Spring 2027

Linear Algebra and Differential Equations

Introduction to linear algebra and differential equations, emphasizing the connection between linear algebra theory and analytical/numerical techniques for solving differential equations.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Scott Hiatt3.6/5Shiva Chidambaram3.0/5Fabian Waleffe2.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Scott Hiatt

The course involves very little homework, with three exams comprising almost the entire grade. One student noted a sharp difficulty curve early in the semester and strict grade cutoffs.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Recall and state the formal definitions, properties, and theorems associated to elementary linear algebra and ordinary differential equations (e.g. existence and uniqueness theorems for first-order ODEs, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, etc.).

  • Verify if a mathematical object has a given property used in elementary linear algebra and differential equations (e.g., that a matrix is invertible, that a set is a vector subspace, that a vector is an eigenvector, etc.).

  • Check the premises of theorems used in elementary linear algebra in order to apply their conclusions (e.g., that a given matrix has zero determinant and therefore cannot be inverted).

  • Resolve algebraic statements related to elementary linear algebra through appropriate computations and compute solutions to elementary systems of ordinary differential equations.

  • Express informal mathematical arguments in English using appropriate mathematical terminology and notation.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

MATH 222 or graduate/professional standing. Not open to students with credit forMATH 319, 340, 341, 345, or 375.

MATH 320 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

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.20/5 from 5 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.

Past student reviews · Scott Hiatt

Scott Hiatt taught MATH 320 with a steep difficulty curve and strict grade cutoffs that reviewers felt contradicted the syllabus, though he was helpful with questions. Assessments relied heavily on three exams for which practice materials were provided, but students disagreed on whether lectures and worksheets were effective or a waste of time compared to self-study.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.09 GPA, 44.9% A/AB (n=118 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.11 GPA, 45.8% A/AB (n=240 letter grades).

Shiva Chidambaram

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.43/5 from 23 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.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.10 GPA, 47.3% A/AB (n=91 letter grades).

Fabian Waleffe

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.43/5 from 116 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.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 3.15 GPA, 40.0% A/AB (n=20 letter grades); Spring 2023: 2.88 GPA, 37.5% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.00 GPA, 46.7% A/AB (n=15 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Leslie Smith, Yang Yang

Past students noted that Leslie Smith taught a conceptual, theoretical section where she was an amazing, knowledgeable lecturer keen to answer questions, though she advised that those uninterested in math should choose another professor. Yang Yang went through examples and explained concepts well, using a chalkboard with filled-in notes to follow, and students found the course not too hard if they paid attention in lecture and completed the homework.

ADRIANA NENCIU is recorded teaching in Fall 2006. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

BING WANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

FABIAN WALEFFE is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOSEPH MILLER is recorded teaching in Spring 2011. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LAURENTIU MAXIM is recorded teaching in Fall 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LESLIE SMITH is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MIKHAIL FELDMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2008. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SAVERIO SPAGNOLIE is recorded teaching in Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SCOTT HIATT is recorded teaching in Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SEAN ROSTAMI is recorded teaching in Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHIVA CHIDAMBARAM is recorded teaching in Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SIGURD ANGENENT is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2011. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

YANG YANG is recorded teaching in Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

YUCHEN LIAO 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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 2070
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 323Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 321Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 300
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 2230
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 322Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 324Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 305Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 325Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 306Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 326Classroom Instruction0 / 300
LEC 007Classroom Instruction0 / 240
DIS 392Classroom Instruction0 / 240
DIS 307Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 327Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 393Classroom Instruction0 / 240
LEC 004Classroom Instruction0 / 2000
DIS 331Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 332Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 333Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 334Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 335Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 336Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 337Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 351Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 352Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 353Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 354Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 355Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 356Classroom Instruction0 / 300
DIS 357Classroom Instruction0 / 300
LEC 003Classroom Instruction0 / 2000

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Scott Hiatt

Scott Hiatt teaches this 300-level math course with a focus on exams and minimal homework. Students found his explanations of concepts helpful, though some found the delivery style dry.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.14 GPA, 46.6% A/AB (n=746 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.07 GPA, 45.9% A/AB (n=610 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.16 GPA, 50.3% A/AB (n=787 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Scott Hiatt

The course involves very little homework, with three exams comprising almost the entire grade. One student noted a sharp difficulty curve early in the semester and strict grade cutoffs.

Past student reviews · Scott Hiatt

Opinions on Scott Hiatt's lectures were mixed; some found them hard to follow or boring, while others appreciated his willingness to answer questions and walk through problems.

Topics

  • Linear systems, matrices, vector spaces, linear transformations, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors.
  • First-order ODEs, homogeneous and nonhomogeneous linear systems, and numerical methods.

Skills

  • Solving linear systems, manipulating matrices, analyzing vector spaces and linear transformations, and computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors.
  • Solving first-order ordinary differential equations and homogeneous or nonhomogeneous linear systems using analytical and numerical techniques.

Grades

Historical instructor

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 · 0.18 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

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
MATH 320 · Spring 2027

Linear Algebra and Differential Equations

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:600:011646",
    "course_id": "MATH 320",
    "course_uid": "course_0002a781bc9543f3a2ac1a94",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "011646",
    "source_subject_id": "600",
    "title": "Linear Algebra and Differential Equations",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
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
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
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 1Download part 2Download part 3
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "73ba5708af9587fdd60759b98f10f57cf42bf32e8dfdb253b62728df3722bb8a",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}