Historical instructor

JAKE VANDER ZANDEN

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.27/5 from 15 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

ZOO115 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
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!
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LIMN315 · course not matched
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.
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ZOO510 · course not matched
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!
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ZOO510 · course not matched
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 overall
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ZOO510 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Loved him. Made me really like fish ecology. Doesn't post his lecture slides so go to lecture.
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ZOO510 · course not matched
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.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with JAKE VANDER ZANDEN

A seminar for graduate students covering various fields of zoological research, including limnology and marine science.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026

ZOOLOGY 299 is a directed study course where students conduct independent research and develop hypotheses under faculty mentorship.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample

ZOOLOGY 699 offers selected research projects for junior and senior students.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026

ZOOLOGY 990 is a graduate research course where students conduct advanced biological research under faculty mentorship to fulfill program requirements.

No offering record · Spring 2026

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2026ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2026ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2026ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2025ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2025ZOOLOGY 115Freshwater: Past, Present, and Future
Fall 2025ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2025ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2025ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2025ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2025ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2025ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2025ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2024ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2024GEOG 920Seminar in Physical Geography
Fall 2024ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2024ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2024ZOOLOGY 955Seminar-limnology
Fall 2024ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2024ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2024ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2024ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2023ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2023ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2023ZOOLOGY 400Topics in Biology
Fall 2023ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2023ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2023ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2022ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2022ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2022ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2022ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2022ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2022ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2021ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2021ZOOLOGY 400Topics in Biology
Fall 2021ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2021ZOOLOGY 955Seminar-limnology
Fall 2021ZOOLOGY 956Seminar-ecology
Fall 2021ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2020ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2020ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2020ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2020ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2020ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510Ecology of Fishes
Spring 2020ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511Ecology of Fishes Lab
Spring 2020ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2020ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2019ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2019ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2019ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2019ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2019ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510Ecology of Fishes
Spring 2019ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511Ecology of Fishes Lab
Spring 2019ZOOLOGY 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2019ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2019ZOOLOGY 955Seminar-limnology
Spring 2019ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2018ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2018ENVIRST 699Directed Study
Fall 2018ZOOLOGY 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2018ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2018ZOOLOGY 955Seminar-limnology
Fall 2018ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2018ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2018ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510Ecology of Fishes
Spring 2018ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511Ecology of Fishes Lab
Spring 2018ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2018ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2017ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2017ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2017ZOOLOGY 955Seminar-limnology
Fall 2017ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2017ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2017ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510Ecology of Fishes
Spring 2017ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511Ecology of Fishes Lab
Spring 2017ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2017ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2017ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2016ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2016ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 315Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources
Fall 2016ZOOLOGY 316Laboratory for Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources
Fall 2016ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2016ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2016ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2016ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2016ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2015ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Fall 2015ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 315Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources
Fall 2015ZOOLOGY 316Laboratory for Limnology-conservation of Aquatic Resources
Fall 2015ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2015ZOOLOGY 955Seminar-limnology
Fall 2015ZOOLOGY 990Research
Spring 2015ATMOCN/BOTANY/CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOSCI/ZOOLOGY 911Limnology and Marine Science Seminar
Spring 2015ENVIRST 699Directed Study
Spring 2015ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 510Ecology of Fishes
Spring 2015ENVIRST/ZOOLOGY 511Ecology of Fishes Lab
Spring 2015ZOOLOGY 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2015ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2015ZOOLOGY 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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