[SciMania]

If you have the opportunity to take this course...TAKE IT! This is probably the best course I have taken in my four years at Mac.

This is an intro virology course so it starts off a little dry, where you learn about all the different types of viral genomes and the requirements for initiation of infection. This comprises about 1 month of the course and is taught approximately equally by Dr. Mossman and Dr. Lichty, both fantastic and passionate professors. They were super nice, and were always willing to answer questions.

In the midst of the intro lectures are prototype viruses, which are discussed to solidify concepts, so you'd learn about things like measles, rabies, influenza, herpes, papilloma (to name a few). The level of detail was not extensive but just enough to make you aware of the existence of such viruses and how they differ.

The latter part of the course got more interesting, in which we discussed virus-host interactions, anti-virals and logistics of viral infections. This part was a bit of immunology-heavy so if you've taken 3I03, you would benefit greatly, otherwise things are well explained as well.

There were a total of 6 quizzes, 10 mins long during the beginning of lecture and they were relatively easy, no real tricks - there tended to be compare/contrast questions and some specific details.

The total of the 6 quizzes was worth 30%, you don't get to drop any. There were also 2 short essays (~6 pgs double spaced each), and you have PLENTY of time to work on them. I found them to be marked fairly and they were not too difficult.

The first essay involved picking a virus that does not infect humans and writing about its impact on humans and society as a whole.

The second essay involved creating a virus of your own and integrating all the concepts we learned in class to justify the existence of a purely hypothetical virus. This was tough, but fun at the same time.

The TAs were super helpful as were the professors, which really made this course that much better.

Tutorials were non-mandatory, but went over new testable concepts so they were useful.

In summary, if you have the chance...don't pass up taking this course!!!

I took this course Fall 2010.

So the thing that stuck with me from this course most was how organized it was - and that may sound lame but it really does make a huge difference! When the profs and TAs all know what they're doing, what's acceptable and what's not, what's expected hear and not necessary there, it makes knowing what you need to do to get a good grade soo much easier.

This course has been taught by the same 2 profs (Drs Mossman and Lichty) for a while now and they've got everything down pat.

Class size is fairly small, ~100 (fits in the larger lecture halls in Hamilton Hall - the math building).

Evaluations:
Weekly quizzes, you can drop your worst mark.
2 essays (no midterms).

Essay 1 was about a nonhuman virus that somehow affected humans - most people wrote about agricultural problems, or mad cow. I did Blue Tongue. Sounds cool right? It was the easier essay, less about the virus and more about it's impact on humans.

Essay 2 was about an imaginary virus - one that we created. It was pretty much the culmination of everything we learned. The symptoms, duration, infectiousness, etc all had to be explained by it's structure. It was fun though, creating a malicious tree killer or passive-aggressive human curse.

1 final exam. Similar to the quizzes but more thorough. More Why questions than the quizzes (which tended to be What questions). About as thorough as the 2nd essay required us to be.

Tutorials were optional but honestly the TAs are so helpful, I'd recommend not skipping. They give hints on future quizzes and what to expect on the exam. Help plan the essays. Do practice drills for the quizzes. Go over the mistakes on the quizzes. Helpful all round.

Lectures are audio recorded but I wouldn't rely on the recordings. They're sketchy and inconsistent. Just go to lecture. It's fun anyway, breezes by in no time.

The txtbk is more of a reference. It isn't presented the way the course is but the information is all there, and all the same. It's also very clear. It's just organized differently. While the course goes through the lectures addressing one aspect of the virus at a time, the txtbk is divided into chapters based on the types of viruses. It requires a bit more work to find what you're looking for but that makes it more valuable I found.

Anyway, I loved the course, got a great grade and recommend it to everyone who asks! It's not a bird course, but they meet you half way which isn't something I can say for most other courses offered at Mac.

the pre-req for this course is Bio 2B03, a course i did not do good on, i had a 5 (because i was being a lazy ass hobo last year) and now i am enrolled in this course.

Should i go forward with Hlth Sci 3K03?
Will my poor grade/lesser understanding of the Bio 2B03 material be hazardous for me? i.e will i understand very less and crash out or end up getting a low grade?

i really want a 10+ in this course...

Originally Posted by traveler10

the pre-req for this course is Bio 2B03, a course i did not do good on, i had a 5 (because i was being a lazy ass hobo last year) and now i am enrolled in this course.

Should i go forward with Hlth Sci 3K03?
Will my poor grade/lesser understanding of the Bio 2B03 material be hazardous for me? i.e will i understand very less and crash out or end up getting a low grade?

i really want a 10+ in this course...

You should be fine. The course really only requires a very basic understanding of cell biology. You can definitely get a 10 coming from a 5 in cell bio, just pay attn. There's a lot of transcription/translation stuff which, if that's something you struggled with in cell bio, you might want to look over that a bit more.

The class starts out fast but it gets easier (more from just getting used to the terminology and classifications, etc - obviously you're learning more complex material).

I'd definitely recommend you stick with it.

Originally Posted by Isabel

I took this course Fall 2010.

