3.0
Quality3.4
Difficulty100%
Would Retake141
Reviews100%
Would Retake
141
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
43
4
17
3
16
2
50
1
15
What Students Say
“Pretty lively and passionate guy”
MCB140 - 5.0 rating“He's Sarcastic, Bitter, has his 12 old daughter teach a class on the Jonas Brothers, lies about his office hours, loves politics, cancels review sessions, refers all difficult biochem questions to the GSIs, NEVER responds to emails, has little to NO knowledge of biochem, very arrogant, mocks students who care about grades, that about sums it up”
MCB102 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
88%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.10 avg changeRatings by Course
MCB41
5.0
(2)MCBC44
5.0
(1)MCB120
5.0
(3)BIO1A
4.3
(3)MCB140
4.1
(41)Difficulty by Course
MCB104
4.0
MCB102
3.5
MCB140
3.3
MCBC44
3.0
MCB120
3.0
Reviews (141)
he's very passionate about what he's teaching. He teaches students how to think, not memorize. One of my best experiences with upper div mcb classes.
Passionate, nice, helpful, and entertaining, but not very clear. I really had no idea what to study for his exam. I wish he's spend more time talking about genetics and less time ranting about politics.
I never sat in a lecture and got chills due to what a prof was saying until I sat in Dr Urnovs class. His passion spills into the audience. Be thankful for his rantings, it gives you a momentary break
Urnov - a true scientist and a teacher. His passion will live in me.
Maybe you got chills because they're allowing Urnov to (ab)use the class as his pulpit. He speaks very emphatically about his opinions as if they're some higher truth, but he's frequently WRONG. Many students love him, but they don't know any better. Don't believe him. His tests are completely subjective, and you won't learn anything useful.
What a clown.
Have no idea what he talked about, I have to read the note and go online to get more information...treat students like idiots
Funny guy, but his lectures and midterms are not so funny. Egocentric, evil prof who says, "This midterm will be fun...(pause) for me" (add a little snicker). Just a classical Disney villain.
he has a bold style of teaching but its a reflection of how passionate he is about his class and the topics. Hes a scientist who works in biotech and just teaches because he wants to - and he focuses on topics of cultural importance. I think he's entertaining and the class prepared me to better debate anti evolution and anti stem cell people.
Interesting lecturer. Tests are very difficult IMO, studying the notes won't get you anywhere, you need to go to lecture and go to office hours. Asks you very concept-related questions, and sometimes its hard to see what he wants. I'm praying I don't get a not pass in this class right now even though I haven't made a B at Berkeley yet.
Really fun and interesting guy, but he tends to talk a bit too fast. Only take him if you are a GGD major (not a class to take just for fun). He teaches method and not memorization. People who are used to memorizing will definitely not like his midterms. Best way to study: Go over each experiment and figure out the reason behind each step.
He has great speaking skills that capture your attention. It's so awesome that he is so interesting to listen to. He has a rare talent of speaking well.
Incredible, powerful speaker. Contrary to what some think, his framing of science as having political relevance is important and accurate when one takes into account the totality of the information out there, and he intends for us to be well-informed so we handle them competently. His segment is engaging, and puts polish on what was a dull class.
Very intelligent and interesting. He is the only MCB professor I've had here, who is able to keep the entire class at the edge of their seats. BUT - watch out for his midterms - they are killer and unfair at times.
By far the best MCB prof I've had at Berkeley. Emphasizes understanding experiments over memorization. His class is what an upper div MCB course should be: challenging and intellectually interesting. His passion for science is inspiring. A truly great educator.
Urnov is one of a kind. He highly values education and wants his students to do well. He sometimes gets hyper and animated about his job, and admits to it. The best part of the class was when he was talking about the Hardy Weinberg equation in a British accent. He's somewhat hard, but you'll learn a ton from him.
One of the most stimulating lecturers in the MCB department.
he is really intimidating and likes to yell a LOT, but not because he's mean (just because he gets really excited). but it's still kind of scary. he's very knowledgeable and well-rounded. seems to care a great deal that we understand experimental genetics and don't just memorize stuff. very engaging, made me want to go to class! minus the yelling..
