If any course has to be graded purely on a curve because students have a failing average, that professor should not be teaching, regardless of how kind or respected they are. Maybe it's time to change your pedagogical approach because reading off the slides and expecting students to come up with "correlative study" questions isn't working. 0/10

Genuinely the hardest class I've taken in my undergrad so far. Content is EXTREMELY dense and his lectures are not clear at all (slides jump everywhere and are not coherent). The only thing you are graded on is one midterm and one final, both of which are extremely difficult. Exams are all application of knowledge and are worded very confusing

Personally I would never subject anyone to this misery. Do not take this class if you don't have to. Even if it's a requirement for grad school don't do it. It's not worth your misery or sadness because it's not gonna go well either way.

THIS CLASS IS ABSOLUTE HELL!!!!! Thats all!!! Good luck

I know that Professor Ma is a nice guy and tries his best to be helpful but his class is absolutely insane. The only way to perform decently in this class is to dedicate your entire soul and being to this class, which I personally am not willing to do as I have other commitments and CLASSES. I think the level of depth is so unrealistic/unfair.

Dr. Ma is interested in his student's successful learning. He will challenge you and force you to learn in ways you may never have been exposed to in a lecture setting, but if you put in the mental effort to follow the material, it is manageable. Go to lecture, and pay attention to the types of questions he focuses on.

Professor Ma was one of the best biology professors I have had at UCSB. He cares about his students and wants them to succeed. He emphasizes correlating similar concepts vs memorization which is nice. Go to every lecture! No iclicker but very important because he emphasizes the important topics. Exams were tough and requires you to apply concepts

Prof. Ma really engages you to the material and encouraged us to apply and connect concepts during the lectures and into the exams instead of purely memorizing. That said, the latter is still very important and hence makes 103 a very challenging class. The drawback is that your entire grade essentially rests on only a single midterm and the final.

Professor Ma is an amazing lecturer, and his teaching style is honestly a game changer. I got more out of his class than out of any other class I've taken since being in college. Grade is based almost entirely on midterm and final. Midterm was easy, but the final ruined my life. I would still recommend his class, teachers like this are rare.

Horrible, please avoid his class at all cost. He is a poor lecturer

Dr. Ma is a charming guy, and obviously loves what he is doing. MCDB 103 is just an incredibly difficult class, and will require a lot of your time and discipline if you plan to do well. I never showed up to lecture and let myself get behind in lecture watching, and I regret that. However, someone with more discipline than me could def succeed.

You need to understand each process in great detail because the midterm and ESPECIALLY the final are filled with material applying questions. This is a class you need to dedicate hours of your week studying for and study groups will help your grade. Midterm was easy imo, final was very difficult.