Spring 2027

An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

An introductory course on Geographic Information Systems covering automated procedures for storing, analyzing, and displaying spatial information, including databases, software systems, and case studies.

offering recorded4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 A-Xing Zhu3.4/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Axing Zhu

The course covered a large volume of material, making it challenging. Exams were described as tough and difficult, with some students noting that grading on them was harsh.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Describe the basic structures, concepts, and theories of GIS.

  • Conduct daily routines of GIS operations.

  • Make connections to the broader literature in GIS

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2 UW Guide 3

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing, member of Engineering Guest Students, or declared in Capstone Certificate in GIS Fundamentals

    • Sophomore standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students
    • declared in Capstone Certificate in GIS Fundamentals
    take one
CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377 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
  • Any of
    • Sophomore standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students
    • declared in Capstone Certificate in GIS Fundamentals

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.14/5 from 21 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: 3.0/5 raw quality · 3.4/5 difficulty · 13 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Axing Zhu

Students reported A-Xing Zhu’s lectures were sometimes difficult to follow due to his accent or unclear explanations, though others found them enthusiastic and clear. One student noted five pop quizzes and exams with obscure questions, while others criticized labs for vague instructions and unclear grading criteria.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.02 GPA, 32.4% A/AB (n=74 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.29 GPA, 50.7% A/AB (n=75 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.52 GPA, 76.6% A/AB (n=77 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Guiming Zhang

A student found the course in-depth and helpful for beginners, noting that the TAs conducting labs were crucial to their success. They reported quizzes every other week, an easy midterm, and a tough final.

A-XING ZHU is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GUIMING ZHANG is recorded teaching in Spring 2016. 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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Online Only0 / 1000
LAB 301Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 302Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 303Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 304Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LEC 001Online Only0 / 1000
LAB 301Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 302Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 303Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 304Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LEC 001Online Only0 / 1000
LAB 301Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 302Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 303Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LAB 304Classroom Instruction0 / 250

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Axing Zhu

Professor Zhu taught with enthusiasm and used real-life examples to make dry material more engaging. Students found the subject matter educational, though some found the lecture delivery boring.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.43 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=80 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.29 GPA, 50.7% A/AB (n=75 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.52 GPA, 76.6% A/AB (n=77 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Axing Zhu

The course covered a large volume of material, making it challenging. Exams were described as tough and difficult, with some students noting that grading on them was harsh.

Past student reviews · Axing Zhu

Students found lab directions frustrating and too general, often struggling with ArcGIS without prior experience. Clear grading criteria for labs were lacking, which made up a large portion of the grade.

Topics

  • Storage, analysis, and display of spatial information
  • Databases and information manipulation techniques
  • GIS software systems and management issues
  • Applied case studies in GIS

Skills

  • Understanding basic GIS structures, concepts, and theories
  • Performing daily GIS operational routines
  • Designing and implementing automated procedures for spatial data storage, analysis, and display

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · 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.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.22 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

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

1280 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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377 · Spring 2027

An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Recorded 2026-10-29
CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377 · Spring 2027

An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Recorded 2026-10-29
CIVENGR/ENVIRST/GEOG 377 · Spring 2027

An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Recorded 2026-10-29
Raw records 
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Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-29

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "3dfc9c18d70a026478de51c50e97dcec902b312c86e53ec956da3ca2da0543e4",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "c9cd06eaa45f9ddf7e69faa38b89ff3d3dd995dd",
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}