He is a **** to the students but by far the most enigmatic professor ive seen, i went to almost all the lectures because of the high entertainment value, he's smart and knows it and is cocky about it which is annoying but amusing to watch. his tests test whit over knowledge and can be unfair. awesome professor though
Makes the topic inriguing and teaches you how to think! One of the best classes I've taken!
he's the reason i changed from biochem to genetics. great prof. his tests are hard but they test understanding which is what i can do.
The class is difficult and you will have to put in a lot of time. But the class is also AMAZINGLY interesting and Urnov is very passionate about the material. Overall, one of the best courses/professors I've had at Cal.
Prof. Urnov understands how to reach students; the lectures are inspired and he uses real world examples. He is tough, but come on, you can handle it - you're at Berkeley, right?
super!
Urnov is awesome. The people who say otherwise should have gone to lecture. Urnov is passionate, dedicated, and actually very nice when you talk to him in person. His desire to spread knowledge and provocative methods of doing so only enhance your education. He is one of the few profs that I've learned from rather than memorized useless facts for.
If all you care about is learning the material and getting an A, you might not like Urnov. But if you really want to be interested and inspired, you won't regret taking this class. You can tell that he actually cares if students learn the material, unlike some professors (no, I'm not talking about Garriga or Brem).
He is inspiring and definitely wants students to learn, yet sometimes he, probably unintentionally, insults students.His tests are tough, but doable.Just do as many practice tests as possible,go to office hours,and you'll do fine.The other 2 professors (Garriga and Brem) are great too, with Brem being the easiest! Overall, thanks to Pr. Urnov!
He's arrogant and it gets in the way of his teaching. But if you can overlook that, he's hilarious during lectures. While his materials are not hard, the way he test you is malicious. He purposely tries to trick you so that you gotta think hard, which is not a problem except that they can be stingy and picky about acceptable answer to vague Q's
I do not attend Berkeley or any University. However, I listen to podcasts and download lectures to listen to at my lab job. Fyodor enunciates with such clarity that I do not miss a word as I listen on my ipod. His lectures are interesting and inspiring. He is never a mumbler, and his speech is not peppered with a thousand or more "ehm"s, "uuhhs"
The best teacher I ever had, and yet the worst. I was inspired, captivated, and drawn in by his lectures. Made me want to attend. That doesn't happen often in the mcb department. But I also never did so bad on a midterm either. So, mixed feelings.
Although professor Urnov can present material well he will make annoying pop culture references frequently during lecture. He is extremely picky and misleading/unfair in his grading of midterms.
I started out the semester disliking Urnov because of his arrogance and bias rants on mainstream pop culture. I just think it's inappropriate for the classroom. Despite that he's a great lecturer, funny, excessively confident in a way that actually inspires you. His exam isn't as difficult as he makes it seem. He's fair.
He was a capable lecturer. I did not enjoy his midterm nor did many others. But to be fair, I did learn and actually enjoyed lecture, so I suppose it was worth it.
Great Lecturer. Very personable. However, does not have a firm background or knowledge in the field. He is a geneticist and definitely not a biochemist. If you want to learn the material, take it during the regular year with Professors who know the field inside out. Talks about the basics and when it gets tough, refers you entirely to the book.
This guy is so useless. He spends 1 hr lecturing on unrelated topics. The last .5 hr he lectures on general topics. He tells us to read the details in the textbook??? I feel like we can read about general ideas on our own--the prof should be there to clarify and go into details. Instead, this guy basically tells us to do everything on our own
This prof needs to get off his high horse. He spends way too much time in lecture preaching to his students and has an arrogant attitude. Also, we have less than two weeks of school left, and I think he has only had 2 office hours so far. What kind of professor is that uninvolved??
Terrible with a capital T! Not a biochemist at all. Likes to use big words when nobody cares.
Not a very clear lecturer...information is all over the place. I was actually looking forward to the class because I heard good things about him but I'm very disappointed...
