Spring 2027

Cellular Biology

An intermediate-level course on the cellular and molecular basis of life, covering cell structure, energy flow, and the regulation of genetic information.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Jeff Hardin4.1/5Shelby O'Connor3.7/5Erik Dent3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Erik Dent

The class felt very self-directed, requiring students to learn much of the content independently because material was covered quickly and important concepts were not always explained clearly.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Apply scientific concepts, reasoning, and quantitative and qualitative approaches to solve problems in cell biology, cell signaling, and molecular genetics at the intermediate level.

  • Use scientific terms to accurately describe the concepts of cell biology, biochemistry, cell signaling, and molecular genetics.

  • Build logical arguments to explain how cellular systems and processes function.

  • Analyze cell biology problems that require synthesizing knowledge about cellular structure, function, and genetics.

  • Diagram and explain the complex interplay of how cellular function is regulated through biochemical and genetic processes.

  • Make predictions about cell biology and molecular genetics data based on evidence and quantitative reasoning.

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

BIOCORE 381

BIOCORE 383 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

Jeff Hardin

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.24/5 from 50 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: 3.34 GPA, 50.6% A/AB (n=83 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.29 GPA, 52.9% A/AB (n=85 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.41 GPA, 55.2% A/AB (n=58 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 1 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.

Past student reviews · Shelby O'Connor

Shelby O'Connor delivered engaging and informative lectures that students found interesting to attend. Her use of clicker questions was considered helpful, and her professional approach facilitated a smooth transition to online learning during the pandemic.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.34 GPA, 50.6% A/AB (n=83 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.29 GPA, 52.9% A/AB (n=85 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.41 GPA, 55.2% A/AB (n=58 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.57/5 from 7 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: 2.8/5 raw quality · 4.0/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Erik Dent

Erik Dent's lectures often relied on humor and brief slides, leading students to report that concepts were rushed and left for independent study. Many reviewers felt the class required significant outside work to succeed because explanations were not thorough.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.34 GPA, 50.6% A/AB (n=83 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.29 GPA, 52.9% A/AB (n=85 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.41 GPA, 55.2% A/AB (n=58 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ERIK DENT is recorded teaching in 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.

JEFFREY HARDIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHELBY O'CONNOR is recorded teaching in Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, 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 / 1260
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 200
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 200

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 · Shelby O'Connor

Students found Shelby O'Connor's lectures interesting and engaging, noting that her professional approach made the transition to online learning smooth and addressed student concerns effectively.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.34 GPA, 50.6% A/AB (n=83 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.29 GPA, 52.9% A/AB (n=85 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.41 GPA, 55.2% A/AB (n=58 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Erik Dent

The class felt very self-directed, requiring students to learn much of the content independently because material was covered quickly and important concepts were not always explained clearly.

Past student reviews · Erik Dent

One student reported that Erik Dent rushed through lectures and joked around, forcing them to achieve a good grade entirely through self-study rather than relying on in-class explanations.

Topics

  • Structure and function of cells and organelles
  • Flow of energy in cells
  • Storage, expression, and regulation of genetic information
  • Cell signaling and molecular genetics

Skills

  • Applying scientific concepts and quantitative/qualitative approaches to solve problems in cell biology, signaling, and genetics.
  • Using scientific terminology to accurately describe concepts in cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular genetics.
  • Diagramming and explaining the regulation of cellular function through biochemical and genetic processes.

Grades

Historical instructor

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 · 0.13 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
BIOCORE 383 · Spring 2027

Cellular Biology

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": "1274:206:001915",
    "course_id": "BIOCORE 383",
    "course_uid": "course_124cc798935d51b85f686dc3",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001915",
    "source_subject_id": "206",
    "title": "Cellular Biology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "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
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": "cb7f1d2323b6091914631fc2375f206bcbc936408df52704dfdba304b55b8396",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}