Spring 2027

Introduction to Computer Networks

Introduction to Computer Networks covers architecture, protocols, layering, routing, security, and performance using Ethernet, IP, TCP, and HTTP.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Ming Liu3.8/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Suman Banerjee

The course typically includes four moderate quizzes and four straightforward programs, though one student warned that the final program was particularly challenging.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Understand what a computer network is and its key components, such as switches, routers, firewalls, and access points.

  • Explain the concept of network protocols and their role in communications, how the Internet works, and especially the OSI model and the TCP/IP protocol suite.

  • Analyze network protocols at different layers, including TCP, UDP, IP, ARP, the IEEE 802 suite, DNS, BGP, and more, and including how they interact with each other.

  • Evaluate network performance metrics, strategies that allow for effective navigation and troubleshooting of network issues, and approaches to design network architectures.

  • Design and implement network services and applications.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(COMP SCI/​E C E 354 and COMP SCI 400) or graduate/professional standing

COMPSCI 640

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

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.40/5 from 5 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 — Fall 2022: 3.48 GPA, 68.8% A/AB (n=96 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.45 GPA, 64.4% A/AB (n=59 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.58 GPA, 73.3% A/AB (n=86 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

AKARSH PRABHAKARA is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MING LIU is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PAUL BARFORD is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SUMAN BANERJEE is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2018, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, 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 / 1250

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 · Suman Banerjee

Students found the upper-level networking content interesting, with one noting it was among the lightest workloads in their CS curriculum.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.42 GPA, 65.4% A/AB (n=104 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.58 GPA, 81.5% A/AB (n=54 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.69 GPA, 79.3% A/AB (n=213 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Suman Banerjee

The course typically includes four moderate quizzes and four straightforward programs, though one student warned that the final program was particularly challenging.

Past student reviews · Paul Barford

A student found the quizzes unfair due to subjective answers, noting that every two points lost reduced their overall grade by one percent.

Topics

  • Network architecture, protocol layering, and reliable transmission.
  • Congestion control, flow control, naming, and addressing.
  • Unicast and multicast routing, network security, and performance.
  • Widely used protocols including Ethernet, wireless LANs, IP, TCP, and HTTP.

Skills

  • Explain network protocols, the OSI model, and the TCP/IP protocol suite.
  • Analyze network protocols at various layers such as TCP, IP, DNS, and BGP.
  • Evaluate network performance metrics and troubleshoot network issues.
  • Design and implement network services and applications.

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 · 0.16 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.

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Selected offering source records
COMPSCI 640 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Computer Networks

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": "1274:266:004293",
    "course_id": "COMPSCI 640",
    "course_uid": "course_ab7d07685857737322064a42",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "004293",
    "source_subject_id": "266",
    "title": "Introduction to Computer Networks",
    "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
Download part 1
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.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "f1676bf01675dab6c290ef86d5b4acc09f8df85cd541f30b1f3a72e2660a80a7",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}