I was really picking up anything that we learned, and the hearings were only really helpful when I was the one giving the presentation. I had Przyperhart for lab and absolutely LOVED her as a person, but the material of the labs was either way too confusing or way too simple (IMO). Overall it just wasn't a great class, but not something to stress much about if you have to take it as a requirement, which I did.

This class was just very disorganized – we only had lecture once a week, so I never felt like I was really picking up anything that we learned, and the hearings were only really helpful when I was the one giving the presentation. I had Przyperhart for lab and absolutely LOVED her as a person, but the material of the labs was either w …Read more

This class was a really broad overview of environmental science and can be pretty boring at times, although Alexis was super enthusiastic about the material and tried to make class more fun. Not too many readings, no exams, and the problem sets were not too bad. The lab and lecture can at times feel like completely separate classes, but individually both were pretty interesting and we were able to get out into the field a lot.

This class was a really broad overview of environmental science and can be pretty boring at times, although Alexis was super enthusiastic about the material and tried to make class more fun. Not too many readings, no exams, and the problem sets were not too bad. The lab and lecture can at times feel like completely separate classes, …Read more

This class was not as bad as the other reviews say, but it is a pretty boring requirement if you are an ES major/minor. It is mostly earth-science stuff that you would have learned in high school/AP EnviSci, but Professor Ryan is nice and despite his messy-er style of teaching, the class is not unbearable. I personally enjoyed the labs in comparison to other labs I have had where you sit in front of a computer for the entire time, as you actually got to get off campus and look at some pretty cool stuff!

This class was not as bad as the other reviews say, but it is a pretty boring requirement if you are an ES major/minor. It is mostly earth-science stuff that you would have learned in high school/AP EnviSci, but Professor Ryan is nice and despite his messy-er style of teaching, the class is not unbearable. I personally enjoyed the la …Read more

I found the lectures disengaging and labs were mundane a lot of the time. The concepts are pretty straightforward, and I feel bad for any sophomores and juniors who have to take it for their major, as they probably already know a lot of the material. Class participation was low and because slides were posted afterward, many people were not paying attention. Labs were fun when we could go out into the forest for sampling, and I'm sure ES classes, later on, are more engaging and exciting.

I found the lectures disengaging and labs were mundane a lot of the time. The concepts are pretty straightforward, and I feel bad for any sophomores and juniors who have to take it for their major, as they probably already know a lot of the material. Class participation was low and because slides were posted afterward, many people we …Read more

The class is as advertised: it's an all encompassing intro to ES. I took it as a sophomore because I couldn't get into it before I took higher level ES classes, so when we learned about what mass extinctions were, for ex, I was bored out of my mind. And then the tests were ridiculously difficult and vague. Profs were not accommodating. I loved lab though with Marc Lapin!

I really liked Prof Ryan, but this class was extremely uninteresting. The material is super basic, and I dont think i learned anything. The labs are taught as an essentially completely different class. Some of the field trips are cool but it does not need to be a required class. I learned most in the debate section, but it overall felt pretty scattered.

For me, this class felt inconsistent and disorganized. This was probably partly because of COVID, but it was still underwhelming. Crawford and Mychajliw alternated teaching lecture by week, which made for some inconsistencies between teaching styles. I preferred Mychajliw to Crawford because of her approachability and enthusiasm. The lectures and labs also had almost nothing to do with each other. The lecture content was way too easy, but the instructions and grading were super unclear which made the class itself hard. Other than Mychajliw, the bright spot for me was lab with Dash because I actually felt challenged by the content. I had wanted to be an ES major, but this class changed my perspective. I would not take it unless you are an ES major; otherwise, choose a different science class for your distribution requirement.

For me, this class felt inconsistent and disorganized. This was probably partly because of COVID, but it was still underwhelming. Crawford and Mychajliw alternated teaching lecture by week, which made for some inconsistencies between teaching styles. I preferred Mychajliw to Crawford because of her approachability and enthusiasm. The …Read more