Fall 2026

Undergraduate Topics in Computing

COMPSCI 638 covers selected topics in computing, with content varying by instructor and offering.

offering recorded1–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Rahul Chatterjee3.4/5Swamit Tannu3.0/5

Summary

1 / 6

Historical reviews of Deborah Joseph, Laura Legault, Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau: Reviewers describe the course as generally easy, though one instructor is noted for requiring outside-the-box thinking.

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

COMP SCI 200, 300, 301, 302, 310, 367, placement into COMP SCI 300, orL I S/​COMP SCI 102(COMP SCI 202 prior to Fall 2023), graduate/professional standing, or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

    • COMPSCI 200
    • COMPSCI 300
    • 301,
    • 302,
    • COMPSCI 310
    • 367,
    • placement into COMP SCI 300,
    • orL I S/COMP SCI 102(COMP SCI 202 prior to Fall 2023),
    • graduate/professional standing,
    • or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals
    take one
COMPSCI 638

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

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • COMPSCI 200
    • COMPSCI 300
    • 301,
    • 302,
    • COMPSCI 310
    • 367,
    • placement into COMP SCI 300,
    • orL I S/COMP SCI 102(COMP SCI 202 prior to Fall 2023),
    • graduate/professional standing,
    • or declared in the Capstone Certificate in Computer Sciences for Professionals

Professors

Fall 2026
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.00/5 from 10 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.

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

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=81 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Swamit Tannu

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.33/5 from 18 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.

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

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=81 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Paul Barford is described as a gas professor and the best CS professor by one reviewer. This historical review from 2024 highlights his high quality rating.

DEBORAH JOSEPH is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LAURA LEGAULT is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PAUL BARFORD is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RAHUL CHATTERJEE is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

REMZI ARPACI-DUSSEAU is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SWAMIT TANNU is recorded teaching in 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 Instruction6 / 500

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

Historical reviews highlight varied teaching styles across past instructors, with some praised for clarity and others noted for demanding independent thinking.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.86 GPA, 86.4% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.83 GPA, 93.9% A/AB (n=33 letter grades); Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=81 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Deborah Joseph, Laura Legault, Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau: Reviewers describe the course as generally easy, though one instructor is noted for requiring outside-the-box thinking.

Historical reviews of Anhai Doan, Paul Barford: Students appreciate past instructors who genuinely care about learning and explain complex concepts clearly.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

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

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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
COMPSCI 638 · Fall 2026

Undergraduate Topics in Computing

Recorded 2026-09-07
COMPSCI 638 · Fall 2026

Tech Entrepreneurship Seminar

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records 
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    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:266:004292",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI 638",
    "course_uid": "course_451e04263559a1194fd692f0",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "004292",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Undergraduate Topics in Computing",
    "credits_min": 1,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  },
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:266:004292.51",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI 638",
    "course_uid": "course_451e04263559a1194fd692f0",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "004292.51",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Tech Entrepreneurship Seminar",
    "credits_min": 1,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
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 2026-09-07

View the dataset on Hugging Face
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": "7ff588fb730629cf63fdd739212e299279074ec10deb39d3f4b0043f6b1f50c5",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}