Most interesting class I have taken at UCSB, definitely going to remember this stuff forever! The class was pretty difficult because of the tests and the lab practicals, but studying for it really was beneficial to my learning. Totally recommend the class, and definitely go on the field trips! They really pulled the experience together.
Kuris is incredibly passionate about invertebrates and it shows through in his lectures. Though the exams and practicals are hard, if you take a lot of time to study, you'll do well. Go 2 lecture! The TA's this quarter care a lot about their students doing well, and both Kuris and the TA's have been making it clear what to focus on for the exams.
- Lab AND lecture midterm in the same week...I have other midterms that week, get a grip - Jump rule punishes those who do well on the first test - They make the class so difficult and unfair that a 50% has to be a passing grade - Expect you to remember an atrocious amount of taxonomy and anatomy - Don't care about students wellbeing or learning
Todd is a great lecturer and the midterms are fair but the lab portion of the class ruins it. the TAs my quarter were pretty unorganized and overall unhelpful. my class ended up scoring astoundingly low on the practical so they dropped the first one. it'd be easier to focus on Todd's lectures without chaos of the lab section.
Professor Kuris is an amazing teacher who has a tremendous knowledge of invertebrates. The invertebrate zoology classes are really fun if you like invertebrates, but they are also very challenging because of the amount of material you have to memorize.
Love this professor. Class is kinda dry but show up and you will be fine.
He puts up a powerpoint and then reads it word for word. Once he's done which is pretty fast, he moves on to the next slide. There is NO time to take notes. He adds in fun bits of info about biologists that he knows, or how he loves parasites. He's a fun professor and every few slides he'll ask if anyone has any questions. He's passionate & cares.
Lab portion is amazing.
Invert Zoology was a really fun and interesting class, but you have to work and memorize a lot of really tricky taxonomy. He likes lecturing about stuff that he personally finds interesting, so hes not boring. His lecture slides are helpful so you can miss a few classes and still get sufficient info. Nice guy, easy to talk to!
Great class and great professor. He has an incredible body of work to share and tells some excellent stories. Lectures are important, definitely don't miss them. Tests are hard but graded fairly, and the lab is awesome but definitely requires effort. Not an easy class, but very much worth taking!
Prof Kuris is an amazing teacher...you can tell he is really invested in his students' futures as biologists.
The Best Prof I have ever had, He is so interested in what he teaches its an awesome class! I recommend taking a class with him!! So cool!
Best prof EVER! He is amazing to talk to and is just an amazing man! By far my favorite prof here. The class will kick your butt if you don't study though!
One of my favorite teachers at UCSB. He's funny, laid back, and easy to talk to. The class is challenging but definitly do-able. Recomend for those interested in inverts and those interested in ecology. Text book is not really used, so go to lecture!
You have to take his Parasitology class if you are a Biology major. He and his graduate students are so passionate about the subject matter...truly a great experience.
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Cool prof
I love his classes, they are hard but super-interesting, totally worth it. The TA's are awesome and Armand has some great stories. The field trips are the coolest. I'll give him a pepper, what the hell, his shorty wet suit is pretty awesome.
Overall the class is easy but it's extremely boring and hard to follow because of this. The concepts were relatively simple to follow, but often explained in abstract ways. I wouldn't recommend this EEMB class unless you are interested in evolution. I really disliked my TA as well, he was a complete know it all and his review session was terrible.
Dr. Kuris is a funny and well respected professor, his lectures are engaging and always super interesting. Lab practicals are very hard and require a TONNN of time put into studying, but if you put the work in it will be VERY rewarding. Not an easy class, but I would still recommend taking it.
My favorite professor at UCSB! Dr. Kuris genuinely cares about students and is very passionate about invertebrates and parasites. He's very responsive to emails and is very easy to talk to during office hours. Go take EEMB 111 and 112 before he retires! The lab practicals are tough, but dissections are so fun. Amazing and funny professor.
I really enjoyed this class, and Todd was a solid lecturer. It's clear he's super interested in what he's teaching and that transferred into the material, which was already interesting. The first midterm was kind of rough, but he was very supportive in helping me understand how to do better going forward. The TAs were also very nice and helpful.
love this man. not only was the class super interesting, it wasn't stressful which I really appreciate because I was actually able to learn without being stressed. section attendance was mandatory but Lisa was super helpful and made everything make sense. make sure you do the problem sets multiple times and you'll be set for the exams.
The lecture exams were fair and if you have a good memory they're not bad at all, but the practicals are really hard because of the sheer amount of info tested. He's pretty generous with grading though and I know a lot of people who got As. Overall, not an easy class and it requires a ton of time, but it was one of my favorite classes.
