Ritter, Matt  

Matt Ritter is a wonderful teacher.

HE's hott :)

If you want to learn about native plants in California and have a lot of enjoyable time doing it, take Professor Ritter. He is knowledgeable to no end about plants. Plus his lectures are all Power Point with some video, and you can download his lecture notes and print them out for class, which is really useful.

He is a great teacher, loves his subject, but makes it interesting for everyone, even if you don't love plants. 2 midterms, 1 final, very fair. Just study the notes that he gives on blackboard and you'll be fine. I'd take him again. Bye

Dr. Ritter is an absolutely amazing teacher. I actually looked forward to every class and field trip. He is a great guy to be around and makes the class tight. The lab tests I thought were too hard and not based on the material as directly as they could have been. No matter what he says, every test is cumulative. Study all lab and lecture stuff for every test. Overall, great teacher. TAKE THIS CLASS. You won't regret it.

I had Ritter for both lab and lecture and he was great in both. His passion for plants was evident and it really made the class a lot more enjoyable. It's not particularly easy, but it's not that hard to get a B. For the lab, there are like 7 field trips where you get to go learn about the different plant communities in the San Luis Obispo area. Overall I think that studying is really the key to a good grade.

Ritter has to be one of the best profs here. He truley cares about his students and wants him to love bio as much as he. During lab we went on field trips(on and off campus). I hate bio but he made this class interesting for me. If you have any questions, go to his office hours!! Ps. dont buy the books because you dont need them.

Ritter is great. I not once dreaded to go to class. It was always exciting learning about plant life. A passionate one he is. Labs were great. If you want to do well, consider spending time on studying the slides as well as the plants that you're required to know.

He's not that hot.

Dr. Ritter's classes, both lecture and lab, were absolutely amazing. He does an excellent job at explaining everything during lectures through slides that cover all the material needed for the tests. Lab is the most important part of the class because it's where most of the learning goes on. Don't buy any of the lab materials...he'll provide them every time. I wasted money on lab slides and a dissecting kit that I never used. The field trips are a lot of fun and there's one every week during one of the labs. Be prepared to learn close to a hundred scientific names of plants (not all at once) and recognize common plants of the area and campus on lab practicals. If you stay on top of things, it's a fun and interesting class. Oh yeah...and Riiter is HOT!!

Great teacher, bad student. His test were all based on the material, all you need to do is study. Lots of field trips and pretty interesting class eventhough i received a D. I'd take it with him again though.

First of all I am really dumb in bio. I hate bio and hate memorizing plants, but Dr. Ritter actually made it a decent class. It sucks to memorize the scientific names of plants, common name and be able to identify the plant. So if you're looking for an easy GE you might not want to take this class. We went on field trips which was a lot of fun to get out of that stuffy lab. Also all the girls in my class thought he looked like Matt Damon...uhh kinda...he's pretty cute. Even if you fail the tests, its still a good class. If I can pass it, you most likely can too.

All I can say is that I love plants now.

Dr. Ritter is AMAZING!!! I love plants and can identify almost every plant on campus! The tests aren't hard, the labs are mostly field trips. He is creative in his lectures, he provides all the slides on blackboard, so notes aren't that neccesary. Make sure to study. Getting an A or a B is definetly do able. Don't take this class if you don't have to, but don't dread it if it's in your major! I love Dr. Ritter. Best professor at Cal Poly so far, which says a lot!

Dr. Ritter is amazing! He really loves plants and tried so hard to make the material interesting...and it really was. He is very straight forward with what he wants and expects of the class. His tests are incredibly fair. Go to class, take good notes, study the diagrams-pictures and vocabulary, and you are set. Make sure you go to all of the field trips and start learning plant names, communities, characteristics as soon as you can! There are over a hundred Latin/Scientific names for things. Awesome class. I would recommend Ritter to anyone who has to take a Biology class.

He is funny and nice and that is what makes him cute. Everything is straigh froward. there are 5 pop quizzes and generally you can guess when they will happen. You definitely need to figure out some sort of system to memorize all the plants names and scientific names and where they grow and all that jazz. Lots of information but vert interesting stuff. I will definitely remember most if not all plants and their names whenever I see them again. Take it as a GE, its the expected workload for a GE and challenging enough as well. Plus he is nice to look at.

Dr. Ritter is AWESOME...I have never been so sad that a class ended. He keeps it interesting, and his sense of humor is just hilarious. The class is a lot of work for a GE, but it is well worth it. Oh yea, Dr. Ritter is also HOT!!!

Matt Ritter is a pretty cool teacher, but this class is a bitch. Having to memorize the latin names of the genus and species of over sixty plants and recognize them is probably the biggest waste of my life ever. Lecture is okay, but lab is super boring (although I didn't have Ritter for lab.) If you're trying to get an easy A don't take this class. If you like plants and nature hikes, then you'll probably like it.

