He is not that bad

By far my favourite prof! Wish he was still teaching at my university! I have searched for classes with him specifically!

He is a really good proff! His lectures are always very clear, and to the point. He goes at a good pace, and I actually enjoy his lectures since he can teach the material very thoroughly. Good proff!

Gives good lectures. Genetics can be a difficult class as there is much content but Dr. Petersen made this class easier. Just be prepared to work for a good grade.

basic, simple, and useful. this is definitely helpful for something in terms of genetic. other professors over-complicated way too much and he breaks it down.

He made the lectures interesting, but he didn't explain a lot of concepts thoroughly, a lot of people messed up on the topic test of the units he taught, there were so many details on the test that weren't covered in lectures at all.

Dr. Petersen was a good lecturer for genetics, but you need to make sure to write down what he says verbally to do well. I think most students who complain about him don't write down what he says in lectures, because all the required info is there if you do. He's a pretty funny guy and is also good at answering students' questions during class.

Peterson was a great professor that always strived to create quality lectures. His lectures were always very concise and informative. The midterm and quizzes were very reflective of his teachings and it was generally super fair. If you read the textbook, attempt the quizzes, and pay attention to lectures you are guaranteed an A.

He's a fun guy. The tests can be difficult, but its offset by relatively easy labs. The content can be confusing but Petersen does his best to slow down and explain. First half of the course is just review of bio241/243 and builds off of that.

Really liked how he taught!

Dr. Petersen is an amazing prof. He makes dry subjects engaging and has extensive knowledge of the material. His stories and side notes on the topic are interesting and funny. He gives very helpful feedback and is always willing to help when you need it.

Had Lars for both 241 and 243. Im not a bio major, and wasnt his biggest fan for 241 (online), but he was perfect for 243. 5 weekly quizzes each worth 0.5%, and final exam worth 25% noncumulative. He makes learning fun, love hearing him talk abt bio and his work w/ frogs. For someone who isnt huge on bio, I am so glad he taught this class.

Was an awesome professor and made class fun and engaging whether it was slides made interesting or jokes being told. A super understandable prof who gives lenience when needed and really does his best to try to set you up for success in the course. All graded work was fair and there isn't too much work either (a reasonable amount for the course)

I personally really enjoyed Dr. Peterson's lectures! He always cracked jokes, gave real world applicable examples, and always repeated important concepts. Even though the textbook readings were required, I didn't do them because he covered all the material in class. He also responded very quickly to emails, with detailed explanations! 11/10

Dr. Petersen was a great prof for this class. His final exam was much easier than Dr. Chua's midterm. The questions were fair and doable. His assignment was also significantly easier than Assignment 1. He gave great feedback, and although his notes were pretty broad they were still really helpful for the exam. Great professor overall!

Amazing prof. His part of the class is really fun and he's an engaging prof, it's really a breath of fresh air compared to the really tough microbio part of this class. Assessments are beyond fair and assignments and quizzes are easy. In-person final was actually fun to write! Really like him as a prof and would definitely have him again.

Dr. Petersen was a great prof. His lectures covered basically everything you need to know for the quizzes and final exam. He made class fun to go to, and the final exam questions were extremely fair. He genuinely cares about his students and made the topics interesting even when I wasn't interested at first.

Lars is great - very engaging and passionate. Really cares about his students. Tests were very fair and he allowed a cheat sheet as Bio is a lot of memorization. Overall, good experience!

Very caring and entertaining, take 243 with him if possible.

Ez clap class tbh, prof is cool and doesn't try to trick you in quizzes/tests. Some assignments and the grading might be iffy, but it's not too big of a deal

Dr. Petersen was a great prof. His lectures were organized and presented the material in a good way. He was very helpful when asked questions. He is a real nice guy. I felt that the tests were reasonable, the labs a bit boring.

Amazing prof. Explains things really well. Engages the students. Funny as well, like actually funny.

The GOAT. He only taught for two weeks but he recorded his lectures and was very sweet.

LECTURES!!! His lectures aren't too loaded, they are very fun, engaging, and well paced lectures. Notes are uploaded, before and after class and are pretty clear and helpful. He is pretty accessible outside of class and replies to emails quickly. He neatly outlined all his expectations and gave us sufficient practice for finals

I love Dr. Petersen. His lectures were very easy to understand, and his courses were very organized too. He cares for his students a lot. goes into detail if you don't understand anything and even adjusts his office hours to accomodate you! Hope he doesn't change!!!

