UT Austin BIO 325: Genetics
BIO 325 is UT's core genetics course: transmission genetics, molecular genetics, gene regulation, and genomic analysis. It's required for biology majors and a fixture of pre-health degree plans after the introductory sequence.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with The University of Texas at Austin. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
It's the most quantitative course many biology majors have taken: mapping crosses, probability chains, and data-interpretation problems dominate exams, and the leap from understanding lecture to solving novel problems is wide. The students who struggle are reviewing notes; the students who succeed are working problem sets like it's a math course.
What you'll cover
- • Transmission genetics and complex inheritance
- • Gene mapping and linkage analysis
- • Molecular genetics: replication, transcription, translation
- • Mutation and DNA repair
- • Gene regulation
- • Genomics and analysis techniques
The BIO 325 study guide
How to study for UT Austin BIO 325, step by step.
- 1
Study it like a math course
BIO 325's exams are problem-dominated: mapping, probability, data interpretation. Note review builds familiarity; problem volume builds the grade.
- 2
Master probability rules for inheritance early
Product and sum rules chain through multi-gene problems all semester. Get them automatic in the first weeks so complex crosses stay manageable.
- 3
Practice interpreting data, not just reading results
Exam questions present crosses or experimental output and ask what it means. Work backward from data to genotype until that direction feels natural.
- 4
Redo missed problems from a blank page
Days later, without notes. Genetics setups are patterns, and the second attempt from scratch is where the pattern actually transfers.
Today's BIO 325 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for BIO 325. Yours is built from your syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
- Review: Mutation and DNA repairReview · 25 min
Work back through the BIO 325 material on mutation and dna repair. In the app, Fennie builds this from your own notes and syllabus.
- Practice: Gene regulationPractice · 20 min
Targeted problems on gene regulation, the kind BIO 325 actually tests.
- Quick quiz: Genomics and analysis techniquesQuiz · 10 min
Five generated questions to expose weak spots on genomics and analysis techniques before the exam does.
- Preview: Transmission genetics and complex inheritancePreview · 10 min
A first pass over transmission genetics and complex inheritance so the next session starts from familiar ground.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is BIO 325 hard at UT Austin?
It's the most quantitative course in many biology degree plans, and exams are problem-dominated rather than recall-dominated. Students who work problem sets like math homework do well; note-reviewers consistently underperform their effort.
What should I review before BIO 325?
The genetics material from BIO 311D (inheritance patterns, basic crosses, and probability rules) plus molecular biology foundations from 311C. Entering with fast probability reasoning is the single best preparation.
How do I study for BIO 325 exams?
Problem volume by type: crosses, mapping, pedigrees, and data interpretation, with every miss redone from a blank page days later. The exams test setup on novel problems, and only repetition with feedback builds that transfer.
More UT Austin courses
BIO 311C: Introductory Biology I
BIO 311C is UT's first majors biology course, covering biochemistry foundations, cell structure, energy metabolism, and molecular genetics. It's the gateway for biology majors and UT's very large pre-health population, with exams that test molecular detail at depth.
BIO 311D: Introductory Biology II
BIO 311D is the second course in UT's introductory biology sequence: genetics and inheritance, evolution, and ecology. It completes the foundation BIO 311C began for biology majors and UT's large pre-health population.