Ritter is an awesome teacher. He's super stoked on plants and he's just a hillarious guy. I was only in his lecture but I wish I could have been in his lab too, because it seems those people did a lot better on tests and quizzez. Bio 114 with Ritter may not be an "easy A" bio, but if I could go back and choose again, I still would've taken 114 rather than 111 just because I loved the class. And it was still relatively easy.

I really enjoyed this class and I�ve never really liked science. The slides pretty much covered all of the information you need to know for the tests and Ritter was always clear when teaching the material. You go on eight field trips but it beats being in a lab the whole quarter and you see a lot more of SLO County than you would otherwise! I kind of slacked off in this class but it shouldn�t be hard to achieve an A as long as you put the effort forth (the info is given to you exactly how it�s tested).

Basically he's pretty nice to look at. And he's stoked on plants so that's exciting. He read us poems about plants weekly. Overall, the class was a bit tough, but very do-able. I enjoyed learning about the plants and the field trips you get to go on for lab is really sweet since I would hate being stuck in a classroom for 3 hours twice a week. I highly recommend this class and Dr. Ritter!

This was by far one of the best classes I have taken at Cal Poly. I hate biology more than anything but Ritter is 1. EXTREMELY good looking and 2. Fair on his grading. As long as you are willing to put in the time to memorize plants and attend class everyday you will do fine!:)

Ritter is easily one of the best teachers I've ever taken. He does the lecture part of the course, and surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot more than the lab. He is so passionate about plants and actually made me interested in what we were learning (I promise I came into the class dreading it so much). The lab is taught by a grad student and ours was horrible, but the class in itself isn't that bad. The fieldtrips can be annoying and hard, especially when it's really hot, but I would recommend the class. It's an easy Bio class

Before this class, you probably never paid attention to the plants and trees around you and how important they are. The topic seems boring but trust me, you'll learn a lot and end up finding plants and trees pretty interesting. Lectures, quizzes, and midterms/final are straight forward. Ritter makes everything sound so interesting, and cool. His passion for plants is obvious. This class requires a lab. Anything you learn in lecture will be put to use in lab. Lab is super fun and has awesome field trips. Who would want to sit in a class for 3 hours? Overall a really fun, interesting, class! My favorite class at Cal Poly so far! Oh, and on the plus side, super good looking knowledgeable professor ;)

After reading these polyratings, I was really excited for this class! He started off great and you can tell that he thinks he is cool. I was so impressed by how he prides himself on his tests being solely based on the lecture notes and that he was fair. But throughout the quarter I got pretty frustrated. For example, he says he "doesnt test you on numbers" but on the final you have to fill in the blank with correct number of plants and stuff. Don't be fooled, there are questions that are not on the lecture notes. Plus, he really isnt that good looking.

Hands down best teacher I have had at Cal Poly. One regret was not taking his sustain class to be able to learn more from him. He's inspiring, funny, and goes beyond the books. I never knew he could instill such a love for plants as he did in me. The material was concise and appropriate to the subject matter at hand. Only complaint was the labs which went on unnecessarily long for the amount that we actually covered. If the labs were with Ritter himself I have no doubt they would have been great---do sustain! Great guy, worth waiting for a good rotation just to get him. DO NOT miss out.

Matt is a great professor. Super personable and fair. He's not a stickler. He wants students to learn and be interested more than he wants to be one of those professors who gives our exactly a bell curve of grades. It's easy to do well in this lecture. The lab is a lot harder, but Matt's lecture is excellent. One of my all time favorite professors right here.

I absolutely love Ritter! Definitely one of the best teachers here at Cal Poly, who makes the material not only interesting but also applicable to our everyday lives. He provides a better understanding for the what the plants around us do and impact in our world. I wish that I could take him as a professor for every single one of classes. His lectures, though are sometimes barely squeezed in at the last half of class, are the funniest parts of my school days. I just can't help but laugh at every other word that comes out of his mouth. Yup. TAKE HIM. :)

I'm actually shocked by how great of ratings Dr. Ritter has. Yes he is a young guy that makes jokes and tells stories, but he literally doesn't teach. I personally had other more difficult classes while I was taking BIO 114 that I would have loved to focus on rather than sitting through Matt Ritter's lectures where he tells college students how to write a professional email, about shitting, and about what it really means to be late. I didn't realize this class was all about giving out life advice. Anyway, the point is he talks about whatever he wants for 90% of the class, the last 10% he lectures, and then his tests are actually fairly challenging with questions such as specific numbers and percentages. Our class had C averages on the midterms which I personally don't think is very good. Cool guy, but will waste your time.