So the thing that stuck with me from this course most was how organized it was - and that may sound lame but it really does make a huge difference! When the profs and TAs all know what they're doing, what's acceptable and what's not, what's expected hear and not necessary there, it makes knowing what you need to do to get a good grade soo much easier.

This course has been taught by the same 2 profs (Drs Mossman and Lichty) for a while now and they've got everything down pat.

Class size is fairly small, ~100 (fits in the larger lecture halls in Hamilton Hall - the math building).

Evaluations:
Weekly quizzes, you can drop your worst mark.
2 essays (no midterms).

Essay 1 was about a nonhuman virus that somehow affected humans - most people wrote about agricultural problems, or mad cow. I did Blue Tongue. Sounds cool right? It was the easier essay, less about the virus and more about it's impact on humans.

Essay 2 was about an imaginary virus - one that we created. It was pretty much the culmination of everything we learned. The symptoms, duration, infectiousness, etc all had to be explained by it's structure. It was fun though, creating a malicious tree killer or passive-aggressive human curse.

1 final exam. Similar to the quizzes but more thorough. More Why questions than the quizzes (which tended to be What questions). About as thorough as the 2nd essay required us to be.

Tutorials were optional but honestly the TAs are so helpful, I'd recommend not skipping. They give hints on future quizzes and what to expect on the exam. Help plan the essays. Do practice drills for the quizzes. Go over the mistakes on the quizzes. Helpful all round.

Lectures are audio recorded but I wouldn't rely on the recordings. They're sketchy and inconsistent. Just go to lecture. It's fun anyway, breezes by in no time.

The txtbk is more of a reference. It isn't presented the way the course is but the information is all there, and all the same. It's also very clear. It's just organized differently. While the course goes through the lectures addressing one aspect of the virus at a time, the txtbk is divided into chapters based on the types of viruses. It requires a bit more work to find what you're looking for but that makes it more valuable I found.

Anyway, I loved the course, got a great grade and recommend it to everyone who asks! It's not a bird course, but they meet you half way which isn't something I can say for most other courses offered at Mac.

Do u recommend buying the textbook? If I attend all the lectures, is it possible to do well without the textbook??

Yeah sure you can do well enough without the textbook.

But I found it was a great reference for the essays.

And, because it presents the material in a completely different order from the lectures (lectures go through each aspect of the virus - e.g. its shells, its replication cycle, its bursting mechanism, etc.; while the txtbk goes through each of the 7 (there are 7 right?) classifications of viruses, describing which aspects are unique to that classification and giving a few major examples), it gives a new context to the material and makes it easier to remember/study for the exam.

So I would definitely recommend it but it's also something you can get by without. Try finding someone who wants to split the cost and share it.

do you remember how long the exam was? and was it all short answer like the quizzes?

This year, there were 5 quizzes, 6% each and 10 minutes in length.
Then like above, there were the two essays (same topics as above) for 15% each. And a final for 40%.
As this is the first Health Science course I took, I didn't expect how much deep thinking(?) was involved in the quizzes. Dr. Mossman and Lichty are really not testing on whether you've got things memorized but rather how well you can apply concepts you've learnt. It was a bit of getting used to but overall I enjoyed the course, I really learned a lot about these viruses!

Originally Posted by hellonewyork

This year, there were 5 quizzes, 6% each and 10 minutes in length.
Then like above, there were the two essays (same topics as above) for 15% each. And a final for 40%.
As this is the first Health Science course I took, I didn't expect how much deep thinking(?) was involved in the quizzes. Dr. Mossman and Lichty are really not testing on whether you've got things memorized but rather how well you can apply concepts you've learnt. It was a bit of getting used to but overall I enjoyed the course, I really learned a lot about these viruses!

how did you do overall in the course? and i know you said they wanted you to apply your knowledge... but wasnt there a lot of memorizing to still do ?

Was a very interesting course. The Quizes were pretty easy, as well as the presentations. But there was no marking scheme for the essay, which I found annoying, as well the Final Exam was pretty bad. Overall I found it a really interesting course.

Does anyone remember how the essays were marked? Were they marked as subjectively as english essays?

Is there an updated course outline for this course? Any updated reviews?

any updated reviews ????

Any recent reviews????

Originally Posted by mm99mm

Any recent reviews????

Took this course in Fall 2016.

Have 4 quizzes each worth 5%, pretty easy, questions are hit or miss

Two group presentations in tutorials worth 10% each, pretty easy just follow what the TA tells you

Essay worth 20%, have to be creative with this because you have to make your own virus and write quite a bit about it, it is a lot of work, marking by TA was moderate, not too hard

Final Exam is 40% and is all short/long answer. The final exam is very different, it tests more broad topics and test to see if you get the whole picture sort of thing, don't bother studying all the little details.

Head Prof was Rosenthal who is horrible, has no idea what he is doing (organization) and just reads off of the slides, he is one of the worst lecturers at Mac. However there are multiple lecturers and luckily he only does some of the topics, the other lecturers that come in are good.

Overall, decent course, not exactly bird because there is fair bit of work, but a 10-12 is very attainable.