Jake was one of my favorite professors this semester. He is extremely funny, making his lectures very fun. We took many small field trips, which allowed us to learn in the real world. Overall, great experience, would retake his classes!Rate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
JAKE VANDER ZANDEN
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
Jake is a great guy with immense knowledge and passion for his craft. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in his class and would recommend him to anyone.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
I really enjoyed Prof. VZ and his lectures. He made class loads of fun, along with Prof. Lyons, and you can tell he is passionate about his area of study. Highly recommend taking his class!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Probably one of the best professors that I have ever had at UW-Madison. He is so smart and really loves exactly what he is teaching. If you love animals, especially fish, this is definitely the class for you! He really loves when you engage with lectures, so if you are curious about something feel free to ask questions. A pretty awesome guy overallRate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Loved him. Made me really like fish ecology. Doesn't post his lecture slides so go to lecture.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
Excellent professor, had him for limnology but he was even better for ecology of fishes. Kept lecture interesting and fair grading. Few easy papers and projects, and reasonable tests. Excellent zoology course.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with JAKE VANDER ZANDEN
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
View last recorded teaching term →No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2026 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2026 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2026 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2025 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2025 | ZOOLOGY 115 | Freshwater: Past, Present, and Future |
| Fall 2025 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2025 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2025 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2025 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2025 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2025 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2025 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2024 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2024 | GEOG 920 | Seminar in Physical Geography |
| Fall 2024 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2024 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2024 | ZOOLOGY 955 | Seminar-limnology |
| Fall 2024 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2024 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2024 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2024 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2023 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2023 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2023 | ZOOLOGY 400 | Topics in Biology |
| Fall 2023 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2023 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2023 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2022 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2022 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2022 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2022 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2022 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2022 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2021 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2021 | ZOOLOGY 400 | Topics in Biology |
| Fall 2021 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2021 | ZOOLOGY 955 | Seminar-limnology |
| Fall 2021 | ZOOLOGY 956 | Seminar-ecology |
| Fall 2021 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2020 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2020 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2020 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2020 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2020 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510 | Ecology of Fishes |
| Spring 2020 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511 | Ecology of Fishes Lab |
| Spring 2020 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2020 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2019 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2019 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2019 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2019 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2019 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510 | Ecology of Fishes |
| Spring 2019 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511 | Ecology of Fishes Lab |
| Spring 2019 | ZOOLOGY 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2019 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2019 | ZOOLOGY 955 | Seminar-limnology |
| Spring 2019 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2018 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2018 | ENVIRST 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2018 | ZOOLOGY 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2018 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2018 | ZOOLOGY 955 | Seminar-limnology |
| Fall 2018 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2018 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2018 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510 | Ecology of Fishes |
| Spring 2018 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511 | Ecology of Fishes Lab |
| Spring 2018 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2018 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2017 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2017 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2017 | ZOOLOGY 955 | Seminar-limnology |
| Fall 2017 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2017 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2017 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510 | Ecology of Fishes |
| Spring 2017 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511 | Ecology of Fishes Lab |
| Spring 2017 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2017 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2017 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2016 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2016 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 315 | Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources |
| Fall 2016 | ZOOLOGY 316 | Laboratory for Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources |
| Fall 2016 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2016 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2016 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2016 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2016 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Fall 2015 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Fall 2015 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 315 | Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources |
| Fall 2015 | ZOOLOGY 316 | Laboratory for Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources |
| Fall 2015 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2015 | ZOOLOGY 955 | Seminar-limnology |
| Fall 2015 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
| Spring 2015 | ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911 | Limnology and Marine Science Seminar |
| Spring 2015 | ENVIRST 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2015 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510 | Ecology of Fishes |
| Spring 2015 | ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511 | Ecology of Fishes Lab |
| Spring 2015 | ZOOLOGY 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2015 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Spring 2015 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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