Totally killed biochem for me...his "teachable moments" aren't teaching me anything......
This guy hardly ever responds to emails. He will always ask questions of the class but only address 10 students out of 300. "Do you understand the question: Maya, Ian #1, Ian #2, Mike, Demetry, Keira, Heather?" He will ask these students every day if they understand him. As if 7 students who are put on the spot can speak for 300. So annoying!!!
HAHA! I totally agree with the person below me..
Worst summer class ever. Makes a syllabus and than gets 2 weeks behind. He than makes another syllabus to reflect how much he is behind and even than gets 2 weeks behind! The class is only 8 weeks wtf. Very inspirational. Inspired me NOT to go into biochemistry. Nice professor, but needs to stick with genetics and never teach this class again.
I'm studying for the final right now and am hella confused because he is all over the place and assigns so many articles and 90% of the stuff he says is gonna be on the tests never shows up! Sorry Urnov for not growing up in the Soviet Union and taking calculus in 7th grade and for being a dumb Californian. Freedom on Thursday will feel SO nice!
Urnov knows genetics. But, for the first 2/3 of the class he would often say, "Look in your book for more details, I don't have time for this now." Now that we are covering genetics, he hardly says this. What does that mean? Answer: the first 2/3 of the class had info that Urnov didn't know well. Would highly recommend Urnov take 102.
Inconsistent! Says he is a tough man from Russia who was in the military, but when students cry about the final being worth less he rolls over like a puppy. LAME! How do you make 5 real lectures worth 40% of my grade?!?!
I spoke to at least 25 other students: not only is Urnov horrible at teaching this subject, so are his GSIs. With the exception of Jason, who is already a PhD, all the other GSIs know even less than Urnov, which is unbelievable. He tells us that the final is not comprehensive a few days before the exam. In the words of Urnov, "Thanks for nothing."
Agree with the prior comment. I thought his class was easy, but that is b/c I'm a chem major and knew chem cold. But for sure, Jason knew the material really well. He even told the class how he was disappointed with Urnov's teaching method, and that Urnov really didn't know enzyme kinetics, and thats why he never covered it in class. True that!
Only things I learned in this class are that I love brownie bites and I hate biochem.
Urnov's ego is soooo big that I can't even see the projector screen sometimes. He skipped over so many vital biochemical concepts that I feel really unprepared for classes that might need biochem later. More than half of the material I basically had to teach myself because he just told us to "read the book"...
This was the worst summer class I've ever taken. I was looking forward to the class b/c he got good ratings for genetics, but this class did NOT meet my expectations. Lectures are all over the place and he is terrible at pacing the content. It doesn't matter when he makes a new syllabus b/c he always gets behind! Urnov needs to stick to genetics.
This instructor not only teaches poorly, but also goes against University rules. He did not offer office hours for 75% of the class: against UC Berkeley rules. He did not provide a clear syllabus with grading/point breakdown: against UCB rules. He had fellow Undergraduates grade the class without telling us: ask the GSIs for this: against UCB rules
Well, I see that everyone's ratings are bad, but really I think Urnov wasn't THAT terrible. What I hated though was whatever he deems important, he tell you "and that will be on the midterm/final" it gets annoying because he says it about 10 times in every lecture; come on isn't it easier to say since the beginning that everything it's fair game?
Didn't learn the Urea cycle and Photosynthesis and rushed though the ETC, Krebs cycle a lot of other cycles really quickly while spending hella lecture time telling the class that America is fat......uhm duh like I don't know?! Teach me material I don't know like maybe uhhh BIOCHEM!
Bad professor, rushed through material, came up with three different syllabi and manage to abide by none of them. His references to and criticism of pop culture may be funny at first but become annoying over time. Aside from skipping over crucial biochem topics, he covered genetics on 2 lectures!
The professor takes into consideration the response by other students. However, one problem with the course is that he uses terrible graders which are the basis for your grade. One example is that in the course, several students answered a certain question more thorough than the response and were docked for correct answers. Talk about justice.
