I know there are already several articles written about the easiest GE’s that students have taken, but I noticed that many of them were typically written before the pandemic. There is a recent article from The California Aggie that inspired me to write this article. If you want a GPA booster/fun class, I recommend these classes as a graduating senior. As someone that switched my major three times before deciding on Human Development, I can relate to the struggle of not knowing what classes to take. Back when I was a freshman and until I was a sophomore, I had no idea what the next steps would be.
These GEs will refer to specific professors, and their format may have changed, based on when I took the class. I will list the year/quarter I took these classes, as well as the Rate My Professor reviews.
I wanted to share this with other freshmen and sophomore students before I graduated, as there are a lot of nostalgic memories from these classes.
- NUT 10V (Fall 2020) with Professor Fetter
This class was fun for me to take, especially since it was already formatted as a virtual class during the pandemic. There was a food diary project to do, which helped me track my nutrition for several days. I liked how there were open-book weekly quizzes. Control F is your friend in classes with open-book weekly quizzes, as they help you find keywords in textbooks with a lot of pages. There are two open-book/open-note non-cumulative exams, and I used the notes I took from my textbook and past quiz questions to help me do well on these exams. I also loved that there were extra credit opportunities. It is guaranteed that you will get a good grade if you pay attention and do your work.
Source: UC Davis Department of Nutrition
- ATM 10 (Winter 2021) with Kya Thaw Paw U
This class is a great class for people that are not STEM majors, but still want an introduction to atmospheric science. Ironically, it was raining heavily at Davis on the day that this class started, which I think was a good sign that it was fate to take this class. There are discussion assignments that are similar to the homework assignments, and the TAs are really helpful during your discussion section. The final exam was open-note and open-book back when I took the class, although I do not have any idea how the exams are formatted now. I think the format changed when Davis went back in-person; there was an in-person midterm and final exam in the past, depending on who it is, but I think students were generally okay if they studied and paid attention. The homework is worth 40% of your grade, which I think relaxes me compared to classes that make exams worth more than half of your grade.
Source: UC Davis Atmospheric Science
- SPH 101 (Winter 2024) with Danica Loralyn Taylor
This class is not easy to get into from the waitlist typically, hence why students have to typically wait until they are at least a junior to get into this class. The professor makes the in-class assignments fun and not very difficult, and I think this class can give you an overview about the health field. I enjoyed the fact that there were two open-book and open-note exams. There were two writing assignments that were not very difficult as long as you properly read the instructions. The professor also uses real-life examples of her professional work experience and her experience with her personal life to make it easier to understand the content, which I found to be really helpful.
Source: Quizlet
- PSC 1 (Spring 2021) with Ross Thompson
The professor for this class is great, but I think he recently retired. I think his class was what inspired me to become a Human Development major and want to work as an LPCC/LMFT someday, considering how many fascinating topics were covered about human behavior. There were three open-note and open-book midterm exams and a final exam worth 90% of your grade and weekly open-note and open-book quizzes that were worth 10% of your grade. As long as you wrote good notes for his lectures and paid attention, it was not too difficult to get in the A- to A range for most students in this class. Although the professor I took PSC 1 with has retired, another recommendation would be to take the class with Professor San Souci. According to other current seniors, her class had a long waitlist and a lot of good reviews.
- CHI 10 (Winter 2023) with Ofelia Cuevas
This class had open-note weekly quizzes, which you could find the answers to by doing Control F with online versions of the readings or in the course reader. The professor made it easier for students to write their midterm and final paper by going over the readings with people in class and having us make charts about different ideologies/key terms during discussion. I don’t think there were any exams in this class, which made the class more flexible for people with test-taking anxiety. There was also a lot of participation during discussion, which made it easier for students to catch up with readings if they did not skim through them thoroughly.
- CHI 123 (Spring 2023) with Yvette Flores
I took this class subsequently after I took CHI 10 because I heard that this professor is a psychologist. She incorporated a lot of real-life experiences/perspectives, both personally and professionally, as a BI-POC Latinx woman. This motivated me to feel more confident about going into the counseling profession. There were two assignments that were not very difficult, as well as a midterm paper and a final paper. You were allowed to choose what to write about your own narrative with the class powerpoints and readings for both the midterm and final paper. I enjoyed the flexibility of this class, especially with how I got sick twice during this quarter. Take any upper-division CHI class with Professor Flores; the only prerequisite is CHI 10 or occasionally CHI 21 for her classes.
- AMS 10 (Fall 2024) with Julie Sze
This class did require a lot of writing at first, but I found that the feedback from the TA and the professor made my grade substantially improve. The lecture worksheets were not difficult, as long as you read through the powerpoints and some of the readings/videos for the week. The weekly quizzes were also open-note. I don’t think there were any textbooks required for this class. The final exam and final paper were both writing assignments that required some reading to do, but they were not difficult as long as you paid attention and put in effort. I enjoyed the flexibility of this class, as someone who has test-taking anxiety. Discussion was also based on participation, but it was not difficult to participate, considering that this class is an intro class.
Source: University Honors Program
- GSW 50 (Winter 2024) with Brooke Kipling
This class was easy to pass, as long as you skimmed through readings and went to discussion and lectures. Personally, I got sick twice during winter quarter, hence why I could not go to a lot of her lectures in-person. However, she did record lectures, allowing students to find writing the midterm and final paper a lot easier. For the midterm paper, we could incorporate our personal experiences and write about the intersectionality of two elements. The final was an extension of the intersectionality of three elements in our lived experience, along with a creative project. I had a lot of fun with the creative project. There is a discussion facilitation portion, and a lot of students created a powerpoint to present their reading for that week. There is a weekly discussion question about a reading for the week, which is not difficult as well. Overall, this class is not very difficult, even if the midterm and final papers are worth a high percentage of your grade. There is also an extra credit opportunity that boosts your grade by bumping it up one letter grade.
- CLA 30 (Spring 2021) with Kathleen Cruz
This class had open-note weekly quizzes and an open-note midterm and final exam. I found it nice how students collaborated on creating the final exam study guide document, which allowed me to save time when studying for the class. Although there were a lot of word roots to know, since this class was online and open notes, it was not too difficult. I am not too sure how it is formatted now because I took the class back when it was still during the pandemic. Students have recently said in reviews that this class does have a closed-note final for Brelinski’s class. However, they have said that it is easier to get a good grade if you have paid attention in class and taken good notes.
- PLS 6V (Spring 2023) with Heiner Lieth
This class was a Default P/NP class, which meant that most students only aimed for a C. The downside is that this class does give you units, but does not boost your GPA. The Professor, himself, also recommended that students aim for a passing grade. There was quite some work for a 2-unit class, but since I aimed for a pass, I did not have to do the third writing assignment or the final exam. It was comfortable to finish the class by Week 7. I did the first two writing assignments, the art assignment, and the midterm exam. The midterm exam was closed-note and proctored, but it was not too difficult if you studied the quizlets, took some notes on lectures, and read some of the book. Hint: I got a passing grade without memorizing and reading the entire book, so I think this is possible for you too. Take this class if you want to be done with a class by Week 7.
Source: Professor Heiner Lieth’s Website