2.9
Quality4.2
Difficulty26%
Would Retake106
Reviews26%
Would Retake
106
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
31
4
14
3
16
2
16
1
29
What Students Say
“One of the most interesting classes I have ever taken”
GCD3485 - 5.0 rating“It was a hard class, but really worthwhile”
GCD3485 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.45 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOL4004
4.7
(13)GCD3485
4.3
(10)BIO4004
4.0
(2)4004CELLBIO
4.0
(2)BIOL2002
4.0
(24)Difficulty by Course
2001
5.0
BIOL2202
5.0
BIO1951
4.7
BIO2002
4.7
BIO4004
4.5
Reviews (106)
One of the best professors I have ever had. He shows real respect and concern for his students. He guaranteed we could sell our clickers to SBS. He also clearly LOVES cell biology, which makes the class much easier. Problem sets and clicker questions help to learn the material. He is disorganized though, so pray you get a great TA.
Professor Matthes is extremely intelligent and a really great person, however, what I needed from his class was to get the foundations of Biology. His teaching methods are obscenely elevated as if he is teaching an upper division course rather than the introductory one he does teach. So, learning the important information was rather challenging!!
A challenging class regardless who teaches it, but Matthes did a great job in covering an overwhelming amount of text in a way that was practical and useful (i.e. think using and applying concepts vs. memorizing pathways). Readily available for questions, or even just scientific discussion, really cares about students and about teaching.
Take him! He has extra credit opportunities and he curves based on third highest score. Does not focus much on memorizing; he wants you to know it and apply it. Go to class => clicker questions on tests. read study guides and make a few notes. You should get an A. Just make sure you do everything!
Excellent professor who will really go the extra mile to ensure his students get the most out of class. I recommend him highly to all CBS students.
Matthes is legit. He really cares about students actually learning the material. He is very enthusiastic and made me want to be a cell biologist.
matthes is a really cool teacher, and he does care about his students. a lot of ppl think hes a bad or hard teacher for bio2002 but that class is hard for anyone if you havent taken ap bio or bio 1009 first. his analogies are out of this world as well
This class is a beast! Matthes is awesome though. You'll like him almost guaranteed! He really does try, and he does think about his students. Same with his partner Prof. Wick. The class is hard and its made to be hard by design. They want you to realize what being a research Biologist is all about.
One of the most interesting classes I have ever taken. Dr. Matthes teaches with a level of freedom that is revitalizing compared to some other courses at the U. Be prepared to set aside entire weekends to work on the projects, but the more work you do early in the semester the easier it gets later on. Extremely friendly and hands on.
Not a terrific lecturer, but he definitely knows what he's talking about. By far the most helpful professor I've ever had, though - GO TO OFFICE HOURS. It made a world of difference and he was always, always willing to help and explained everything patiently and clearly.
Great Professor! Very clear and so very helpful....truly an amazing professor. Highly recommended.
The class itself is a monster, but Professor Matthes is a pretty good lecturer. He presents the material clearly in class and he's very helpful when answering questions... it's just finding him to get him to answer them that's the problem. His portions of the test are beasts. Study your in-class activities and make sure you understand them!
Dr. Matthes is a great professor. He genuinely cares about the success of his students. I would strongly recommend taking cell biology with Dr. Matthes if you want to do well in this course.
Professor Matthes was nothing short of amazing. He seriously is one of the most dedicated teaches I've ever had. Not only did he present the subject matter clearly but he was willing to work directly with you if you sought out his help.
Dr. Matthes is very enthusiastic about Cell Biology. He loves the subject and would really interest you. However, I didn't like the way he teaches this class. He requires reflections, projects, quizzes, question submission, quizzes before and after discussions, etc. It's just too much work for 3 credits.
Prof. Matthes is very dedicated and his passion for biology shows. His sections of the course can often be difficult, but conquering them can feel quite rewarding. He is a very intelligent and enjoyable professor.
Matthes is very intelligent and really knows his Cell Biology stuff. His lectures were not boring at all but they are short. The peer based learning model is hard to get used to and there is A LOT of work involved but I did learn a tremendous amount. Do MCQ's for LRQ's and do problem sets for Unit quizzes. Also, final was all old test material :)
One of the most interesting professors I've had so far. Came into this class thinking I would hate it but ended up being my favorite class. Matthes can be hilarious and is extremely knowledgeable!