Maybe a nice curve since he was probably the worst biochem professor ever, but guess not. Did well on the midterms and final and got a lower grade than expected. He keeps sending bspace messages. Does he really think we are gonna read that? Thinks we are going do biochem research and this is useful, but why would I when I didn't learn anything!
Not a terrible professor, but has a lot of pot holes in teaching us material. Most times I feel as if he tells us to read something when he does not understand them himself. He also lectured about about the process of RTK's and forgot one of the most important steps himself! As with other posters- curves to his needs and condescending.
very poor teacher. exams weren't too difficult, but they were graded harshly and inconsistently. you'd think there would be a generous curve to make up for it, but nope.
Not bad...I thought he was a pretty inspiring teacher and he did get me to like the material. Although a lot of his lectures weren't too bichem heavy and I'll have to relearn a lot of the concepts on my own time I still give him props for not making the class boring. Me in class=much amused.
Here is a tip for Mr. Urnov. If you are pressed for time, don't have your 12 year old daughter guest lecture a UC Berkeley Class on The Jonas Brothers. Awwww...How Cute.. Not!!! Don't spend 30 minutes each day on how to research science and claim that is teaching us how to fish for life. Don't go off on tangents with the guise "they wake us up."
If he teaches mcb 104 the way he taught 102, I am praying to my lucky stars that I won't get him.
This instructor is funny. He asks the class what the molecule's name was for Acetate and ends up shouting at the class that they should know "this is acetic acid." He then goes off on a diatribe on how none of us know Organic chemistry. The next day, instead of apologizing for being wrong he says, "I hope you guys still remember acetate." Wow!
Not punctual, disorganized, no office hours, was way behind, brings in his daughter for a guest lecture on the "Jonas Brothers" when we were wayyy behind. Asks questions that not even the GSIs think make sense.....overall, very very terrible.
Had undergrads grade our exams. These "readers," were confused as they gave the majority of students low scores b/c their phrasing of the answer was not identical to the key. A Grad student could tell the difference. DID NOT cover enzyme kinetics. DID NOT cover Handerson-Hasselback. DID NOT cover anything technical. Covered Jonas Brothers though.
remember that episode of Simpsons where Marge was thinking of being a Piano Teacher: "As long as I am one lesson ahead of my student, I can teach piano." This was the Urnov way of teaching too. If you asked him a question which was 2 lessons ahead, he would refer you to the book. At times, he wasn't even ahead of the students. Doh!
Professor Urnov was great! Brought life to the subject matter and made the class really entertaining. A little dramatic at times, but emphasized the application of biochemistry to the real world. Challenged and got to know his students in a huge lecture, obviously passionate about his job. Came away from the class inspired.
He makes sure we truly get a understanding of the biochem concepts and its use in real life. I really LOVE biochem since taking this class. It was fun and the tests were fair. I like that although we didnt go over all the material required, the material covered was explored in depth!
I don't know why people thought this class was hard....one of the easier upper division classes, in my opinion. Urnov is very entertaining. He sometimes goes on tangents though, so you will not be learning everything on the syllabus. Who cares though? I think instilling a passion for the subject is far more important.
Let me start by saying I never liked biochemistry. However, professor Urnov was able to get my lazy ass to wake up for this 8:30AM summer class every day. I appreciated his passion for what he teaches and tremendous effort to connect class concepts to real life examples, and in turn, was able to enjoy and get much out of the class.
Not only does he not teach biochem, but is rather pathetic in sending out a message so students that thought he was fun would save him (hence 3 smiley faces on 10/6). Get over it Urnov and move on instead of beating this dead horse. I took 102 to learn biochem, If all I wanted was fun and uplifting uselessness than I would take cocaine instead.
I'll start off by saying that I only signed up for MCB 104 after taking MCB 102 with Urnov. This has easily been my favorite professor at Berkeley thus far. This past summer was his first time teaching MCB 102, and I think he did a great job. The only real flaws with the class were the readers... I'm pretty sure they didn't know all that much.
