Professor Goldberg's class is one of the most interesting at UCLA. If you are a non-science major, or in the beginning of your career in science at UCLA, take this class. You learn about genetics and genetic engineering at a really deep level, including how it relates to ethics and the law. Goldberg absolutely adores teaching this class, and as long as you don't mind participating and being asked questions, I would highly recommend the class because of its format. Not only it is a small, more intimate setting, but the exams are group oral exams, meaning you have to work with and get to know your classmates. Goldberg demands a lot and it is a huge time-commitment (two 2.5 hour lectures per week + 2 hour discussion + reading and quizzes outside of class). That said, it was one of the few classes I have taken here where I felt like I was using my time wisely and learning something truly valuable. He brings in impressive guest speakers every week to lecture, and has a dinner afterwards so you can meet and interact with them.

Highly recommend if you are at all interested in genetics, or if you want a memorable, more personal class experience.

Professor Goldberg was amazing and was one of my favorite professors at UCLA. He has a great deal of passion of genetic engineering and shares this passion with his students in all of his lectures. Although there's a lot of readings that you do need to keep up with to understand lectures and discussions, it's definitely worth it as you learn a great deal from his class. There's one midterm, one final, and about 8 quizzes but you can work with others since they're all take home, and the midterm and final you work with a group and present your answers to the class. Almost everyone gets an A in this class, but you earn it from the amount of work you spend to learn the material well and you have a supportive environment that will help you to do that. This class introduced me to a variety of prominent guest speakers from various fields that I really found helpful when figuring out my career path. Highly recommend this class.

Professor Goldberg is truly amazing. This class is def not a light workload class, however, he made it super rewarding to learn. I literally had no interest in gene/DNA before, but right now I feel that I learned a lot. My TA Pierce is helpful too. I highly recommend this class

Goldberg is super passionate about his class and his students, and you will definitely learn a lot from this class (but be prepared for his style of teaching- he calls students out in class and pushes people for answers if you are uncomfortable with that)! It is a lot of time in class (sometimes lectures can feel so dragged out and boring) and a lot of work but pretty much everyone gets an A in the class!

Professor Goldberg is amazing! Really enjoyed this class and would definitely take it again, even though it was a lot of work. Be prepared to do a lot of reading. Also, you have to be comfortable with public speaking to do well on the midterm and final.

Professor Goldberg is an esteemed professional, inspiring mentor and incredibly down-to-earth person. Couldn't recommend this class more to anyone interested in genetics, looking for an honors class, or who just wants to expand their horizons.

Bob Goldberg is a fantastic lecturer and he cares about his students. Highly recommended!

As a first-year biology major who took this class online over Zoom, this class truly shows the merit of HARD WORK and TEAMWORK. Sure, some of the concepts of genetic engineering were familiar to me because of biology classes I have taken before, but a lot of the questions that were asked really challenged my critical thinking skills, creating experiments based on the concepts I learned in class. A lot of the content discusses current issues and ethics too, and there are many practical takeaways from it.

This class really emphasizes on GROUP DISCUSSION. BE PREPARED TO GET ASKED QUESTIONS in lecture or discussion about the content. There's quite a lot of reading to do if you want to be prepared. It was definitely nerve-racking for me, but that's how Dr. Goldberg makes it a productive learning experience. Dr. Goldberg always loves to get students talking, whether it be content-based or just a casual chatter, in office hours or in lecture. The weekly quizzes and the midterm and final also encouraged collaboration. There so many extra credit opportunities to boost your grade, it was easy for me to get above 100% on the assignments, but he made the final grade equal for everyone, and that's completely okay too.

Dr. Goldberg is a really supportive friend, and is always out for the best of his students; even though his class requires a decent amount of effort, there are definitely good intentions for doing so. This memorable class will surely be one of the classes that will stand out among the other classes I took and have yet to take, and that's a good thing.

THANK YOU, Dr. G and the TAs for an amazing spring quarter!! This is truly one of the best classes I have taken so far at UCLA. Dr. G and the TAs really care about the students and they encouraged us to work collectively to answer the questions. As a north campus major, the materials could be a bit daunting at first but with the help of my discussion leader Ava, I can confidently say that I've learned quite a lot about the concepts in genetic engineering. Dr. G is a professor who does more than teaching. He truly believes in the value of scientific education and wants to promote it to more people.

You should definitely take this class! This was the best class. Although the readings can seem heavy, they are definitely interesting. You definitely need to set aside time for this class because it is not the type of class you can slack on. However, it was truly one of the best classes. Dr. Goldberg really cares for his students and so do the TA's! There is not one thing you cannot ask about and a bonus for this class is the fact that everything is group-work. You don't have to do anything alone in the class because they encourage working together and it makes you feel less alone/dumb. Overall, definitely take this class!