Fall 2026

Introductory Experience in Electrical Engineering

An introductory course covering electrical devices, circuits, systems, software, and hardware through a real-world project.

offering recorded2 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Giri Venkataramanan3.4/5Robert Jacobberger

Summary

1 / 7

Reviewers characterize the course as an easy A based on attendance and participation. Some note it is easy for those with prior electronics exposure.

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ECE 210 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
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.12/5 from 26 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: 3.3/5 raw quality · 1.4/5 difficulty · 19 reviews

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

Giri Venkataramanan is described as approachable, caring, and engaging, with students valuing his hands-on lab instruction and clear structure. Reviewers also note his lectures are entertaining and the course is well-structured, though some find the material basic.

Concerns include disorganization, excessive distractions in class, and unclear expectations, particularly during remote learning shifts. Some students found the work unnecessary and difficult to follow due to his unorthodox teaching style and lack of direct communication.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=72 letter grades); Spring 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=69 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.99 GPA, 98.6% A/AB (n=73 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Hongrui Jiang: Hongrui Jiang is described as helpful and responsive, particularly in one-on-one settings and when assisting students with problems. However, reviewers note that lectures can feel pointless and the course relies heavily on TAs for instruction.

HONGRUI JIANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN BOOSKE is recorded teaching in Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARK ALLIE is recorded teaching in Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

NATHAN STRACHEN is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROBERT JACOBBERGER is recorded teaching in Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. 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 Instruction96 / 11512
LEC 002Classroom Instruction95 / 11512
LAB 301Classroom Instruction24 / 243
LAB 302Classroom Instruction24 / 243
LAB 303Classroom Instruction24 / 243
LAB 304Classroom Instruction24 / 243
LAB 305Classroom Instruction23 / 243
LAB 306Classroom Instruction24 / 243
LAB 307Classroom Instruction24 / 243
LAB 308Classroom Instruction24 / 243

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

Giri Venkataramanan is praised as approachable, caring, and fun, with students recommending the hands-on lab work. Some find his lectures unhelpful, while others appreciate his engaging style.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.98 GPA, 98.8% A/AB (n=167 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.87 GPA, 94.8% A/AB (n=193 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.94 GPA, 97.8% A/AB (n=179 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Reviewers characterize the course as an easy A based on attendance and participation. Some note it is easy for those with prior electronics exposure.

Students criticize disorganization, unclear expectations, and a lack of clear communication, particularly during remote learning shifts. Some find his tangents distracting and expectations unorthodox.

Topics

  • Electrical and electronic devices
  • Circuits and systems
  • Software and hardware

Skills

  • Applying electrical and electronic concepts to a real-world project

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · 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 · 0.03 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 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
ECE 210 · Fall 2026

Introductory Experience in Electrical Engineering

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:320:023742",
    "course_id": "ECE 210",
    "course_uid": "course_1bd32bc0c6b6f790c916febd",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "023742",
    "source_subject_id": "320",
    "title": "Introductory Experience in Electrical Engineering",
    "credits_min": 2,
    "credits_max": 2,
    "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

Download the original dataset
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": "d0da180e3f21cb49380a97b3aa4ff760403acab3d8768cce8d35ca08b476da37",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}