Course Descriptions

This course provides an introduction to the practice of genetic counseling, including common models employed and the primary components of a genetic counseling session. Students practice foundational skills of contracting, pedigree construction and analysis, history-taking, medical record review, recognizing components of a physical exam, understanding dysmorphology and syndromology, and identification of referrals and resources.

This course is an in-depth study of the mechanism of Mendelian and non-Mendelian inheritance of diseases and disorders. Topics include gene structure and function, cellular processes, single-gene and complex inheritance, molecular defects that lead to various classes of genetic disease, and how theories of human genetics can be applied to populations.

This course is designed to teach students the basic skills necessary for effective counseling in a professional helping relationship. Through didactic training and experiential learning the course will develop students' facility with applying these skills in helping relationships. This course also addresses the physical, cognitive, and psychological changes human beings encounter as we pass through life, from infancy to death and how counseling skills may be applied when working with clients at each lifestage.

In this course, students examine the normal development and physiological function of organ systems, the mechanisms for the maintenance of health, and the pathophysiological alterations in body function that lead to disease. Each class will focus on a specific physiologic process or organ system. This course will focus on diseases with genetic contributions that occur across the life span, examining genetic variation, pathogenic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and common treatments of each. 

This course provides students with medical and counseling information unique to the provision of cancer genetic counseling services, including information regarding cancer screening and diagnostic testing, the utility of genetic testing in the setting of cancer, and specific counseling issues facing the cancer genetics client and genetic counselor. Students will become familiar with a broad range of inherited cancer syndromes and will learn how to identify appropriate resources/support for clients and families.

This course uses a small-group format to process the clinical experiences in the first year and will provide a backbone of professional supervision for casework. Each small group will be led by a genetic counselor faculty member who will facilitate discussion and provide support for developing counseling skills. Students will bring case material to the group to process together.

This is an immersive course designed to engage students with communities in which they live and work while fostering personal and professional growth through service. Through a combination of experiential learning and community service, students will explore the reciprocal relationships between social issues, community action, and genetic counseling. This course prepares students to become active genetic counselors who are capable of contributing positively to their communities and advocating for meaningful social change.

This course is designed to equip students with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to assess and communicate genetic risk effectively in clinical settings serving serving diverse client populations. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, and practical exercises, students will learn to interpret complex family histories, calculate quantitative risk, evaluate genetic testing results, and integrate diverse sources of information to accurately assess an individual's risk relevant to the provision of genetic counseling services.

This course builds upon developing counseling skills as students learn to perform psychosocial assessment during the genetic counseling session and determine when additional intervention is warranted. Students will work with giving bad news and providing support, as well as managing client guilt, shame, anger, and blame. This course will also assist students in learning to identify and address transference and countertransference in the genetic counseling setting and to understand various client coping and defense mechanisms.

In this course, students examine the normal development and physiological function of organ systems, the mechanisms for the maintenance of health, and the pathophysiological alterations in body function that lead to disease. Each class will focus on a specific physiologic process or organ system. This course will focus on diseases with genetic contributions that occur across the life span, examining genetic variation, pathogenic mechanisms, clinical manifestations, and common treatments of each. 

This course provides students with medical and counseling information unique to the provision of reproductive genetic counseling services, includung the technical information regarding screening and diagnostic testing modalities, the sociological perspectives of the geneticization/medicalization of pregnancy, and the specific counseling issues facing the perinatal client and genetic counselor.

This course provides an introduction to clinical study design, including development of a study question, types of studies, and types of variables. Lab learning workshops provide students with the tools to apply the knowledge learned in lectures and provide the foundation to collect, manage, and analyze data.

Students will begin to develop their independent mentored research project. Workshops that are part of this course cover topics including conducting a literature review, IRB submission, and grant writing. Students are supported in submitting one or more grant applications to assist in funding their research project.

This course uses a small-group format to process the clinical experiences in the first year and will provide a backbone of professional supervision for casework. Each small group will be led by a genetic counselor faculty member who will facilitate discussion and provide support for developing counseling skills. Students will bring case material to the group to process together.

This is an immersive course designed to engage students with communities in which they live and work while fostering personal and professional growth through service. Through a combination of experiential learning and community service, students will explore the reciprocal relationships between social issues, community action, and genetic counseling. This course prepares students to become active genetic counselors who are capable of contributing positively to their communities and advocating for meaningful social change.

This course provides an overview of the application of basic principles of genetics to public health practice and research. Students will explore the history of genetics and public health, learn to apply principles of effective written and oral communication to public health genetics topics, incorporate genetic information into assessment and policy development, and assess the ethical, legal, social, and financial implications of the use of genetic principles and technologies in public health.

This course provides an introduction to genomic sequencing technology and the interpretation of genomic variants in the research and clinical setting.  Students will learn what tools and databases are used to make interpretations. This course is experiential and provides opportunities to practice by critically analyzing sequencing data and interpreting variants, translating findings into the clinic by identifying diagnoses in patients. Students will also learn the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) criteria for evaluation of sequence variants. In addition, students will be exposed to a variety of roles genetic counselors can have in the context of clinical and research genomic testing, as well as the regulatory and ethical aspects of genomic sequencing clinical research.

