Spring 2027

Introduction to Software Security

Introduction to Software Security covers secure design, secure programming, vulnerability assessment, static/dynamic analysis tools, and system defenses across the SDLC.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Barton Miller2.8/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Barton Miller

The class required weekly quizzes, a participation event, and extra credit opportunities. One student noted that while the course was less challenging than core CS classes, missing quizzes made getting an A difficult.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Think like an attacker, that is to think about software the way that an adversary would.

  • Design secure programs based on a structured methodology such as Threat Modeling. Have security in mind before writing the first line of code.

  • Program in a secure way by mastering a comprehensive set of techniques for producing code that is more resilient to attack.

  • Think like a security analyst, that is how to perform an in-depth software vulnerability assessments using a structured methodology such as First Principles Vulnerability Assessment (FPVA). Acquire the skills of a security analyst.

  • Use a variety of automated tools that help statically and dynamically analyze code for security flaws.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

COMP SCI 400 or 320, graduate/professional standing, or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

COMPSCI 542

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Barton Miller

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.32/5 from 37 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: 1.6/5 raw quality · 3.9/5 difficulty · 12 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Barton Miller

Students described Barton Miller as unhelpful and resistant to questions, with weekly quizzes that were often vague or difficult to make up. Some found the course material engaging and easier to get an A in, but others felt the lack of clear grading criteria and TA support made the experience frustrating.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.56 GPA, 75.4% A/AB (n=138 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.42 GPA, 62.3% A/AB (n=122 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.45 GPA, 67.3% A/AB (n=113 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

BARTON MILLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 780
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 780

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

Past student reviews · Barton Miller

Reviewers described the course material as strong, but criticized the teaching execution. One student noted the content was good despite average instruction, while another called it great material with poor delivery.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.56 GPA, 75.4% A/AB (n=138 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.42 GPA, 62.3% A/AB (n=122 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.45 GPA, 67.3% A/AB (n=113 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Barton Miller

The class required weekly quizzes, a participation event, and extra credit opportunities. One student noted that while the course was less challenging than core CS classes, missing quizzes made getting an A difficult.

Past student reviews · Barton Miller

Students reported feeling ignored when asking questions and faced strict policies where missed quizzes could not be made up. One reviewer found the professor resistant to providing accommodations for sickness.

Topics

  • Software development life cycle security considerations
  • Secure software design and Threat Modeling
  • Secure programming techniques
  • Vulnerability assessment and FPVA
  • Static and dynamic analysis tools
  • System defenses against security threats

Skills

  • Designing secure software using methodologies like Threat Modeling.
  • Programming with secure techniques to produce resilient code.
  • Performing in-depth software vulnerability assessments using FPVA.
  • Using automated static and dynamic analysis tools for security flaws.
  • Thinking from an adversary's perspective regarding software security.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— 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 Spring 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

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.

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Selected offering source records
COMPSCI 542 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Software Security

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:266:025893",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI 542",
    "course_uid": "course_6205df2080c6f734c520ff84",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "025893",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Introduction to Software Security",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
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 2026-10-14

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.

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Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "155198b10b0e117dc8ba1c2b2fe8897a8b39752e0c7730ac721fa9b1301ee59d",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}