This class is WAY too much work for a GE. I have no interest in plants and I took this class because it was supposed to be interesting and easy... IT"S NOT DO NOT BE FOOLED!!!! Yes, Ritter is hot af but it's not worth it. The tests are so difficult and require a ridiculous amount of memorization. I spent more time studying for this class than I did any of my actual major courses and still only received a B. The lab is easier and the professors are a lot more helpful, but the weekly field trips are such a pain. I highly recommend staying far far away from this class at all costs

Ritter is great. I had no previous knowledge or interest in plants or biology as a subject in general but this class was interesting and engaging. You learn about the plants and environment of San Luis Obispo and California as a whole. I learned a lot of things that I would have never known had I not taken the class. The subject material deals with a lot of things we encounter on a daily basis. While the lab component requires you to memorize the scientific names of a lot of plants, you also go on field trips to places I would have never gone if not for this class. Definitely recommend this class as a GE. Not only do you learn a lot about things you encounter every day but you are sure to come out of this class with a different perspective.

LOVE this class and Professor Ritter!!! He's so passionate about what he has to say and makes all of his students interested and eager to learn. The field trips are also pretty sweet- you basically get to go on hikes.... for class! Would definitely recommend this class for a GE.

Best class I've taken at Cal Poly. Hands down. Don't be a fool TAKE this class if it is available. You learn soooo much and it changes your view of the world and you go on amazing hikes every week for Lab. What other class do you get to do that for?! I am so grateful I decided to take this for my B2/B4 and I had an amazing lab teacher too, Jason! I am honestly really sad it is over, I would take it again if I could!

Ritter is a very smart guy who is more excited about plants than anyone you'll ever meet. Half of the labs for this class were going on hikes and looking at the plants in real life. Cool experience, I highly recommend. It does take time and memorization, but he makes it actually pretty interesting (that's saying a lot coming from a business major).

he made the class a lot of fun and interesting. not to mention, super cute. he presented the material really straight forward easy to follow. definitely recommend this teacher.

Seriously, science is my arch-nemesis, but botany turned out to be one of my favorite classes at cp, and it's all ritter's fault. weekly lab quizzes and a lab final, all easy if you go to lectures and memorize your shit. on top of that, i actually enjoyed myself--if he gets the feeling that his class is bored, he will make you get up and and actually do something, instead of continue to lecture. super approachable, funny and quirky, and he looks like sex on legs. definitely definitely take him for g.e., it'll be the best choice you've ever made.

This guy is crazy.

This guy looks like Todd from Breaking Bad (No joke just trim the hair and you got Todd), but unfortunately he also acts like Todd. Nice on the outside, but cruel and shows no mercy on the inside. Pop quizzes with NO MAKEUP QUIZZES and he DOESN'T DROP ANY THEM. Pop Quizzes make up ~4% of your total grade EACH. Miss a pop quiz from being sick, having an interview, studying/working for another class, and you just dropped a grade. Also, unless you study the book everyday and read the lecture notes you won't get a perfect score on most of the pop quizzes (they're really tough). Hell, even if you do study, you're not even guaranteed a 10/10 or even an 8/10!. If you do a 6/10 on all five pop quizzes(a feat within itself) and get a 30/50 total score, you just locked yourself out of an A. And to get a 6/10 on all the quizzes, you're gonna have to study and pay attention extremely well to the lecture. And the lecture mainly won't be helpful for the quizzes. You're going to have to figure out what parts of what he says are ACTUALLY important to the class, and what stuff is just digressing and random facts not related to the course. 50%-75% of the lecture is off-topic, meaning it's not going to be covered in the pop-quizzes or the exams, which makes it really frustrating to sit there to take notes despite 3/4 of your notes being completely worthless. Read the book, it helped with his exams more than the lecture for me. Exams aren't that bad, but there are some questions that are just crazy specific and are just there to make sure not everyone gets a 90+ on the exams. Be careful with this guy. It's not as easy as everyone says.

Dr. Ritter is young, and very enthusiastic about his job. He tries very hard to get to know his students personally, which is difficult due to class size. He also does a remarkable job of getting class participation and getting everyone to feel comfortable interacting in a class as large as this. His lectures are very organized, and seem to be slow and he repeats himself a lot, which I really like. Even more impressive, is that so far he has been to every one of my labs, two a week, and he isn't even the lab instructor. I think he just goes to help, and to get to know the students in a smaller setting. Unfortunatelly I haven't taken a test yet, but as best I can tell, Matt Ritter is one of the finest professors I have had at Cal Poly.

Ritter is a really cool guy. Great teacher who understands his students. Take him!

Matt is an awesome teacher! He doesn't belive in cell phones, and he tells some random stories sometimes, but he made BOTANY enjoyable. I would take all my classes from him if I Could!! SUPER COOL GUY!!

Great teacher. One of the best I've had at Poly. He even made botany interesting and worth comming to every day. I looked forward to this class every day. He is always willing to help, and has a genuine interest in the success of each student. I highly reccomend this teacher.

