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Dibs Fall 2026

SOC GEN 102

Societal and Medical Issues in Human Genetics

Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Sequence of entire human genome is now known. Consideration of how this knowledge impacts concepts of ourselves as individuals and of our place in biological universe, concepts of race/ethnicity and gender, ability of DNA-based forensics to identify specific individuals, ownership and commodification of genes, issues of privacy and confidentiality, issues of genetic discrimination, issues of predictive genetic testing. Discussion of human cloning for reproductive and therapeutic purposes. Exposure to medical genetics cases. Discussion of role of whole genome sequencing in clinical setting. Human Genome Project influence on medicine and on our concepts of self and identity. Letter grading.

Course statistics

Predicted GPA
3.88
n = 1,033 · 4 terms · ± 0.017
A range
92%
of letter grades
Taken P/NP
0%
— of those passed
D / F / W
0.5%
incl. withdrawals

Sections in Fall 2026

Not offered in Fall 2026.

Enrollment history

Final enrollment per term, averaged across that term's sections. Four years deep, summer excluded. Per-section live curves are on each section page.

  • 25922S
  • 26023S
  • 26024S
  • 25925S
Enrolment by term: 22S 259, 23S 260, 24S 260, 25S 259
Peak 260 Most recent 259 in 25S 4 terms on record

Grade distribution

  • A+ 252 · 24.3%
  • A 586 · 56.5%
  • A- 115 · 11.1%
  • B+ 39 · 3.8%
  • B 24 · 2.3%
  • B- 6 · 0.6%
  • C+ 2 · 0.2%
  • C 3 · 0.3%
  • C- 1 · 0.1%
  • F 5 · 0.5%
  • I 5 · 0.5%

Grey bars are non-letter outcomes — P/NP, S/U, incompletes. They are excluded from the GPA entirely rather than scored, because counting a P as a 4.0 would be a fabrication.

By instructor

Instructor Predicted Raw n Terms A range
RENSEL, MICHELLE A 3.88 3.88 1,033 4 92%
GARRISON, NANIBAA ANGELA 3.90 3.90 258 1 95%

“Predicted” is shrunk toward the course average, which is itself shrunk toward the department — so an instructor with a handful of students sits near the course mean rather than topping the list.

By term