Kara Pham

This was the most fascinating and applicable class I've ever taken at this school. My friends can attest to the fact that I literally never stopped talking about it and sharing all of the nuggets of information that we learned in class. This course genuinely inspired me to change my intended career path and opened up a whole new world of interest and opportunity! HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend.

My expectations were that it was a hard class, but it turned out to be very reasonable! The class meets once a week for four hours; be warned, a couple weeks go wayyy over 4 hours during the EEG unit. Other than that, everything is very manageable. They really make the class very interesting, and it's super hands on in that you actually get to handle a lot of brains in the class. Expectations are generally very clear and for most of the class the homework was very light. At the end the homework got harder around the lab report though. There are two exams: the sheep brain neuroanatomy exam, and the final exam. The neuroanatomy exam was not bad at all, as long as you start early, since it's literally entirely memorization. I would recommend making flash cards and reviewing the practice exam, since the real exam is very similar in structure. Then the final... which was IMPOSSIBLE and horrendously written. It was worth 15% just like the neuroanatomy exam, but was much much more difficult and unreasonably long for the amount of time you are given. Half of it was on paper, with long problems, and half was done in MATLAB, which was also extremely difficult. Right off the bat they gave us 30 extra minutes to complete the exam, which clearly wasn't enough since at least 8 people were sobbing at the end because it was so bad and the time pressure was insane. The class was great overall…

This class was incredibly interesting! Professor Pham made the material super straightforward and engaging. Her first exam was a bit difficult, but, as you get used to her style of testing, it gets way easier, though you definitely do have to spend a good amount of studying the material. As long as you pay attention to her lectures, which isn't difficult as the topics are interesting, and take good notes, you'll do fine! This class, however, for non-neuroscience/science majors may be harder, as it does focus a lot on neurological mechanisms. I am a psychology major and found it very doable.

If you don't have previous lab experience, you probably can't get a solid A; she's a pretty tough grader. It's a great lab to take P/D/F if you're interested in the subject matter and can handle a bit of blood and guts. The lab practical is intense, so be prepared!

Kara Pham is a really engaging lecturer and is extremely knowledgeable about behavioral endocrinology, but this class is very difficult if you don't already have a strong neuroscience background. I took this course second semester of my first-year as a psychology major with no previous neuroscience knowledge. While I ended with an A, I found the course super stressful and had to put a lot of extra effort into learning the information. The slides only have pictures or diagrams, so you essentially have to write down everything Professor Pham says. The lectures are very fast-paced and cover a lot of content in a short amount of time. If you miss a class, you will likely be lost on the exams. The final was also 40 multiple choice and 30 open-ended questions that require applying the content rather than providing straightforward answers. That being said, you will learn a lot in this class and the content is very applicable to current world issues. I would still recommend this class if you're interested in hormones/the endocrine system.

2 Weekly homework assignments that are not very bad until the end with the lab report. One midterm and one final which I talked about above.

Terrible class! It was sold to me as a class specifically looking at the different theories behind addiction, as well as exploring addictions that weren't drug related. Instead, it was a neuroscience class on drugs with some unclear lectures on addiction to non-drugs. Prof. Pham was incredibly boring, and didn't seem to know answers to basic questions. Her tests are really hard, and she provides a "study guide" that's just a list of topics we covered- so USELESS. This class is just a worse version of Prof. McCaskill's class "Drug Use and Abuse." I suggest the psychology department just drop this class.

This course is one of the most interesting courses I've ever taken as a psychology major. If you don't like things bio or neuro, do NOT take this course. But, this course is nothing but interesting and you leave the course feeling like you know so much more about all things reproduction, environmental, weight gain, nutrition, pregnancy and women's estrous cycles, etc. It's a wonderful course. It's a full on lecture with some openings for discussion. You have to write down everything Professor Pham says, it's a marathon to keep up but it is a wonderful course.

3 tests non-cumulative 1 short essay on any topic of choice submit one exam question at the end of each topic (around every week)

Kara Pham is AMAZING! This was the best class I have ever taken in college and I highly highly recommend it! It made me switch to be a psych major. Everything you learn is so applicable in real life, and I remember so much of the information from this class a year later because it is so relevant. I put in probably 4 hours a week into studying for this class, but it is well worth it and I got a good grade. Pham is very clear and dynamic when lecturing, and brings in funny anecdotes to make it more accessible. We learned so much about rat sexual behavior that I feel like a specialist! But tons of things about humans: did you know you can explain basically everything based on one hormone or another? Take this class!!