Okay Winter Class 2020, 2021, 2022, and so on, here are some heads up things before you take the class:

1) 100% of your grade is exams. Exam 1: 100 pts, Exam 2: 100 pts, Final exam: 150pts. No busy work to buffer your grade. There are regrades for specific questions.
2) Depending on the average, he will curve so that the top 35% gets A-/A/A+. Most of you, I know, will want that A/A+ so strive for top 25% at least.
3) My scores: Exam 1: 75/100 [Class average: 65/100], Exam 2: 86.5/100 [Class average: 80/100], Final: 148.2/150 [Class average: 112/150] , which sums to 309.7/350 (88.5% overall raw score). I still got an A [insert humble brag], which was like 5 points off of an A+
4) Best TA's I've ever had. An-Chieh Feng, Bradley, and Choi are all good. An-Chieh Feng is the best though.
5) Exams are fair, but you need to be attentive and rested before so you don't make silly mistakes. Study right for the exam by understanding the points he emphasizes during his lectures. Please, do not study this class like it's another memorization class. He will test you on understanding and your ability to think through a problem, not whether or not you remember something. If he does test you on such a thing, it will be something big or very important that he has emphasized in lecture.
6) Contact me at ************* if you want exam scoops.
7) Take this class, hands down one of the most amazing classes I've taken. Dasgupta is 100% the reason why this class is one of the best in the MIMG department.

This quarter (Winter 2019) the course was co-taught by Dr. Dasgupta and Dr. Oliver Fregoso. I will talk about this toward the end of the review.

TL;DR the class is tough but amazing, you will not regret taking it.

This is a great course. I learned information about prevalent viruses that will stick with me for the rest of my life. This is not the reason I chose to take the course initially, though. As a biochem major I thoroughly searched for an easy elective and thought I came across the jackpot when I found MIMG 102, but let me tell you, this class is not an easy A (for the average student). There are students who will say the class is easy, but those are the select few who are molecular biology prodigies, work in labs, or who have taken lots of MIMG/MCDB courses. The reason the course poses a challenge is because Dr. Dasgupta is a true EXPERT in this field, and therefore writes his exams to challenge your knowledge.

He won't ask you "explain the process of _______". Instead he will ask you "I have a virus that does not replicate, here is my evidence ______, pose 4 mutations that would lead to this result."

Now, when he asks a question like this, he is looking for 4 SPECIFIC mutations of mechanisms or proteins that he covered in class, but recalling and connecting these will require you to know the material inside-out. You cannot come up with some reasonable explanation (that isn't one of the answers he wants) because that will yield you 0 credit for that mutation. So, this is mainly the reason the course is difficult for the average student, because you have to study the material with extreme attention to detail.

Now, how is Dr. Dasgupta? And who is Dr. Fregoso? Well, Dr. Dasgupta is amazing. He is highly achieved in the field of virology, yet he is humble and kind to every student. He gave us life advice sometimes, like important principles of kindness, which I really liked. He is wise and deeply knowledgeable. Our quarter was special because after the second midterm, we had a new teacher come and finish the course, Dr Fregoso. He was also a great professor, and sort of "modernized" the slides and materials which was cool (some of Dr. Dasgupta's figures in slides could have been 20+ years old). Dr. Fregoso wrote most of the final, and the questions were generally more straightforward, so if you knew the material you didn't have to think too critically.

You're probably interested in taking the class, so I want to tell you about the grade breakdown, curve, and how you can earn an A+ in the course (if I can do it, you definitely can). The key to my success was just giving the course tons of time. I went to every single discussion and office hour my TA had, and she was absolutely amazing. She spent countless hours answering questions and clarifying concepts. I can't explain how helpful she was. All of the TA's for that course are hand-picked by Dr. Dasgupta and he only chooses the best, so you have to utilize your TA heavily. I studied the material by listening to the audiocast with the slides open, while taking notes in a notebook, after each lecture. As the exam approached, I memorized + understood EVERYTHING that was covered. If you leave anything out, it may be on the exam. I also went to his office hours the week of the exam, which was absolutely packed (40+ people there) because he drops hints about the exam.

The grade breakdown is as follows:
Midterm 1: 100 pts (avg. 65/100) (5% of class scored above 90%)
Midterm 2: 100 pts (avg. 75/100) (17% of class scored above 90%)
Final Exam: 150 pts (avg. 112/150) (20% of class scored above 90%)

Why were the averages not higher? I think it was because people underestimated the exams. So if you take the course, don't take it lightly.
The "curve" was never really discussed, but it was generous. He mentioned that he gives top 35% of the class A-/A/A+. The top 25% get A/A+ usually. I had a 90% overall grade in the course and got an A+ which was rather surprising, so the curve will definitely boost you up.

