Fun class to learn stuff about the environment if you're a non-stem major trying to cover your GE requirements. I would not recommend this class if you have done your lab requirement, and would only recommend this class if you need to cover it. Lab is a big part of your grade and the lab quizzes given on the weekly basis are quite tough since they are very selective on details. Treude offers easy extra credit and can boost your grade. Emily was a great TA, would recommend because she was very patient and willing to help out during the lab assignments.

Labs were almost related to lectures but just had math to it. Lab quizzes were easy somewhat, you just have to remember the slides and pre readings. I didn't read the books she assigned and I got a B+. Lab activities were group assignments. Lectures were kinda boring because Prof. Treude read off slides. it was interestingly challenging but its purely memory-based. She has a German accent, do her a favor and don't enroll if you hate German accents.
RR

Prof. Treude is a great professor and made this the easiest class ever! She can be a bit dull sometimes and does just read off the slides but they are always very clear and she uploads all the slides afterward. The comments about her German accent are unfounded—her accent is not thick at all and far from a level where you can't understand her.

Be wary of the lab. They aren't too hard in my opinion but it is a pretty big part of your grade and sometimes the lab quizzes can be tricky. However, two of your worst lab grades are dropped and Prof. Treude gives you extra credit worth 10%.

I have never gotten lower than an A- until I took this disaster of a class. I have never fallen asleep in class until I took this class. I had never failed a quiz until I took this class. Treude is by far the worst teacher I have ever had. I know she's smart and kind, but her lectures were incredibly disorganized and impossible to pay attention to. I had no clue how to study. I had to switch to Pass/No Pass so that my GPA didn't get annihilated. Please, I am on my hands and knees begging whoever is reading this, do not take this class. Trust me. Please. I took the time out of my day to add this class to Bruinwalk just so that I could save someone from the fate that has befallen me. I am only saying this because I care deeply about whoever is reading this.

This class is pure memorization the whole way through. The lab sections were painful, and if you're even 2 minutes late, you can't take the quiz which accounts for 30% of your grade. Honestly the class was painful, but lecture attendance isn't necessary since Professor Treude reads off the slides. The end of the course was jumbled by the COVID crisis, which is why my grade majorly tanked. Had to attend my lab section to take the lab final, even though campus was shut down.

Some parts of this class are really interesting (tides, tsunamis, coral reefs, etc), some parts are a drag (sediments, seawater, micro-organisms) but I'd definitely recommend this class if you need a life science lab. Some of the lab quizzes can be tricky (and detail-oriented) but the lowest 2 out of 8 are dropped so they aren't bad at all.

I took this class winter quarter of my freshman year. I went to lecture only 3 times and still got an A because Prof. Treude posts the slides online, which is nice. It's good if you read the textbooks (20 dollars total), but you're ok just by reading the slides online (there is a summary at the end of each lecture). If you only study the day before from the slides summaries, the tests are not too easy but still doable. The COVID-19 situation helped with finals though, otherwise it would have been harder for me to get an A. This class also satisfies the lab requirement. The labs are a pretty important part of the class, as you have a quiz every week (best 6 out of 8 will count for 30% of the final grade). Studying for the quizzes is the only work on a weekly basis that you have to do. I had my lab at 11 and usually by just studying the same morning of the quiz I managed to lose only half a point. The content is super boring though. TA Hannah Tandy is super good and nice.

Tina seems like she's fun in class. Her powerpoints are filled with pictures of her on adventures and she ties them into the lecture. However, if you have ANY concerns/problems/accommodations that require you to email her she is a BEAST ( and not the good kind). She was very rude to myself and a lot of other class members who emailed her about many different things (accommodations for people during the COVID-19 madness, material being covered on the midterm that she specifically said would not be covered, not being able to go to lab for family emergencies, etc). The lab quizzes were kind of difficult in my opinion because I did not have time before every lab to completely memorize the packet of information we had (in which random stuff you read in one line somewhere would be a question on the quiz out of 8 points so if you do bad you're basically done for). Her midterm was fine but the final was harder because you had to know specific details written in small font on her powerpoints that you probably would not have thought twice about. She gives generous extra credit though, which is why I ended up with an A-. If you're debating taking this class, I wouldn't waste your time. Take another class. If you need a lab take GEOG 5.

I honestly couldn't give you much insight into Tina as a lecturer because I literally never went to lectures. She even said on the first day that coming to lectures isn't mandatory. Her slides are posted online and she just reads off the slides so. . .I bought the textbooks because they were cheap, but I never used it. The labs brought me bad to middle school labs and the tests were very elementary school - esque. You basically just have to make sure you found a great quizlet, memorize all the terms, and then you're good.

The extra credit is stupidly easy. You just go to a museum/aquarium, take a picture, write 2 sentences, and then get 10% added to your grade (with the midterm and final respectively lowered in grade distribution). Also the final only covers material from after the midterm, so it's all pretty manageable.

The only issue is that you do have to take the time to study before each tests and the content is boring as hell. But overall, a great GE that gives you lab credit.

It is true, you do not have to attend lectures, although lab is required. Tina is an incredibly boring lecturer. She just reads off the slides. However often the content is interesting itself. Midterm and Final are both multiple-choice and fairly easy if you review the slides. Labs are way more informative but make sure to actually do the readings. I would like to mention that often, Tina was not very accommodating and rude to students who asked questions. Keep in mind the quarter I took this class was the beginning of the COVID crisis. She was not very understanding.