Ritter is a great teacher, he is very clear in lecture. But be careful, dont slack off just because he is laid back, the tests do require you know your shit in some detail. But he makes bot fun to learn and he is also fun to look at soo.....take him if you can.

Ritter is awesome. I missed a few labs and a few lectures and still got a B. Had I gone to all classes, especially at the end of the quarter, I would have gotten an A. The tests are very detailed, (esp. the lecture final) so you really need to know your stuff, but he clearly explains everything that he tests you on and is always available and willing to help. The lab tests sound intimidating, but he gives you practice quizzes similar to the test (The labs almost always got out at least 1 hour early, if not earlier. He teaches you what you need to know but doesn't waste your time). Lab is 50% and lecture is 50% of your grade. There is a lab midterm and final, and a lecture midterm and final. Botany is actually fun with Ritter, I would totally take this class again.

Dr. Ritter is awesome. I really enjoyed going to his class. He made the lectures interesting with PowerPoints and little anecdotes about getting his doctorate and some other stuff. Don't be fooled; this is not an easy class. The midterm and final are fairly hard, and you will have one of each in both your lecture and lab. He was really nice and really wanted to help his students. It was refreshing to have a professor that actually acted like he enjoyed teaching. Take him if you are considering this course.

Prof. Ritter is the most enthusiastic professor that I've had so far at Cal Poly. He's excited about the material in the class and has a passion for teaching. He's new to teaching but he knows all of the material and presents it in a clear way. His class is tough but he's willing to do almost anything to help his students understand. It's rare to find someone with his love for botany and teaching. If you can, take the lab and lecture from him. You won't regret it!

Dr. Ritter is AWESOME!! Take him if you get the chance. He is very prepared and is always funny in class. I give him much props for taking a potentially boreing subject and making it cool. He is also good in lab. Doesn't trip off attendance, fair grader, fair tests. TAKE HIM IF POSSIBLE!!!

Nice guy. No bullshit. A few quizzes, 2 midterms, and a cumulative final. No homework. There is also a midterm and a final for the lab portion.

This is a vocab crazy class. If you are good at memorizing terms and diagrams you will do fine. Otherwise this will be a tough class. Ritter is a great professor. He makes sure to present the information in the simplist manner possible. I didn't have him for lecture, so I don't know about his lecture exams. But there are two exams in the lab.

Dr. Ritter is the best teacher I have had at Cal Pol, I believe he rarely teaches BOT-121 Labs but if you can take him for the lab section....PLEASE TAKE HIM! His tests are pretty hard if you don't study enough but they are still fair and straight forward. He presents the material clearly and has alot of corny jokes to keep you interested in the labs. The labs didn't always last 3 hours and you could work at your own pace. He answered all of my questions fully and was a very decent and fair grader. He was also there to talk about non-Botany quuestions if you had them too and also ended up giving me a passing grade in the class even though i don't think i deserved it. All in all...TAKE DR. RITTER for any subject!!!

This is definitely my favorite teacher right now. I thought I'd hate botany but he made it my favorite class. He's really reasonable on his grading, and does fun stuff. He'll make botany interesting, definitely try to get him for a professor.

D RITTER!!! seriously i love this guy, he's smart, funny, knowledgeable, quirky, handsome, flattering, sensual, party animal, gets kinky with his assistant, and cant forget how sexy he is. ;) honestly if you have any opportunity to take this god of a man, do it, you will not regret it :) and ask him about his eucalyptus tree.

Ritter is a baller. Young dude, he is super chill. Take him for sure. They just need to rethink how they teach the class. Its a bitch.

Matt Ritter is an awesome professor all around, and the best one that I've had at CP so far. His lectures are interesting and straight forward and I feel like I learned a lot from the class. I never thought I would like botany, but he got me interested in it, and even though I didn't do so well in the class (given it was my first quarter being in college) I still enjoyed the class. He always told us interesting stories relating to his research around the world, and even went on random tangents, teaching us the scientific way to avoid a hangover haha.

Awesome!

Ritter made botany an enjoyable class! His lectures were very informative and interesting. Not only that, but he is easy on the eyes. Don't be fooled though because he tests were really difficult.

Matt Ritter is one of the best teachers I have ever had. He teaches from powerpoints which are always available online before class and stresses that you understand general concepts rather than rote memorization. He makes class fun and interesting (if you have a vagina you will love him, he reads poetry in class). I only opened the book once the entire semester. He is very clear about what you need to know but his tests are not easy if you want an A. You could get a C pretty easily though if you just go to class. He knows a ridiculous amount of stuff about plants and the world in general.