Students engage in fieldwork at various settings approximately 3 full days per week.

Students complete a self-paced series of modules intended to support their developing practice as genetic counselors by providing content in areas relevant to their current internship. This course includes medical, genetic, and counseling topics.

This course is conducted as small-group work, providing space for processing clinical cases within the model of leader-led peer supervision. Students will have increasing clinical responsibilities in their internships and can utilize this course to further process and develop their professional self. Each small group will be led by a genetic counselor faculty member who will facilitate discussion and provide support for the students’ ongoing professional development and increasing counseling skills.

Under the supervision of a primary mentor and with the support or a research committee, students conduct independent scholarly research with the aim of creating new knowledge. 

This course provides a theoretical foundation for facilitating genetic/genomic education and client decision-making in the setting of gnetic counseling. Students will further develop and practice skills to strengthen their ongoing working alliance with clients, allowing for the provision of support and education that can provide positive impact. Both theory and practice will be addressed, as well as an understanding of models stemming directly from the genetic counseling profession. 

Beginning with the basic principles of bioethics, this course will explore ethical dilemmas that may emerge in genetic counseling settings. Readings and class discussions will concentrate on case histories that demonstrate issues that can arise during preconception, prenatal, pediatric, and adult sessions, including wrongful life and wrongful death, unequal access to care, resource allocation, duty to warn, communication of genetic information, predictive testing, testing children for adult-onset diseases, conflict of interest, genetic discrimination, and many others.

This course integrates the medical, ethical/policy, and counseling topics students have been exposed to thus far in their training by applying them to clinical genetic counseling scenarios. Entirely case-based, students will work through cases from a variety of settings including cancer genetics, neurogenetics, cardiogenetics, reproductive genetics, renal genetics, psychiatric genetics, dermatology genetics, and more. All aspects of case management and roles that genetic counselors might play based on the specifics of the case will be discussed.

Students engage in fieldwork at various settings approximately 3 full days per week.

Students complete a self-paced series of modules intended to support their developing practice as genetic counselors by providing content in areas relevant to their current internship. This course includes medical, genetic, and counseling topics.

This course is conducted as small-group work, providing space for processing clinical cases within the model of leader-led peer supervision. Students will have increasing clinical responsibilities in their internships and can utilize this course to further process and develop their professional self. Each small group will be led by a genetic counselor faculty member who will facilitate discussion and provide support for the students’ ongoing professional development and increasing counseling skills.

Under the supervision of a primary mentor and with the support or a research committee, students conduct independent scholarly research with the aim of creating new knowledge. 

This is an immersive course designed to engage students with communities in which they live and work while fostering personal and professional growth through service. Through a combination of experiential learning and community service, students will explore the reciprocal relationships between social issues, community action, and genetic counseling. This course prepares students to become active genetic counselors who are capable of contributing positively to their communities and advocating for meaningful social change.

This course provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the therapeutic potential of genetic counseling in various clinical settings to support client adaptation to risk, grief, loss, disability, and other life transitions/changes experienced in the setting of genetic counseling. Students will further develop and practice skills to deepen their working alliance with clients in order to foster resilience. Both theory and practice will be addressed, and special emphasis is placed upon the student’s own professional development as a counselor through gains in self-awareness.

This course will provide support to students as they prepare to transition into the professional community of genetic counselors in regard to board exam preparation, job search, supervision of students, leadership, and the importance of self-care. Students will identify and review the key aspects to establishing and optimizing genetic services for any type of setting. Beyond employment, genetic counselors have a professional responsibility to stay actively engaged in the community, contribute to advancing the field, and maintain their own education beyond graduate training.

This course integrates the medical, ethical/policy, and counseling topics students have been exposed to thus far in their training by applying them to clinical genetic counseling scenarios. Entirely case-based, students will work through cases from a variety of settings including cancer genetics, neurogenetics, cardiogenetics, reproductive genetics, renal genetics, psychiatric genetics, dermatology genetics, and more. All aspects of case management and roles that genetic counselors might play based on the specifics of the case will be discussed.

Students engage in fieldwork at various settings approximately 3 full days per week.

Students complete a self-paced series of modules intended to support their developing practice as genetic counselors by providing content in areas relevant to their current internship. This course includes medical, genetic, and counseling topics.

This course is conducted as small-group work, providing space for processing clinical cases within the model of leader-led peer supervision. Students will have increasing clinical responsibilities in their internships and can utilize this course to further process and develop their professional self. Each small group will be led by a genetic counselor faculty member who will facilitate discussion and provide support for the students’ ongoing professional development and increasing counseling skills.

Under the supervision of a primary mentor and with the support or a research committee, students conduct independent scholarly research with the aim of creating new knowledge. 

This is an immersive course designed to engage students with communities in which they live and work while fostering personal and professional growth through service. Through a combination of experiential learning and community service, students will explore the reciprocal relationships between social issues, community action, and genetic counseling. This course prepares students to become active genetic counselors who are capable of contributing positively to their communities and advocating for meaningful social change.