Current instructor

Melissa Christopherson

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.55/5 from 38 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 303
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Dr. C is possibly the best professor I have had. Her teaching is stellar. She is kind and engages with the students well which facilitates learning of difficult concepts. Exams are hard but fair. She offers office hours that are a blast, and provides many study resources. Her material is interesting, and she clearly wants students to succeed.
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MICRO303 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I was really intimidated by this course as a conservation bio major with less preparation for a microbiology course than other students. I felt that every lecture was engaging (although often dense) and Melissa had a way of communicating everything in a clear manner. I now love this subject which is not what I was expecting going into it.
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MICRO303 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
She is a great lecturer and very sweet and wholesome. The tests are hard, but fair. If you know the material and study, you will ace the test.
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MICRO102 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 1/5
(This is actually for MIRCO 150). Melissa is very knowledgeable and an all around wonderful person. I genuinely feel like I learned a lot from her class and from her personally. The only thing I didn't like was that you never quite knew what exactly was due. You just kinda have to play it by ear and email for clarification quite often.
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MICRO303 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
The lectures are so random. I don't even know why she organizes her lecture like this. I don't believe most of people can learn from her lecture.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Melissa Christopherson

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

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2023–Fall 2025 · limited sample

Capstone course providing hands-on microbiology research in a lab, covering experimental design, troubleshooting, communication, and ethics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.76 GPA, 85.5% A/AB (n=55 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.76 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=40 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.85 GPA, 96.1% A/AB (n=51 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

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

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027MICROBIO 299Independent Study
Spring 2027MICROBIO 551Capstone Research Project in Microbiology
Spring 2027MICROBIO 699Special Problems
Fall 2026MICROBIO 150Microbiomes and Microbiology - First-year Seminar
Fall 2026MICROBIO 299Independent Study
Fall 2026MICROBIO 303Biology of Microorganisms
Fall 2026MICROBIO 699Special Problems

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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