BSCI442 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Angus Murphy BSCI442 Expecting a B Anonymous 05/23/2023	Avoid this class unless you are a plant science major. BSCI442 is by far the hardest bio course I ever took while in college, and this was the last course I ever took too. It is legitimately tougher to do well in this course than in orgo or biochem. I got my lowest grade in college in this class while putting in sufficient effort. The average on the midterm was a 55%, and the average on the final was a 36%. No joke. the tests were curved (to make the averages like a 60%) but the two exams are worth half the class so even if you get most the points in lab it is still almost impossible to get an A. The class had a 17% A rate despite it saying around 50% (this is probably due to PLSC400, which is for plant majors, being the same course as BSCI442). All in all, do not take this class if you are a non plant science bio major. It will hurt your GPA and your hours of studying will not be reflected by your test grades. The professors (Murphy and Feijo) are nice people and fine teachers, and are approachable, but the content that is expected for students to know is laughable and a smack in the face.
Angus Murphy BSCI442 Expecting a C+ UMDhead 05/15/2023	This class was the worst class of my undergrad. I have never had a class with such unclear expectations and unfair exams. The final was a complete mess, nothing that we learned in class was on it. The professors split the class and had completely different expectations so all of the assignments were graded completely differently between the two. I have never felt so let down by a class.
Jose Feijo BSCI442 Expecting an A- Anonymous 03/31/2022	I had Dr. Feijo for a BSCI442 lecture section and really enjoyed them. He really puts energy and clear passion into his discussions, I would highly recommend him. Plus grading is fair and well communicated so as long as you put in some work, you can succeed in one of his sections.
Wendy Peer BSCI442 Expecting a P Anonymous 05/12/2021	Dr. Peer is a nice lady, but to be honest she is a thoughtless and out of touch instructor. Her lectures went so fast and had so many details, it was impossible to know what we needed to know and what she was just telling us for the sake of telling us. I am sympathetic to the fact that it is difficult to teach during an online semester, but she made it seem like an absolute chore to do basic things such as post lecture slides, record lectures, post announcements to the entire class, and provide info about exam format. She was not sympathetic to the fact that some students are unable to attend synchronous classes sometimes (because we're in a pandemic and some of us have to work to keep paying these bills) and honestly just didn't seem to understand that students are struggling more than we would if the class was in person. She made such a deal about not telling us what the final exam was going to be like and didn't provide any sample problems whatsoever. Our only midterm was written by a different professor and there were no other assignments that gave insight into her question style, so we went into the final completely blind. When the class approached her about feeling unprepared and anxious about going into the final like that, she basically gaslighted us and was so passive aggressive for no good reason. I know this sounds like one of those super dramatic reviews but I have genuinely never had a professor roll her eyes at someone asking a genuine question before and I was shocked. The class was overall an absolute mess but then again this was an online semester and the grades seem 10x better when she was in-person so theres that.
Jianhua Zhu BSCI442 Expecting a B+ Sal_man 01/20/2015	Best professor I have ever had. Exams were very easy, and he is a very friendly person. I failed the first exam that I did not study for at all, but got an A on the second exam. Labs were fair but were boring at times. Fortunately we had Candace Pritchard as our TA and she helped out everyone. Lectures were boring, but I would take this class again since it wasn't difficult.
Heven Sze BSCI442 Expecting a C Kat Marie Wong 12/24/2011	She is alright. Her exams CAN be engaging if you put in your part. This means print out the lectures before hand (she mostly does a good job at getting them up the night before, or at the very least, a few hours before lecture). Ask questions, no matter how stupid they sound. The key is to build a positive learning relationship. It only helps you. Her exams are, to be brief, a disaster. I couldn't comprehend a lot of the format but if you can dissect the question underneath, it's pretty simple and straightforward. She encourages you to integrate knowledge between concepts, instead of just memorizing. This is great for some people, and horrendous for others. Go to her review sessions; again, helpful if you ask questions. She's a nice woman, and truly loves this class. Labs are an integral part of this course, and were sometimes fun. The weekly lab reports were a pain in the ass though. Hope you get Dan for a TA. He's pretty strict on grading, but he's consistent and fair. It only takes a lab or two to figure out what he wants. He can be nice, too!
Heven Sze BSCI442 Anonymous 10/17/2011	WORST PROFESSOR EVER! her lectures not understandable,her power-points are useless, and her exams are confusing!!!

