Fall 2026

Differential Geometry

MATH 561 covers the theory of curves and surfaces using differential methods.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable

Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 5

Historical reviews of Ruobing Zhang: The final exam is described as extremely difficult and tough graded, with some formulae considered obvious by the instructor. One reviewer regretted not dropping the course after the midterm.

Grade history

↗

average GPA
letter grades

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(MATH 320, 340, 341, 345, or 375) and (MATH 322, 341, 376, 421, 467, or 521), graduate/professional standing, or declared in Mathematics VISP (undergraduate or graduate)

- - take one
  - take one
  take all
- graduate/professional standing
- declared in Mathematics VISP (undergraduate or graduate)
take one

MATH 561 used by

MATH 621

“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
- graduate/professional standing
- declared in Mathematics VISP (undergraduate or graduate)

Professors

Fall 2026

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Ruobing Zhang: Ruobing Zhang is described as an outstanding mathematician with engaging lectures, but his course is extremely difficult and poorly graded. Reviewers report that the final exam is exceptionally tough and the material often lacks clarity, leading some students to drop the class.

MUSTAFA KALAFAT is recorded teaching in Spring 2010. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

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

RUOBING ZHANG is recorded teaching in Spring 2025. 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.

Section	Mode	Enrolled / capacity	Waitlist

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

Meeting source records

No records available.

Student experience

the class

Historical reviews of Ruobing Zhang: Ruobing Zhang's MATH 561 is a challenging graduate-level course that may not suit students without a strong pure math background. Reviews indicate significant frustration with the final exam's difficulty and grading.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.23 GPA, 61.5% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.45 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=21 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.50 GPA, 76.2% A/AB (n=21 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Historical reviews of Ruobing Zhang: Students report that the course did not cover materials stated in the first class. The instructor's teaching style can be confusing, with unclear derivations of formulae.

Topics

Curves and surfaces
Differential methods

Skills

Applying differential methods to study curves and surfaces

Grades

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

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

Grades over time

Through Spring 2026

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Fall 2026 in UW–Madison.

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

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records

[]

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

Model outputs & technical records

nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4

LLM outputs across runs

Download part 1

Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1

Model & dataset provenance

{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "28f623aa14eb7c09f867e827937d770f88f23af919a617406b0a8b18a9b6946c",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}