I want his Stamen in my Stigma. He is an amazing professor. Knows a lot about figs

I had this class from 8:10 to 9:30 at night and I never felt tired. Yes he's attractive but his enthusiasm is what makes you actually learn and pay attention to what he's saying. Before every class he has a question time where everyone can ask questions on the previous lecture and that's really helpful. You definitely need to study and know the material going into the exams but if you go to lecture you'll be fine. Strongly suggest this class and Dr. Ritter.

Apart from being extremely attractive, Dr. Ritter has a way of making plants interesting, which is a feat considering his lecture class is at 8 pm. I never had a problem attending his classes and when I did miss his classes, I was upset because they were so entertaining. Ritter is funny and will occasionally read you poetry, and he is always willing to answer any questions you may have (we spent an hour talking about albino redwoods once!) I would definitely recommend Ritter's class to anyone looking to knock out a GE requirement. Not too difficult and definitely an entertaining class.

Dr. Ritter is the man! He's super funny and a very fair grader.

I agree with the comment below regarding the wish to have his stamen in my stigma. Only had him as a substitute for BOT 121. Knows bananas about musa acuminata :) Take any course that this man teaches.

I feel like he won't be at cal poly too long. He is a great teacher who brings a childlike curiosity combined with a deep knowledge. He is a very smart guy and is very approachable and feels more like a peer than teacher. Taking BOT 121 with him was better than chem 127,128 phy 121 and ss 121. The best general discipline science course I have taken at cal poly.

He is the greatest professor at Cal Poly I have come by. He is funny, engaging, and smart. I learned much more than just plants in his class. He has random life philosophy speeches that are just great. He also makes all of the information about plants very interesting. It is very clear what you need to know for tests. Be careful of the quizzes, I was sick for one quiz and it dropped me 3% of my whole grade.

Ritter is an amazing teacher! He knows so much about the subjects that he is teaching about, that it makes most of his students interested. Even in a lecture of over 200 people, it was still very easy for him to teach and be confident. If you don't understand something his office hours are very helpful because he will literally go over anything with you. His tests can be tricky sometimes, but if you pay attention and actually put some effort into studying the powerpoints, you'll be fine. I highly recommend taking this class for a GE. He is the best teacher I've had so far and cal poly and I really look forward to taking him again.

Best professor I've ever had, and I've had a number of excellent ones. The only thing bad about his class is that it's hard to find another one he teaches. I finally found one earlier and am overjoyed. He will ruin your Cal Poly experience because he makes all other professors look bad.

Dr. Ritter is a pretty great teacher and I learned so much in his class about plants! He spends the whole first 1/2 hour of class just answering any questions anyone may have about previous lectures, which helps a lot! He also gives pop quizzes at any point in any lecture, which usually aren't too difficult. Tests are a bit challenging but if you study for them it is easy to get a B or a C. I would definitely recommend Ritter-not just because he is eye candy for the ladies ;)

This class is one of the hardest GE's I've ever taken for it requires a lot of outside work and dedication. But definitely do able. For a class just based on plants Ritter makes it pretty interesting. Ritter tends to go off topic during his lectures but they are usually interesting and somewhat relevant to the class. He is so helpful and makes sure everyone understands the material if you go to his office hours. He is probably the most attractive teacher I have ever had so it doesn't make it too hard to show up to class either. Didn't love the class so much but Ritter is a really great professor!

Very great Professor! He is obviously passionate about teaching and his lectures were always entertaining and engaging. He was great at clarifying complicated topics, and even set aside the first 30 minutes of class for anyone to ask questions about the previous week. Only thing, be prepared for many funny stories/tangents during lecture. Overall, one of my favorite professors!

Professor Ritter truly loves botany, and he wants his students to also find a love for plants by taking this class. He recognizes that most students are only taking the class as a GE, so he gears the class to be as simple as possible for that reason. Two midterms, both 100% material from lecture slides (no surprises), 10 lab quizzes, more difficult than necessary but you can do well as long as you look over the previous lab the night before. He gives 10 short pop quizzes in lecture throughout the quarter so you have to show up otherwise you'll miss those points. Overall I highly recommend him as he cares about his students, and he makes the class interesting even if your major isn't related at all to botany.

Always has something interesting to say and makes class easy and fun. You do not need to buy the book unless you really want to learn about plants in detail. All materials covered in the lecture are on the tests.

Ritter is an AMAZING professor. He is extremely straightforward with his expectations as every test is written based off the lecture slides from in class that he also posts online. There are never any surprises and as long as you read over his lecture slides, the class is very manageable. Even among not super interesting topics, he finds ways to hold the classes attention and engage everyone with interesting facts or funny stories. The lecture portion of botany includes two midterms and one final that is basically a third midterm and five point quizzes occasionally in lecture. I barely took in class notes and would just study the lecture slides before the midterms and got B's on both. I highly recommend taking this class with Ritter, he is extremely informative, clear, and overall engaging.

