Spring 2027

Life in the Universe

Examines the origin and evolution of life using astronomy, biology, and geology, covering the search for extraterrestrial life and life's history in the solar system.

offering recorded2 credits

Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Juliette Becker3.8/5 Annie Bauer3.2/5 Eric Roden3.0/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Eric Roden

The course was described as having too much material for a 2-credit load, requiring students to memorize lecture slides for exams. One student noted the workload felt more appropriate for a 3-credit class.

What you’ll be able to do

Show how scientific reasoning and the scientific method are used to determine Earth’s place within the solar system and the cosmos.
Connect our current observations of exoplanets with their potential roles in the origin of life elsewhere in the Universe.
Describe the physical and chemical limits of life on Earth to chart the potential for life on Mars and other worlds.
Apply the genetic code to interpret the origin and evolution of life on Earth.
Summarize key geologic events on Earth and Mars; interpret relationships between planetary tectonics and habitability.
Explain the range of evidence in the rock record for early life on Earth and critique the fidelity of this record.
Illustrate how quantitative approaches are used to analyze problems in astronomy, biology, and geology.

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

↗

average GPA
letter grades

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Professors

Spring 2027

Juliette Becker

Adjusted rating

RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 2 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.17 GPA, 44.4% A/AB (n=54 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Annie Bauer

Adjusted rating

RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 2.59/5 from 17 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 2.89 GPA, 30.3% A/AB (n=66 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.17 GPA, 44.4% A/AB (n=54 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.06 GPA, 39.5% A/AB (n=43 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Eric Roden

Adjusted rating

RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 2.59/5 from 29 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 1.8/5 raw quality · 4.0/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Eric Roden

Students found Eric Roden’s lectures included extra material irrelevant to exams, sometimes taking up to half an hour. The workload was described as too heavy for a two-credit class, involving three exams with tricky multiple-choice questions and a final group project. Some students felt the teaching style was pompous, while others appreciated his passion for the subject.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Clark Johnson, Sebastian Heinz

A past student described this as the hardest two-credit class they took and advised avoiding it. Another student noted that historical instructor Sebastian Heinz was enthusiastic, but his lectures did not prepare students well for the exams.

ANN BAUER is recorded teaching in Spring 2020, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CLARK M JOHNSON is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ERIC RODEN is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JULIETTE BECKER is recorded teaching in Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SEBASTIAN HEINZ is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity	Waitlist
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	0 / 68	0
LEC 001	Classroom Instruction	0 / 92	0

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records

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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Eric Roden

Students found Eric Roden's lectures included irrelevant, intricate material that consumed significant class time. Several reviewers noted that the course content often exceeded what was actually tested on exams.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 2.89 GPA, 30.3% A/AB (n=66 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.17 GPA, 44.4% A/AB (n=54 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.06 GPA, 39.5% A/AB (n=43 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Eric Roden

Exams were criticized for containing numerous 'all of the above' and 'none of the above' questions, which made the assessments more difficult than necessary. This format frustrated students despite the instructor's passion.

Topics

Origin and evolution of life
Search for extraterrestrial life and solar system history
Exoplanets and the origin of life
Genetic code and life's evolution
Planetary tectonics and habitability

Skills

Apply scientific reasoning and the scientific method
Evaluate physical and chemical limits of life for habitability
Interpret relationships between planetary tectonics and habitability
Critique the fidelity of the rock record for early life
Use quantitative approaches to analyze interdisciplinary problems

Grades

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.18 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records

ASTRON/GEOSCI 160 · Spring 2027

Life in the Universe

Recorded 2026-10-14

ASTRON/GEOSCI 160 · Spring 2027

Life in the Universe

Recorded 2026-10-14

Raw records

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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:188:001545",
    "course_id": "ASTRON/GEOSCI 160",
    "course_uid": "course_96bd210ad86a5186b87a8a1b",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001545",
    "source_subject_id": "188",
    "title": "Life in the Universe",
    "credits_min": 2,
    "credits_max": 2,
    "typically_offered": "Fall"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:420:001545",
    "course_id": "ASTRON/GEOSCI 160",
    "course_uid": "course_96bd210ad86a5186b87a8a1b",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001545",
    "source_subject_id": "420",
    "title": "Life in the Universe",
    "credits_min": 2,
    "credits_max": 2,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]

Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews

Download part 1

Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades

Model outputs & technical records

Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B

LLM outputs across runs

Download part 1

Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1

Model & dataset provenance

{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "ac0401a717d27187e5d532f73c0c25ed572216054f717c7a9dae61623de5faa7",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}

Life in the Universe

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

Grade history

Prerequisites

Professors

Juliette Becker

Annie Bauer

Eric Roden

Calendar & sections

Student experience

the class

difficulty & workload

Topics

Skills

Grades

Spring 2027 · Projected

Grades over time

Where this course fits relative to UW–Madison

Sources & history

Catalog & offerings

Student reviews

Grade history

Where this course fits relative to