Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
Was only for one of the units. Teaching was kind of all over the place, kind of distracting/ hard to listen to or follow alongRate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Chris Hittinger
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
I had a general good time with Professor Hittinger. He was able to explain complex topics quickly and effectively. Despite doing worse than I would have liked in the course, I did learn a ton from him. My only two complaints were the lack of partial credit on his exams, especially on the questions that required multiple calculations.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 2/5Difficulty 3/5
You have to write a discussion post and respond everyweek, plus read a paper and write a summary, significance statement and relevant questions with each being only one sentence but under 50 words. They are heavily scrutinized, so if you think something is less important about the paper, think again. There is also a group project. DONT MISS CLASSRate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Hittinger was very passionate about his subject and explained it well. His exam was a good mix of common sense questions about significant figures, and calculations. The exam followed his previous exam format so be sure to look over the one he posts. He was funny, but overall just pretty boring and moved fast. The calculations are not hard at all.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
Dr. Hittinger overall is a good lecturer. He sometimes talk a bit too fast, and it spend me some time to follow. However, the slide is very clear and give you 90% of the information that would be on the exam.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
He is one of the worst professors I've ever had at UW. Monotone voice and teaches extremely irrelevant material during lectures that is not even remotely close to the material that is tested on the exam. Exam questions mostly fill in blank calculations with zero partial credit given, even if you are within 0.001 margins. Do not take him!Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Chris Hittinger
GENETICS 299
Independent Study
1–3 creditsGENETICS 299 is an independent study course involving research work in Genetics under faculty guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2024 · limited sampleGENETICS 466
Principles of Genetics
3 creditsPrinciples of Genetics covers transmission, molecular, and evolutionary genetics in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, including genetic engineering and societal issues.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Chris Hittinger is described as helpful, knowledgeable, and funny, with fair exams and supportive office hours. However, some students find his lectures confusing or unhelpful, noting that he sometimes struggles to explain concepts clearly.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026GENETICS 681
Senior Honors Thesis
2–4 creditsGENETICS 681 is an individual study course for majors completing theses for Honors degrees as arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
GENETICS 699
Special Problems
1–3 creditsGENETICS 699 is a special problems course allowing students to conduct individual advanced work in a specific area of Genetics under faculty guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026GENETICS 990
Research
1–12 creditsGENETICS 990 is a research course where students conduct independent laboratory research under faculty supervision to prepare a graduate thesis.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
MICROBIO 699
Special Problems
1–4 creditsMICROBIO 699 is an independent study course allowing students to conduct advanced microbiology research under faculty guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sampleMICROBIO 899
Independent Study
1–9 creditsMICROBIO 899 is an independent study course allowing students to conduct research in biological science under faculty direction.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
MICROBIO 990
Research
1–9 creditsMICROBIO 990 is a research course involving full lab and literature review of a microbiology problem, leading to thesis preparation and publication.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | GENETICS 299 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | GENETICS 466 | Principles of Genetics |
| Fall 2026 | GENETICS 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | GENETICS 699 | Special Problems |
| Fall 2026 | GENETICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2026 | MICROBIO 699 | Special Problems |
| Fall 2026 | MICROBIO 899 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | MICROBIO 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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