I think I covered the main points, but there is so much more I could talk about. I'll leave all that for you to experience. It was ultimately a really enjoyable time that I will always remember. Good luck!

Really frustratingly difficult class because the exams always had specific criteria you had to meet in order to get the points. Like if a question was worth 5 points then they were looking for 5 specific mini answers, but even if you gave a *technically* correct answer you lost the point because it wasn't on the rubric. I still learned a lot of cool stuff from this class but the exams were definitely poorly designed.

Dasgupta writes truly awful test questions, to the point where the TAs don't even know what he's asking. He basically uses the class as a way to promote his own ego. So many slides are dedicated to his personal history or at least that of his mentor. Perhaps the most gratuitous slide was the one of his sister with Mother Theresa...so unrelated to the class and clearly just meant to impress students. He also doesn't teach the material very clearly. I'm very puzzled by his rating and so is everyone that I know that was in the class :(

Dasgupta is nogupta

One of the most down to earth professors at UCLA. He really wants his students to succeed. If you put the effort he will try his best to help you succeed. Sometimes clarity can be an issue with what you need to learn but overall it is a doable course. More work than it appears. His doors are always open to his students.

I love Dr. Dasgupta, and I did end up enjoying the class more than I thought I was going to (I wasn't expecting to tbh, lol). And granted, I took the course during a quarter when Dasgupta was undergoing some health problems, which prevented us from taking one of the planned midterms on the syllabus. As a result, our Midterm 1 and Final ended up being weighed 50/50 for our final grade, which was uh....not preferable. So it may be a bit more doable during other quarters.

But the exams definitely weren't easy. They tended to be pretty detail-oriented, and without an MIMG background (I found that even taking MIMG 101 beforehand helped me a lot), I could see the exams being substantially more difficult.

I pretty much just rewatched all of the Bruincast lectures prior to the exams and took notes, and ended up doing well. I didn't touch the Powerpoints or the course notes, and didn't go to class all the time, but I do think the class was easier because I had taken MIMG classes with a similar testing format before.

He's a funny guy though. I always enjoyed reading the names of the files on his laptop before he began lecture. I still want to know what "Only For Men" is.

I have mixed feelings about this class. Dr. Dasgupta is such a sweet, intelligent professor. But his tests are very involved. I feel like the reviews from earlier quarters are SO positive that people think this class is the best class ever. It's not a bad class, I did enjoy it. But the other 2018 post below mine is very accurate. This class is a lot like LS3 and can get tricky with the molecular biology. I didn't come in expecting an easy, walk in the park class (I mean I doubt that ever happens in any MIMG classes), but I did expect this class to be a bit more doable. His testing style is hard to adjust to, and your grade is nothing but the tests. He does curve at the end, and everyone ended up doing okay, but the average on our one midterm (50% of our grade) was a 66% and only 3 people or something ridiculous like that ( out of 200+) got over a 90%. I do think this is a good MIMG elective, you learn a lot, the viruses are interesting, and Dr. Dasgupta personally worked on some of the things discussed which is awesome. But be prepared to work hard and not really know what grade you'll get until the end.

Personally I didn't enjoy this class. Dr. Dasgupta is funny and cool but he isn't very clear sometimes. There were multiple points in the quarter when he would contradict himself either in lecture or in his notes. He also tends to go off track and says things that aren't relevant. The reviews saying this was an easy class aren't accurate.

Virology is interesting on the surface but once you get into the nitty gritty it is very easy to get bored and stop caring because the material is very dry. If you hated your LS3 experience you will probably hate this class too.

We only had a midterm and a final weighted equally at 50% which was annoying and stressful but you will likely not have this issue. The reason the class was split 50/50 is because Dr. Dasgupta had to get eye surgery right before our first midterm so the department canceled it.

Overall, I loved this class! The professor made the class very interesting and he is very nice/caring/helpful. It wasn't as easy as all my upperclassmen friends made it seem to be. The tests are hard because they really test your understanding of the concepts. But if you understand each step (why, how) you will be fine! Pay attention to wording too! Wording in his questions and wording in your responses! I do admit it was a struggle to try to understand what he wants from us in his test questions but the material itself made the class enjoyable for me.
Everyone said office hours are super helpful but if you cant make it, don't worry, because I was never able to (I had class at the same time) and I did fine my midterms! Obviously its good to go, but if you cant--its okay!