I'm going to be completely honest and say that I really struggled with this class! The lectures felt very lengthy and difficult to understand, though I really appreciate that both Professor Treude and Margot left up their slides and recordings of the classes. The recordings and slides made homework so much easier for me to get done (you will definitely need them). The midterms and finals were definitely the most tedious parts of the class. I would mainly say that the wording of the questions was the most difficult part for me to process. My major is in the liberal arts field, which probably explains why. Despite my own confusion, most of the stem based majors that took this class said it was their easiest class and barely took any time for them. I would definitely find a group of people to study with as soon as possible, since your grade essentially consists of homework, midterms, and the final, with nothing else to boost your grade up.

Even though this class was personally super difficult for me, it had a lot of pros to it! The homework was fairly simple and was required to complete every week (which helped me boost my grade). Your two worst homework scores also get dropped, and there is extra credit that is offered and available to complete online. I wouldn't necessarily take this class again, but it's definitely not the worst science GE out there!

Tina was a great lecturer. She was very clear and very passionate about what she taught. I'd happily take a class with her again.

The class is designed as an easy GE. In fact, I believe a lot of the lower divisions classes in EPS SCI department are. The homeworks and exams are all easy. The only minor problem is that Professor Margot sometimes talk about really confusing astrophysical stuff, such as the multi-stages of the Bigbang, that are kind of hard for me to grasp because I personally didn't take any physics in high school. But none of the difficult stuff are tested, so there's that. Professor Treude teaches the biology part and I find her content clearer than Margot's because the concepts are more concrete and finite and there are no extraneous untested things. I wouldn't take this course again personally to be honest because I find the physics part a bit boring and remote. But that's just me.

I loved this class! I took it (virtually) for fun and would recommend it to anyone who wants to gain some foundational knowledge in astronomy or biology. I would definitely recommend it to first year students, because it covers a wide breadth of introductory material for different fields. Also, lectures are live but do not require attendance.

This was the course breakdown:
Homework 40% (drop 2 of 8)
Take-home midterm exam 30% (multiple choice)
Take-home final exam 30% (multiple choice)

There were also 10 points of extra credit, and the weekly homework and exams were open-notes.

Dr. Treude taught more of the biology content, which I found very interesting because I am a life science major. Unexpectedly, it overlapped well with my MIMG 101 class. Dr. Treude talked about her research too, which I found interesting.
The tests and homework were easy, although there are a few quantitative questions on the exams, which could be tough for people less knowledgeable in physics. I am a life science major with some (not much) background in math/physics and a lot of space knowledge, so I did not have issues with the material, but if you do not have a STEM background, it might be more difficult. Also, there were a few questions on the exams pulled directly from the textbook, so make sure to at least skim it before the exams!

This review is for EPS SCI 15 (INTRO TO OCEANOGRAPHY) since she is not listed with this class in bruinwalk.
Honestly, EPS SCI 15 is a seriously insanely complex class, with it being an intro class. The mid-term wasn't hard, but the requirements that go around this class make your grade primarily focusing on the lab itself... which is ridiculous if you already did your lab requirement. I don't think the lab portion should be required if you already did it! My lab requirement class made it a separate listing... Anyways. I think the concept of weekly lab tests is absurd and over the top. Also, what's the point of the lab assignments if they don't even count for our grade? My TA was extremely nice and patient but sometimes what she made is do during lab wasn't as easy as it was to do on the quiz. Although Treude does allow 10% extra credit, it isn't enough for what she makes you go through with this glass being a GE. This class is only an easy A/B if you have it as a pass/ no pass. Also, the lectures are ridiculously boring and her voice can get very soft and makes it hard to hear at times. The slides also have so much info and most of the time it's pointless writing what she has on the slides because she posts the slides on CCLE, which makes it more convenient to focus more on what she says that isn't on the slides (which is rarely... since she generally reads only what's on the slide). I can't wait for this class to be over... Way too much stress for a class that grad schools won't even care about if you're a non-stem major... and even then, I have some stem friends in this class who hate it. Also, that lab final... Treude needs to find a way to make this class a learning experience and not a stress experience. This class does have the potential to be fun, but the stress brought through the lab makes this class a hell.
Oh UCLA... how I hate your science reqs as someone who is a humanities major...

I don't know why Jean-Luc Margot has a ton more reviews than Tina Treude when they divide the class pretty equally (if anything I felt Tina Treude lectured more). They're both incredibly knowledgeable in their fields, but Jean-Luc Margot is more interesting. At least in my opinion. Maybe that's why he has more reviews.

In my opinion (and it seems like opinions are divided) the class wasn't too difficult. Weekly homework was 40%, midterm was 30%, and final was 30%. So there is a lot of weight on weekly homework, which isn't hard at all. For me, the material can be boring, but there are some interesting facts, especially if you like learning about planets, since there was a lecture on Mars and the big moons of Jupiter and Saturn. As long as you leave some time to go over the material before an exam, it shouldn't be too hard.

Honestly, this is not an easy A GE unless you take it as a Pass/No Pass. I stopped going to lecture week 3 because they were not engaging and found myself reading all the powerpoints and taking notes on my own before each exam. I got a 68% and 70% on the exams and had a 98% for homework and got a B because of the extra credit, but changed it to Pass/NP for other reasons. Anyways, this class is not as easy as others make it seem but I have to admit Jean luc Margot makes the lectures a little bit more bearable.

There are two professors (1 for the first half of the quarter: Jean-Luc Margot, and 1 for the second half of the quarter: Tina Treude). Prof Margot makes the lectures somewhat fun, but Prof Treude has a thick accent that makes her difficult to understand. The material is extremely boring if you're taking this for an easy GE and not actually interested in the subject. Don't wait until the day before final to study because there is a lot of material.

No need to go to lecture, but maybe it helps (I wouldn’t know). I gave up on going to lectures because on the first day I showed up late and had to sit on the floor, as there were no more seats left. Hw is 40% of grade and really short (graded on accuracy however). Midterm was moderately easy, but Final was hard (both all MC). I used the pdf version of the book and posted ppt slides to study for exams; very light work load, but I would say put in some effort if you want the solid A. I got median on the midterm and a 50-something % on the final, whoops. (Pretty much equivalent to taking ¼ of a class if you don’t mind getting a “P” or somewhere from A- to B-)

This class is a great GE if you're looking for something interesting with very minimal work involved. As others have mentioned, this class is taught by 2 professors-Margot is an astronomer who handles basic astronomical and physical concepts while Treude is a marine scientist who lectures on the biological and chemical aspects in astrobiology. Some people here felt that the professors were boring which is unfortunate but understandable if these individuals sat at the back of the lecture hall. This is a very large class taught in a really big lecture hall so I recommend sitting closer to the front where you can actually see the professors' faces; they are both passionate about teaching this class and it helps to see them if you have a hard time listening to European accents . I'd also like to mention that they were both incredibly nice and helpful. I had a serious medical emergency that forced me to miss the midterm for the class. Both of the professors were very supportive and understanding and let my final exam grade count for my missed midterm grade as well. Do NOT slack off for the final, there were some surprisingly tricky questions. I devoted one entire day of studying for this class' final and was able to come through with a 100%, it's definitely doable! None of the concepts in this class are difficult and most should be familiar for anyone with a minimal science background. I highly recommend this class.