Dr. Ritter is extremely knowledgeable and a dope guy. Take Botany 121 with him, it is SUCH an amazing class. He can give anyone an appreciation for plants. You never knew how much plants can blow your mind until you take this class. I'd recommend this class to anyone of any major. Half of your grade is the lecture and half is the lab. It's easy to get a good grade in lecture because the midterms and finals are directly off the powerpoints. The lab quizzes which occur weekly were hard if you didn't study for them. If I studied a little harder for the lab quizzes, I would've gotten an A. Ritter gives many opportunities for extra credit. If you get the chance, just go into his office and talk to him because he is super cool.

RITTER IS THE BEST! He's a huge geek for plants which makes learning incredibly fun and interesting. He truly cares about his students and helping them not only get great grades but truly understanding the material. I can't properly explain how much I love him as a professor so I recommend you take the course to find out for yourself!

This class was as fair as possible. Ritter truly cared about his students and the class wasn't that difficult. All that was necessary was to show up to class,take notes,and read the power points. The only thing that was difficult was the lab quizzes but he gives around 20 points so it is pretty easy to get an A in this class with a little bit of effort.

Matt Ritter has probably been the best professor I've ever interacted with. He is a friendly, kind-hearted person who cares about his students well-being as well as learning abilities. He is a genuine human who has an immense knowledge about his subject area and not only teaches, but takes the initiative to make his students WANT to learn about it as well. He lectures clearly and concisely and posts all of the lectures on PolyLearn as well. I have a new foundation to which I will base my learning on because of this man. The only thing I would have changed is I wish he put grades in as the quarter went along instead of at the very end. TAKE HIM IF YOU CAN! You will not regret it and he will teach you to cultivate your curiosity.

This class was a spiritual experience more than anything. He includes quite a bit of philosophy that I wouldn’t expect in a class about plants, but somehow it makes sense. Taking it down a few notches wouldn’t be the worst idea. Main thing I took away was “cultivate your curiosity”. This man will make you question your entire life. Everything he says in class is on the slides. He is a very good teacher and clearly passionate about the subject. And yes, he is conventionally good looking. You know things are about to get serious when he tucks his tie into the shirt pocket. He murdered my plant by cutting the apical meristem. And he murdered my grade with the second midterm. Overall this class enriched my life for a few months and I can’t stop looking at trees. It’s good time. I recommend it.

Ritter is seriously the most precious human being. He is so passionate about what he teaches and alongside this he just has a good soul. His lectures are fun and he always shows us photos of him next to trees which makes class funny in a good way. He post all the lectures online, I only took notes in class so it looked like I was being productive, but you don't need to. Literally just soak up each lecture and not worry about writing everything down just listen to how he explains everything then go home and memorize the lecture slides and you will get a good grade in the class. He has 5 pop quizzes that are 10 points, I never got less than a 9! He is not here to trick you, he wants to spark passion in you. You get more out of this class than just learning about "plants" it gives you a different life perspective. I would take this class again and recommend it to anyone! Also you have a quiz in lab each week but seriously do not stress out about it, they are always easier than you think.

Professor Ritter is just a really good guy. Throughout the quarter he did his best to get to know each student through one on one conversations. Additionally, he kept up with students who had issues in the class and guided them through it. His labs were fun due to his sarcastic overtone and his lectures were clear and interesting. He knows what he's talking about and thoroughly enjoys his studies which is unique to see in a Cal Poly Professor; someone who actually actively practices what they are preaching. Very little homework, lots of handouts, some extra credit but mostly a midterm and a final in lecture and lab. It'll be fun!!

Great class. The lectures are easy to follow and fun. Dr. Ritter and his lab instructors are so much fun and they are really enthusiastic about plants. Field trips are fun, but long. Tests are fairly difficult: lecture tests are a good combination of what you learned in lecture and what you read in the books; lab tests are difficult, make sure to be able to recognize all of the plants learned and their scientific names. I loved the class!!! (Oh, and Ritter does look a little like Matt Damon.)

dr. ritter is a GREAT teacher! he loves plants and knows how to make his students interested in them (even though he knows everyone in bio 162 just wants to get to the animal material). he makes the material on plants really easy to understand and always makes sure that everyone understands what he's saying. the tests in this class aren't easy but aren't necessarily hard either. be warned-the lab for this class will require MANY hours of work so be prepared and plan accordingly with your other classes. also, the animal portion of this class will be taught by someone else (it was dr. schutz for my class) so know that also!

Ritter was one of the best teachers ive had here so far. He was personable and got the point across really well, even though it was a 200 person lecture. I didnt think i would enjoy plants at all, but he certainly turned my opinion around. He would bring cool plants into class and would throw out a cuss word every once in a while, he really made himself look like a human being instead of some robot teacher

I took BIO 162 with Dr. Ritter and Dr. Schutz (taught the animal section). Dr. Ritter went a little fast, but was still clear. He brought in examples and provided the slides online. There are 2 midterms and a final, but the lecture is worth 55% while the lab is 45%. The lab notebook takes forever to do.

