Introduction to Computational Materials Science and Engineering

Introduction to theoretical and computational tools for materials science, featuring hands-on labs covering atomistic, mesoscale, and macroscale simulation methods.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Yuan Ping

Summary

1 / 3

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.83 GPA, 91.4% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.62 GPA, 82.1% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.84 GPA, 97.1% A/AB (n=34 letter grades).

What you’ll be able to do

  • Recall and utilize basic principles of how computers can aid in materials science and engineering.

  • Assess and utilize literature and software tools related to computational materials science and engineering.

  • Communicate effectively about technical work in oral and written presentation.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
MS&E 460

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.83 GPA, 91.4% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.62 GPA, 82.1% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.84 GPA, 97.1% A/AB (n=34 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

YUAN PING is recorded teaching in Spring 2024, Spring 2025, 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.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 460

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

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.83 GPA, 91.4% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.62 GPA, 82.1% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.84 GPA, 97.1% A/AB (n=34 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Atomistic simulation including molecular dynamics
  • Mesoscale simulation including phase field methods
  • Macroscale simulation including finite element methods
  • Thermodynamic and kinetic modeling using CALPHAD
  • Materials informatics and machine learning

Skills

  • Apply computational tools to materials science problems
  • Evaluate and use specialized software and literature
  • Present technical findings orally and in writing

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
C
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.

Selected offering source records
MS&E 460 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Computational Materials Science and Engineering

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": "1274:636:025285",
    "course_id": "MS&E 460",
    "course_uid": "course_3328fa9825020bd75916726c",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "025285",
    "source_subject_id": "636",
    "title": "Introduction to Computational Materials Science and Engineering",
    "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

No records available.

Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "1e3ffb967cde9ebe219597aa5b9a6f327b11b37b21bfc9e3111ec16c92c4941d",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}