Spring 2027

Mechanics of Materials Lab

A laboratory course covering data processing, tension/compression tests, creep, fatigue, fracture, composites, combined stress, beam flexure, dynamic loads, and buckling.

offering recorded1 credits

Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Andrew Mikkelson3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Andrew Mikkelson

The course was rated as low difficulty, with lectures that explained concepts clearly and utilized many examples to aid comprehension.

What you’ll be able to do

Perform a tensile test
Calculate material properties from tensile test data
Compare experimentally determined values to theoretical values
Plot experimental data in an efficient and effective manner
Identify sources of error and uncertainty in mechanical tests

Source: UW Guide 1 UW Guide 2

Grade history

↗

average GPA
letter grades

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

- - - M E 306
    - EMA 303 · prior_or_concurrent
    take all
  - concurrent enrollment
  take one
- member of Engineering Guest Students
take one

EMA/ME 307 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

Any of
- Any of
  - All of
    - M E 306
    - EMA 303 · prior_or_concurrent
  - concurrent enrollment
- member of Engineering Guest Students

Professors

Spring 2027

Andrew Mikkelson

Adjusted rating

RMP difficulty

captured reviews

About this rating

Raw average: 3.61/5 from 38 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: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 1 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Andrew Mikkelson

Andrew Mikkelson was described as a favorite professor who genuinely cares about student understanding. He explained concepts clearly, used many examples in his lectures, and maintained a great sense of humor during his teaching.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Kristofer Dressler

Kristofer Dressler taught the mechanics of materials lab, describing the experience as a pretty good teacher who covered relevant material for future use. He provided great advice about future classes and demonstrated that he cared about his students.

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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity
LAB 003	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 006	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 007	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 008	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 009	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 010	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 004	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 011	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 012	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 014	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 015	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 016	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 001	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 002	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 005	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 017	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 013	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 003	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 006	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 007	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 008	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 009	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 010	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 004	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 011	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 012	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 014	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 015	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 016	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 001	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 002	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 005	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 017	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14
LAB 013	Classroom Instruction	0 / 14

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

Past student reviews · Andrew Mikkelson

Andrew Mikkelson was described as a favorite professor who genuinely cared about student understanding and used a great sense of humor in his teaching.

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

Past student reviews · Andrew Mikkelson

The course was rated as low difficulty, with lectures that explained concepts clearly and utilized many examples to aid comprehension.

Past student reviews · Andrew Mikkelson

Students appreciated the clear explanations and the instructor's focus on ensuring they understood the concepts through frequent examples.

Topics

Tension and compression tests
Creep and stress concentrations
Fatigue and fracture
Composite materials
Combined stress and beam flexure
Dynamic loads and buckling

Skills

Performing tensile tests
Calculating material properties from test data
Plotting experimental data
Identifying sources of error and uncertainty

Grades

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 · 0.13 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.

Download part 1

Selected offering source records

EMA/ME 307 · Spring 2027

Mechanics of Materials Lab

Recorded 2026-10-14

EMA/ME 307 · Spring 2027

Mechanics of Materials Lab

Recorded 2026-10-14

Raw records

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    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:346:011961",
    "course_id": "EMA/ME 307",
    "course_uid": "course_f53475e70d537ffea6d22382",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "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": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:612:011961",
    "course_id": "EMA/ME 307",
    "course_uid": "course_f53475e70d537ffea6d22382",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "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

Download part 1

Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades

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 Download part 2

Model & dataset provenance

{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0bde9eb8be481b406649aa8ef1136e04f95a62610b9342fce293c9dcd54af4a8",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}

Mechanics of Materials Lab

Summary

What you’ll be able to do

Grade history

Prerequisites

Professors

Andrew Mikkelson

Calendar & sections

Student experience

the class

difficulty & workload

Topics

Skills

Grades

Spring 2027 · Projected

Grades over time

Where this course fits relative to UW–Madison

Sources & history

Catalog & offerings

Student reviews

Grade history

Where this course fits relative to