I took this class for 2 credits of physical science, and it should be 3 credits considering you have to take 3 exams (which have a lot of select all that apply questions) and a final group project. If you need two credits just to get by, don't take this class. You will be memorizing the lecture slides for exams unless you have photographic memory.

The professor is bad at lecturing, one of the worst I've had at UW. Grading is lenient, but the amount of course work is not worth it for 2 credits. Should give 3. Plus the class is primarily groupwork with only 1 opporunity to change teams early on in the semester, so good luck if you have any freeloaders after that. Do not recommend to anyone.

the grade cutoff was a 95% for an A. insane. dont take this class if you arent stem because it would be insanely difficult for a 2 credit class. the group work is horrible and he isn't clear about his grading requirements. he doesn't gaf if you do good work but if ur teammate does a crap job ur grade is tanked

Prof Roden is so sweet and obviously cares about what he is teaching. Lectures are VERY boring that being said. Lots of group work (TERRIBLE if u get a bad group.) Very hard for a non-required science course coming from a stem major. Lots of lab reports and research.

I was in high school when I took the class, no midterms of final exams, only a final paper, final presentation, some labs (very fun) and he is clearly passionate. Very heavy on group work but helped a lot when 2 of my group members disappeared or did not help with projects. Quizzes are open book, recommend getting to know him, he's super nice.

Eric is really chill and his lectures aren't too bas either. You get more than one try on the quizzes and you could look at the lectures for them, no exams either. You get 1-2 homework assignments for each week, but its mostly groupwork. If you get a good group, this class is a breeze. Eric is a cool guy who cares a lot about his students.

This class is way too much work for a 2 credit class. If you are taking this class to fill a science requirement, I would stay away and take something else. If you find yourself in this class, it is very heavy on group work, and you have to do a lot of scholarly research and writing. This class wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't 2 credits.

Way too much information for a 2 credit course. Tests are next to impossible unless you're able to memorize every single detail from every slide of every lecture. Professor assumes students have prior knowledge of subject when the course is advertised as introductory. Waste of time and effort, do not take.

If you put effort in to listen and participate in Eric's portion of this class it's really great. He's also very approachable and more than willing to help if you ask. His homework's are straight forward and have clear criteria for grading which I appreciated.

Way too much material for a 2 credit class. Some topics taught as if a student should already have proficient background on a subject. I literally showed material from the biology section of this class, which Professor Roden is responsible for teaching, to my roommate. Don't take this class if you care about your GPA.

His lecture material is interesting if you are interested, but otherwise it is way too much information for a 2 credits. The quizzes and exams are designed to trick you and are not based in what is focused on in class, it's necessary to go over the lecture slides in extreme detail. Grading is not defined clearly, might curve? He's condescending.

Great guy, the class was wayyy too difficult for 2 credits. He talked about things like we should have already known them. Missing class is a no since everything is group-oriented. I was sick for a few weeks and ended up dropping because I was holding my team back.

His lectures for this class were way too in-depth and confusing. Make sure to go to lecture because he will tell you what from his slides will be on the exam. His review sessions are helpful because he tells you questions right of the exam. He's very monotone though and his content is pretty boring.

Took this class to fulfill a science credit and to fill out my semester and did not enjoy it in the slightest. Claims to be accessible outside of class but takes up to a week to answer emails, only after receiving follow up emails. For being an intro level class, it is very difficult/in depth in the topics discussed and he doesn't explain it well.

Listen, Eric has a pretty soothing monotone voice that is pretty easy to tune out. That being said, if you do listen, he is wonderfully passionate. I have talked to him outside of class, and he wants to get to know you more as well. Great guy, good prof.

Awful professor. He is one of the least accommodating professors I have ever had, especially in such a wonderful department. If you need help or have an conflicts, he will go out of his way to belittle you. Extremely condescending and arrogant. The lectures go on too many tangents and I didn't learn anything. Nothing he covered was in the book.

Definetly has extra content in lectures which is irrelevant on exams, but is passionate about what his research and what he does. If you find the content interesting he is not that bad, but the exams he writes for the class are full of "all of the above", and "none of the above" which I found made the questions more difficult than they needed to be

Eric's enthusiasm for his field shows in lectures, but aside from that he's not great. There are too many group assignments and labs/papers for a 2 credit class. His grading criteria is poorly defined as well, resulting in frustrating papers/projects. Overall easy A if you put in the work, but I did not enjoy this class.

Seems to speak to his students in a somewhat pompous manner. On multiple occasions he would take up to half an hour of class to talk about some very intricate and difficult aspect of biology only to tell us that we wouldn't actually need it for the class or for the exam which is extremely frustrating.

Easy A/AB if you are a science major, or put the time in

His slides have way too much information on them to get anything down in your notes. He assumes the class understands certain concepts that they definitely do not since this class has mostly non-science majors in it. The title of the course is "Life in the Universe," though I felt the class never got into this subject until the end. Bad professor.

Professor was very hard to deal with when I was ill. Required a note from the doctor when that is not university policy. Way too many labs and lecture was confusing. Easy A/AB though as the final was canceled.

If you need 2 bio science credits then take this course. it was not hard in any way, just extremely boring. Eric is a nice guy, but the lectures are 100% unnecessary except that he takes attendance via iclicker. All the grade is made up of is 3 individual lab reports (~2pg, easy), ~6 group hmwks, easyy, and a final paper, also about 2pg. no final

Professor Roden is an important researcher in a well funded department. He considers himself far above helping lowly undergraduates with questions he deems rudimentary. Incredibly condescending and patronizing. AVOID!

Eric has high expectations for his students. He's essentially clear in lecture, though perhaps slightly presumptuous regarding how much math his students know. Homework is time consuming but rare. Exams were take home. Final was suddenly canceled. Rating: solid.

This class is very fundamental. You do way to many group projects to be a 2 cr class. The "mini" labs not listed in the tables are easy but a pain. If i could go back I wouldnt take this class again. Just because its not useful and has to much work. Oh yeah there might not be a final, but he wont let you know till really late if there is one.

he's awesome. his class is interesting and not too hard