I learned several key concepts in this class, such as forming arguments and thinking critically. MCDB 60 was one of the very few classes I enjoyed at UCLA, and I would recommend it to everyone. The professor and TA (Jessica) are extremely intelligent and helpful. Very engaging class!

I have seen many intellectuals and many lecturers in my life. Dr. Cvrkel is truly the most gifted one, and I don't believe anybody else will be better. I took this class randomly, expecting it to be tough and boring. I was completely wrong. Every lecture was fascinating, as Dr. Cvrkel is incredibly engaging and such a funny, caring person. I believe she has found her calling in life, and I am SO appreciative of the fact that I have had her as a professor. I will be taking MCDB 60 with her next year. It will probably be a little tough, but I'm 100% certain it will be worth it. If you go to UCLA and want to experience a world-class professor, TAKE HER CLASS

This is my favorite class in UCLA so far. Professor Cvrkel is definitely talented and very knowledgeable. She makes this class just as fascinating and it's not hard at all to stay focused the whole time. Her lectures are super engaging and the topics appeal to both science and humanity majors. Everyone will learn something fresh and new in every lecture. Most importantly, her class teaches you how to develop an argument clearly and effectively, which is an important skill regardless of your major. She does not really care about your final conclusion as long as you develop your argument thoroughly. This class has quite a lot of assignments but since they are about interesting topics, they are even enjoyable to do.

The TA Jessica is also very very helpful. During discussions she summarizes lectures from last week and maybe does a little preview on the upcoming lectures time permitted. With her help, even though lectures can be hard sometimes you won't be struggling.

I plan to take MCDB 60 in the future and I highly recommend taking at least one class with professor Cvrkel! Just take her and it's totally worth it!

This class was so cool! Cvrkel is a great prof for this class. She cares about her students and we talk about a lot of super interesting and relevant topics during lectures. Attendance to lecture and discussion is mandatory and part of your grade. The tests are graded pretty harshly in my opinion so its not a super easy class if you are looking for a GE but it is super interesting so that helps.

I took this class as a GE cause it sounded interesting. Little did I know I was signing up for a philosophy class that dives into the theories of cultural relativism, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, and then a more interesting second half of the course applying these ideas to issues like abortion, animal rights, and genetic engineering. The professor is really cool and up-to-date on millennial/pop-culture and has a lot of insight and knowledge on the issues. This was a cool class but if you're looking for an easy GE where you're not gonna have to put in a significant amount of effort then this class isn't for you. The workload isn't super heavy, its just that the tests are graded very harshly and you have to learn how to write a certain way for this class--its not like typical english class writing--philosphy is surprisingly very mathematical and logical. You make a quick 3-slide ppt for each lecture focusing on one argument she made in class, and other than that its just 2 midterms and a final exam as well as a final paper on your biggest personal moral dilemma (you write a paper on how you would solve it using ethics you've learned in the class). Overall this class was interesting and kind of daunting, its a great class with a helpful, engaging and interesting professor, but I'm so glad its over. Would not want to repeat that class especially when its just a GE. Its a challenging GE!

Loved this class. The lectures were incredibly engaging and the material was fascinating. I really felt like I took something valuable away from this course. The final paper was challenging, don't procrastinate on it. But otherwise the powerpoint homeworks were easy to do and didn't take much time. Tests were very doable if you spent the time to understand the material. Wish I could take all of Cvrkel's classes.

Dr. C is my favorite professor at UCLA. I took 60 with her last year, and I would have to say I prefer that class as someone who isn't keen on biology but loves philosophy. Exams in this class are extremely fair, but because all graded materials are essay-based, you need to actually understand the arguments in order to demonstrate your mastery of them. Be prepared to put work in & practice formal argumentation, but the information in this class is extremely valuable and worthwhile.

Best class I have ever taken. Absolutely changes your life. You must take it.

This class is a joke.

Cvrkel will mock past and present students' exam answers, shame students in class when they present views that conflict with hers (not hard, BTW), and often fill the first 30 minutes of the lecture with some meandering discussion about something only vaguely related to the class. She "lectures" as if she's filling time because she didn't prepare anything for that day by littering her speech with "Ok, here's what we're going to do" and "Are you ready?" (as if you're 10-years old), and "Ok, then. Let's do it!". Over and over again.

The reading material is good, but her and her TA's grading was capricious. Also, information given in office hours leading up to exams was aggressively misleading. It was like some game Cvrkel was playing. Basically, you couldn't trust them to grade you properly.

This whole class felt like the "Tiffany Show". You had to listen to her rants about what footbal teams she loves, which ethicists she thought were "stupid", and what a good matchmaker she is.

As far as "being taught how to write arguments", this class is really lacking. If you want to learn how to write arguments, take a real class like PHILOS4 or something.

I'll give you an example. For the first midterm, she told us we would just be responsible for the medical info she'd talked about. But, when we looked at the midterm, all the questions expected answers in "argument form". Guess when we had the reading material and lecture that covered that "argument form" material? Yeah, the week AFTER that midterm.

Look, if you like to be mocked in class and jerked around about what the exams are going to cover, take the class; you'll have a blast.
If, on the other hand, you're a serious student who doesn't have time to play mind games and who wants to learn from real scholars, skip this ridiculous class.

Easily the best class at UCLA taught by the most wonderful professor. Dr. Cvrkel is smart, funny, and gives the most engaging lectures. I wish I could take this class again and I really hope everyone takes this class, too!!

Grading is 5% attendance to lectures, but you'll never want to skip a lecture because they're amazing and crucial to understanding the concepts
10% quizzes, based off of the weekly readings but they're very simple
15% midterm I, 20% midterm II, 20% essay, written about your own moral question and 30% final exam.Tests consist of writing arguments/objections about philosopher's beliefs, abortion, animal testing, and the role of ethics in science.

This is a somewhat challenging class but so rewarding!! Dr. Cvrkel and her TAs are amazing and so helpful. There's several office hours per week and a Facebook group where they'll answer any additional questions.