Spring 2027

Applied Linear Algebra

Applied Linear Algebra reviews matrix algebra, covering eigenvalues, diagonalization, and quadratic forms with numerical aspects and scientific applications.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Pouria Behnoudfar3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Pouria Behnoudfar

Pouria Behnoudfar assigned homework unpredictably, sometimes with less than a week to complete, and exams were described as more difficult than the material taught in class, requiring significant self-study to succeed.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Recall and state the formal definitions of the mathematical objects and their properties used in applied linear algebra (e.g., system of equations, matrices, linear transformations, inner product spaces, quadratic forms, etc.).

  • Use such definitions to argue that a mathematical object does or does not have the condition of being a particular type or having a particular property (e.g., system of equations has a solution, matrix has an LU factorization, linear transformation is invertible, etc.).

  • Recall and state the standard theorems of applied linear algebra. (e.g., Rank-Nullity theorem, Spectral theorem of normal operators, theorems leading to SVD and PCA methods, etc.). Moreover, apply these theorems to solve problems in applied linear algebra.

  • Construct mathematical arguments related to the above definitions, properties, and theorems, including the construction of examples and counterexamples. Moreover, the student will learn classical algorithms to solve scientific problems using linear algebra (e.g., Page rank, Recommendation systems, SVD and matrix completion, Least square and Gram Schmidt process, etc.).

  • Convey arguments in oral and written forms using English and appropriate mathematical terminology and notation, and justify the applicability of classical linear algebra based algorithms in science.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(MATH 320, 340, 341, 345, or 375), graduate/professional standing, or declared in Mathematics VISP (undergraduate or graduate)

MATH 443 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: 3.00/5 from 3 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: 2.5/5 raw quality · 4.0/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Pouria Behnoudfar

Pouria Behnoudfar’s instruction was described as chaotic, with unpredictable homework and exams that students found harder than the class material. One student noted the slides were informative but the presentation complicated things, while another emphasized that self-study was necessary to achieve a good grade.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.72 GPA, 88.4% A/AB (n=43 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.01 GPA, 31.9% A/AB (n=47 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Amir Assadi, Michael Kemeny

Amir Assadi taught material that some students found not immediately pertinent but interesting, and he administered difficult tests without surprises, though others described his lectures as disorganized and criticized his posted midterm solutions for errors. In Fall 2023, Michael Kemeny weighted midterms and finals at 40% each, placed proofs on a midterm for a non-proof class, and used a textbook above the course level, with homework described as impossible.

AMIR ASSADI is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOSE RODRIGUEZ is recorded teaching in Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL KEMENY is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

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

SERGUEI DENISSOV is recorded teaching in Fall 2009. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHAMGAR GUREVICH is recorded teaching in Spring 2019. 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 001Classroom Instruction0 / 500

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 · Pouria Behnoudfar

Students found the class had a valuable mix of theoretical and practical content, with informative slides, though they noted the presentation of material could be chaotic and occasionally complicated by unnecessary details.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.31 GPA, 61.8% A/AB (n=34 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.72 GPA, 88.4% A/AB (n=43 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.01 GPA, 31.9% A/AB (n=47 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Pouria Behnoudfar

Pouria Behnoudfar assigned homework unpredictably, sometimes with less than a week to complete, and exams were described as more difficult than the material taught in class, requiring significant self-study to succeed.

Past student reviews · Pouria Behnoudfar

Students reported frustration with poorly organized instruction, noting that practice tests and homework keys were often wrong, and that assignments on old material could appear just before finals.

Topics

  • Linear equations, dependence, rank, and vector spaces
  • Eigenvalues, eigenvectors, diagonalization, and quadratic forms
  • Inner product spaces, norms, and canonical forms
  • Numerical aspects and scientific applications

Skills

  • Formal definitions of linear algebra objects
  • Applying standard theorems to solve problems
  • Classical linear algebra algorithms for scientific problems
  • Justifying algorithm applicability in science

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
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D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

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.

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Selected offering source records
MATH 443 · Spring 2027

Applied Linear Algebra

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": "1274:600:011670",
    "course_id": "MATH 443",
    "course_uid": "course_6a5fd6b22fd05d58426ea680",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "011670",
    "source_subject_id": "600",
    "title": "Applied Linear Algebra",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
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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 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "57f67e181122d999bee03f5717c3d8ec31aebf93597bf3f5a48342f0d9aa0a04",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}