Current instructor

Simon Gilroy

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.60/5 from 127 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

BIO152 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
Super nice but hard to follow. He goes off on tangents. Overall super nice guy just not the easiest to follow
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BIO152 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
you can tell he loves what he teaches. he makes his lectures pretty interesting for the most part, but sometimes it's hard to tell where he's going with some of his explanations.
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BIO152 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
He is enthusiastic about plant biology and clearly passionate about the subject. At times, lectures can go slightly off track, so it helps to stay focused on the key concepts he emphasizes. Prioritizing topics like codons is especially helpful for success in the Plant unit.
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BIOLOGY/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 151
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Gilroy is easily the best professor out of all three for Bio 151. This course is moderately difficult and memorization heavy on exams, but Gilroy makes the content engaging and easy to learn through his cheerful attitude and smiles. The labs required some outside class hours but the TAs are also helpful to guide you through completing lab reports!
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BIO153 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
He's super passionate and easy to understand. Great guy. 153 is pretty much only graded on exams so make sure you do well
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Simon Gilroy

BIOLOGY/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 151

Introductory Biology

5 credits

Introductory Biology covers cell structure, cellular metabolism, information flow, genetics, and selected topics in Animal Physiology.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Simon Gilroy

Simon Gilroy was described as an engaging lecturer who simplified complex topics, with students noting that all test questions came directly from lectures rather than the textbook. While some found the exams tricky or the course memorization-heavy, the material was generally considered moderately difficult.

Simon GilroyCarol Lee+1 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
BIOLOGY/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 152

Introductory Biology

5 credits

Introductory Biology covers plant physiology, the five major kingdoms, speciation, evolutionary theory, and ecology across biological scales.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.34 GPA, 54.5% A/AB (n=941 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.38 GPA, 57.9% A/AB (n=991 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.52 GPA, 66.1% A/AB (n=1152 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+1 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
BOTANY 299

Directed Study in Botany

1–3 credits

Directed study in botany that introduces students to research questions and provides guidance and mentorship in a research environment.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2020: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades).

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+13 more

No recorded grade history

BOTANY 499

Intermediate Directed Research

1–3 credits

Intermediate Directed Research in Botany involves exploring research questions through guidance and mentorship in a research environment.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+12 more

No recorded grade history

BOTANY 681

Senior Honors Thesis

3 credits

Senior Honors Thesis course for Botany majors involving individual research to complete an honors thesis, arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+11 more

No recorded grade history

BOTANY 691

Senior Thesis

2–3 credits

Senior thesis course involving individual research for students completing theses as arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+12 more

No recorded grade history

BOTANY 692

Senior Thesis

2–3 credits

Senior thesis course in Botany involving individual research for students completing theses as arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+15 more

No recorded grade history

BOTANY 699

Directed Study

1–4 credits

Directed Study: Explore research questions in botany through guidance and mentorship in a research environment.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2017: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2018: 3.90 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades); Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

Simon GilroyDavid Baum+15 more

No recorded grade history

ZOOLOGY 153

Introductory Biology

3 credits

Introductory Biology covers cell structure, metabolism, genetics, and animal physiology for engineering majors without a lab component.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 2.93 GPA, 29.4% A/AB (n=51 letter grades); Fall 2024: 2.67 GPA, 21.4% A/AB (n=56 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.02 GPA, 33.3% A/AB (n=66 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Simon GilroyCarol Lee+1 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027BIOLOGY/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 151Introductory Biology
Spring 2027BIOLOGY/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 152Introductory Biology
Spring 2027BOTANY 299Directed Study in Botany
Spring 2027BOTANY 499Intermediate Directed Research
Spring 2027BOTANY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027BOTANY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027BOTANY 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027BOTANY 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027BOTANY 699Directed Study
Spring 2027BOTANY 996Research-plant Physiology
Spring 2027ZOOLOGY 153Introductory Biology
Fall 2026BOTANY 299Directed Study in Botany
Fall 2026BOTANY 499Intermediate Directed Research
Fall 2026BOTANY 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026BOTANY 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026BOTANY 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026BOTANY 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026BOTANY 699Directed Study
Fall 2026BOTANY 996Research-plant Physiology

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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