Mammalogy is such a great class! It's super interesting, and the material is really easy to follow. Dr. Brown and the TAs are so enthusiastic and approachable. I have never taken an EEB class before and found this class super manageable. No need to buy the textbook (honestly I stopped using the lab manual after the first couple of weeks, too.)

Tips: Try to ace the lab practicals. They are solely based on memorization of the skulls/pelts, so make sure you actually go to lab every week and take good pictures/notes of the specimens. If you can get those points that are just based on memorization, you can set yourself up to do really well. Also, make sure to give very detailed answers on your lecture exams. Go to class, go to lab, and reach out to Dr. Brown and the TAs.

Before you enroll in this class just know that yes, you will learn in depth about most mammals so do not take this class if this does not sound like something you are interested in. That being said, before taking this class I was not interested in the course material at all and Dr. Brown made it interesting so now I find myself reading articles about mammals!

TL;DR This class makes you realize how cool mammals are!!!!

The class grade is solely based off of exams:
-2-100 point midterms (a few multiple choice +short answers/ fill in)
-2-100 point lab practicals (Fill in)
-1-200 point final (a few multiple choice +short answers/ fill in)

The midterm questions are solely based off of lecture learning goals that the professor posts and explicitly talks about. I think Dr. Brown does an excellent job writing exams. They were def somewhat tricky, but fair if you studied the material (literally create a study guide based off of the learning goals). She does not try to trick you, but make sure you are understanding the course content.

The lab practicals on the other hand were extremely difficult. 5 weeks of lab material is a lot to memorize and practice identifying. Essentially during the lab practical there are stations and you get 2 minutes each station to read the question and fill out the answer based off of the skulls/animal skins/teeth presented. I only did well because I made a powerpoint presentation with every animal skull from every angle and practicied a lot. YOU HAVE TO STUDY A LOT for the lab practicals. On the first one I got like a 65% and then a 92% on the next one. Dr. Brown does something amazing by letting you write a 7-10 double spaced research paper to replace your lowest grade which saved my grade.

People in the past have claimed that this class was really hard but I truly thought it was fair. It is graded on a straight scale so you can only miss 50 points to get an A-, but it is doable. Tip: record her lectures because she talks fast due to the crazy amount of information she has to get through. I never used the lab manual or textbook so don't buy them- make a friend who has it and briefly scan the lab manual when you want a more in depth description.

Dr. Brown is an amazing professor who is truly passionate about what she is teaching. She is helpful in office hours and very approachable. Every prof should strive to be like her.

TAKE THIS CLASS- It is lots of fun :)

Lecture was pretty easy to follow but her tests required a lot of data to get full credit. Lab was interesting and basically a free period but there was wayyy too much information to know for only a 5 unit class.
Selling lab manual for cheap. Text **********.

selling lab manual $10 text **********

Professor Brown is a great professor. She just got her PhD in a mammalogy field so you can tell she is passionate about the subject. I loved her lectures, she put in gifs, and made the material relatable. Everything she tests on is on the slides, and the tests are pretty straightforward if you study, although it can be dense sometimes. Her labs were pretty hard because you have to ID skulls of mammals that can all look pretty similar. My advice is to make a powerpoint for yourself with pics of each skull from all angles and descriptions of each skull in the speaker notes so you can practice IDing skulls at home. My only issue with her is she speaks really quickly, so either learn to type really quickly or record her lectures because they are not podcasted. Overall love her though! I would definitely recommend her as a professor.