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Dibs Fall 2026

LIFESCI 15

Life: Concepts and Issues

Lecture, two and one half hours; discussion, 75 minutes. Introduction to important concepts and issues in the field for non-life sciences majors. Topics include chemistry of life, genetics, physiology, evolution, and ecology--all explored in lecture and debates, with writing component. P/NP or letter grading.

Course statistics

Predicted GPA
3.39
n = 3,248 · 11 terms · ± 0.010
A range
52%
of letter grades
Taken P/NP
5%
95% of those passed
D / F / W
1.5%
incl. withdrawals

Sections in Fall 2026

Sections offered, with live enrollment and predicted GPA
Section Status Enrolled Seat risk Meets Instructor Predicted GPA
Lec 1 Open
245 of 271
90% full
 fills TR 2:00pm-3:15pm Phelan, J.P.
3.39n=3,248 · this instructor

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.

  • 35321F
  • 33622W
  • 6522S
  • 35022F
  • 34023S
  • 37423F
  • 34824W
  • 36624F
  • 36725W
  • 20625S
Enrolment by term: 21F 353, 22W 336, 22S 65, 22F 350, 23S 340, 23F 374, 24W 348, 24F 366, 25W 367, 25S 206
Peak 374 Most recent 206 in 25S 10 terms on record

Grade distribution

  • A+ 160 · 4.7%
  • A 1,161 · 33.9%
  • A- 382 · 11.2%
  • B+ 382 · 11.2%
  • B 568 · 16.6%
  • B- 290 · 8.5%
  • C+ 111 · 3.2%
  • C 130 · 3.8%
  • C- 15 · 0.4%
  • D 14 · 0.4%
  • F 35 · 1.0%
  • P 147 · 4.3%
  • NP 8 · 0.2%
  • I 17 · 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
PHELAN, JOHN PATRICK 3.39 3.39 3,248 11 52%

“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