Current instructor

Katrina Forest

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.56/5 from 9 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

MICROBIO 101
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
She was probably the best LECTURER in the course, but her exams were so difficult, requiring you to know things that were so in depth or covered very briefly in very small font. I did the worst on her exams because of this, which is unfortunate because I liked her lecturing style and I found it easy to follow.
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MICROBIO 101
Quality 2/5Difficulty 5/5
Prof. Forest is knowledgeable about Microbiology. Her exams on the other hand, cover things we either didn't discuss in lecture or didn't go into detail about. Average for the first exam was a C. The exam was more about being able to pick the best guess and questions were worded confusingly. The other professors for MICROBIO101 are more fair.
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MICROBIO 101
Quality 2/5Difficulty 5/5
Professor Forest is very passionate about her teaching; however she doesn't provide a lot of content in class or in slides and expects you to read the textbook a lot. Her exams are also very challenging compared to the lectures that she teaches in class. She makes the questions way harder than what we've ever done or discussed.
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MICRO470 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Dr. Forest is a terrific lecturer. However, she also doesn't tend to use slides. This means studying off of the book that has a lot of extra information or off of your probably very messy notes taken from her whiteboard. Without the help of my friends on the problem sets, I would have struggled in this class. Confusing problems were also an issue.
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MICROBIO 470
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
Don't take this class in the Spring. Both professors are awful and do not give fair exams in the slightest. Exam averages were around a 60% and the material on the exam expects way too much from the students. Dr. Forest thinks we are all experts by the time the exam arrives, which is far from the case. There is no indication of what to study.
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MICRO470 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Lectures were long and sometimes boring but she tried to keep us engaged with in class activities. Its probably helpful to do the readings before class. Tests are pretty hard but similar to the assignments she gives.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Katrina Forest

BMOLCHEM/MICROBIO 668

Microbiology at Atomic Resolution

3 credits

MICROBIOLOGY AT ATOMIC RESOLUTION uses three-dimensional protein structures to discuss high-resolution microbiology, focusing on how specific problems are solved by protein architectures and chemistries.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2019: 3.84 GPA, 87.5% A/AB (n=16 letter grades); Spring 2023: 3.61 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=14 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.74 GPA, 84.2% A/AB (n=19 letter grades).

Katrina Forest

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2025 · limited sample
CHEM 990

Research

1–15 credits

Supervised research course where students exhibit broad understanding of chemical principles, conduct independent research, and collaborate with investigators.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Tehshik YoonPupa Gilbert+78 more

No recorded grade history

MICROBIO 299

Independent Study

1–3 credits

Independent Study in Microbiology involves research work under direct faculty guidance, where students arrange specific projects and credits with their supervisor.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Michael ThomasDaniel Amador-Noguez+23 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2023–Fall 2025 · limited sample
MICROBIO 699

Special Problems

1–4 credits

Individual advanced work in Microbiology under faculty guidance, involving identifying research problems, conducting experiments, analyzing data, and communicating results.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Michael ThomasPaul Friesen+25 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample
MICROBIO 990

Research

1–9 credits

Graduate research course involving full lab and literature review of a microbiology problem, leading to thesis and publication preparation.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Michael ThomasPaul Friesen+34 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027BMOLCHEM/MICROBIO 668Microbiology at Atomic Resolution
Spring 2027CHEM 990Research
Spring 2027MICROBIO 299Independent Study
Spring 2027MICROBIO 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027MICROBIO 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027MICROBIO 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027MICROBIO 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027MICROBIO 699Special Problems
Spring 2027MICROBIO 899Independent Study
Spring 2027MICROBIO 990Research
Fall 2026CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2026CHEM 990Research
Fall 2026MICROBIO 101General Microbiology
Fall 2026MICROBIO 299Independent Study
Fall 2026MICROBIO 470Microbial Genetics & Molecular Machines
Fall 2026MICROBIO 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026MICROBIO 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026MICROBIO 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026MICROBIO 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026MICROBIO 699Special Problems
Fall 2026MICROBIO 899Independent Study
Fall 2026MICROBIO 990Research

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

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