Angus Murphy
BSCI442

Expecting a B
Anonymous
05/23/2023

Avoid this class unless you are a plant science major. BSCI442 is by far the hardest bio course I ever took while in college, and this was the last course I ever took too. It is legitimately tougher to do well in this course than in orgo or biochem. I got my lowest grade in college in this class while putting in sufficient effort. The average on the midterm was a 55%, and the average on the final was a 36%. No joke. the tests were curved (to make the averages like a 60%) but the two exams are worth half the class so even if you get most the points in lab it is still almost impossible to get an A. The class had a 17% A rate despite it saying around 50% (this is probably due to PLSC400, which is for plant majors, being the same course as BSCI442). All in all, do not take this class if you are a non plant science bio major. It will hurt your GPA and your hours of studying will not be reflected by your test grades. The professors (Murphy and Feijo) are nice people and fine teachers, and are approachable, but the content that is expected for students to know is laughable and a smack in the face.

Angus Murphy
BSCI442

Expecting a C+
UMDhead
05/15/2023

This class was the worst class of my undergrad. I have never had a class with such unclear expectations and unfair exams. The final was a complete mess, nothing that we learned in class was on it. The professors split the class and had completely different expectations so all of the assignments were graded completely differently between the two. I have never felt so let down by a class.

Jose Feijo
BSCI442

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
03/31/2022

I had Dr. Feijo for a BSCI442 lecture section and really enjoyed them. He really puts energy and clear passion into his discussions, I would highly recommend him. Plus grading is fair and well communicated so as long as you put in some work, you can succeed in one of his sections.

Wendy Peer
BSCI442

Expecting a P
Anonymous
05/12/2021

Dr. Peer is a nice lady, but to be honest she is a thoughtless and out of touch instructor. Her lectures went so fast and had so many details, it was impossible to know what we needed to know and what she was just telling us for the sake of telling us. I am sympathetic to the fact that it is difficult to teach during an online semester, but she made it seem like an absolute chore to do basic things such as post lecture slides, record lectures, post announcements to the entire class, and provide info about exam format. She was not sympathetic to the fact that some students are unable to attend synchronous classes sometimes (because we're in a pandemic and some of us have to work to keep paying these bills) and honestly just didn't seem to understand that students are struggling more than we would if the class was in person. She made such a deal about not telling us what the final exam was going to be like and didn't provide any sample problems whatsoever. Our only midterm was written by a different professor and there were no other assignments that gave insight into her question style, so we went into the final completely blind. When the class approached her about feeling unprepared and anxious about going into the final like that, she basically gaslighted us and was so passive aggressive for no good reason. I know this sounds like one of those super dramatic reviews but I have genuinely never had a professor roll her eyes at someone asking a genuine question before and I was shocked. The class was overall an absolute mess but then again this was an online semester and the grades seem 10x better when she was in-person so theres that.

Jianhua Zhu
BSCI442

Expecting a B+
Sal_man
01/20/2015

Best professor I have ever had. Exams were very easy, and he is a very friendly person. I failed the first exam that I did not study for at all, but got an A on the second exam. Labs were fair but were boring at times. Fortunately we had Candace Pritchard as our TA and she helped out everyone. Lectures were boring, but I would take this class again since it wasn't difficult.

Heven Sze
BSCI442

Expecting a C
Kat Marie Wong
12/24/2011

She is alright. Her exams CAN be engaging if you put in your part. This means print out the lectures before hand (she *mostly* does a good job at getting them up the night before, or at the very least, a few hours before lecture). Ask questions, no matter how stupid they sound. The key is to build a positive learning relationship. It only helps you. Her exams are, to be brief, a disaster. I couldn't comprehend a lot of the format but if you can dissect the question underneath, it's pretty simple and straightforward. She encourages you to integrate knowledge between concepts, instead of just memorizing. This is great for some people, and horrendous for others. Go to her review sessions; again, helpful if you ask questions. She's a nice woman, and truly loves this class. Labs are an integral part of this course, and were sometimes fun. The weekly lab reports were a pain in the ass though. Hope you get Dan for a TA. He's pretty strict on grading, but he's consistent and fair. It only takes a lab or two to figure out what he wants. He can be nice, too!

Heven Sze
BSCI442

Anonymous
10/17/2011

WORST PROFESSOR EVER! her lectures not understandable,her power-points are useless, and her exams are confusing!!!

Reviews for BSCI442