Fall 2026

Principles of Archaeology

PRINCIPLES OF ARCHAEOLOGY introduces methods, history, and scientific principles of archaeology.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Sissel Schroeder3.9/5Lucas Wirick

Summary

1 / 7

Assignments and tests are described as easy if students pay attention in lecture and take notes. Exams are graded lightly provided the work is completed, and the course is considered easy overall.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ANTHRO 212 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.11/5 from 36 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 4.2/5 raw quality · 2.3/5 difficulty · 6 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Sissel Schroeder is praised for caring about student well-being and offering clear rubrics, with some finding her class fun and highly recommendable. Reviewers note her availability in office hours and engaging interactive discussions.

Conversely, some students describe her lectures as dry, dull, and not exciting, despite the class being easy. These reviewers suggest that while the course is manageable, the presentation style may not appeal to everyone.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.80 GPA, 91.1% A/AB (n=56 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.83 GPA, 92.1% A/AB (n=63 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.65 GPA, 78.4% A/AB (n=37 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Sarah Clayton: Sarah Clayton’s lectures are described as engaging and passionate, with students noting her use of personal archaeological examples. Reviewers highlight clear exam outlines and straightforward assignments. Conversely, one reviewer found her lectures dry and overly focused on her own research, indicating varied student experiences.

SARAH CLAYTON is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SISSEL SCHROEDER is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Fall 2019, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction37 / 880
DIS 301Classroom Instruction15 / 220
DIS 302Classroom Instruction6 / 220
DIS 303Classroom Instruction3 / 220
DIS 304Classroom Instruction13 / 220

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Sissel Schroeder is described as a caring and wonderful instructor who offers clear guidance. Reviewers report enjoying the interactive nature of the course and finding it highly recommendable for learning basics.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.28 GPA, 56.1% A/AB (n=66 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.44 GPA, 65.5% A/AB (n=58 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.65 GPA, 78.4% A/AB (n=37 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Assignments and tests are described as easy if students pay attention in lecture and take notes. Exams are graded lightly provided the work is completed, and the course is considered easy overall.

Some students find Schroeder's lectures dry and dull, though they still consider the class easy. These reviewers note that the presentation style may not be exciting.

Topics

  • Archaeological methods and history
  • The human past

Skills

  • Generate and interpret archaeological information
  • Apply scientific inquiry methods

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

7 earlier forecasts · 0.18 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
ANTHRO 212 · Fall 2026

Principles of Archaeology

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:156:000808",
    "course_id": "ANTHRO 212",
    "course_uid": "course_25d49698d868f9b55b9fa00b",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "000808",
    "source_subject_id": "156",
    "title": "Principles of Archaeology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "f773ab03b69aae63c9a3ae8d13be70dae71d0fbfc1e16c3ce1e12116fe005dea",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}