Had this class over the summer and found it to be very enlightening. Being that it was Prof. Urnov's first time teaching biochemistry, it's understandable how he was thrown a bit off track in terms of scheduling/syllabus. However, he stressed the basics and the importance of reading the text. Exams were very fair though the graders were too strict.
"I was stunned by how many negative reviews there were of the class on rate my professor dot com"-Urnov. ..Really? Thanks, for telling us the US is behind&how we should know things not just for exams. But the majority of comments are about your inability to teach effectively. Think about that before being so "stunned" that you send out a mass emai
Urnov is clearly an intelligent professor who knows how to teach. I loved how he used real life examples (even the Biochemistry Manga) to solidify principles and pathways he was discussing. His lectures are unorganized, but they make sense when you study them by concepts. His charisma and interactive teaching kept me awake in class all summer.
Its interesting how all the positive comments out of 50 are coming out in one day. Wonder if someone was put up to it??? To be fair Urnov was a good public speaker. Unfortunately he wasn't a good biochemist. His background in what he claims to love, organic chemistry, was hideous. He didn't know the difference between an acid and its conjugate base
I agree with the statement below. The reality is that his knowledge of biochemistry is low.
Come on Folks! You claim that this "teacher" taught "in-depth" biochemistry. Really? Look at the black-lightning notes, "I will cover this next time." There never was a next time. Every time someone asked a real legitimate biochem ?, urnov would say, we'll cover that tomorrow. Tomorrow never came. He could talk loud and proud but with no substance.
He was hands down the best Biology Professor I have had at Berkeley.He taught the tb material in a way that is applicable to real world concepts. He made me look forward to lectures. Go to his office hours!I'm sad I missed some. Read the tb. Understand concepts. Our test was open book but the hard questions were conceptual.So the tb wouldn't help.
Go to office hours (from the previous comment)??? He didn't have office hours for 75% of the course. He only had 2 office hours for the entire semester. As far as being open book, this was the policy for all MCB 102 courses taught during the Summer. Best bio instructor? You must have never had a "real" bio profess before from Cal, world class.
I LOVED Urnov. Though I never made it to office hours (which I regret), I can tell he is one of the most caring & passionate professors. He brought the material to life & gave it context through real-life examples + medical relevance. Ppl here are just bitter bc they didn't do well. If you don't understand something, READ THE FREAKING BOOK. -_-'
This was NOT a good intro biochem class. I wish we spent more time talking about the classical biochem rather than random topics that are sort of related to the material. The exams were worded in a very confusing way. I don't think the readers are to be blamed though. I mean, they can't give 100% just because the questions are confusing right?
Inspirational, clear, and fun. Take his class, you'll love it.
I completely disagree with the previous comment. Professor Urnov is such a liar. He tricked us on the exam. Things that he said was going to be on the midterm didn't appear. His questions were poorly written and weren't clear on what it was being asked. We couldn't even ask questions. What kind of philosophy is that????? Stay away from him!!!
Lets look at the facts, b/c facts can't be debated. Fact 1: he canceled the first review session. Fact 2: he promised office hours after the first week, of which he skipped for the next 5 weeks. Fact 3: he promised that items would be on the exam, and NONE of these items were. Fact 4: his syllabus was 1 month behind. MT 1 mean: 68%. He said "good."
By far the worst prof Ive had at Cal. It was obvious he didnt know biochem..I guess it would have been ok if he had just told us that upfront. But his arrogant I-know-everything-attitude made it so much worse. Also, Urnov--please stop spamming ppl with emails about biochem. Unfortunately, youve already killed any interest I had in it.
Very disorganized. If you are VERY behind on the syllabus than you shouldn't be having your daughter talk about the Jonas brothers. Not terrible, but there are other much better biochem professors.
You know the prof is horrible when every one of his GSIs has nothing but negative things to say. I have asked 3 of the 5 GSIs about what Urnov is doing teaching this class. 1 said they have no clue. The other changed the topic. the third kept quiet (equivalent to "no comment.") His head GSI Jason knew more about biochem than Urnov. Horrible!!!!