Good guy and is willing to help. Presents the material as if you are learning for the first time, which is the case for most of us. Down to earth person. test based on the notes

Matt Ritter is an outstanding professor. He's hilarious and actually a total savage (in the best way possible). He is extremely enthusiastic about the material and always gives great examples. 10/10 would recommend

Matt Ritter is a young, interesting, and engaging teacher. He's funny and you will never fall asleep in his class. He grades more than fairly - you just have to do your work (which isn't really much). If you get the chance, take him. You'll enjoy the quarter.

Matt is a good teacher. I had him for a bio class, and as an engineer, I just don't care. He is funny, intellegent, and very helpful one on one, if need be. His lectures are very straightforward and everything is posted on blackboard. He quizzes on the previous lecture, and none of the quiz questions are out of the book. The entire grade is based on ten quizzes, and if you read the slides you are just fine. He also builds a curve into the grades - an 88% is an A, a 50% is a D. He is definitely the best way to go if you have to take bio as a very non-bio student.

Great teacher, really interested in this class. Helpful during class, and unusually interested in corn... don't ask. Overall good teacher and class.

This guy is great. If you have no interest in Bio, he's still a great teacher. I got an A without taking the shrink rap of my book. Plus he gives you a few minutes to review, right before the quizes. He's also great if you like Bio I'm planning on switching to Bio engineering when it becomes a major, after taking his class.

This class was basically a cookie cutter class. I don't think Dr. Ritter had too much say on what topics or the format of the class as other teachers who taught this class seemed to do it the same way. With that said, it is an intro class and goes over a wide variety on information. Basically for every quiz you just need to memorize the slides (Read over them like 5 times) and you should easily get an A. His grading is nice 88% is an A, and then he added a good chunk of extra credit onto the last test. You might not learn a lot from a class like this going through so much information, but at least you will recognize key terms if they were to come up in a conversation, which I think is what their goal was. I wouldn't hesitate to take Dr. Ritter, just in a large class like this you don't get to gauge how he is as a teacher.

Ritter is a ok prof. He realizes its just a cruddy GE class, but still makes it interesting. Weekly quizzes at the end of lecture is whole grade. 2 things to note: he looks like matt damon's brother and the class is so very very interesting when compared to its evil twin (ENGR 213).

Ritter is a cool guy. Unfortunately, the subject matter isn't always fun. He does his best to make it interesting, especially for such a big class. This class wasn't as easy as my lying bastards of room mates made it out to be. However, if you study (or even better, memorize) the material on the slides, you should do pretty well. He also gave us extra credit questions on the final (he left them on by 'accident'). Overall, I'd definately recommend Ritter for any lecture.

Dr. Ritter is a really good bio 213 teacher to have. He lectures off of power point slides which can be downloaded. His tests are pretty easy and he tries to make things interesting. Overall great teacher.

i dont know how the hell i got a c in this class. it was pretty easy, although he made the class sound like it was going to be a lot easier than it was. i think i was probably the only fool to get a c in this class. he's a good teacher to take. just make sure you memorize everything that is on his powerpoint presentations and youll do fine. i thought i did that, but not too well i guess.

One of the best professors I have ever had. He makes it really enjoyable to come to class, by mixing learning with a few jokes that are actually funny. You have to do a little bit of outside reading, other than the textbook, but the reading is really enjoyable. The reading is about the most up to date science. He is really easy to talk to, and wonderful in office hours. If you take any type of bio, take Ritter, you won't regret it. To study, make sure you have done the reading, but most of the material comes right off of the slides that he posts on blackboard, so you don't have to take a lot of notes.

He was a good teacher. Really young, really attractive (looks like Matt Damon). All his lectures come from a power point, but it was interesting to hear current events in biology. I get the impression that he's really smart, but the class is designed to not go into too much depth in anything. He had I think 2 midterms and a final. They were all doable as long as you study the powerpoints. Don't bother getting the text book.

One of the best teachers at Poly. He lectured from power point slides and then posted them online too. His test and quiz are pretty straight forward and all from the lectures. There was a book but you don't use it at all since 95% of the stuuf is from the in class lectures. I do recommend to take him.

Ritter is an awesome professor. He explains everything very clearly, and is glad to answer any question in detail. He also makes great slides in an easy-to-print format, so you have to take virtually no notes of your own. Before every lecture, he gives you interesting class-related current events, although some of them are kinda scary. The midterms and final are easy to pass if you study his slides for about half an hour. This class is well-taught, and I learned a lot. HOWEVER: BEWARE THIS CLASS'S EVIL TWIN, ENGR 213. You can read my review of that under Walsh.

