Navigating UCLA: A Guide to Less Stressful Courses

For students at UCLA, balancing a demanding academic schedule with extracurricular activities, work, and social life can be a challenge. Finding courses that offer a lighter workload can significantly reduce stress and improve the overall college experience. This guide explores some of the courses frequently mentioned by students as being relatively easy, allowing you to create a more manageable and enjoyable academic journey.

General Tips for Finding Easier Courses

Before diving into specific course recommendations, here are some general strategies for identifying potentially easier classes:

Utilize Bruinwalk: Bruinwalk.com is a valuable resource for UCLA students, offering ratings and reviews of courses and professors. Pay attention to overall ratings, difficulty ratings, and student comments.
Ask Around: Talking to current and former students can provide valuable insights into course difficulty and workload.
Consider GE Requirements: Focus on fulfilling General Education (GE) requirements with potentially easier courses.
Beware of Overconfidence: Even if a course is considered easy, it's still important to attend class, pay attention, and study for exams. As one student noted, "Be careful and don't totally blow off the exams just because it is easy."

Popular Course Recommendations

Several courses have consistently been mentioned as being relatively easy. Here's a look at some of them:

HIST 12A: Inequality: History of Mass Imprisonment

This course, taught by professor Kelly Lytle Hernandez or professor David Stein, examines mass incarceration in Los Angeles. Students have described HIST 12A as “…the most interesting, yet, easiest class I’ve ever taken…” The class consists of a three-hour lecture and a one-hour discussion each week. One of the appealing aspects of this class is the flexibility of the final assessment, which "consists of either a paper, physical project, or time capsule, etc.”

SCAND 50: Introduction to Scandinavian Literatures and Cultures

Taught by Professor Patrick Wen, this course has received high praise from students, with one review stating, “Please take this class if there are spots left. This might’ve been my easiest 5 units at UCLA.” SCAND 50 consists of a three-hour lecture and a one-hour discussion each week. Professor Wen has a nearly perfect rating on Bruinwalk, and students have expressed a desire to take more Scandinavian classes with him.

MUSCLG 5: History of Rock and Roll

Students have described MUSCLG 5 as “Easiest class I have ever taken” and “Highly recommend this class if you need an easy GE.” The class consists of four hours of lecture and a one-hour discussion each week. The class focuses on analyzing forms, practices and meanings of rock-and-roll music.

CLASSIC 10: Discovering Greeks

This course focuses on learning about Greek life. Students have noted that “…if you are looking for a good GE course, this course would be a great choice,” and have exclaimed that it is “One of the best classes to take here.” The class consists of three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion each week.

Psych 10

Psych 10 is often mentioned as a GPA booster, but it's important to be prepared for memorization. As one student pointed out, "yeah, you need to memorize a ton for psych 10." However, another student who had taken an equivalent course noted that "its an easy course as long as you're willing to memorize."

Ethnomusicology Courses

Ethnomusicology 117 and Ethnomusicology 120A and 120B (History of Jazz, taught by professor Gerald Wilson) have been recommended as relatively easy upper division classes. The History of Jazz course involves "1 midterm, 1 final, and 1 paper," and Professor Wilson is described as "quite a figure in Jazz History and has an incredible memory."

Linguistics 1

Linguistics 1 with Professor Schuh is considered a good class. One student noted that "ling 1 you can do NOTHING and still ace the class."

Read also: Navigating Tech Breadth at UCLA

Music 15

Music 15 is another course mentioned as potentially easy. One student stated, "I'm taking music 15 next year. hope thats as easy as I've heard it is. i need a gpa boost."

Philosophy Courses

For those not inclined towards science, Philosophy 7 or 32 have been suggested. One student described their experience: "for me it was one midterm, one final - both takehome 2-3pg papers!!" Phil 31: logic is another option. That class is mostly like math, except you use symbols. it's really easy and really kick back. when i had that class, it was one midterm, one final. there was some homework too, but it was pretty fun.

PIC 10

PIC 10 is considered super easy if you were a l&s major and had ANY programming background. I have helped a ton of people with that, and all 3 classes are 15 units , and its some of the easiest programming i've ever seen.

Other Potential Options

Other courses that have been mentioned as potential GPA boosters include Psych 15, Anthropology, and MicroBio 6 (though this requires brute force memorization). History of California is also mentioned as a class where "the athletes are all in."

Courses to Approach with Caution

While the following courses have been mentioned, some students have expressed reservations or concerns:

Read also: Understanding UCLA Counselors

Linguistics

One student stated, "Don't take Lingusitics. I really hated that class. I really can't say more than that coz I don't remember what happened in that class. It was boring as hell. I think there was a midterm and a final. And there's tons of homework also."

Chinese Courses

While Chinese courses are considered pretty easy if you can listen and speak it, just not write/read, there's a ton of work involved. There will be lot's of homework and there will be class 5 days/week.

A Detailed Look at a Specific "Easy A" Course

One student provided an extensive review of a particular course, highlighting its ease and manageable workload:

Workload: "Very minimal with weekly discussion quizzes (8 total…and you can miss 2) that are essentially based on completion and are stated to be pass no pass. Every 2 weeks there's about one homework assignment that is about 3-5 questions and typically take 30 minutes to complete."
Assessments: "There is one midterm and one final, in which your final can replace the midterm grade if you choose to take the 'bonus'/makeup portion of the final."
Professor: "Professor Sharvit is incredibly kind, patient, and clear. She has a huge heart for her students and literally said she made the material way simpler just so we could understand it easier."

The student also noted that the professor provides practice questions for the final and that the exams are straightforward. While the student initially believed the final was just as easy as the midterm, they later added an edit to their review, advising students to "take my advice with a grain of salt, as it seems many disagree with me."

Balancing Ease with Interest

While seeking out easier courses can be beneficial, it's important to strike a balance between ease and genuine interest. Choosing courses that align with your interests can make the learning experience more engaging and rewarding, even if they require a bit more effort.

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