BIOL 2960
Principles of Biology I
An introduction to biological molecules and biochemical strategies employed by the three domains of life. The flow of genetic information within cells is discussed in the context of cellular structure, organization, and function. Investigation and manipulation of genetic information by molecular genetic technologies, such as recombinant DNA, forms the final phase of the course. Labs reinforce concepts from lectures and explore common laboratory techniques and computer-based resources. Prerequisites: Chem 111 and Chem 112 (concurrently).
Instructors
Barbara Kunkel, Elise Walck-Shannon, Hafer, Kathleen Hafer, Kunkel, Walck-Shannon
Reviews
Personally, I liked Professor Hafer. Dr. Hafer seems to tire as the day progresses. In the morning, she really cares about you. In the afternoon... That's when the horror (see other comments) happens. Grades rely mainly on memorization-heavy tests. N
5/9/2026
2-4 hrs/week
I've never taken AP Bio and it was hard to stay focused in this class because its not as hard as chem but also requires self-review because they basically just read off the slides
4/18/2025
8-10 hrs/week
Hafer just reads off the slides and doesn’t seem very enthusiastic about teaching. It also feels like the exam questions are not vertu similar to quizzes or practice problems, so I always felt unprepared no matter how much I studied.
12/27/2024
had not taken ap bio and this class was incredibly difficult. test grading criteria is super specific to the point where they are actively trying to find points to take off your grade.
10/21/2024
Dr. Elise is one of the most transformative professors at WashU. She deeply cares about her students' success and mental well-being, building lasting relationships. She goes beyond teaching, ensuring we fully understand the material, and offers incredible support and resources. I highly recommend her—she will change how you approach learning!
10/3/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Hafer very clearly hates lecturing and does not put effort into this class. Kunkel is better but the class itself is very cut and dry regardless. Pure memorization and little elaboration.
7/9/2024
The sweetest, most enthusiastic professor ever. Her redesign of 2960 evidently required enormous amounts of work, and she handled the new semester extremely well. Her teaching style is good, but the class structure is great. As long as you consistently actively engage with the material, it is very possible to do well in this course.
7/8/2024
4-6 hrs/week
Fairly similar to AP Bio if you took it, but Hafer is such a bad prof that it felt much harder
5/26/2024
4-6 hrs/week
This class is one that can easily slip your mind, especially if also you’re taking chem or physics. I would recommend doing a reverse style of note-taking for this class. DON’T bother handwriting your notes in lecture, both professors just read off slides and go way too fast. Use the weekly study guides they give you to basically pre-write your notes beforehand. Then during class you can listen in for more detailed information and save the photos they and the textbooks have so you don’t need to go back when you’re making a cheat sheet. You definitely need to teach yourself the material as you go and try not to neglect it too much. The exams are oddly biased towards certain topics (depending on which exam you take) and really short so make sure you have a good foundation of everything.
5/22/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Honestly, it’s really not bad at all if you’ve taken AP Bio. We’re the lectures REALLY boring and did I almost fall asleep? Yes. But the quizzes are all open note, open internet, and the labs are pretty easy. I think an A is pretty feasible if you put a bit of time into it
5/22/2024
4-6 hrs/week
This is a somewhat difficult course taught by professors that do not care or respect students. It is super disappointed and discouraging. The lectures are also not super helpful.
5/21/2024
6-8 hrs/week
Hafer was a terrible professor and very condescending. You have to fully teach yourself the material as lecture just regurgitates the slides. Lab usually helps your grade, but make sure you choose a lab with a good professor, so literally anyone but Craig Smith. It’s a lot of memorization but it’s manageable in comparison to courses like Gen chem or orgo.
5/21/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Its intro bio. Its a bad class but you have to take it and its easy
5/19/2024
2-4 hrs/week
The course was a pretty standard introduction to biology, and was pretty much all of the same content as AP bio. It was pretty clear that the instructors weren't that passionate about lecturing and mostly read from slides, but the TAs were very accessible.
5/18/2024
Even during help sessions, she acts irritated at students for asking questions & not understanding content, when all she does in lecture is read off the slides. The material wasn't that bad, but tests & quizzes can be difficult.
5/13/2024
Hafer reads off of the slides and does not add much regarding expertise. Though she will stop and ask questions, she can rarely answer them, which is disappointing. If you have taken AP Bio before, it may be okay that she does not teach the material, but for first-time Bio learners, the lack of actual explanation and guidance makes it tough.
5/12/2024
She's nice and funny but just reads off the slides. The material can be learned without attending her lectures. We rush through content and don't spend as much time applying it. She says the tests emphasize conceptual understanding, but they were fairly basic and mostly memorization, which was a loss educationally. Exams aren't weighted that much.
5/10/2024
In my experience, she was nowhere near as bad as she was made out to be. You have to give her and Kunkel grace for reading off slides when there is so much information to cover that there is no way to lecture without them. Overall she is ok - not amazing but not terrible. The midterms only make up 25% of your grade which is extremely fair.
5/7/2024
Not going to lie, I didn't go to lecture because it was such a waste of time. She read off the slides the whole time. Loved biology until I had to take it with her here.
5/1/2024