Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Amasino is passionate but not super good at lectures like the other 3 professors. He doesn't try as hard as other professors to engage with the class, and this might be also due to a more difficult Catabolism unit. The class is exam heavy with 4 exams but they are noncumulative and easy as long as you draw out pathways and do the practice exams.Rate My Professors ↗
The degree of boredom I experienced during this section defied the limits of possibility. Slides were dense and badly written- at least 20 lines of text per slide that I condensed into 6 words. 30% of material is untested and "FYI", giving much-needed time during lecture for you to go back and figure out what happened in the previous slides.Rate My Professors ↗
Personally, I found his lectures pretty hard to follow. There was a lot of information and I felt like his lectures jumped from one topic to another with no order. There was also a lot of information on the lectures slides that you didn't need to know which made it pretty difficult to study for the exams since there was just so much information.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Amasino's lectures were always very interesting. Outside of class he was also very friendly and showed he cared about the students.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Amasino's lecture slides were very dense and had lots of material to take in but he does his best to break them down. The slides are also old but he does make clear what you need to know.Rate My Professors ↗
Had a lot of material in his lectures, but a lot of it was just "historical context." Kind of a boring guy to listen to, but his exam was just like the practice exams. I wouldn't mind taking a class from him again, but I wouldn't jump at the opportunity to either.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
BIOCHEM 104 introduces molecular life and evolution, exploring current biotechnology and genetic topics to foster scientific literacy.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.96 GPA, 98.4% A/AB (n=728 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.92 GPA, 95.5% A/AB (n=732 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.93 GPA, 96.8% A/AB (n=698 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026BIOCHEM 299 is an independent study course where students conduct research under the direct guidance of a Biochemistry faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Fall 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=21 letter grades); Spring 2025: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Covers the chemistry, nutrition, and metabolism of biological systems.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Richard Amasino is frequently described as passionate and straightforward, with clear exams that reward rote memorization of cycles and pathways. Reviewers appreciate his engaging style and the inclusion of historical context, noting that his explanations make dense material manageable.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026BIOCHEM 681 is a senior honors thesis course for Biochemistry undergraduates in an Honors program, involving individual study arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
BIOCHEM 682 is the second semester of an individual study senior honors thesis in Biochemistry.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleBIOCHEM 691 is a course for undergraduate students to complete a Biochemistry thesis under faculty arrangement.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
BIOCHEM 692 is a second-semester individual study course for undergraduates completing a biochemistry thesis.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleBIOCHEM 699 offers academic credit for research, library, or laboratory work conducted under faculty guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2007: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades); Spring 2008: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2015: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=17 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026BIOCHEM 990 is a research course for graduate students to conduct independent laboratory work under faculty supervision in preparation for a thesis or dissertation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 104 | Molecules to Life and the Nature of Science |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 299 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 501 | Introduction to Biochemistry |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 699 | Special Problems |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
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