Professor Riters was the best of the three lecturers. She is very passionate about the material and covers all the necessary exam information. Attend every single lecture, as her test is the hardest one out of the four. Attend her office hours and the learning center to do well in this course.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Lauren Riters
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Dr. Riters was the second Bio 101 prof. She went through slides way too fast and all her lectures were disconnected from each other. It was like reading a textbook but in lecture form. It was very hard to take notes while following along because of the amount of text on the slides. She had the hardest of the exams so study hard for that oneRate My Professors ↗
Second of the three professors that teach Bio 101. Lectures were very informative and she has accessible office hours. Test questions were very hard, worst of the four exams during the semester. Study a LOT for her exam (Learning Center, textbook problems).Rate My Professors ↗
Cared a lot about continuity between her organization of class and Prof Thoma. She even reopened a lecture quiz after recieving feedback that it was confusing. She is clearly passionate about what she teaches, but this would also lead to confusing tangents in class. Although I wish Thoma taught all semester, I did not mind having her.Rate My Professors ↗
Straight forward exams, posts full slides, passionate about her topicRate My Professors ↗
Such a sweet woman. You can tell she cared about us and wanted us to do well. She related her topics to modern-day things and kept the class engaged. Told you exactly what you needed to know, and didn't throw any surprises on the exam. My favorite of the Bio101 lecturers!Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Lauren Riters
Animal Biology
3 creditsANIMAL BIOLOGY covers general biological principles including evolution, ecology, genetics, and human physiology.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Lauren Riters is approachable with accessible office hours, though her slide-based lectures can be hard to follow. Reviewers disagree on exam difficulty; one found tests hardest ever, while another noted they were not harder but confusing. A recent review confirms her exams are very hard, requiring significant study.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Directed Study
1–3 creditsPSYCH 699 is a directed study course involving independent mentored study with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Directed Study
1–3 creditsZOOLOGY 199 is a directed study course where students conduct independent research and develop hypotheses under faculty mentorship.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleDirected Studies in Zoology
1–3 creditsZOOLOGY 299 is a directed study course where students conduct independent research and develop hypotheses under faculty mentorship.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sampleSenior Honors Thesis
1–6 creditsZOOLOGY 681 is a mentored individual research and study course for students completing a thesis in an Honors program.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Senior Honors Thesis
1–4 creditsZOOLOGY 682 is a mentored individual research and study course for students completing a thesis in an Honors program.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleSenior Thesis
1–6 creditsZOOLOGY 691 is a mentored individual research and study course for students completing a senior thesis.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Senior Thesis
1–4 creditsZOOLOGY 692 is a mentored individual research and study course for students completing a senior thesis.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleDirected Studies in Zoology
1–6 creditsZOOLOGY 699 offers selected research projects for junior and senior students.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2009: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=9 letter grades); Fall 2009: 3.83 GPA, 83.3% A/AB (n=6 letter grades); Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=2 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Seminar-ethology
1 creditsZOOLOGY 962 is a graduate seminar covering various fields of zoological research.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2015: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=9 letter grades); Fall 2016: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=4 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleResearch
1–9 creditsZOOLOGY 990 is a graduate research course where students conduct advanced biological research under faculty mentorship to fulfill program requirements.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101 | Animal Biology |
| Fall 2026 | PSYCH 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 199 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 299 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 699 | Directed Studies in Zoology |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 962 | Seminar-ethology |
| Fall 2026 | ZOOLOGY 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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