The parts of class covered by Matthes were definitely the more difficult concepts to grasp, but they seemed the most interesting as well. It was clear that he was very passionate about the material by his lectures. For foundations, I'd strongly recommend this section
very helpful. his parts of lecture are very interesting but his tests are also hard. but he does reuse his old exam questions so if you know someone who had him be sure to ask for their old test.
Matthes is an amazing person. He is very helpful if you need it, but that is the key. You have to let him know you are struggling. He is great with extensions, too. The midterms are extremely hard, though. As long as you study, you should be fine.
Best professor I have ever had.
one of the most handsome professor I have ever seen. But other than that, he sucks. Extremely hard tests, makes too much assumption that his students understand everything in the textbook, assign too much work for little amount of time. Dont miss a class because you will miss a tone because he goes through everything like a jetski. Stay away !
Dr. Matthes is a genius and is extremely passionate when it comes to teaching and cell biology. He challenges you to the extreme, but he is always more than willing to clarify any confusion. He loves being asked questions and explaining things. His tests are certainly challenging, but they teach you a lot. Study hard, ask questions, you'll do good.
Dr. Matthes is not only passionate about biology, but he teaches it very well. I learned more than I would have ever imagined in his class, and I wish I could take more classes with him. His exams were very hard, and they weren't curved much, but they were also only worth about 20% of our grade total (for all 3 exams).
Its about a month left, so its a good time to rate him and his class. Be forewarned that your grades will be lower than what you can ever imagine (the class average is B-) but you'll learn a lot from him. He doesnt curve the class, but gives you little extra credits. His class is really hard but if you love science, then he's a person to go with.
He's crazy intelligent. He knows so much that he'd be able to answer any question you have but sometimes I think he doesn't understand what it is you are actually asking cuz he'll give you a great answer but its not what you were looking for. Hard tests..but he makes up for it when he see that everyone did poorly he'll give some extra points.
Dr. Matthes is still the best professor I have had at the U, hands down. The cell biology class is taught very similarly to Foundations (LRQs, reflections, big project), but in the end you learn way more that way. Applying knowledge =retaining it. He's always very willing to help you understand things and he's great at not being condescending.
Matthes is probably the smartest guy I have ever met. He is very helpful with questions but does expect a lot from his students. Be willing to work if you take his class but the effort you put in will show because you will be able to pass his class with ease with some effort.
I wanna start off by saying that he gives 9 pts extra credits in a 3000 points class, very hard test and LRQs, very slow in giving project feedback. I used to love Bio, but he made me hate it.
AMAZING Professor. Terribly difficult course, but worth it taking it with Dr. Matthes. Absolutely recommend him. Be prepared to work like crazy--more than you would expect for a class that's only 3 credits. Every question on the final exam was taken from previous quizzes. 2 quizzes each week; reflections each week; participation; projects updates.
There is no feedback, no way to know what kind of grade you are getting. The class structure is confusing which is too bad because this would be a fun class if it were taught like a normal one. Only class I've ever dropped, as the LRQs are basically impossible, and require that you read over 100 pages for each, while still studying the current stuf
I took this class because I had heard great things about Dr. Matthes. However, he did not respond to my emails. He gave little time in class to work on the team project. There were weeks where 4 assignments were due and an LRQ and a unit quiz. Then the next week there was nothing that was due. Feedback wasn't given until the last week of class.
Matthes is really into biology. When he "lectures," he does a really good job explaining everything, although it can be boring. His tests are hard, and you'll have to read everything, do the optional practice, and pay attention to do well. The tests aren't worth nearly as much as projects, so it's hard to fail. This class WILL teach you biology.
Took Foundations 1 with Decker and Matthes - maybe wouldn't recommend Matthes. Matthes is a brilliant guy and knows his stuff. He teaches most of the genetics stuff, which is really confusing and often I and others would zone out during lecture. Often people would just give up on his tests because they were so difficult and no one really did well.
