Recent recorded grades — Spring 2012: 2.99 GPA, 37.3% A/AB (n=354 letter grades); Spring 2013: 3.01 GPA, 36.4% A/AB (n=360 letter grades).
Spring 2027
Introduction to Finance
Introductory corporate finance and investments course.
offering recorded3 credits
Summary
1 / 6
Past student reviews · Mark Laplante
The course demands significant effort, including heavy reading and preparation for exams that students found challenging. Laplante wrote the textbook used in the class, which contributed to the volume of required reading.
What you’ll be able to do
Apply discounted cash flow analysis in various contexts and determine the appropriate discount rate for these calculations.
Calculate and interpret the effect of leverage on firms’ cost of debt, cost of equity, and a company’s cost of capital under different assumptions.
Characterize an efficient market and explain the implications of market efficiency for investors and corporations.
Characterize different types of securities (including stocks, bonds, and derivatives) and identify the key features of each.
Compute present and future values under different compounding assumptions.
Demonstrate a command of the Capital Asset Pricing Model, including its strengths and weaknesses and its use in computing expected returns.
Demonstrate the power of diversification and the risk-return tradeoff quantitatively.
Solve capital budgeting problems using appropriate decision rules, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the available approaches.
Source: UW Guide 1· UW Guide 2
Grade history
↗ average GPA
17,46917,469 letter grades
A21.4%21.4%
AB18.5%18.5%
B27.9%27.9%
BC14.3%14.3%
C14.5%14.5%
D2.2%2.2%
F1.2%1.2%
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course map(ECON 101, 111 or A A E 101) and (ACCT I S 100 or 300 or concurrent enrollment) and (GEN BUS 206, 306,ECON 310,MATH 331,STAT/MATH 309, 431,STAT 301, 302, 311, 324, 371 or PSYCH 210 or concur enrollment) or declared undergrad Bus Exchange Program
- take one
- ACCTIS 100
- ACCTIS 300
- concurrent enrollment
- GENBUS 206
- GENBUS 306
- ECON 310
- MATH 331
- MATH/STAT 309
- MATH/STAT 431
- STAT 301
- 302
- STAT 311
- STAT 324
- STAT 371
- PSYCH 210
- concur enrollment
- declared undergrad Bus Exchange Program
“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
- All of
- Any of
- Any of
- ACCTIS 100
- ACCTIS 300
- concurrent enrollment
- Any of
- declared undergrad Bus Exchange Program
- All of
Professors
Spring 2027About this rating
Raw average: 3.78/5 from 179 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: 4.3/5 raw quality · 4.1/5 difficulty · 13 reviews
RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.
Past student reviews · Mark Laplante
Mark Laplante teaches a tough course with hard exams and extensive reading, as he wrote the textbook. One student reported gaining essential finance fundamentals and feeling thoroughly educated, noting that success requires working hard.
Opinions on Mark Laplante’s difficulty level varied. One student described his exams as ridiculously hard, while another found the class hard and nothing like an introductory course, stating they learned nothing and recommending avoiding him.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.24 GPA, 54.5% A/AB (n=266 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.16 GPA, 39.6% A/AB (n=366 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.15 GPA, 42.3% A/AB (n=272 letter grades).
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Past student reviews · Bulent Paker, Belinda Mucklow
Past students described Belinda Mucklow’s class as well-organized, with sessions beginning with current events discussions followed by problem-solving, and noted that tests were long, hard, and fair. Bulent Paker was reported to curve grades so that over half the class received a B, and his exams were described as reasonable despite sometimes being difficult.
BELINDA MUCKLOW is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
BULENT PAKER is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Fall 2021. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
KENNETH KAVAJECZ is recorded teaching in Spring 2012, Spring 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MARK LAPLANTE is recorded teaching in Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 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 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 276 | 0 |
| LEC 002 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 276 | 0 |
| DIS 301 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 302 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 303 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 304 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 308 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 305 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 309 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 310 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 311 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 312 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 100 | 0 |
| LEC 002 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 187 | 0 |
| DIS 301 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 302 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 303 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 304 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 308 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 305 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 309 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 310 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 311 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 0 |
| DIS 312 | Classroom Instruction | 0 / 46 | 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
Past student reviews · Mark Laplante
Students describe Mark Laplante as a passionate and inspirational instructor who emphasizes real-world application over textbook content. The course is considered essential for finance majors seeking solid foundational knowledge.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.22 GPA, 58.1% A/AB (n=511 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.18 GPA, 48.2% A/AB (n=596 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.17 GPA, 52.3% A/AB (n=520 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Mark Laplante
The course demands significant effort, including heavy reading and preparation for exams that students found challenging. Laplante wrote the textbook used in the class, which contributed to the volume of required reading.
Past student reviews · Mark Laplante
Some students found the experience frustrating, stating they learned little and noting that lectures did not align with exam content. These reviews described the material as standard compared to similar courses at other institutions.
Topics
- Financial environment, securities markets, and financial markets
- Financial statements and analysis
- Working capital management
- Capital budgeting and cost of capital
- Dividend policy and asset valuation
- Investments and decision-making under uncertainty
- Mergers
- Options and futures
Skills
- Time value of money calculations, including present and future value under different compounding assumptions.
- Discounted cash flow valuation and selection of appropriate discount rates.
- Analysis of financial leverage and its effects on cost of debt, cost of equity, and overall cost of capital.
- Evaluation of market efficiency and its implications for investor and corporate decisions.
- Identification and comparison of major security types, including stocks, bonds, and derivatives.
- Application of the Capital Asset Pricing Model to estimate expected returns and assess model limitations.
- Quantitative analysis of diversification and the risk-return tradeoff.
- Capital budgeting using investment decision rules and evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses.
Grades
Historical instructor
Spring 2027 · Projected
Before grades are releasedApproximate 80% prediction interval
0.04.0
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 · 0.18 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
Higher than
Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range
More recorded grades than
Typical course in this group:
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.
Selected offering source records
Introduction to Finance
Recorded 2026-10-14Introduction to Finance
Recorded 2026-10-14Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
"semester": "1274",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
"offering_id": "1274:233:003041",
"course_id": "ECON/FINANCE 300",
"course_uid": "course_bff484b003bf5318358b70ba",
"term_id": "1274",
"source_course_id": "003041",
"source_subject_id": "233",
"title": "Introduction to Finance",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
},
{
"run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
"semester": "1274",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
"offering_id": "1274:296:003041",
"course_id": "ECON/FINANCE 300",
"course_uid": "course_bff484b003bf5318358b70ba",
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"source_subject_id": "296",
"title": "Introduction to Finance",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"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 gradesDataset & model
View the dataset on Hugging Face Recorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "74f55530a700f3ecb12b5c51b1ac815fe6e801ddbe8b0790693bb7746979d934",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}