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.

Very interesting and engaging class! Would highly recommend it.

Selling all course materials (course reader and Slack book) for a very cheap price!

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My second time taking class with Dr. C and I recommend her if you are up for challenges. I like 60 better, may cuz I'm a math major and have no clue about biology. But still, politics, biology and ethics combined is just so cool. You can never go wrong.

Selling brand-new coursereader and used Slack book (in good condition and with useful notations). Both required by the class.
Message me if interested at **********. Thanks.

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!

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

Selling:
Course Reader $20
Slack Stem Cells $5

Email: *************

Amazing class.

Not an Easy GE by any regards, but the information is so interesting it doesn't matter, you're willing to put in the time.

Material isn't hard, just keep up with readings, go to lecture and an office hour or two and you'll get an A- or an A.

Cvrkel and both Jessica's are amazing, so sad I don't have a class with her anymore. If you like science take this class.

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 **********)

Selling MCDB 50 Course Reader for $10

Text me at ********** or email at *************

Spring 2015 grade distribution:
5% attendance and participation
10% homework
15% exam 1
20% exam 2
20% paper
30% final

Professor Cvrkel:
Professor Cvrkel was an amazing teacher. She's insanely hilarious and she had a way of lecturing that glued you to your seat and always made things interesting. The things discussed in class were so insightful and made you look at the world differently. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this course or anything else she teaches. She really makes you want to learn. Her lectures were longer than usual, but they were never boring. She mixed it up between straight up lectures and lecturing with a powerpoint. She also had a guest speaker come in and talk.

TA:
Jessica Kriksciun was my TA. She was actually ALL of the TAs for this quarter, which is quite remarkable. She and Cvrkel have been working together for a while, so they are pretty in sync. She made discussion pretty interesting and interactive with your peers. She was overall really helpful with helping to understand the material and applying to the real life.

Attendance and participation grade: A
Attendance was mandatory for both lectures and discussions. You would need to sign in to both. For discussion, you didn't have to participate too much. I hardly did anything, but I still got an A.

Homework grade: A
You had to submit a 3-5 slide powerpoint about an argument you thought was most important from the previous lecture. This would be due the morning before the next lecture. They don't take long to do, and they are easy points. At the end of the quarter, Cvrkel also offered ways to knock off two homework assignments from your grade. You could turn in any type of drawing, even a happy face on a piece of paper, and do an evaluation of the professor.

Exam 1 grade: B
The first exam was three questions in which you had to identify an argument, offer an objection, and evaluate the success of the objection. These were pretty straightforward.

Exam 2 grade: B
The second exam was exactly the same format as the first one. This was not cumulative.

Paper grade: B
The paper was pretty simple. You had to create your own policy based on the content of the course, provide an argument for it, and analyze an objection to it.

Final grade: B+
The final was cumulative and occurred during 10th week in class. I believe it was of similar format the the two exams.

Overall grade: B+
You do not need to be really interested in science to take this course. You learn about the biology of stem cells, but the breadth of the course is about arguments, constructing your own, challenging others. It was a very helpful skill that you can use in the future, and I'm really glad I took this course.