I only took this class because it was the only one that fulfilled a labfieldwork requirement without actually having a lab. It ended up being one of my favorite classes I've taken at the U. Matthes met individually with each student 4 times to discuss our progress and give feedback. It was a hard class, but really worthwhile.
This class shouldn't be nearly as hard as it was. Matthes is incredibly disorganized, and the way he presents his material is boring and very confusing. I am not saying this because I slacked off, I worked way harder in this class than I worked in ochem. In the end, Matthes's tests do not make any sense with most people failing them. Bad teacher.
Dr. Matthes is a very impressive guy, be he likes to tout his own intelligence and educational career a bit too much. Does not like to help students who come to him for help, instead telling you to go ask another student for help or find it in the textbookonline. Turned one of my favorite subjects (biology) into a hassle.
He's pretty confusing when he gives his "lectures". Tests are pretty hard - know specifics. Made one of my favorite subjects such a hassle.
Dr. Matthes is extremely passionate about biology. He has extremely high expectations for his students. His portions of the test are on very specific details from class. Make sure you are familiar with the drawings that you do in class. His take home exams will take several hours (all day) so give yourself time to complete them!
Be prepared to spend A LOT of time on his take home tests. His tests are incredibly difficult. He'll go over topics in class very quickly and expect you to have a complete understanding from that alone. You have to read the textbook beforehand, it's assumed you already have read and understood the text. Make sure to ask for help early!
Harder of the few professors who teach 4004, but in the end glad I took his class. He expects you to read 100 textbook pages every 2 weeks, but after a few weeks nobody was really reading any more. Somehow test scores didn't suffer that dramatically. If you have the time, take Matthes for 4004. If you don't have the time, you'll always feel behind.
David is very kind and the lecture is the best I've ever get. He would talk to students actively, but I have to admit that he has high expectation and strict requirement for students. What he taught is very useful and I learnt a lot on it. Though I suffer so much for the last take home exam since I took 15 hour to finish it.
Yes, his material is tough, the exams are tough too, he pretty much lays out what will be on the exams in class. If you pay attention and do the reading, you will be set to go. Ask questions when you have them because he does a great job explaining.
Show up to class!! It's basically foundations 3 so if you're not into that steer clear, but if you are, this is a really fun class with a good group. Plus Dr. Matthes is an AMAZING lecturer, honestly he made the whole class worth it for me. But understand that the averages are going to be in the 70-80% range, so super challenging class, but fun!
good luck with matthes. his lectures will not contain any of the material in the readings and he will expect you to know how to diagram an arbitrary image that you have never seen before. you will get nothing out of the lectures and they will just leave you more confused and with more questions than you started with. steer clear of him!
i would never take a class with matthes again. Regardless of how much you study, the exams are always terrible. You will never go over required reading in class and there will be completely random images that you have never seen before in your life. Also if you set up a meeting with him, he probably will forget regardless of if you remind him.
Hands down best professor I've had at the U. Have also taken BIOL 2002 and a freshman seminar with him. GCD 3485 is the most unique class I've taken and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Bioinformatics. David Matthes makes an effort to connect with his students, particularly in smaller classes. Friendly, wants to see you succeed.
Matthes is the worst science professor I have ever had. He focuses on mundane details and then expects students to know obscure details that are not even a part of the material. Then the tests are completely arbitrary and will not be doable unless you magically know what is going on in his mind. please do yourself a favor and do not take him
Best professor I have ever had. Truly cares about the learning and teaches very well.
Great professor
His tests were very difficult, his questions require you to have a very deep understanding of the subject. His lecture is interesting. He is very nice, but it seems like he selects certain groups to grade harder than others. Just pray you aren't in that group because this introductory class will become a hell on earth.
Took this freshman year after coming from a TERRIBLE STEM high school with no AP classes, and compared to other kids, I really struggled. Matthes is fair, but he is too brilliant, (I think he'd be a lot better in 3000+ classes), so it's difficult to understand him if you don't already know the material decently. Just study his lectures a ton
Was a great professor and SUPER helpful when I started falling behind. Tests are fair and allows corrections! Just study the quizzes and main points from lecture and you'll get a good grade. READ your textbook and participate in class. Very nice and answers emails quickly and thoroughly.
