I took this course in Fall 2013, my first quarter in UCLA. This is the hardest course I've ever taken, although not the one I got the worst grade. The exams and the paper are hard, since you can't just memorize and you have to go far beyond what you've been taught and sometimes challenge your cherished beliefs. This course really helped a lot for critical thinking and greatly influenced my style of argument. However, there's one thing that I don't really like about the professor, is that she's a bit arrogant and makes fun of people who get wrong.

Selling the Course reader. It is brand new, I had to drop the course. Selling for $25 (Originally $35).

I can also sell the "Stem Cells" by Slack for $5. It has some high lights in the beginning. Otherwise in a great condition.

Please reach me at 650.303.4928 or inshique@ymail.com.

I've taken Cvrkel for MCDB 50 and 60 and I can hands down say she is my favorite professor to tread UCLA ground. This won't be your easy peasy A class but it will be the only class at UCLA where you retain useful information. This class completely changed my outlook on certain topics in life (for the better). It is not absurdly difficult! It is the type of class that makes you enjoy arguing and debating topics. That's how you learn.

Selling MCDB 50 Course Reader for $10

Text me at 626-840-8555 or email at musicman123@outlook.com

Selling the 2015 course reader for MCDB 60. It's in perfect condition; never even opened.

I'm asking $20.00 for it (price in the UCLA bookstore is $30.00). Please call/text me if interested!

562.325.1038

First, let me say that Dr. Cvrkel is an amazing lecturer. She’s so humorous and sarcastic that you can’t help but become interested in what she says. You can tell that she cares about her students because she’s always willing to spend a good amount of class time answering students’ questions, and she has a class Facebook group for that purpose as well. This class is basically 1/3 biology and 2/3 ethics and politics, so while a few factual questions do appear on exams, most of the questions test students on how well they can write arguments and defend those arguments.

Here’s what the grading was like for this class:
Attendance and participation: 5%
Homework: 10%
Exam I: 15%
Exam II: 20%
Essay: 20%
Final Exam (cumulative): 30%

The homework is very easy, just reading and making a mini powerpoint about the material taught in the last lecture. I found most of the readings long and boring, but Dr. Cvrkel says they’re fair game for exams, even if she doesn’t go over the readings in class. The exams all involve essays, which I found difficult because it was hard for me to finish in time, and I had to really think about how to write good arguments. The class average generally seems to be around a B though, so it’s not impossible to get a good grade. I found the essay difficult – you have to write about one of the controversial topics discussed in the class – but you don’t have to do research for the essay, and the professor says that as long as you try to write about a difficult topic, even if something goes wrong and your essay isn’t that great, you should still get a decent grade on it. Although the syllabus says the final exam is cumulative, for my class at least the final really wasn’t… maybe because she claims that she tries to learn what students know best during office hours and put that material on the final so students will get better grades.

Overall, I found this class very interesting, although rather difficult… but it really helped me learn how to think critically and write decent arguments.

Awesome professor! One of the best I've ever had. She always keeps you informed with the "business" of the class (like upcoming due dates, reminders about office hours, things like that). This class is a little bit about stem cells, but really more about teaching you how to expose the weak points in other people's arguments, and then forming your own (unbeatable) argument. Great class in terms of learning things that are applicable to real life. Dr. C is a very engaging lecturer and I always looked forward to class with her. Her class is extremely difficult in that it makes you think about controversial issues and form opinions on them; however, she makes sure that a large number of her students get As and Bs. She's always willing to digress on interesting topics that students bring up in class, which I like since that means we're not learning/going over a certain set of information. It's more of an open forum sometimes, so some really interesting points are brought up. The best thing about this class is that it's a hybrid between North and South campus. Centered around science, but building a more North campus skill. Highly recommend this class.

I lovelovelovelove Dr. Cvrkel. I wish she had more classes to take, and I would take them for fun if I could. I took both of her classes and got A's in both.

It isn't a braindead easy class, but it isn't stupidly hard. The effort required I'd say is about 2 hours a week to read, and about 30 minutes of homework. (hw is super easy dont worry. its pass/fail)

She is an excellent lecturer, very funny, chill, and sarcastic in her lectures not just outside the class. Lectures are very engaging, and super interesting to listen to. You won't be bored and its not a chore to go to class

To do well in the class:
1) Go to class

2) Take notes

3) Practice formulating arguments. She'll teach you step by step how to do it and you'll be going over examples everyday in class. You dont need to worry about teaching yourself

Notes are very important, don't skip on it. They are your guide to an A. Try to go over the examples discussed in class because the midterm/final questions are literally the same examples

Tests: you just need to explain an example, or why the example's argument works or doesn't work, and maybe provide a counterexample.

Missed points are usually because you forgot one of the arguments talked about, or you missed an important point in your argument. This can be avoided with good notes.

The class is not curved, so it makes it very hard to get an A or even an A-. Don't take this class if you are just looking for an easy GE. I got a B- (first midterm), A- (second midterm), A (paper), and B (final) and ended up with a B+. It is a very interesting class, but I would not recommend it unless you're premed and want to know more about the ethics involved with stem cell research (I'm an EE major). Selling the course reader and stem cell book from MCDB 50 Fall 2015 for $15 (I'll also throw in some extra review notes if you want). (text me at 650 799 2058)

I LOVE Dr. Cvrkel and her TA Jessica. However, this class is extremely hard, so do not expect an A level grade.