EVSC 4230

The previous reviews for this course have pretty much covered it. There is a very, very large amount of material covered, especially in the section where you're just memorizing various phyla, classes, and orders of marine organisms (it totaled to just a few short of 100 by the time of the final). You are expected to actually memorize them all, and most of them have quite a few associated details to also know. The entire course grade is made up of two midterms and a final, which is the real issue with this class. Each lecture is incredibly dense from the minute it starts to the moment it ends, and you have to take note of every little thing he says because there's no emphasis on what's more important or more likely to be on an exam. The posted lecture slides are not helpful as they have most pictures and very few words. Basically, attending lectures and actively paying attention to every minute is essential. He wasn't too hard on the grading of the exams, but all of the material was fair game for a question. The final is cumulative but focuses on the latter third of the course. I believe he does curve the final grades, but he only very vaguely alludes to this during the course, and I think he does the "curve" on an individual basis based on your improvement across exams and demonstrated effort (go to office hours). He is also very insistent that the way he teaches the course is both reasonable and effective, which may be the case if you have an extensive amount of time to dedicate to just this class. Overall, unless you have no choice or really, really enjoy the topic, I wouldn't recommend this class.

I was most excited about the marine "environments" part of the class, however the class is like 70% marine organisms and 30% environments. You have to memorize a ridiculous amount of specific phyla names and other specific biological details about marine organisms. The material is pretty dry for the most part too. I went to office hours a few times and professor Smith is a little intimidating but he's a really nice person. If you're into the very specific anatomy of microbial organisms and other random animals then I guess you'd like this class. The grading is also only made up of the 2 midterm exams and the cumulative final. Just be prepared to memorize 50 phyla and classes within the phyla and specific details about each of them.

Attending lectures was essential and a little stressful as he speaks fast and most of the info you need is from what he says rather than the slides. He did not record lectures or make livestreams available which was rough if you couldn't make class. I wish he had other assignments to support grades other than 3 really rough detail-oriented tests. He let you know from the start it would be a lot of information, and this is absolutely true. If you have the time to memorize a ton of niche details (the scientific names and phyla of tons of organisms that are very similar to one another) and care about the subject this could be a fun class, but for me it was too much. Dave is a really kind guy though. I think if this was the only class I was taking for the semester it would've been a great experience.

This is a 4000-level EVSC course, it is what it is. There are a lot of negative reviews for this course but I thought I'd give it a more fair one. There is a lot of material in this course, and a lot of shit you have to memorize, but Prof. Smith makes it clear in the beginning. It's not really that hard of a course, though. None of the material is very challenging to grasp and Smith makes himself very available to questions in class if you have any- it's a pretty small class. He moves fast, however, and does have his own approach to the material, but that's true for almost any professor. The material itself is very interesting, at least if you are interested in marine life and ecosystems. Thus I'd really only recommend it to those who enjoy such areas, as there is a lot of material to know. He doesn't post his slides on collab, which is annoying, but they're still available in Clark library. Professor Smith really is a great professor, his tests are fair and he grades fair, and wants his class to succeed and actually come away from it gaining something, if not just marine material. He engages the class a lot about things going on in the world and asks everyone what they're up to. Overall it was one of my favorite EVSC classes yet, and I got an A-. There's a curve in the class but he doesn't mention it really.

Also, the remark about 80% of the class not being about marine life is false. There are three sections of material, and a cumulative final. The first section is not much about biology per se, but rather setting up the physics, chemistry, geology, etc. of the marine world, and how it relates to marine life. The second section is entirely the taxonomy of marine species, and the third section is about the environments themselves and how the life, chemistry, physics, geology, etc. all work together. So, really 70-80% of the class IS about marine life.

I absolutely love marine biology and that's the main reason I took this class. It didnt apply to my major at all but I saw it was about marine shit so I decided to take it. I wish I hadn't. Smith is fine, he's average but his tests are stupidly hard. He actually told our class "i thought you guys would be doing better than you are." 80% of the class isn't even about marine life; you spend a total of 1 day on fish and about 3 days on ocean gyres and tides and boring stuff like that. You also have to memorize like 50 different phyla, families, etc. of animals. Also, Smith thinks he's right and will take points off your test if you write down facts that he doesn't believe are true, even if he's shown evidence to the contrary. Overall, if you have to take a high-level EVSC this would be fine, but definitely don't take this if you don't have to.

Smith purposely makes his part of the semester difficult. He expects you to know the organisms scientific names by heart and their morphology and life history. His lectures are better organized than Zieman's but he moves quickly. If you get at all confused I would recommend going to him in office hours, and actually just go to his office hours weekly just to make sure you are prepared for his exam.

There are two textbooks for this class. There are two professors for this class. In both cases, you only need one of them. The Marine Biology "Atlas" is not necessary. At all. Neither professor ever mentioned it after the first day. The main text is helpful.

Zieman might be the worst professor I've ever had. He was a fine person and he may have been helpful in his office hours, but he (I kid you not) gave the exact same lecture (still not exaggerating) six times. Sea grasses and mangroves. Six times. Same powerpoint. Six times. He was also recovering from a back injury so I realize he will be better in the future, but as a general rule, this man's time has passed. He can retire happily.

Dave Smith is fine. Kind of weird, but a good lecturer and doesn't repeat himself and can actually stand up.

This course is taught by Zieman for the first half, and Smith for the second, and they are completely different lecturers. Zieman loves going off on tangents and anecdotes and moves through his material very slowly. Smith, on the other hand, will cram about as much information as he can into every lecture, and you damn well be writing everything he says down in your notes. There are two tests and a final, all free response and based purely on recall from lectures (mostly Dave's.) The stuff is interesting, and if you're interested in marine bio its pretty much the only class for you at UVA, but it is not easy. Getting an A or a B requires detailed notes, group studying, and definitely attending a few office hours.

This is probably one of the only Marine Biology classes offered at UVA, so if that is what you are into... TAKE IT. That being said, it is an extremely difficult class. You have to put a lot of effort into memorizing phylas and classes of many organisms. The readings help, but are not extremely necessary. Smith is extremely helpful and detailed, while Zeiman is not. Be prepared for that. Taking notes when Zieman lectures can often be frustrating and difficult. The grade is based off of 3 tests and the class is slightly curved (but dont rely on it).