A huge amount of the test material is based on this one autobiography which I thought was weird but if you do that reading you should be fine. There's 3 midterms in this class which feels like a lot honestly for the amount of material actually covered. Sweeney is a cool guy and his lectures can be interesting. Overall the class wasn't bad at all.

I recommend this class if you're looking for an interesting GE. There is a good amount of reading and it's not as easy as you would think a surfing class is. But as long as you do the assignments and readings the tests are fairly easy. Professor Sweeney is really nice and you can tell he's very knowledgable when it comes to anything surf related.

Cool guy but the class is boring for the most part. Parts of the content are interesting but others feel like fillers and can get boring. Also, a good part of most of the tests are on a autobiography that seems unimportant and is kind of annoying and there's a lot of memorization required. Free points if you do the reading.

Prof Sweeney was such a reasonable and kind prof. He did assign a lot of papers that were somewhat difficult but he was always available to answer questions/help. I recommend this class if you need to a GE!

The class should just be called "Surfing" - actual geographical concepts only take up a few weeks and it feels like he had to add content on surfing history and wave science just to fill the rest of the quarter. Overall a pretty average lecturer but it's exactly what you'd expect from a surfer - very laid back and yet very knowledgeable.

Sweeney is my fav professor. Super cool surfer guy. 3 writing assignments at the start of the quarter. 2 midterms and a final. Content is super interesting but you def have to study. Honors section was the best part we just watched surf movies. If you can take this class, take it. He also rounded up my grade alot which I appreciate. Great dude. !!!

I love prof Sweeney! there are 2-3 midterms and a final, but ours was not cumulative. Tests are 87% of our grades so you really have to study. The stuff you learn about it super fun and interesting even if you don't surf! he also rounded my grade a lot which was really helpful. lectures and sections were not mandatory. highly recommend as a GE!

Super nice professor who clearly wants his students to succeed! Passionate about surfing and shares his own anecdotes/loves hearing student's stories. Plenty of extra credit opportunities and lectures are pretty interesting...would definitely recommend!

Get the books on time and use a planner for the reading and papers

Awesome class, had the most interesting content out of all of the courses I've taken so far. Highly recommend for surfers, as it covers super engaging topics throughout the entire duration of the class. Some of the assignments were a bit much, but they're only worth a small fraction of your grade. Graded mainly on exams, lowest score is dropped.

Great Prof!

Professor Sweeney is most likely the kindest man on campus. I don't know why other student call his lectures "boring." Other than being monotone, his lectures are most often interesting and applicable. You can tell he really cares about his students and I highly recommend this class if you want an easy A and some life lessons. :)

He is the best and the most generous professor I met ever since I got in UCSB! He will post all the lecture materials online for us to review. He has study guides for all tests! Sweeney does not have a harsh grading system. he is so kind that he won't let you fail easily. i will definitely take his class again!

Easy GE. Interesting even if you don't know anything about surfing, moreso if you do. Lecture can get boring, but the easy multiple choice tests make up for it. Has interesting speakers come in sometimes, so that's pretty cool. Didn't really need to read the book, but showing up to class was really enough.

Sweeney is super nice! Go to lecture and you should do well. Had him for the honors section and he's very caring

I had Prof Sweeney for Geography of Surfing and it was the most boring class I had ever taken in my entire life. If there wasn't an iClicker for this course I probably would've never went to class and even when I did, I found myself falling asleep every time. His monotone voice kills me! Luckily this was P/NP for me so it wasn't too bad. Good luck.

Attendance is mandatory, but overall exams are pretty easy. Didn't read at all and managed to do pretty well and there is no final :)

His lectures are sometimes boring but overall his class was very easy. He is approachable after class and he is very passionate about the subject. I definitely would recommend taking this class

Lectures get a bit boring at times, but he is a cool dude. The class is in no way hard, and he does his best to teach it to where everyone understands.

Sweeney is awesome. Literally the best professor I've had. If you're a surfer or interested in learning about surf culture, waves, etc, this is going to be the class for you. He shows surfing videos(Kelly Slater, himself, etc) and really is passionate about what he teaches. If you need to knock out a G.E., I'd definitely recommend this class.

Geography of surfing is a class you should take if you want a somewhat easy A and are genuinely interested in the origins of surfingscience behind wave formationsurf culture. The class goes in depth into the history of Polynesia (it is a geography class after all) so it gets a bit boring. Sweeney isn't a great lecturer. Can be boring, but chill.

Monotone and boring . Mainly surfers understand the material. You don't learn how to surf, more about culture, history, and industry than geography. I don't recommend taking it, but if you must then make sure to go to all sections because they're more helpful than lecture.

Interesting class if you surf. Kind boring if you don't. Don't slack off the test are kind of difficult.

This class ultimately isn't that bad. He is super repetitive with things and mumbles a good amount, but the material itself actually is interesting. If you find it interesting beforehand and just study on your own, youll do fine. Sometimes class can be confusing because he assumes there is a majority of surfers in the class, and theres not.