I really liked this class!!! The topics were really interesting ranging from DNA fingerprinting and genetics to nutrition and much more. This class definitely kept me curious and interested in my learning. Professor Phelan is a great teacher, very welcoming, and helpful but, the midterm and the final are tough exams. They tend to go more in depth on what is said in lectures and the textbook, needing to be specific with terms and names.
We would also get problem sets (worksheets), every week or every other week which later we would get quizzes based on 1 question chosen by our TA's. I wished that we would've gotten some type of credit for completing these worksheets. There wasn't really a difference compared to students who didn't do them so even a few points would've been nice to get.
A good thing is that their extra credit opportunities such as replying to discussion posts leaving a thoughtful comment and making a video at the end of the quarter about a topic that was covered in class.
To do well in the class, you really need to put in time and effort, going to office hours, reviewing notes, drawing diagrams, and studying with others.
Overall, it's a really interesting and rewarding class and the professor is really nice and willing to help us succeed in his class. The midterm and final were hard, but the material covered is great and Professor Phelan is an awesome professor

Let’s turn back time to a little over a week ago: it’s December 8th, 2025 and I am genuinely about to lose it over this class. About a month ago I’d gotten a 77% on my midterm (which was actually above average), and I’d just received the lowest possible score on what was supposed to have been a very generous extra credit assignment (10 points, when I could have gotten up to 30). I had showed up to lecture a grand total of 4 times that quarter, making a note to watch the recorded lectures but never really did. At this point it’s approaching 2am and my calculations tell me I need a 99% on the final to get an A (93%). There was just so much content to cram for and I’d only given myself about 3 days to cover all of it. I accepted my fate and went to bed.

Flash forward to after the final. I’m feeling fairly confident about the test, as entire FRQs had been recycled word for word from the previous year’s exam. We were also given 2 extra credit points just for drawing our favorite sea creature on the back of the test. Still, I knew getting an A was well beyond reach.

But guess what? One week later I’m here jumping with joy because I somehow secured an A in Jay Phelan’s LS15. I just tallied up the points myself and realized I’d gotten about 88% raw grade. I got a C on both the midterm and the final, gotten a 10/30 on the extra credit, a disappointing B on the debate which I thought I’d demolished… but with that crazy curve I still snagged that A. I barely put in any effort in going to class (besides discussion which was mandatory), didn’t watch lectures until that last stretch before the final…. but anything is possible when the goat Jay Phelan is your professor.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

I will say though that this course is NOT EASY BY ANY MEANS. DO NOT take this class expecting a cakewalk….

DO NOT cram for this class like I did. You will have a very hard time during finals week. Simply dedicating just 2-3 hours a week for this class WILL save you a lot of future trouble.

If you have an existing foundation in Bio or Psych you WILL succeed. Luckily I’d taken Ap Bio and Psych and high schools and received a 5 on both exams, so some of the content (ONLY Some, about 15%) was review for me.

BE ATTENTIVE to Phelan’s definitions. Your current understanding of evolutionary fitness from high school biology may be very different from Phelan’s definition. Unfortunately, TAs are very adamant about accurately using Phelan’s definitions, so try to memorize them as best you can.

Unless you really need supplemental help, FORGET THE TEXTBOOK. It will be of absolutely no help to you unless you want extra practice problems. Almost everything Phelan tests on can be found in lectures.

DO ALL THE PSETS. These weekly psets will make or break your grade. Although you are given questions in advance for your weekly quizzes, it is not uncommon for you to get about a 60% on some of these. Your lowest grade will be dropped, but try to put as much effort into these as possible. Review your PSET answers right before the quiz and you should be set.

TAKE NOTES on Phelan’s illustrative examples. He litters many of them throughout lectures and you must have a clear understanding of them. Otherwise you will get hit with a question about the Sauce Bernaise phenomenon and have no idea what he’s referring to.

I went to office hours 2-3 times before the exams to get clear cut explanations from my goat TA, Samiksha Deme. She is a strict BUT overall fair grader and knew how to explain concepts very well. I felt very comfortable in her sections and didn’t miss a single session.

LOOK AT PAST EXAMS. Phelan WILL reuse and take past mcqs / frqs and regurgitate on the final exams.

GO TO HIS REVIEW SESSIONS. He will tell you everything you need to know for the final and midterm. This is especially useful for crammers like me.

TRYHARD THE EXTRA CREDIT. Do NOT rely on anything besides your own creativity for this project, which will be a bio-themed parody or skit. Genuinely give it your all for this video, you never know how it could save you. If you’re doing a musical parody, make SURE it doesn’t get copyrighted when you upload it to YouTube.

