Current instructor

Lauren Riters

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.15/5 from 52 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

ZOO101 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
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.
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BIO101 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
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 one
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BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
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).
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BIO101 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
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.
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BIO101 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Straight forward exams, posts full slides, passionate about her topic
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BIO101 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
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!
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Lauren Riters

BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101

Animal Biology

3 credits

Animal Biology covers general biological principles including evolution, ecology, cell structure, genetics, and human physiology.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Lauren Riters

Students describe Lauren Riters as approachable with accessible office hours and informative lectures, though one found it harder to focus during class. Feedback on her exams was mixed; one student called them the hardest of the semester and advised studying extensively, while another found them less difficult but confusing, and a third noted they were the hardest they had ever taken.

Sharon ThomaLauren Riters+1 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
PSYCH 699

Directed Study

1–3 credits

Directed Study is an independent mentored study with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

C. Shawn GreenSeth Pollak+27 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
ZOOLOGY 199

Directed Study

1–3 credits

Directed study or independent research where students experience hypothesis development and research through faculty mentorship.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Sharon ThomaLauren Riters+6 more

No recorded grade history

ZOOLOGY 699

Directed Studies in Zoology

1–6 credits

Directed Studies in Zoology consists of selected research projects for juniors and seniors.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

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).

Scott HartmanKaren Strier+52 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
ZOOLOGY 962

Seminar-ethology

1 credits

Graduate seminar covering sections in various fields of zoological research, specifically ethology.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

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.

Lauren RitersDavid Ehrlich+1 more

No recorded grade history

ZOOLOGY 990

Research

1–9 credits

Advanced research in biology as part of graduate program requirements, arranged with mentoring faculty.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Karen StrierJeff Hardin+39 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101Animal Biology
Spring 2027PSYCH 699Directed Study
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 199Directed Study
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 962Seminar-ethology
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 990Research
Fall 2026BIOLOGY/ZOOLOGY 101Animal Biology
Fall 2026PSYCH 699Directed Study
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 199Directed Study
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 299Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 699Directed Studies in Zoology
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 962Seminar-ethology
Fall 2026ZOOLOGY 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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