This class has literally been one of the best classes I have taken at UCLA. The material is different than anything I had learned before but was so interesting. I actually chose to be a geography minor because of this class. Zackey is a great professor and very friendly. His breakdown was 40-60 midterm and final. There were no sections, but if you ever had any questions about the material, he could explain anything at office hours. There was no required textbook and all the readings were online so as long as you did the reading before class, you would know exactly what is going on. On weeks where I didn't do the reading, the lecture seemed confusing so just DO the readings! If you take good notes, and some of his explanations, you should be okay in the class. You should also try investing some time in the case studies. It's pretty interesting learning about the different perspectives on environmental issues we've all read/heard about.

I've said too much already. And I just remembered this was his last quarter for a while, but if/when he comes back, jump on the opportunity to take this class!

Zackey is a great professor! The course grade is made up of the Midterm, Final, and Labs. I wasn’t interested in d subject and just enrolled because there was space & it fit in to my schedule, but I ended up liking the course. The material was not as difficult or boring as I thought it would be or at least the professor didn’t make it seem like it. The exams are based completely on lecture (don’t buy the book, you only need it if you want to expand on the material & you can see in Powell). So it is crucial to attend to all lectures or at least get & review the notes from someone. Also don’t miss the review session (its basically held the class before the exam) it is extremely helpful because you can as him what you are confused about & he will be great at explaining it. Got an A.

No doubt Zackey is the best teacher i have had thus far at UCLA, very enthusiastic about his subject and easy to understand. Only downside of class is you must attend lectures as he does not post the notes online, otherwise a great class.

Professor Zackey is one of the best professors I've had at UCLA. He's incredibly knowledgable of the material and very engaging. I am a North Campus major and am not usually interested in science at all, but I genuinely enjoyed Geo 5. Zackey used a more "social-science" approach to the material which I really liked- our labs were designed more as discussions, and we had weekly write-ups on selected articles. Overall, I feel like I really did take away some valuable lessons and info from this class; I didn't feel like I was just memorizing material that I would forget after the end of the quarter. Zackey makes the class really applicable and enjoyable. Definitely the best science GE I've taken thus far. Also, Timur Hammond is an incredible TA. He's really passionate about the subject and is very eager to help.

I'm surprised no one has said it yet— this professor is cute as hell. His chili pepper on Ratemyprofessor.com is red, so those who consult bruinwalk.com about professors should be informed of his charming good looks as well.

I guess that's a shallow comment considering there's more to him— he's really smart and a great teacher, too— but just had to say it. Geography 2 was extremely interesting, relatively easy if you put in some effort, and a solid GE— the fact that Zackey was nice to look at, too, was just icing on the cake.

Zackey is the greatest, he is everything an educator should be. I first took Geography 4 with him then took Geography 2 again with him because he was so good, it was the only time I decided to re-take a professor. Both classes changed my life in some way, 4 got me thinking about international development while 2 got me thinking of bio-conservation in a whole new light. And what a genuinely pleasant and fun guy he is! There's always a smile on his face and he's always crystal clear about his topics. It's impossible to not do well on the tests as long as you've taken adequate notes all quarter. Make sure that when you take his class you begin to challenge yourself to open your mind, because he will change you forever if you're open to it.

Professor Zackey has lived and taught in Asia for several years and speaks from experience. He is extremely passionate about Chinese history, culture, and geography; and will often ask the international students in the class about their own experiences.

His slides are extremely dense in terms of slide count, so I'd recommend taking good notes in order to avoid having to go back to them before midterms.

The first midterm is a map quiz that is pure memorization (will probably take several days to study for). The second midterm was 100 or so questions --for which he used scantrons for the first time during my quarter, and most of the class scored in the C range.

This class was very interesting. I knew nothing about China before taking this class, and Professor Zackey really teaches you a lot of useful information that can stick with you, if you care enough to remember it. His lectures are very interesting, and he speaks about his experience living and working in China and allows other students to discuss their experiences in China as well. He is often a funny guy. He provided a study guide for the midterm, however, it did not correlate with the test exactly. The test was changed due to the quarantine that was implemented last minute. It would have been multiple choice, but was changed to a couple of essay questions which was totally fine. I thought the essay questions were a lot easier than the multiple choice midterm. Other than that, it was a good class. The best thing I can say is STUDY for the midterm and final. I did not study a lot for the midterm which is why I did poorly.

Professor Zackey is one of my favorite professors at UCLA. He's passionate about the subject which comes across in his lectures which are interesting and easy to follow. It's essential to go to class because he doesn't post slides online and some of the random tidbits he tells you can pop up on a test. There's one midterm and one final which are both pretty easy and don't require any intense studying to get an A. It's an easy GE, Zackey is a great professor, and the material is enjoyable to learn.

i took this class at 175b and professor zackey and edward his TA were the best people i’ve met at ucla they’re truly amazing people and care a lot what they teach about. i’m a relatively slow student and not very smart and managed to get an -A in this class after getting a 80% on the midterm which was weighted either 40% or 50% of your final grade depending how well you did on your final (better exam was more of your grade) his lectures are excellent attending in person is much better than zoom because he walks around the room and talks and writes on the board too. i honestly wish zackey taught more classes at ucla because i would be in them :(. his midterm was relatively easy and his study guide is really helpful if you take notes during his lectures you should be able to get a A easily if you just listen to them and don’t take notes probably a B. his map quiz is just memorization and it takes maybe a a couple hours to get everything down but you have like 2-3 weeks to prepare for it check quizlet there should be some sets on there to help you. he’s also super generous on the curve of the class because he doesn’t want to kill everyone.