NO. You know the professor is horrible when he doesn't know the material he is teaching. This is a classic case of Berkeley not having their original instructor and swapping them for a replacement the last minute. Bowman who taught last Summer knew her stuff inside out. This guy taught 30-45 minutes EACH DAY on how to research science articles.
To the previous comment: You didn't just learn about Nick Jonas. You learned about much more. You knew how to research science articles in lieu of biochemistry. You knew about how fat this country was, in lieu of biochemistry. You knew how in Russia students know much more than students at Cal, even though a Russian teaches now at Cal. Hypocrite?
I'm currently taking a class that needs a strong understanding of biochem. I don't know about the ETC, urea cycle, pentose phosphate.. but I do know about the Jonas brothers. He mass emailed everyone about the reviews here after the class was over. Out of the 2 reviews he chose to comment on he ignores the ones about his teaching specifically...
I really enjoy Urnov's section of 140 since it's completely concepts based and there's nothing you have to memorize (literally). I think he's a good teacher and cares very much for his students. I would recommend taking MCB 140 with him!
Try sending this "nice" teacher an email about grading issues. He won't even respond. Sent him 4 emails, and on the fifth day he addressed the email in class, telling others that if they ask about grades, they are annoying premeds. Here is something to learn Urnov: grades are important. Especially if your exam is graded by an undergrad sophomore.
He is such a queen and acts like he is all that but is nothing more than a bad prof. Excuse you, but I don't pay almost $1200 to have no office hours, skip a lecture that was dedicated for midterm review, tell us to redirect questions to GSIs, ramble forever and change worth of final and whether cumulative like 2 days before the actual final. RUDE!
I KNOW Urnov reads these reviews. So this is specifically for you: 1. Why did you cancel the first review session? 2. Why did you change the entire grading format for the class days before the class was over?3. Why did you hold only 2-3 office hours for a semester course? 4. Why did you refer all "real" questions to the GSIs. 5.) Why?
Do you guys all remember when Urnov told the class that they had to know the derivations and histories of all amino acids? That is why he spent more than 4 lectures discussing where glycine comes from, and where glutamate comes from and the cat who can't taste sweet while the panda can? Remember all those lectures? Was all this on the exam? NOPE!
Got a B in his class. I looked at the old midterms for other classes. I knew about 10% of the material. If this guy ever teaches again, a tip to get a good grade, just copy his slides word for word. You won't learn a single thing (except 10%), but you might pull off a B. Personally knowing both of the readers helps as well.
Definitely has no knowledge of biochemistry beyond that of a substitute high school teacher. His last 75+ reviews were so bad, that he apparently requested this site to remove his name and start fresh. Listen Urnov, just because you get bad reviews doesn't mean you can email students discussing them or request this site to remove your name. Fail!
I'm in a research lab and the other undergrad that took MCB 102
Shoot, it seems like biochem was not Urnov's forte. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed his section of MCB 140 (Genetics). He covered bacterial genetics, gene regulation, & epigenetics and emphasized understanding experiments in detail over memorization. My only complaint is that he tended to begin lectures with overly long preambles.
To the previous comment:Professor Bowman was busy doing world-renown research in biochemistry. So they stuck in the substitute teacher. When have you ever heard the substitute teacher being amazing? Never. As was the case with Mr. Urnov.You think he could make up for his incredible lack of knowledge by grading easy. Nope. In your words: EPIC FAIL
OK fellow students. You don't believe that Urnov is the worst biochem instructor at Cal? Think the last 100 reviews are false? Then be a scientist and run a test. When you see Urnov teaching this Summer, ask him a biochemistry question, any question (but make it a ? that a professor should know) and watch him very casually refer you to the GSIs.
Urnov was the most arrogant professor I've ever had at CAl. He interrupts students' questions to address to the entire class how to properly phrase questions. If we wanted to know, we'd take a public speaking course. In addition, out of about 30 things he said "WILL BE ON THE MIDTERM", I'd say only 2 showed up. Deceiving, and I feel tricked.
