Matthew Fitzgerald

BIO20 · BIO4A · BIOL4A · BIO4 · BIOL004A · BIO021 · BIO4B · MICRO70 · BIOLOGY · 44 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 48/100
RMP rating: 3.1/5
Take again: 63.64%
Difficulty: 3.8

The decision

if you already handle hard STEM work well and plan to read, attend, and study constantly; otherwise consider another instructor.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerLecture and test heavyTough graderContent dense BIOPolarizing personalityStudy-guide dependent

Experienced, knowledgeable bio instructor with study hours.
, and dense lectures.
Recent reviews are sharply split, with strong praise for physiology and harsh complaints about BIO4A teaching and tone.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

38/100

As are possible with serious study and curves in some terms, but and .

Online and in-person both stress hard work; a few older .

Is the course easy?

Challenging

28/100

Content-dense biology with heavy lectures, labs, and memorization that many call overcomplicated and time-intensive.

Both formats describe heavy content; and major projects.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

42/100

Some terms make lectures optional and ; and warn not to skip.

Online often lists attendance not mandatory; in .

Is this professor recommended?

Depends

52/100

About half the while many urge others to switch professors.

Recent in-person BIO4A skews negative; several online and physiology reviews are more positive.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Strict

28/100

scoring, and occasional curves that only partially soften the hit.

Format shift

Online students echo hard short-answer grading; and curves.

Workload

Heavy

25/100

Multiple midterms, lab quizzes, practicals, online quizzes, projects, and .

Format shift

Online COVID sections still report many quizzes and projects; in person adds long labs and dense lecture packs.

Teaching experience

Average

48/100

Deep subject knowledge and , but frequent complaints about boring, confusing, or unkind delivery.

Format shift

In-person polarity is strongest; online reviews .

Assessment method

FocusOnExams

78/100

Lecture exams, lab exams/practicals, and .

Format shift

Both formats are exam-heavy; and .

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

39 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

In-person BIO and micro reviews span decades: admirers praise knowledge, study guides, and curves; critics call lectures boring, overcomplicated, and unkind.

Main concern

Dense lecture/test load plus reports of temper, mocking questions, and .

What students said

“Honestly in 2 years I never had such a bad professor.”
BIO4A

“Dr. Fitz is a wonderful professor.”
BIO021

“His lectures are long and he tends to ramble, his exams are all fill in the blank.”
BIO4

“Mocks students in class for asking questions.”
BIO4A

Remote format

Online

6 reviews

Medium confidence · Best fit for Effort For Reward

Online BIO4A students report , and flexible timing during COVID, with and email help.

Main concern

Short-answer and fill-in exams and .

What students said

“ blank and grades super hard.”
BIO4A

“ but straightforward to the taught materials.”
BIOL4A

“he records his lectures and posts them so you can re-watch to study and on the exam!)”
BIO4A

“The while the .”
BIOL004A

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams are central and often fill-in or practical-style with , though some online terms allowed notes.

Fill-in-the-blank examsLab practicalsTest heavySome open-note lecture exams online

Assessment risk

Strict

32/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

quizzes, midterms, and brutal test difficulty.

Fill-in-the-blankLab practicalsMidtermsPop quizzes

“ .”
BIO4

“4 midterms, 5-6 lab quizzes, 5-6 online quizzes, 5 practicals.”
BIO4B

“ !!!”
BIO4B

Online

Online reviews describe long fill-in or , and occasional open-note lecture exams.

Short answer / fill-inLab examsWeekly quizzesSome open notes

“ blank and grades super hard.”
BIO4A

“he let us use on the exam!”
BIO4A

“ but straightforward to the taught materials.”
BIOL4A

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“If you put in the work, you will pass this course.”
Voice snapshots generated from 45 reviews spanning online and in-person biology sections, balancing praise and sharp criticism. Credibility rating: High.

📚 Content Density

28/100

“Information heavy lectures, but all necessary.”

🧪

32/100

“ !!!”

⚖️ Polar Teaching

48/100

“Dr. Fitz is a wonderful professor.”

⚠️

28/100

“grades super hard.”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

lecture are boring and he is making simple things too complicated.
He's nice as long as you're respectful.
lectures are highly informative.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

He overcomplicates the work.
As long as you don't fall behind by staying on top of lecture, easy A.
Many got bad grades because they didnt work.

Theme 3

😤 About Classroom Climate

Was rude to students
Mocks students in class for asking questions
He gets annoyed easily.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

86/100

Evidence confidence

Forty-five reviews over many years with , and personality polarity support a stable mixed picture.

Inside 45 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 514

4 out of 59

3 out of 56

2 out of 56

1 out of 510

Course coverage

BIO4A15 reviews

MICRO7010 reviews

BIO0214 reviews

BIO203 reviews

BIO43 reviews

Show 4 more courses

BIO4B3 reviews

BIOLOGY3 reviews

BIOL004A2 reviews

BIOL4A2 reviews

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

19 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 2 · A 9

B range

B+ 1 · B 4

C range

C 2

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Not sure yet 1

Matthew Fitzgerald

x x x if you already handle hard STEM work well and plan to read, attend, and study constantly; otherwise consider another instructor.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

HardWork

Challenging

Varies

Depends

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

📚 Content Density

🧪 x x

⚖️ Polar Teaching

⚠️ x x

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty and Grades

😤 About Classroom Climate

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

if you already handle hard STEM work well and plan to read, attend, and study constantly; otherwise consider another instructor.

🧪

⚠️