He seems super nice, but he might be one of the worst professors I've had. His lectures are very boring. His tests have the most irrelevant information, and he expects you to know the tiniest details. If you aren't Matthes you probably won't do well.
A pretty nice guy but too smart to be teaching this class. Goes on lots of tangents and it makes things pretty unclear. Tests don't really resemble anything done during lecture even though he says it will, very very hard to study for. Pretty much have to teach yourself things and the textbook only sort of helps.
Dr. Matthes was super nice, but his exams were tough. make sure you ask questions when material is unclear
Honestly Biol 1951 Is structured really weird but Matthes for some reason think we are all genetics majors and makes his portion of the class difficult. Biology is not the easiest subject but he did little to help students understand the concepts he spoke about. Quite disappointed with how he was as a lecturer.
Initially I thought Dr. Matthes was a good professor, but after talking with him individually I found that was not the case. He makes you well aware that this class is beneath him. He was very harsh and detailed oriented, and it made the class intolerable. He was only nice to the guys, and constantly insulted the girls in my group.
Dr. Matthes is the hardest professor I have had yet. On the weekly quizzes his questions are so specific and not main course related it makes it impossible to get a good grade. He Is very good at making you feel inadequate when you don't know the answer and does little to help you understand. If you can, choose a different professor for foundations
I had no idea what I was getting myself into with Matthes. He is the toughest grader and shames students when they get answers wrong in class instead of encouraging them. He is way too smart and does not explain well. DO NOT TAKE there are so many other better options.
He really likes in class participation, and you will sit in awkward silence until someone answers his question and if they get it wrong he will keep calling on people until someone gets it right. He is a super picky grader. He is looking for specific things on your test and if those things aren't there good luck. I wouldn't take him again.
Really cares about the subject material at hand. An interesting class, not necessarily super difficult but a lot of work. I did learn a lot though I struggled with the amount of work it was at some points.
Matthes' lectures weren't super important to the class, but reading the textbook and doing well on quizzes can ensure you a good grade. Tests can be tricky and are diagram and case study-heavy. Group project for the class was a decent chunk of the grade.
Matthes is one of the worst professors I've ever had. It's clear that he has no interest teaching this class. He has quizzes every Monday on the material that we're learning throughout the week, so he expects you to be comfortable with all of the information before he's even taught us anything.
Matthes made it very clear during his lectures that he was above the knowledge of the course. The material was outrageously advanced and specific for a Foundations 1 course. Monday quizzes you need to know all details of the reading, the exams were nearly impossible to the point where almost no students got passing exam grades.
He is the hardest grader I've ever had. Gave a group project that had A's at every check-in point a C- and his tests were impossible.
Dr Matthes was my favorite prof. The class is a lot of work but he provides great feedback on the 4 problem sets. He is easy to reach outside of class and I like how he will meet with you individually. He wants everyone to succeed and makes learning fun. Fulfilling class-- got to make a wiki page.
This man has made me question my decision to major in genetics. I loved bio until I walked into this class and questioned my ability to even think. I have never been so confused in my whole life and I had already taken bio before. Now, I am filled with sadness and repulsion towards the subject I once loved thanks to this experience in this class.
The structure of his class was horrible and not ideal. It was not enjoyable and I would have rather taken an 8 AM.
I will never take another class with Professor Matthes willingly. BIOL 1951 was very obviously a weed out class. He makes you read the textbook, take the quiz on the material, and then he lectures on the material. You basically have to teach yourself in this class. Coming from a high school with a poor bio program, I was nowhere near prepared.
I have never disliked a class more. I can't express how much I hate this class. Class is very disorganized and lackluster. The amount of content that is covered is horrendous, the exams are awful, and it is very unlikely you will get a grade above passing. I can't express the physical pain I have endured from this class.
Professor sounds condescending whenever he speaks and expects high-level skills from first-year students.
The final group project is worth a huge portion of the grade and seems like something that his high level genetics class should be doing. Absolutely ripped our project apart and then skipped over our group when we asked for help in two consecutive classes. Gives lots of feedback but not much help on revision. Avoid him at all costs! Huge ego.
