Josephine Kurdziel - University of Michigan

Professor: Josephine Kurdziel

Department: Biology

College: University of Michigan

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Kurdziel provides really nice lectures and slides that have all the information needed for exams. She also gives lecture objectives to understand each day that make studying very simple. There is a lot of extra work for the class that seems like busy work but it is all very simple and shouldn't ever take more than a half hour.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She's a great lecturer, but she goes a bit too slow which makes lecture a bit boring. Overall great professor though. She obviously cares about what she's teaching and about the students.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

she organizes the material really weird in her lectures. but she tells you everything you need to know, very straightforward, reasonable, and does her best to make sure the workload isn't overwhelming.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Really really did not enjoy her lecture style, she's really bad at using the technology and hand writes all the slides during lecture which I thought was a really big waste of time. Not only does she hand write all the slides during lecture, but she doesn't use a shorthand. She pretty much writes super redundant paragraphs that you get nothing from

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Overall, Dr. Kurdziel is one of the more captivating lecturers I've had, but she may inadvertently make you feel stupid in office hours for not understanding something. Don't fret - just join a study group or go to GSI office hours. Also, do the reading BEFORE each lecture and use the learning objectives and practice exams to study for exams.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The class was very difficult and she doesn't really explain what will be on the exams. There are four exams, she weighs your lowest score the least. There are two open book quizzes online every week, and pre discussion assignments. The iclicker questions in class don't even compare to the long exam questions.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Really condescending. Her voice is really annoying. Exams are nothing like clicker questions, material learned in lecture or like online launch pad quizzes. Clicker questions boost your mark so much! Even if you go to class, its a struggle to do well.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOL171
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of the worst professors I have ever had. Her lectures are not in depth at all and do not reflect how much you need to study. She is also very rude and makes students feel stupid for asking question (I have heard). She rushes through her slides during the end of class and only really cares about finishing material.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The exams in this class were very hard for me, and Dr. K would only help if I went to her office hours. Make sure she knows you by name and it will help a lot. She can be a little rude and expects you to know a lot more than you do. On the bright side, she is pretty funny and talks about a lot of real-life problems. She won't beat around the bush.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

If you LOVE biology, I think you'll love Dr. Kurdziel. She can be a humblebrag at times, but I always find her lectures really entertaining and informative. But, be aware, this class will be HARD if you don't do the readings. They're assigned for a reason! If you put in the effort and are interested in bio, you can easily get an A in this class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Kurdziel is very knowledgeable in her field and does a really nice job explaining the lecture material. However, the rest of the class is an absolute mess. It is so difficult to determine what is expected of you, and the exams are extremely random and worded awkwardly so you fail. Its a premed weeder class. Take it pass/fail.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The worst professor I have had thus far. Wording on exams purposely made to trick you. Material was not hard at all but the exam wording made it so much harder to do well. She is very passive aggressive and not a good lecturer at all. Attend review sessions for exams, she teaches a LOT better there for some reason than actual class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Unnecessarily hard and a ton of busy work. Should have been an easier class but the exams are made to mess you up. Curriculum was just changed to make the grading HARDER. Annoying lectures and discussions are filled with busy work you have to complete. Do not take with her if you can avoid it.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

She uses so many platforms through which youre expected to turn in your homework. Theres so much to do in this class, so its very easy to fall behind. If you dont really enjoy science but have to take this class, consider pass/fail.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was probably the worst class I've taken at U of M. Myself and 20 other students in my department took this class after our advisor stated that it was an easy pre-req for non STEM majors. Exam1's highest score was a C before she added points. Lectures cover more than you need to know and questions are multiple choice with similar answers.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Other than iClickers this class was very straight forward and easy. Plus it covered interesting material

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures had too much information packed into them and they felt unorganized. Important bits of information were not stressed enough and it was extremely hard to take notes given her teaching speed.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO105
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

She puts way too much information into each lecture, and offers little resources for staying on top of everything. Maybe if I didn't spend so much time cramming I would have learned something.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Goes through lectures writing pre-written material on the slides. I used my friend's coursepack from the semester before and it was the exact same thing written on it. She doesn't really do anything to keep the class engaged then gets mad when you leave early. Exams are very hard and the only way to really study for them is to do practice exams.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO171
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I think everyone else's review is spot on. The material itself is not hard at all, but the exams are definitely made to trick you. It was really conflicting for me because I love biology and I found the material to be interesting, but Jo's exams are designed for you to fail. I studied weeks in advance and never received higher than a B on an exam.