BIOL 3020

Cox taught Evolution, and Brodie taught Ecology. Both were very similar, although I liked Cox better because his slides were more detailed/organized. I found the content both covered to be very interesting and not too challenging. However, the homework and exams (both open note) counted for the entirety of the grade, and were difficult like others in the Biology department. They required more reading comprehension and understanding of the questions/answer than knowledge of the content. Brodie’s tests especially were very unclear and ambiguous. No additional grade boosting opportunities/curve. This made it difficult to get an A, but a B or higher is extremely obtainable.

This has been my favorite bio class so far because the content is SUPER interesting. The first half is taught by Professor Cox and the second half is taught by Professor Brodie. In my opinion, Professor Cox's exams were easier than Professor Brodie's exams. The exams are in-person, closed note, 32 multiple choice questions on a scantron. The only thing that I didn't like about evo/eco was the huge weight of the exams. The four exams are worth 92% and the other 8% comes from 8 weekly homework assignments. I found that the homeworks were actually more difficult than the exams, so they brought my grade down a bit. The final is cumulative and optional, but will replace your lowest midterm if you choose to take it. Overall, evo/eco is a fantastic course that I genuinely learned a lot from. I was always excited to come to lecture because of the incredible real-life examples they use. Both professors are really passionate about the content and want you to succeed. #tCFS24

Robert Cox teaches the first half of the class. The information gets more fascinating during the 2nd/3rd exam but generally is pretty interesting. Exams are moderately difficult but fairly straightforward (unlike Brodie). The homework is honestly my biggest issue with this half of the class because it’s extremely difficult and honestly more of a detriment to your grade than anything. They should have made it so you get a 2nd attempt for half credit or something. Butch Brodie’s half starts out great but completely falls apart with the last exam. The content is nowhere near as interesting as the rest of the class and we needed a whole class day to argue about how ambiguous the questions were and barely any points were given back despite some of the wrong answers making clear logical sense given the question.

The course is fairly interesting, and doesn’t deviate very far from the typical UVA Bio formula, but my experience with the last 1/4 and the final completely soured any enjoyment i had of the rest of the class

Class was pretty interesting! Dr. Cox teaches the first evolution half, then Dr. Brodie teaches ecology. For my semester, 8% of the final grade was homework, the rest is just exams. The homework assignments are 5 questions each and fairly difficult. The correct answer is not clear, so I highly suggest going to office hours to get your homework checked. There were times where I only got one or two correct for silly reasons when I didn't get it checked. The Wednesday night discussion section is for exams, but also used for TA review. They typically go over the previous homework assignment, previous exam questions, or general review problems. The exams are difficult, simply because you have to know really specific details about every topic. The multiple choice questions are so specific, one little word or phrase could make that entire answer choice incorrect. During my semester, one of the TAs provided non-official study guides for us to work through. I highly suggest you work through the entire thing if they are provided for you.

Overall good class; however, I found the class quite boring. If you are not interested in evolution and ecology and don't need the class, I wouldn't recommend it. If you do have to take it, it's not too hard; there are 4 midterms and a final, one of which is dropped, so you technically aren't required to take the final if you are satisfied with your grade. There are 8 homework assignments throughout the year, each worth 1% of your grade. They were easy, but only 5 questions, so one wrong is an 80. There was an extra credit opportunity to get a few points back on the homework. Professor Cox teaches the first half of the semester and Professor Brodie teaches the second. I found them both to be good lectures. Professor Cox's exams were more straightforward to me, and specifically, the second Brodie exam was complicated, and many of the questions were worded weirdly. The final was challenging because it covered al.l the material, but doable, so if you're debating taking it or not to boost your grade, I would recommend taking it. Overall, one of the easier 3000 biology classes.
(not sure if the TAs will keep TAing, but they were great my semester!!)