Foundations1 is a mess. It's a weed out class and Matthes makes it harder. He's a good lecturer and is super friendly, but the structure of this class is absolutely horrendous. The worst part of this class is the GMO project. There is little to no direction and since he is an expert in his field, he'll make you feel dumb if you don't know something
Avoid his Foundations class! The class is not structured what so ever and he gives very confusing instruction that he doesn't even seem to understand, especially during the GMO project. Always behind on grading and lectures don't making much sense and do very little to help learn concepts. Quiz every Monday on a 20 page textbook reading.
I regret choosing my lecture section with Matthes every day of my life. He seems to have no understanding of what first-year college students are meant to know about a subject that he has a PhD in. The final GMO project is absolutely impossible to complete without the kind of in depth knowledge about genetics that only Dr. Matthes himself has.
Just avoid taking his section!! He has no idea how to teach general biology content in a way that first-year students can understand. He gives absolutely no quality feedback whatsoever and doesn't teach you what you need to know to complete assignments at the level he expects. He expects PhD level knowledge for a first-year course. Avoid!!
Material is not difficult for this class, Overall, if you try in this class you wont fail. However, Dr. Matthes is the rudest professor that I have ever seen. No regards to the students he teaches and will not be flexible for anything. Had to miss a large in-class quiz for my cousin's funeral and I was told I was not allowed to make up the points.
Has high expectations for group project and what we'll be able to do on exams. Not necessarily unfair, but definitely high. Didn't seem to work will with his co-instructor, which got in the way of class time & understanding due dates/instructions. Read textbook thoroughly before quizzes & ask questions during GMO project even if it feels scary
Honestly, this professor broke my love for biology. I should have looked at the copious amount of negative reviews of his intro bio class. He is coldhearted, rash, and very polar with his opinion on absences for quizzes. Do not take if there are better options and be prepared for insane amounts of filler lectures and no time on weekends if you do.
One of my least favorite professors I have ever had. I am a bio major and I love biology and by the end of the course with him, I hated it. He is an expert in his field and because of that is very bad at explain things in a way that students will understand. Will definitely avoid him if I can in the future because I did not enjoy his class at all
He's a nice guy, but despite doing the work for the problem sets I would get low scores. No rubric. Nothing. Some people have other responsibilities and cant produce a PhD level problem set that goes above and beyond but that doesn't mean I should get a lower than average score compared to others. Class is ALOT of work for problem sets also.
Dr. Matthes is excruciatingly condescending, especially considering he barely teaches anything in his class. He is constantly angry that people don't know things he didn't teach. He makes extremely difficult exam questions that are designed to trick beginner students. Get ready to teach yourself everything from the textbook. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Lectures consist of watching him plug information into websites & he expects you to figure out why. Makes a great course for mind readers. Hes knowledgable, but on autopilot and you have to remind him that there are 30+ students in the room hes supposed to be teaching. To be fair, the number of students in the room decreased weekly. Disappointed
Matthes assumes that students understand content when he explains concepts and forgets that we are beginners and not grad students. he seems in this department more for the research than to actually teach. he does know the content thoroughly. Don't beat yourself up if you ask a question and he looks at you like you're uneducated and behind.
This class is extremely interesting & Dr. Matthes is definitely passionate. However, it is a TON of work. 10-15 page research papers due every 3 weeks w/ a final paper of ~70 pages due at the end of the semester. We often would not get the info needed for them until the day they were due. Lots of group work & peer reviews, but no exams or quizzes.
He makes his students read the text book and understand the content on their own, and then explains for half an hour before making students take the quiz. His questions are way too difficult (this is coming from someone who memorised the assigned text book readings word by word). The questions are difficult and not clear. Avoid this professor.
This is my second time with Dr. Matthes, he is an absolutely incredible passionate professor, and in my opinion, a great teacher. His classes were a lot of work, but that makes sense. The intro courses he teaches are weed out and the lab I took with him is 4 credits/major specific. The workload is a lot, but feedback comes often with his class work
Dr. Matthes is a nice guy who cares, but this class was so time-intensive and extremely frustrating. If you do the work, you will get an A in the class, but the amount of work required is unbelievable and made me so stressed. I would not recommend this course.
