Spring 2027

Survey of Biochemistry

Survey of Biochemistry explores chemical properties of biomolecules, metabolism, and DNA processes, linking them to disease, drug design, and gene therapy; it does not prepare students for advanced biochemistry or med/vet admission.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Paul Friesen4.0/5Mario Pennella3.7/5Richard Amasino3.7/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Paul Friesen

Homework was graded on completion, though points were deducted for brief answers to questions.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Apply basic concepts of protein and enzyme structure and function

  • Differentiate structures of lipids and their biochemical roles

  • Differentiate structures of carbohydrates and their biochemical roles

  • Differentiate structures of nucleic acids and their biochemical roles

  • Apply chemical concepts involved in both anabolic and catabolic pathways

  • Explain basics of gene expression and regulation

  • Describe fundamentals of cancer and certain viral diseases

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

CHEM 104, 109, or 116. Not open to students with credit forBIOCHEM 501.

BIOCHEM 301 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Paul Friesen

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.80/5 from 10 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: 4.5/5 raw quality · 3.0/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Paul Friesen

Paul Friesen taught an engaging course where he prepared students well for exams. He assigned homework graded on completion, though he deducted points for brief answers. Reviewers described him as passionate about biochemistry and virology.

Another student found Paul Friesen to be an amazing, friendly professor with a strong passion for teaching. They noted that he loved to see students succeed and was inspirational in his approach.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 2.95 GPA, 39.1% A/AB (n=46 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.88 GPA, 42.4% A/AB (n=33 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.93 GPA, 40.5% A/AB (n=37 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.73/5 from 30 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 2026: 2.93 GPA, 40.5% A/AB (n=37 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.64/5 from 14 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 2026: 2.93 GPA, 40.5% A/AB (n=37 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Hazel Holden

Hazel Holden taught this course with passion and engagement, sharing personal opinions while maintaining a kind demeanor. Students noted her fast speaking pace, though helpful lecture notes supported comprehension. Reviews highlighted her supportive approach, with one student describing her lectures as a positive influence during a difficult personal period. Her teaching style was characterized by enthusiasm and direct interaction with the subject matter.

HAZEL HOLDEN is recorded teaching in Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARIO PENNELLA is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PAUL FRIESEN is recorded teaching in Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RICHARD AMASINO is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. 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.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 640

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Paul Friesen

Paul Friesen was described as an amazing and friendly professor who was passionate about teaching and inspiring students to succeed.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 2.95 GPA, 39.1% A/AB (n=46 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.88 GPA, 42.4% A/AB (n=33 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.93 GPA, 40.5% A/AB (n=37 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Paul Friesen

Homework was graded on completion, though points were deducted for brief answers to questions.

Past student reviews · Paul Friesen

Students found the course engaging and noted that the professor provided helpful information that prepared them well for exams.

Topics

  • Basic chemical properties of proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids
  • Protein structure and function, chemical logic of metabolism, DNA replication, transcription, repair, and gene expression
  • Biochemical principles relating to metabolic diseases, drug design, virus infection, vaccination, and gene therapy

Skills

  • Apply basic concepts of protein and enzyme structure and function
  • Differentiate structures of lipids and their biochemical roles
  • Differentiate structures of carbohydrates and their biochemical roles
  • Differentiate structures of nucleic acids and their biochemical roles
  • Apply chemical concepts involved in both anabolic and catabolic pathways
  • Explain basics of gene expression and regulation
  • Describe fundamentals of cancer and certain viral diseases

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
BIOCHEM 301 · Spring 2027

Survey of Biochemistry

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:200:025620",
    "course_id": "BIOCHEM 301",
    "course_uid": "course_5076d5a578625ea2745560d2",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "025620",
    "source_subject_id": "200",
    "title": "Survey of Biochemistry",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
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
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
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": "09673ed2de21c3a33b31005ae22285dd84d741056b77df1dab31f18e9c4345b2",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}