I took both Geog 112 and 135 with Illes this past quarter, and loved both, especially 112. I was pleasantly surprised at what a great lecturer she was - she is one of those rare people who has an infinite amount of knowledge about absolutely everything the class is about, including the tiniest details, so she was able to lecture for the full 3 hours of lecture with no notes or reading off of anything. She just talked about what she knew, which made the lectures much more interesting and animated. That being said, she would give at least one, usually two breaks during the lecture because it was 3 hours long, which I really appreciated. So by the end of the week you didn't have a crazy amount of material. She was also very reasonable with homework assignments, with a very manageable reading load and just a one page response each week. Exams were very doable, completely based off her lecture and graded very fairly. I really appreciated how concerned she was with students, being one of the only professors I've had who didn't assign extra reading and work on midterms and finals week to let us study. Overall, extremely knowledgeable and a great lecturer and fair teacher.

I took Animal Geography (112) and African Ecology (135) with Illes. Both classes were great, not too hard, and very interesting. I recommend 112 more, I found it more interesting, probably because animals are Illes' specialty. African Ecology & Development turned out to be about 90% development and hardly any ecology or connection to the environment, which I probably would have found more interesting, but it was still an extremely educational class. Take both or any other class Illes teaches, she is an awesome professor and is easy to get a good grade in if you go to lecture. You have to go to lecture because she doesn't post any slides and the readings aren't covered on exams, but it's worth it because they're usually interesting and if you do go to lecture you won't have much to study for and can get an A on the exam.

This class was so fun and incredibly easy! Professor Illes is an entertaining lecturer, and the labs are very simple. Take this class for your science GEs, and be sure to sign up for it during your first pass (nobody drops!) Overall, I feel like I learned something valuable, and earned an easy A!

There are couple reminders for taking Dr.Illes classes:
1. Be prepared with huge workloads.
Assignments, readings, labs are not easy and you need to spend some time.
2. Very strict requirements.
Dr. Illes will not change her policy. Absolutely no late submission in any form of excuse will be accepted.
3. Exams and tests are more challenging.

This professor is incredibly rude and bossy. Whenever students asked questions she answered with a very condescending tone.

Take this class! Professor Illes is an absolutely amazing woman who is extremely passionate about the environment. She has an incredible life story. I'm taking her again next quarter for Geography 122.

This class is a pre req for my major, so obviously I enjoy the topic, but I think most people will get value out of it. It's not a difficult GE for those needing to fulfill science requirements. The labs are very simple, the midterm was 70 questions and the final was 75 (all multiple choice). Most people finished in under an hour for both.

This class fills up so fast, so if you really want to take it sign up for it on your first pass. I have a few friends that wanted to take it and it filled up before they even had their first pass.

Nice lady. Her class is relatively easy compared to other GE classes. She doesn't like to give much assignments but just the weekly projects (and the TAs grade them).
Well, you can still bomb the midterm and the final though since both of them count as 35% each and they are not that easy!

Professor Illes is my favorite professor at UCLA. She is very knowledgable, and more than willing to help you. Ive taken 5 of her classes and they never disappoint. Her readings are not a waste of time, her teaching style is entertaining, and her tests are fair. There are never any trick questions or anything like that.

Advice: Go to office hours! Not only is she hilarious, but she's great at reteaching for you if you don't quite understand the material.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Definitely my favorite professor at UCLA. I take as many classes offered with Professor Illes as I can. I was worried about taking a GIS class because I had horrible experiences with other GIS professors at UCLA. Professor Illes was extremely helpful and made sure everyone understood the material. Not only that, she taught material that employers look for. Unlike other professors at UCLA, she wanted to prepare us for a career and not just go through useless material. ONLY TAKE 168 WITH ILLES!

Don't take her class if you are not a fan of assignments and science readings. She has no tolerance for late assignments. She might be a great professor, but she is not a very nice person. She is very tough on assignments and grades. I took this class for winter quarter looking forward to it, but then I forgot about the lab assignment that was due on the first day of school because I didn't get the email about it during winter break. She accepts absolutely no late assignments and you have to read chapters of the book and ask yourself questions and answer them. Though I missed my first lab assignment(30 people also did), I tried to send her an email to make for it hoping she'd understand, but instead I got a very offensive email about how she questions my ability to understand what she says and whether I left early during lecture(which I did not). I admit I should have paid more attention to the class website, but seriously who gives a due on the first day of school? I also feel like she is kind of racist toward international students since she questioned my English skills and suggested I change a class. I didn't hesitate to drop the class because I just didn't want to learn from her. She could be really tough. I'm only taking it as a GE and with lab assignments and lecture assignments, its just not worth putting so much time into it.