Urnov did the same thing in biochem as he did based on the prior reviewer. He says that "this will definitely be on your midterm," and it definitely is not. He canceled the review session but said to make up for it he would tell us what to study. Based on the very low mean and the fact that NONE of what he told us to study was on the exam, he LIED.
My favorite prof in mcb. I should say, that prof. Unrov is a geneticist, not a biochemist. Look at all the comment for mcb140. I LIKE the slow pace because then I can really understand the material, and not rush through it. (beside, I am taking mcb140 just to just over the requirement!)
Wrong! According to Urnov he taught biochemistry at Brown and "I have been in this field for 25 years." After taking one semester with this guy, I learned not to trust him. Don't even trust my opinion and that of others, go take his biochem class and see for yourself. Spends 45 minutes daily discussing general research and few minutes on real bioch
strangely there's a couple of positive comments for mcb 102 posted on 10/06. just checked my email and its a huge coincidence that that very same day urnov spammed bspace OMCE again to tell us that "I was stunned by how many negative reviews there were of the class on ratemyprofessordotcom" (he attchd a pdf w the comments... so infantile)
Unless this guy has studied a LOT of biochemistry from real Biochem professors, I have no idea how he will teach this summer. Please, all students taking his class, make sure to ask him lots of questions. I would love for him to repeat his traditional response: "That is what the GSI's are for." Ask about politics, and you can't shut him up.
I took his 102 class last summer, but I'm writing a review now after I've given myself some time to think things through. He is an inspirational person, however, I do not believe that he properly prepared us as he should have. Class was easy because he didn't go into depth. He would be a good seminar lecturer, not a professor.
To the below comment:"...He is an inspirational person..." Is this a joke?
I took his class for the Summer. I got a decent grade in his class, but I recently looked at my friend's midterms 1 & 2 for MCB 102 taught during the Spring. I knew maybe 10% of the material. Think their exams were hard? Nope. The means were in the general 75% range. The mean grade for Urnov's exams were in the 60% range? Harder exams in Summer??
Spoke to the MCB department, and one adviser told me that they simply had no one else to teach. Typically Bowman, who is a real Biochemist teaches, but now her research is taking up all her time. I think the only requirement to teach biochem in the Summer is to have a pulse and learn how to say the following: "Wonderful question, but ask your GSI."
He's Sarcastic, Bitter, has his 12 old daughter teach a class on the Jonas Brothers, lies about his office hours, loves politics, cancels review sessions, refers all difficult biochem questions to the GSIs, NEVER responds to emails, has little to NO knowledge of biochem, very arrogant, mocks students who care about grades, that about sums it up.GL!
I really think he is inspirational and I love his sarcasm in class.
I agree with the other reviews. I have taken a partial semester of Biochem with other professors at Cal, and Urnov is definitely no where near their level of knowledge and expertise. But in his defense, even GSIs can teach courses during the Summer.
I should have listened to all the comments from last year that are on here. His lectures are unhelpful, his exams are terrible and don't test any useful knowledge of biochem. If I had 2 hours left in my life, I would spend it in his class because it feels like an eternity. If he finds out that you're premed, hes becomes even more unhelpful.
he's very clear on explaining the material and what you need to understand for the exams. I love the fact that he's very excited about the materials, and he teaches you what you need to know in biochem in regards to life. HIGHLY recommend to take his class!
All I can say is WOW. Urnov is absolutely the best professor I have had in my whole life. Makes everything crystal clear. Exams are easy, but curve is extremely generous. He's definitely improved since last summer. I've always hated biochemistry but I loved this class! Take any class with Urnov, you wont regret it!!!
This class has been quite a revelation! Prof Urnov requires you to skip the fluff and get straight to thinking critically and globally about the material. One complaint is that exams are vaguely worded and border on requiring mind-reading capabilities. He was also quite rude and condescending toward me on several occasions for no apparent reason.
For all exams, every single question has been pointed out in class so it is VERY possible to do well on exams as long as you attend class and pay attention. wording is a little odd in the midterms and grading can be picky. he picks favorites, which can be frustrating to other students in the class. overall, easy to do well, fairly interesting.
