Science, Media and Society

LSC 251 introduces communication at the intersection of science, politics, and society.

offering recorded3 credits

Summary

1 / 6

Historical reviews of Dietram Scheufele: Workload includes short essays, readings, and papers, with some noting the final is heavily weighted. One reviewer found the content easy but criticized vague assignments and strict late policies, while others emphasized attending lectures for content not on slides.

Grade history

average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
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BC
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

“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: 4.27/5 from 15 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.

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

No course-specific feedback yet.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.60 GPA, 80.4% A/AB (n=245 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for Dietram Scheufele praise his engaging lectures and willingness to help students secure internships. Some reviewers note that lecture slides are abridged and the final exam carries significant weight, while others find the course straightforward.

BRUNO CASTRO LACERDA is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DIETRAM SCHEUFELE is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JULIANNE RENNER is recorded teaching in Fall 2023. 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 Instruction272 / 2740

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

Historical reviews of Dietram Scheufele: Dietram Scheufele is described by some reviewers as a great, clear, and thought-provoking lecturer who loves his subject. These students found the class interesting and relevant, noting his approachability and willingness to help with internships.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.24 GPA, 64.0% A/AB (n=267 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.34 GPA, 71.8% A/AB (n=245 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.60 GPA, 80.4% A/AB (n=245 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Dietram Scheufele: Workload includes short essays, readings, and papers, with some noting the final is heavily weighted. One reviewer found the content easy but criticized vague assignments and strict late policies, while others emphasized attending lectures for content not on slides.

Historical reviews of Dietram Scheufele, Julianne Renner: Some students found Scheufele's grading confusing or harsh with little support, while Julianne Renner was criticized for nitpicking and strict policies. These reviews highlight frustrations with grading clarity and instructor responsiveness.

Topics

  • Theoretical foundations of science communication
  • Societal debates about science and emerging technologies

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.

6 earlier forecasts · 0.11 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 · Fall 2025 · 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

1320 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
LSC 251 · Fall 2026

Science, Media and Society

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": "1272:120:023511",
    "course_id": "LSC 251",
    "course_uid": "course_7ccfa99dd758e5817b6fe5be",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "023511",
    "source_subject_id": "120",
    "title": "Science, Media and Society",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
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 grades
Model 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": "8afc3875ac5468b8a042271c9f09844fbb4d9e616965d8c435e5901b2d6f5c25",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}