Andrew Mikkelson is highly regarded for his clear explanations and use of examples, with one reviewer calling him one of their favorite professors. He is noted for having a great sense of humor and genuinely caring about student understanding.
Fall 2026
Mechanics of Materials Lab
Mechanics of Materials Lab covers data processing and experimental testing of tension/compression, creep, fatigue, fracture, composites, combined stress, beam flexure, dynamic loads, and buckling.
Summary
1 / 6
The course is rated as low difficulty by one student, but specific workload details or preparation requirements are not described in the available evidence.
Grade history
↗ average GPA
letter grades
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course map(M E 306,E M A 303 or concurrent enrollment) or member of Engineering Guest Students
- EMA 303 · prior_or_concurrent
- M E 306
- member of Engineering Guest Students
“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
- EMA 303 · prior_or_concurrent
- Any of
- M E 306
- member of Engineering Guest Students
Professors
Fall 2026No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.89 GPA, 98.0% A/AB (n=51 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.82 GPA, 91.8% A/AB (n=49 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.84 GPA, 94.6% A/AB (n=37 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.90 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.91 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=11 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.92 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=12 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
No course-specific feedback yet.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Robert Rowlands was described as funny and helpful but not very organized. This historical review suggests his teaching style had organizational shortcomings despite his efforts to assist students.
IAN HOFFMAN is recorded teaching in Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
JACOB ZEUSKE is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
KRISTOFER DRESSLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
ROBERT ROWLANDS is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
WAEL ABDEL SAMAD is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013. 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 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAB 006 | Classroom Instruction | 9 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 007 | Classroom Instruction | 11 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 003 | Classroom Instruction | 12 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 008 | Classroom Instruction | 10 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 010 | Classroom Instruction | 12 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 011 | Classroom Instruction | 6 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 004 | Classroom Instruction | 9 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 012 | Classroom Instruction | 11 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 014 | Classroom Instruction | 9 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 015 | Classroom Instruction | 10 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 016 | Classroom Instruction | 10 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 005 | Classroom Instruction | 9 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 001 | Classroom Instruction | 8 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 009 | Classroom Instruction | 10 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 013 | Classroom Instruction | 11 / 14 | 1 |
| LAB 002 | Classroom Instruction | 8 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 017 | Classroom Instruction | 10 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 018 | Classroom Instruction | 1 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 019 | Classroom Instruction | 9 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 006 | Classroom Instruction | 7 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 003 | Classroom Instruction | 4 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 008 | Classroom Instruction | 6 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 007 | Classroom Instruction | 5 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 010 | Classroom Instruction | 4 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 004 | Classroom Instruction | 7 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 011 | Classroom Instruction | 10 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 012 | Classroom Instruction | 5 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 014 | Classroom Instruction | 7 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 015 | Classroom Instruction | 6 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 016 | Classroom Instruction | 6 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 005 | Classroom Instruction | 7 / 14 | 1 |
| LAB 001 | Classroom Instruction | 8 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 009 | Classroom Instruction | 6 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 013 | Classroom Instruction | 5 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 002 | Classroom Instruction | 7 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 017 | Classroom Instruction | 6 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 018 | Classroom Instruction | 15 / 14 | 0 |
| LAB 019 | Classroom Instruction | 7 / 14 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Andrew Mikkelson is a highly rated current instructor who explains concepts clearly with humor and care, though this single review provides limited context for the overall course experience.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.90 GPA, 98.3% A/AB (n=178 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.81 GPA, 89.3% A/AB (n=224 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.74 GPA, 94.7% A/AB (n=207 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
The course is rated as low difficulty by one student, but specific workload details or preparation requirements are not described in the available evidence.
Students appreciate Mikkelson's clear explanations and use of examples, finding his lectures engaging and supportive of their understanding of the material.
Topics
Skills
Grades
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 · 0.19 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.
Selected offering source records
Mechanics of Materials Lab
Recorded 2026-09-07Mechanics of Materials Lab
Recorded 2026-09-07Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:346:011961",
"course_id": "EMA/ME 307",
"course_uid": "course_f53475e70d537ffea6d22382",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "011961",
"source_subject_id": "346",
"title": "Mechanics of Materials Lab",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 1,
"typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
},
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:612:011961",
"course_id": "EMA/ME 307",
"course_uid": "course_f53475e70d537ffea6d22382",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "011961",
"source_subject_id": "612",
"title": "Mechanics of Materials Lab",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 1,
"typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
}
]Rate My Professors
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "bd211ad0df585f8d7129f30a1e3c382820b89a051cfe9c43bfbed8deb5297d3a",
"requirements_status": "needs_review",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}