Current instructor

Catherine Woodward

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.75/5 from 16 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.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

BOTANY 265
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Great lectures. I learned a lot in this class. Would definitely recommend taking a class with Cath if you can.
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BOT100 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
She wasn't the worst, but definitely not a professor I would take again. The grading is mostly lab work along with exams. Exams often include minuscule things that you would not think to study. Her lectures are pretty dry; you can definitely tell she has knowledge and passion for the subject, which I respect, but she just is not super engaging.
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BOT100 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
Should never teach this level again. 100% if you aren't in the major, avoid taking her class. The worst lecturer I've ever had. Mandatory $40 textbook that you don't actually ever have to crack open to receive a decent grade. Goes on tangents during lecturing. Weekly Reading Questions in front of class feel like a humiliation tactic.
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BOT100 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
The class description does not match what we actually learned about in this class. Very biology-heavy. The tests are far too difficult for a non-botany major course, especially since it's a 100-level class. She expects you to know far too much about the subjects. She explained topics well, but it was just annoying that attendance was mandatory.
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BOT100 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
I loved this class and really felt like I learned a lot about botany. It was clear that she is very passionate about this topic and the lectures were really interesting, if not a little too fast occasionally. The exams were difficult but you get 2 tries with an averaged score and labs were really fun. If you go and take good notes you'll do well
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Catherine Woodward

Survey of Botany explores the roles of plants and microbes in global ecology and their historical and current uses by humans, including biotechnology applications.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.48 GPA, 72.3% A/AB (n=141 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.07 GPA, 43.6% A/AB (n=110 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

Conservation Biology explores the science of protecting nature and preserving biodiversity, examining biological and socioeconomic factors underlying conservation challenges and impacts from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.72 GPA, 84.4% A/AB (n=45 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.55 GPA, 70.2% A/AB (n=47 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2025–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027BIOLOGY 299Directed Studies
Spring 2027BOTANY 100Survey of Botany
Spring 2027BOTANY/ENVIRST/F&WECOL/ZOOLOGY 516Conservation Biology
Fall 2026BOTANY 265Rainforests and Coral Reefs
Fall 2026BOTANY/ENVIRST/F&WECOL/ZOOLOGY 516Conservation Biology
Fall 2026ENVIRST 699Directed Study

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance
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