Spring 2027

Foundations

This course covers the analysis and design of shallow and deep foundations, including footings, mats, piers, piles, fill, and excavation operations.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 7

Past student reviews · James Tinjum

One student reported spending approximately 20 hours per homework assignment while still barely passing the class.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Provide examples of when and where to consider shallow foundation systems in lieu of deep foundation systems and where stone columns or rammed aggregate piers are appropriate

  • Scope and Prepare a Foundation Investigation, including the equipment and standards used for subsurface exploration and the advantages/disadvantages therein

  • Calculate Allowable Bearing Pressure using (a) presumptive values, (b) the bearing capacity equation and (c) in situ approaches

  • Design a safe spread foundation system where structural capacity exceeds demand

  • Design a drilled shaft and a driven pile for axial loading considering vertical loading and a settlement estimate

  • Prepare a bid sheet, plan set, and set of specifications for a successful foundation design

  • Use soil moduli in the application of a laterally loaded deep-foundation system using an appropriate software program with a hand-calculated backcheck

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

CIV ENGR/​G L E 330, graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students

    • CIVENGR/GLE 330
    • graduate/professional standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students
    take one
CIVENGR/GLE 532 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
    • CIVENGR/GLE 330
    • graduate/professional standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

JAMES TINJUM is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2022. 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

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SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

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

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · James Tinjum

Students described the course as extremely challenging, with lectures that were difficult to follow and homework lacking clear direction.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2020: 3.27 GPA, 54.3% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.54 GPA, 91.2% A/AB (n=34 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.62 GPA, 84.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · James Tinjum

One student reported spending approximately 20 hours per homework assignment while still barely passing the class.

Past student reviews · James Tinjum

A student noted that no homework was graded before the first in-person exam and that the instructor avoided in-class math examples for two months.

Topics

  • Shallow and deep foundation systems.
  • Settlement analysis, stress distribution, and load-bearing capacity.
  • Selection criteria for shallow vs. deep foundations, including stone columns and rammed aggregate piers.

Skills

  • Analysis and design of shallow and deep foundation systems including footings, mats, piers, and piles.
  • Evaluating settlement types, stress distribution, and load-bearing capacity to select appropriate foundation systems.
  • Scoping and preparing foundation investigations using subsurface exploration equipment and standards.
  • Applying soil moduli to laterally loaded deep foundations using software programs with hand-calculated verification.

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2024— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2024

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

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

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Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

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

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "5c98b99dffafd9dd76d193ba3eb4b36363d8dd1155d7d9f7b9a58fa14b413a74",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}