Finally… TAKE THIS CLASS. Phelan is such an interesting and hilarious lecturer that it lessened the stress of cramming. Take this class, GO to lecture, pay attention, and an A is guaranteed.

omg so so good. i'll keep this short bc there's already so many great reviews and if you've read them, i'm sure you're not worried about this class. but if you still are, let me be the one to TELL YOU. zon't worry. this class is so slay. professor phelan ate. also what a fun class. okay now that you decided to take the class, let me warn you. you might get a lower grade on the midterm than you'd hoped. NO WORRIES. study hard for the final. you can fail the final (i did) and still pass the class with an a-. as long as you did all the extra credit. anyways this man is sent from the heavens and this class is not bad AT ALL do not worry. ps u don't have to read the book ever. don't stress about the debate it'll be fine (we prepared the night before). i didn't go to class as much as i should have and just uploaded the transcripts of the recordings to notebook lm and had it create a comprehensive study guide for me. worked like a CHARM but i also failed the tests so like?? did it really
anyways yeah

READ READ READ! NOT AN EASY GE!!!!! HEAVY SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY!!!!! I took this class thinking it was an easy A, but I was wrong. I somehow ended up with a B- even though when I calculate my grade, it comes out to a D.... so the professor or TA might be adjusting grades behind the scenes, I don't know. Anywho, the tests are insanely hard if you are not an avid biology/science nerd, don't take it if you don't need to and aren't confident with science because so much is expected from you on tests. The midterm and final both have half of the points based on short-answers that need to be so specifically structured and they're looking for such specific intricate answers that if you aren't into science, you will dread this class like I did. Don't get me wrong, the professor seems to be a nice funny guy but the tests are just another level. Also sure there are some extra credit but it's definitely not enough to pass you if you struggle. There is a group debate too, some TA's are nicer about it, but some are too strict so watch out. Personally I would not recommend this class unless you are into biology....

DO NOT TAKE IF YOU ARE NOT A STEM MAJOR. Professor Phelan is a REALLY good professor, but the exams are SO HARD! He is very passionate about the topic and his examples are super informative, but I’m not a STEM major and I struggled so hard throughout this course. My TA also graded things very harshly. 4 quizzes, they will mark you off for tiny things. Your answers have to be basically like the textbook to get 100. Our average grade on the midterm was somewhere around a 66%. Again, great professor and a lifesci major would thrive. But NOT AN EASY GE.

This class was one of my prerequisites so I had to take it, but I would recommend to think again if ur trying to take it as an easy GE. This won’t be an easy A, as the content itself was pretty hard for me (yeah I don’t like bio stuff) and the exams are BRUTAL AND HARSHLY GRADED. I believe the median and mean for both midterm and final was around 63-68?? I really like the professor tho, he’s really nice and funny.

There are four discussion posts each worth 30 points, and I would say these are free points as long as you do the right thing the prompt asks for and put in some effort. You have to respond to other people’s discussion posts, and this is worth 15 points. Throughout the quarter, there are 4 quizzes during the discussion section, each worth 15 points. One lowest quiz grade is dropped at the end of the quarter. The quiz questions come from one of the questions from the problem set, so try to actually solve them and you’ll be fine. I got 14/15, 15/15, 15/15, and 13/15 (dropped). There’s also one debate with a team of three to four people, and you should really prepare for it as the TA doesn’t like students simply reading off the prepared scripts.

As for the midterm and final, really study all the materials. Just try to memorize all the things that the professor mentioned as they are very likely to appear (there was one thing that was in the exam that was mentioned like once). Also, try to have at least five examples for important concepts as they will help you a lot in both mcqs and saqs. Keep in mind that if you write something outside the box (apparently), one point is deducted even though this wasn’t mentioned before the exam at all.

There’s one extra credit opportunity, where you have to create either a music video or a movie trailer. I made a music video and got 10points.

I think the professor also curves our grade at the end of the quarter, so don’t be so stressed out. I got bad scores for both the midterm and finals, but my grade was bumped up to an A still. I think he’s not giving us grades based on the raw score but bases on our relative standing.

Anyways, this class really requires studying and effort, so if you’re looking for an easy A GE, I would say find another one…

Professor Phelan is an amazing lecturer and so funny, I actually enjoyed going to his lectures. Even though I studied a significant amount prior, the Midterm and Final were both pretty difficult and are graded quite harshly (I received an 114.5/150, class average was 99/150 on Midterm 1). There are 4 quizzes and a debate in discussion section as well as lots of textbook readings assigned. There are problem sets you are given (not mandatory but you need to do them to do well on the quizzes), and lots of extra credit opportunities. Discussion section attendance is mandator, but lecture attendance is not enforced + Bruincasts are recorded. This class definitely isn't an easy A but if you keep up with reading the textbook, carefully review his lectures and examples, an A should be achievable.

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO. It is more than difficult, and the tests are very difficult to study for as you have to cram an obscene amount of content into a short amount of time studying. I will say that Professor Phelan is an engaging professor, and my TA was helpful when we did content review during discussion. HOWEVER, the grading is EXTREMELY TOUGH. I got docked multiple points on the midterm because they said I "wrote outside of the provided space" even though that was not told to me beforehand that that wasn't allowed. So, if you need this class as a pre-req, Professor Phelan is great, but this is genuinely the worst GE ever it's so unnecessarily hard.

Jay Phelan is a wonderful Professor. He is incredibly funny and his lectures are clear and interactive. His textbooks are helpful especially "What is life." "Mean Genes" on the other hand is a little less so and kind of like a self help book. This class is not easy by any means our class midterm was a D, but don't let that scare you, this class is an absolute blast. Please take this class, challenge yourself, and have fun while doing it! Also... extra credit!

don't take this class as an easy GE. i love coming to lecture because professor phelan is an amazing speaker, but the grading is SO HARD for no reason