Prof Ritter is a great teacher. He presented the material clearly, and harped on really important things over and over again in quizes and tests, so you know what you need to learn. He also brought Biology down to the level of a normal human, and was Extremely clear about the topics he went over. He used lots of real life examples, and focused on a few topics instead of cramming all of biology into a two unit course. I failed for two reasons. 1) ENGR 213 sucks, and 2) I missed a Midterm. Completely forgot it was a midterm day and was studying for dynamics the next morning. I went to his office when I realized it, and right there he gave me the test. SUPER cool. Any engineering professor would have laughed in my face. I'm not saying he doesn't care when you take a test, but was nice enough to give me another chance. And it was sad because i hadn't studied and failed the test anyway. So, I will be taking the class again, and will be taking it with Ritter.

I really enjoyed Professor Ritter. His lectures were interesting and he is adamant about his job. He agrees with the students that the BIO 213 class is a joke, but he makes the best of it. He emphasizes the important stuff and disregards the information he knows engineers won't care about. I liked how he incorporates current events into class. He is also very helpful during office hours. I received a "C" because I didn't start studying for his exams and quizzes until halfway through the quarter. If you have the choice, take Professor Ritter for BIO 213.

I'm not gay, but Ritter is one of only two men I'd ever consider having sex with (the other is Wayne Gretzky). He is seriously fucking awesome. He owned the shit out of this class with his awesomeness. If the A in A-Bomb stood for awesome, Ritter would be a million of those. No he would be an H-Bomb, for hella-fucking-awesome bomb. Ritter is intelligent, interesting, and might I add handsom to boot. But seriously, he did a great job of making this otherwise lame class interesting by talking about controversial topics and pointing out why the world is so fucked up right now. He made me want to go out and save the world every fucking class period, and I love him for that. This is in complete opposition to how the ENGR213 portion of the class made me feel, which is too terrible to even speak of. Read my review of Walsh if you really give a fuck, which I'm sure you don't. Anyways, overall Ritter had interesting lectures, fufilling material that made you feel like you actually learned something, and fair but tough quizzes/exams. He's kind of a bitch on grading, you have to word shit the way he wants you to or else he'll knock off points all over the place. But I guess if I were as awesome as him, I'd do the same thing, just because I would be a god among men. Take at least one Ritter class before you graduate. It probably should be some kind of Poly graduation requirement, like that gay ass GWR. Fo sho.

Ritter is awesome, he knows we are a bunch of engineers know don't give a shit about bio, so he doesn't care if we care or not. But he cares about the information, so he makes bio fun to come to. He's a young guy and easily appeals to us college students. He likes to throw in controversal topics, and the lectures never last the two hours. He is also a really friendly guy and cares about his students. His quizes and tests are more difficult than people first think, so don't underestimate them. Some questions ask for really specific answers. Make sure to attend lectures because he tests you on stuff he says in class. Overall, he's awesome and most people should get a B easily

Very good teacher, very useless and stupid class. You probably don't have much of a choice in teachers for this wonderful duo of classes.

Dr. Ritter has been the most influential teacher that I have had thus far at Poly. He is rad and totally down-to-earth, you will notice this as soon as you meet him. I have taken 3 of his classes so far and would recommend all of them to any major. Take Ritter if you get the chance because you will actually learn a thing or two, go on some awesome field trips, and gain a better appreciation for the world we live in.

Cal Poly Lands was the EASIEST GE I've ever taken at Cal Poly! You basically go on hikes, write 4 papers (super easy, 2 pages double space with PICTURES i mean come on now..) and a final presentation that takes 3 minutes. People in my class made up a bunch of BS (it was obvious) and our group actually picked a topic that was relevant (rather than just pretending to pick up trash) and so it was obvious that we were golden for an A and our group only spent 1-2 hours outside of class to work on it. Most of the students in my class were athletes and didn't give a shit and I'm sure they still got at least B's. Dont take this class if you have class RIGHT after. The papers are kind of based on the field trip and book so it'll help your grade if you go. Also this class is also taught by Hunter Francis. He's also pretty awesome - such a cute environmentalist with lots of passion. I don't think I hardly saw professor Ritter..

I only had Matt as a professor on Field Botany trips, so I can't really evaluate him for these intro bio/bot classes. But, I know that he is hilarious, full of crazy stories and plant knowledge, and really fair. His quizzes were always easier.

Dr. Ritter is an incredible professor. He is relatable and extremely passionate about what he does and the material he teaches. He just wants the world to be a little greener and for people to love it as such. Though this course is not offered regularly (only every other summer), I would recommend everyone and anyone to jump at the opportunity to apply for the class. It's on Kauai...come on...what more could you ask for? You get to learn about fascinating tropical plants, go to places most tourists don't get to visit, and meet leading experts in ethnobotany through the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. You may even get your hair shampooed by a Samoan chief :)