Introduction to industrial engineering subject matter, problem types, and design/analysis approaches with emphasis on formulation and design alternatives.
Grades were split between attendance and events, and a group final project that reportedly took about an hour to complete. There were no exams or regular homework assignments.
What you’ll be able to do
Define and explain common industrial engineering terminology
Give examples of career opportunities in industrial engineering
List the focus areas in industrial engineering and give a brief explanation of how each area uses industrial engineering principles
Give examples of problems in each area of industrial engineering
Identify professional and academic development resources available to industrial engineering students
Investigate an open-ended industrial engineering problem and think critically about how to solve it
Raw average: 4.42/5 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: 4.0/5 raw quality · 1.0/5 difficulty · 2
reviews
RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.
Past student reviews · Hannah Silber
Hannah Silber taught ISYE 191 with mandatory attendance and guest speakers, offering no exams or individual homework. Students reported the grade relied heavily on attendance and a short group project, describing the workload as minimal and the class as an easy A.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2026: 3.96 GPA, 98.7% A/AB (n=156 letter grades).
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Past student reviews · Amanda Smith
Historical instructor Amanda Smith taught ISYE 191 with minimal homework, using short participation assignments and an easy project that many students completed for high marks. Most lectures featured guest speakers, though Smith addressed student questions directly. Students found the course enjoyable and less stressful than other engineering classes, with one reviewer specifically noting its low difficulty and high quality.
AMANDA SMITH is recorded teaching in Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
HANNAH SILBER is recorded teaching in 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.
Section
Mode
Enrolled / capacity
Waitlist
LEC 001
Classroom Instruction
0 / 200
0
Times are Central. Select a meeting for
details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
The course primarily involved listening to guest speakers rather than traditional instruction, with Prof. Silber facilitating sessions. Students described the class as easy to pass if they attended regularly.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.86 GPA, 94.2% A/AB (n=138 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.94 GPA, 97.5% A/AB (n=122 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.96 GPA, 98.7% A/AB (n=156 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Hannah Silber
Grades were split between attendance and events, and a group final project that reportedly took about an hour to complete. There were no exams or regular homework assignments.
Past student reviews · Hannah Silber
Students found the lectures boring and noted that attendance was required despite the lack of active teaching. Prof. Silber was viewed positively for trying to make the sessions tolerable.
Topics
Industrial engineering subject matter areas and problem types
Design and analysis approaches, techniques, and methodologies
Problem formulation and design alternatives
Focus areas in industrial engineering and their use of IE principles
Skills
Formulating problems and designing alternative solutions
Defining and explaining industrial engineering terminology
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.
4 earlier forecasts · 0.06 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
3.963.96GPA
Higher than 8989% of other courses in this group.
Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range
156156letter grades
More recorded grades than 8282% of other courses in this group.
Typical course in this group: 66.066.0 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.