Ron Grunwald - Duke University, Durham, NC

Professor: Ron Grunwald

Department: Science

College: Duke University, Durham, NC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

If you're a pre-med, Dr. G's physiology class might be one of the most important classes you have at Duke. Dr. G helps bring together everything else you've learned. There is so much material in this class, but Dr. G is super accessible outside of class. It's hard, but study for quizzes carefully and you'll be fine.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

-Dr. G's a very good lecturer. Makes physiology interesting and interactive. -Lot of details, but definitely not just a memorization class. The biweekly quizzes are application heavy. Dr. G's great about meeting outside of class, and will really help you get the concepts down. -Not an easy class. But definitely possible to do well in.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great professor that really enjoys teaching the material. The class is hard and sometimes difficult to understand but amazingly helpful when studying for the MCAT. Highly recommend just for the interesting lectures!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Class is easy conceptually. but the quizzes are not possible to understand because they are so poorly written. Makes getting a good grade impossible even when you understand all the material. DO NOT TAKE 329 WIH HIM

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Great lecture. Assignments and quizzes hard to understand. Unclear wording. Cares a lot though. good guy

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Super nice and cares about all his students. Very interesting material - he takes everything you've learned about living organisms and explains the "why". Really tries to answer everyone's questions or stay after to answer them. No exams, just HW and quizzes. Wording can be confusing but just clarify at office hours and you'll be fine.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO329D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Grunwald is a very underrated professor. He's an excellent lecturer and is very helpful during office hours. Exams were difficult but fair. Take good lecture notes and you will do well in this class. Highly recommended instructor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO151D
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Discussion sessions were very helpful in understanding the exam/lecture material. A wonderful lecturer (his humor transcended the students' interest in physiology). His exams are hard but you'll do fine if you understand the lecture material (they do not test rudimentary memorization, but comprehension) and do the problem sets.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Class itself is very intersting, but not the guest lecture except 1. If you study his problem set and review the lecture front and back, it is doable to get an A without touching the book once. Granted, you have to write well in the lab, which I didn't, and it take way too much time. Take this class if u have time and want to challenge yourself.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

i agree that the book is useless for 151, his lectures and study questions are the most important. going to class is absolutely necessary, and he's kind of a jerk to you if you miss class. office hours are also very helpful; i think he makes his tests the night before and he'll often include topics that were discussed during his office hours

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Very knowledgeable. However, gets sidetracked sometimes. Never really finished a lecture because he'd talk a lot about the material. Focused a lot on the biochem/small detail stuff. Tests were a bit difficult (average around 75) with a mixture of multiple choice and short answer. Do the practice problems! The book is useless.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO25
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Fortunately, Grunwald's an excellent lecturer, as class attendance is pretty important if you're going to succeed in BIO 25. The lab section is pretty grueling.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO25
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Grunwald is extremely approachable - go to office hours if you have questions! Also, be sure to take detailed notes during lecture, because he says a lot of things that are not on the slides. I thought he was a very engaging lecturer, though. Tests will go beyond just facts.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO25
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Grunwald is a great professor, very energetic and lively. But Bio 25 is definitely a hard class. His lectures assume you've either already had AP bio or knew it beforehand. I reiterate the comment below about TA office hrs being helpful. Also read the book because Grunwald & Motten talk too fast to understand it from class. Try hard in lab.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I had him for BIO 25 and 151 and I think he is one of the best lecturers at Duke. Some complain his tests are difficult but I guess that depends on what you are comparing them to. (as a BME I felt the tests were interesting and fair, really tested understanding not memorization) Great professor just pay attention in lecture and you will be fine.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO25
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

BIO 25 IS A VERY VERY HARD CLASS! That being said, you CAN do well, you just have to work your butt off. You need to go to TA Office Hours and ask them all your questions, & skipping Lecture is NOT an option with these guys-they don't put e full ppts online. Dr. G is engaging and a great guy though. TA office hrs are way more helpful than his.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO25L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Grunwald was one of my favorite professors. He is actually good at teaching, engaging, and available outside of class for help. Ask questions! Tests are challenging. They test understanding of material and the ability to manipulate information. Ex: understand processes AND how possible mutations can occur. Studying practice questions helps!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO25L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

interesting lectures, but tended to digress. very accessible via email. also had a brilliant TA. very hard class generally... lots of content, exams demanded tremendous understanding and application, not curved in the end, which was crazy. but bio25 is probably one big weeder.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO25
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is a good professor in that his lectures are good and his test focus on really understanding and applying the material. However, he curves the class rather unfairly.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO151L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Grunwald is TOUGH. His lecture style keeps you engaged, but his tests are absolutely killer. Hardest I've had at Duke. The labs in 151 are actually fun - you are the subjects - but the assignments are NEVER ENDING (lab reports, research papers, etc). I would avoid enrolling in this class unless you have an easy semester otherwise.