Fall 2026

Biology of Microorganisms

Covers the basic biology of microorganisms, including their structure, function, physiology, genetics, ecology, diversity, and evolution.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Melissa Christopherson3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

The course covers extensive material, and exams are described as difficult and cryptic. Students report that test questions often include details not explicitly covered in lectures or slides.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
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F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY 101,ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY/​BOTANY 151,BIOCORE 383, or BIOLOGY/​BOTANY 130) and (CHEM 104 or 109) or graduate/professional standing

MICROBIO 303 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

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.55/5 from 38 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: 3.9/5 raw quality · 3.4/5 difficulty · 13 reviews

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

Melissa Christopherson receives polarized reviews, with some students praising her kindness, passion, and helpfulness while others criticize her lecturing skills and unclear expectations. Early reviews noted she was a newer professor who improved over time, but recent feedback highlights significant disagreement regarding her teaching effectiveness and exam design. While some find her engaging and supportive, others find her lectures disorganized and tests cryptic.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.12 GPA, 49.1% A/AB (n=220 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.16 GPA, 50.8% A/AB (n=181 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.17 GPA, 51.9% A/AB (n=264 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Robin Kurtz is praised as clear and approachable, providing study guides without a required textbook. Historical reviews for Timothy Paustian are polarized: some value his passion and stories, while others criticize his fast-paced lectures, confusing tests, and hyperspecific exams.

JON ROLL is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MELISSA CHRISTOPHERSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHELLE RONDON is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROBIN KURTZ is recorded teaching in Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TIMOTHY PAUSTIAN is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, 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

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction288 / 4000

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

Melissa Christopherson is praised for her passion and willingness to help students struggling with the material. Reviewers note her engaging teaching style makes the course manageable for attentive students.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.16 GPA, 50.8% A/AB (n=181 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.17 GPA, 51.9% A/AB (n=264 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.01 GPA, 38.2% A/AB (n=186 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course covers extensive material, and exams are described as difficult and cryptic. Students report that test questions often include details not explicitly covered in lectures or slides.

Early reviews noted unclear expectations and timid delivery, while later feedback indicates improved lecture engagement and clarity. Students appreciate the availability of online lectures and the helpful stories included in class.

Topics

  • Microbial structure and function
  • Microbial physiology
  • Microbial genetics
  • Microbial ecology
  • Microbial diversity and evolution

Skills

  • Understanding the structure, function, and physiology of microorganisms.
  • Analyzing microbial genetics, ecology, diversity, and evolution.

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · 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 · 0.08 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 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

1283 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
MICROBIO 303 · Fall 2026

Biology of Microorganisms

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:192:001600",
    "course_id": "MICROBIO 303",
    "course_uid": "course_b38eddf04e5d9b58f70c1241",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "001600",
    "source_subject_id": "192",
    "title": "Biology of Microorganisms",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "5378339ce645a32d39709b6875e1ca0193810937a8b41fd5a655dc0288d51af0",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}