Professor Urnov goes a little too slow and didn't cover all of the topics but is very passionate about the subject. He's an interesting lecturer and looks up what he doesn't understand in order to explain it better to us. Test questions can be worded badly sometimes, but he usually includes questions he asked in class so pay attention in lecture!
The best lecturer I have ever had. He keep the class engaged all the way through each lecture.
This guy receives way more flak than he deserves. In my opinion, he is by far the most inspiring of the three bio 1a professors even though he does not teach as much material. I actually wanted to come to class, whereas in the other two sections I knew it would just be a bunch of terms thrown at me for an hour.
One of the best.
One of my favorite professors in my entire college experience. He has a great sense of humor and really connects with students. It's really cool to see him get really excited about G-6PDH or fDG. He's always very attentive to students' questions, and often adds to his lectures based on questions that he's received. Exams are reasonable.
I know that Professor Urnov has gotten many negative reviews before in Biochemistry. However, I took him this summer and I think he improved a lot from what the comments said about him. Honestly, biochemistry isn't the easiest subject to learn. I was afraid I would be stuck memorizing the entire book. Urnov made the class worth my time!
BEST PROFESSOR.
You GOTTA take this professor. He is quiet the "smart cookie". He'll tell you the history. He'll tell you what's on the cutting edge. And 'most' importantly he'll tell you what 's on the test. He'll be sure to rekindle your love for science. One of my favorite profs ever.
The most inspirational lecturer I have ever had. He is very engaging and makes sure connect lecture material to real world applications. Has a very ironic, sharp wit and will call out anyone texting in class. Exams are straight forward if you pay attention to what's emphasized. But lectures are so fun that you look forward to going!
Most inspirational bio 1a prof. People didn't like the question phrasing on his tests, but that's probably because they didn't study enough. Honestly, the tests were very very easy if you study the lecture slides. Would definitely recommend.
Inspiring, sarcastic, passionate, charming, clear,
Hilarious professor who will emphasize a) why the material you are learning was important to the past and b) to the future. He keeps the class exciting by updating it with current and relevant research papers. Pretty lively and passionate guy
DUDE URNOV is amazing. I actually got excited to go to class and his lectures were super relevant and inspirational about life. He's an awesome lecturer. Issue though is that he's hard to reach outside of class. Don't get me wrong he'll answer questions when he's there but Rokhsar's the more caring one as in he's always there.
Best Professor, hands down!
Best professor I've had.
Inspirational professor, really took the time to make the material interesting and teaches extremely well. Final had some really cool problems, and definitely a highlight of the MCB41 course.
I only had Urnov for a third of a semester in a genetics class meant for non-majors. His lectures were consistently interesting and he was an engaging and funny lecturer. I would find myself not taking notes just because it was so fun to listen to him. Definitely one of the best professors I've had at Berkeley. Highly recommend.
He really connects to students (even remembers the names of students who participate frequently) and always stops to make sure everyone understands.
A good lecturer and explained concepts quite clearly.
Dr. Urvov was by far and away my favourite professor I've had (and I'm a senior!). His section has material that is so new there is no textbook for it. Fyodor is very intentional— he wants students to pay attention and makes lectures unbelievably interesting, letting his humour and passion for the subject come through. Take any class he teaches.
Urnov is my fav professor at Berkeley. i would've loved 2 be taught by him earlier in my undergrad. he's such a sweetheart+mad inspirational. always related course content to the Real World, the past and future. encouraged ALL questions in lec. only thing is he's hard 2 reach out of class (does NOT answer emails rip). genome editing king, 1 mil/10.
Wonderful lecturer who cares deeply about the content he teaches.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
33%
Textbook Required
88%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.10 avg changeRatings by Course
MCB41
5.0
(2)MCBC44
5.0
(1)MCB120
5.0
(3)BIO1A
4.3
(3)MCB140
4.1
(41)Difficulty by Course
MCB104
4.0
MCB102
3.5
MCB140
3.3
MCBC44
3.0
MCB120
3.0