Dr. Petersen is such a kind soul! His lectures are very well delivered and he genuinely cares about his students and their learning. He's very funny and entertaining too. His expectations are clear and he is very responsive to emails. Love the guy!

Awesome professor. Did a great job of explaining the confusing stuff, and the lectures were very engaging. If you missed class, the notes were posted online.

Second time I have had Dr. Petersen, this course was harder content wise but his teaching remained great! Assignments are hard, do not leave them to the last minute but tests are very fair. Also a great prof to chat to about grad school applications etc.

One of the best prof's I've ever had. He breaks down material and makes it very clear, his tests are always fair, if you go to lecture and listen you'll be fine. Didn't need to use textbook at all, just lecture notes. 10/10 prof.

He is a good prof. His portion of biol243 is a little boring but it's not too difficult to understand. Thankfully, if you do miss a class, he posts his lecture recordings. Petersen is also helpful outside of class and is easy to approach if you have any questions.

Dr. Petersen is a good professor. His slides are a little bit dry and its hard to study using them, but his explanations are still very good.

Professor Petersen is a delight! He is so funny, and actually cares about the success of his students! He is always there for office hours, and is so great to go to for extra help or explanations! Definitely recommend taking a class with him, you won't regret it!

Dr. Petersen is super knowledgeable. His lectures are engaging and he is hilarious. Lectures are recorded so you can review them. He is helpful and accessible outside of class.

I love this man beyond words. He is genuinely passionate about teaching, and the students doing well. My bro is so definitely worthy of the 5/5. Great guy, take the class. You will not regret it.

Professor Peterson is the best professor I've had thus far as his lectures are interesting, he's accessible for questions, his assessments relate to material presented in lecture and are more than fair. I've never met anybody who's had anything but great things to say about him!

Dr. Peterson is very engaging and made difficult topics seem like stories which helped in my understanding of the course. The final was very fair. He is very nice and has a genuine interest and passion for this course.

Dr. Peterson writes very fair tests and is available outside of class for support. He's a pretty engaging lecturer and teaches using stories. I am taking another class that is partially taught by him in the fall, so I definitely recommend him!

He tells lots of good stories during class somewhat related to the topics, in addition to doing an amazing job of teaching the concepts which keeps the lectures engaging. His final was pretty fair, but make sure to review your notes and come to class.

Dr. Petersen is an excellent lecturer. He told interesting stories, jokes that were actually funny, and explained concepts in a way that made them easy to understand. The two exams he designed (the lab exam and the final exam) were fair and if you were well prepared, relatively easy to do well on.

Great guy, super funny and passionate about what he teaches. Ended the course on a wonderful note and all the tests/quizzes/the final were more than fair. Lovely prof.

hes sooo nice, and his lectures are really interesting. he's funny and makes the lectures engaging, and he's really approachable!!! the final was a bit tricky but honestly if u studied u would have done rlly well

Incredible during lectures, could have had better course coordination and organization, but a great professor overall.

The best lecturer by far for this course. He creates lots of stories for the topics he teaches which help with remembering some of the tougher concepts. Very fun professor

Easily the best speaker for 241. His lectures are fun and he was the only bio professor in 241 to genuinely make me laugh. He explains concepts very thoroughly and he's very easy to understand. Would 100% take a class with him again! Just a great guy all around.

he's the best! super friendly and wants to make this course better. he and Polvi make it really accessible to do well in the class. midterm acreage was 75 and final average was 73 which is super good! he's also super great for office hours!

Phenomenal lecturer, he mixes in bits of comedy to make the boring topics a little bit more engaging. It's very clear that he's passionate about teaching this content. One downside (for me) is he posts blank notes before the classes, and works through them in the lectures, posting them at the end of the week. Not great for reading ahead...

Really excited about having him for BIO243 as well! He's not only incredibly funny and caring but also great at explaining things. Compared to other BIO241 professors, his lectures stand out as the most educational. You can tell he knows his stuff, so there's a lot to learn from him. Make sure to take full advantage of this.

Dr Petersen's lectures were engaging due to his clever weaving of humour into course content. But despite the extra inclusion nothing was omitted and he excellently conveyed course content throughout his lectures.

Awesome guy, can't wait to have him for bio 243 again. Makes his slides funny, and tells jokes during lectures.

Dr. Petersen had very engaging lectures. He explained things well and was patient when addressing questions. Great professor!

Records lectures, gives a clear idea of what's going to be on the midterm, tries his hardest to make lectures enjoyable, and is available outside office hours. Peterson is a great prof and I enjoyed having him for 311!