Professor Matthes was not a bad person in fact he was very friendly to me during his office hours. But as a professor, I feel like his lectures were very dragged with a load of information which were not included in the quiz and weekly projects. I also think he was too overqualified for a foundations course, and should be in the upper level course.
Dr. Matthes is very dry and hard to listen to for more than an hour during lecture but he gives good analogies and explanations of the Biochemistry of cells and genuinely cares about students' interest in the course.
Very bad professor, had a quiz first day of semester. Yes you had to study before the semester even began!!!
Professor Matthes' class can be challenging, but tools like Unstuck study can help. The content is dense, and the professor expects a lot. Stay on top of the textbook and be ready to teach yourself. It's doable with effort, but not the easiest A.
I took AP bio in highschool and got a 5 on the test. That covered a majority of the material in this class and I still barely got out with an A. If you have to take this section, you really need a handle on every aspect of every topic. The class had two midterms, averages were 69% and 59%, weekly quizzes, and a group project which was cool.
Had him for BIOL2003H, very nice guy but foundations is just hard. He taught the cell bio portion of the semester. Tests are hard, but not unreasonably so. Attendance isn't mandatory, but stuff from lecture pops up on the exam and are often worth tons of points. Lectures are not recorded. You need to study super hard to even get an A-.
He seems like a nice person, but as a professor I have learned nothing from him. We are required to come into class, having read the entire textbook section, being expected to have learned everything on our own, so when he does lecture I don't learn anything. Also, he will go on super long tangents that are pointless.
every single exam had nothing to do with what we learned. over qualified
Horrible. Genuinely have never had a worse professor. Does not give clear explanations even when explicitly asked. Will call on random students mid lecture to ask a question even if its not something that has been covered. Take any other section if possible. Content is not horrible to learn but he makes it 10x more confusing.
Very unclear wording on test questions, overcomplicating things so that he can have a power trip. So many typos and mistakes for slides, quizzes, and tests. Directions changed multiple times with no warning. Weekly quizzes on Mondays on content we haven't been taught, expected to know just about every detail in the textbook prior to teaching.
The average for our 2nd midterm this semester was a 50%. The other sections were much more reasonable with a >70% average. Pulls up random topics that don't aid in our learning during his lectures. Talks down on students, likes to take power trips. DO NOT TAKE CLASSES WITH MATTHES OR WANG.
He's really passionate about certain things, but that's probably the nicest thing I can say about him. Drowning in readings every week and always playing 'catch up' with work; weekly quizzes on niche topics and material we haven't even covered in class (it's taught after we fail the quiz and he lwky makes fun of us for it??)
This was one of the most enjoyable classes I have taken at the UMN. There are no exams and no readings, just a semester long project. If you show up to class, most of your work will be done in class, but for those who don't come there are videos posted. Matthes is a great professor who actually helps his students. Definitely one of the better prof.
Never take this class if you have the option. The structure doesn't make sense and the material is absurdly hard and complicated. He doesn't take into consideration that he's mainly teaching COLLEGE FRESHMEN. He is nice so I'll give him that but that's about it.
Dr. Matthes is genuinely so kind and caring! He emphasizes how he wants his students to succeed and is very approachable. Class is completely project based w/o exams or quizzes. It's not necessarily difficult, but it is a lot of work as expected for a 4 cr class. He's hard on freshman, but these upper division classes are DEF worth taking with him!
Good lecturer. Explained stuff pretty well and just ask questions if you're confused (many others will have the same question trust). Heavy application based exams so you gotta use your critical thinking skills rather than memorization. Read the textbook, go to office hours, and you'll be fine. Every point matters tho if you want to get an A.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
40%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.45 avg changeRatings by Course
BIOL4004
4.7
(13)GCD3485
4.3
(10)BIO4004
4.0
(2)4004CELLBIO
4.0
(2)BIOL2002
4.0
(24)Difficulty by Course
2001
5.0
BIOL2202
5.0
BIO1951
4.7
BIO2002
4.7
BIO4004
4.5