Fall 2026

Animal Behavior

Covers evolutionary and physiological mechanisms of animal behavior, including aggressive, reproductive, communicative, and social behaviors, and behavioral development.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Catherine Marler3.4/5Jiaxuan Li

Summary

1 / 7

Exams are frequently described as difficult, specific, and heavily reliant on lecture content, requiring consistent attendance and note-taking. Some reviewers found review sessions pointless or unhelpful, while others felt studying yielded poor results due to unclear exam expectations.

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

PSYCH 202, (ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY 101 and 102),ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY/​BOTANY 151, or (BIOCORE 381 and 382)

PSYCH 449 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: 3.15/5 from 20 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: 3.4/5 raw quality · 3.2/5 difficulty · 14 reviews

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

Catherine Marler is praised for engaging lectures and student care, though exams are often difficult and require attendance. Recent reviews highlight fast-paced content and specific testing.

Historical reviews describe Marler as having boring lectures and unprofessional communication, with exams deemed unnecessarily difficult and unfair.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.25 GPA, 58.1% A/AB (n=172 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.24 GPA, 54.4% A/AB (n=193 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.35 GPA, 69.9% A/AB (n=153 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Rebecca Addington describe significant inconsistencies in teaching quality and course structure. Some students found her lectures boring and exams disconnected from class material, while others appreciated her study guides and clear lectures. Concerns included strict grading policies and scheduling issues.

CATHERINE MARLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

REBECCA ADDINGTON is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015. 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 Instruction223 / 2850
DIS 301Classroom Instruction15 / 151
LEC 002Classroom Instruction15 / 151

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

Catherine Marler delivers interesting lectures with engaging examples, and reviewers generally appreciate her care for student understanding. However, experiences diverge sharply, with some finding the course easy and others describing exams as unnecessarily difficult and specific.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.25 GPA, 58.1% A/AB (n=172 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.24 GPA, 54.4% A/AB (n=193 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.35 GPA, 69.9% A/AB (n=153 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Exams are frequently described as difficult, specific, and heavily reliant on lecture content, requiring consistent attendance and note-taking. Some reviewers found review sessions pointless or unhelpful, while others felt studying yielded poor results due to unclear exam expectations.

Reviewers praise the interesting animal behavior content and Marler's responsiveness, though some criticize unprofessional communication and a lack of study guides. The course is recommended for those who attend lectures, but others find the material irrelevant or the grading unfair.

Topics

  • Aggressive, reproductive, communicative, and social behaviors
  • Evolutionary and physiological mechanisms of animal behavior

Skills

  • Understanding evolutionary and physiological mechanisms of animal behavior.

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 4 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 · 0.15 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 · Fall 2025 · 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

1320 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
PSYCH 449 · Fall 2026

Animal Behavior

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": "1272:820:016401",
    "course_id": "PSYCH 449",
    "course_uid": "course_a0504fc493818de15f7bb393",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "016401",
    "source_subject_id": "820",
    "title": "Animal Behavior",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
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 2026-09-07

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 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "3d03114c0a544c2deace3912ac2de8823666642aecd2afa9ce06c9673031368d",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}