Dr. Petersen was perhaps the best instructor for BIOL 241 and had the most engagement with the class. It was clear that he was very knowledgeable, and that he cared about his students. He was funny and helpful and explained complicated concepts to make students understand easily. One of the best for sure!

Very cool professor!

Petersen is one of my fav profs, he's kind, funny, and has set the class up to be very enjoyable. Tests were generally easy (if you were prepared ofc) though the class was very homework have with assignments, extra tests, and pre-labs/lab reports.

Dr. Petersen is such a good professor and has a very easy to understand lecture style. The lectures prepare you well for the testing and he makes the content interesting.

Great prof! Explains concepts quite well and thoroughly prepares you for the exams!!

so so kind. amazing prof - very passionate about his material. love how he records every lecture for those who missed it.

Great professor that genuinely wants students to know and engage with the material. Lectures were enough to do well in the class, and were recorded as well. Would definitely take a class from him again!

Best Bio prof so far

make 243 so much better than 241.learned more in labs without all the extra work 241 made us do. tests are very fair, lab exam was a breeze if you studied the lab quizzes. I found his content tougher than Chua's part of the class, most say the opposite, I just found the first half more interesting i guess. do the practice quizzes!!

He is by far the best professor I have had. I really like how understanding he is, and I'm excited to have him next semester. He is easy to understand during lectures. His tests are not easy, but they are fair - with clear grading outlines.

The more poorly taught science courses I take the more I appreciate Dr. Petersen's focus on education. This course is VERY well put together. Lecture slides, textbook, labs are great resources (and labs are fun). Petersen answers any questions clearly in lecture. Explains concepts well. Tests; grade distribution over assignments/tests are fair. Ty.

Taking BIOL 243 with Petersen in the summer was one of my best experiences to date. Despite the early and long lecture time of 9am to 11am, Petersen was an amazing prof who explained everything wonderfully. The labs and tests were easy to complete if you knew your stuff. He was also overall just a great guy

He knows his stuff and teaches it very well, while also being the most hilarious prof I've ever had. His exam questions tend to focus more on application than brute memorization, so expect to do well if you truly understand the material. Doesn't provide that many practice questions aside from the quizzes, but learning outcomes are very clear.

Dr. Peterson is a great professor, however his exams are more application style got me feeling like I am already in medical school haha but anyways he's great! Know your stuff !! and he is always willing to answer questions

I had this prof for Biology 241, 243, and 311. He has been amazing. Lecture notes were always posted and he was very good at making sure the practice questions he did in lecture lined up with what was on the exams. He also gives lots of practice. He helps students do better by dropping lowest marks of some assignments.

Dr. Peterson was an amazing prof, I had him for bio 241, 243, and 311. He taught the material very well and had good lecture slides. He prepared us well for exams and provided solid practice questions in lectures. Overall he was a great prof and I recommend him to first and second-year students!

Great guy, you can really tell he cares about his students. Accessible outside of class. Easy to do well as long as you pay a little attention

Made me care about things in biology I never thought I would care about. He is so knowledgeable and so clear, makes learning these things something you WANT to do. 10/10 best teacher I have had at this university.

Lectures are ok, but don't really add much beyond the slides. Tries to make the content more engaging but can be pretty slow. Tests very similar to practice questions so easy to do well in his class

Amazing professor! Engaging, clear, and well-prepared.

really good prof and super funny.

Peterson was one of the best profs I've ever had. Very fun lectures and relatively easy tests and even easier grading. Always available to help and give feedback. Only bad thing I'd say is he goes off topic a little and that can throw you off or study/stress for more than u need to know. Overall 10/10 would take again

Great professor and clearly enjoys teaching. Very good at answering questions even when the answer may have seemed obvious which is a quality a lot of instructors lack.

Amazing professor!!! Best lecture slides of any professor I have had, and posts all lectures as recordings on D2L. Sets up all his students for success.

He went on a 10 minute tangent about fruit fly sperm last year in BIOL 243, then made a callback joke to said rant during a lecture. Comedic genius. Class was pre easy too.

Lectures are always engaging, you can tell that he really wants students to do well.

Best bio prof at this uni. He clearly is passionate about what he teaches and goes over all the material that is in the exams.

dr. petersen is a nice guy who definitely cares about students in the course, but i find his lectures to just be pretty dry and unentertaining. he tends to either underexplain or overexplain certain parts of his lectures and it just becomes pretty hard to pay attention to or follow. not a bad prof at all, just not my favourite.