Fall 2026

Introduction to Comparative Politics

Introduction to Comparative Politics covering the comparative analysis of political institutions, processes, and outcomes at the national level.

offering recorded4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Steven Brooke4.2/5Gildfred AsiamahLeticia De Souza +1 more

Summary

1 / 7

The course features weekly readings that some find long and dry, but exams are considered easy if students study lecture materials. Workload includes mandatory attendance, weekly quizzes, and occasional extra credit opportunities.

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

Not open to students with credit forPOLI SCI 182(or POLI SCI 186 prior to Fall 2017)

  • not eligible with
POLISCI 120 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
  • Not eligible with

Professors

Fall 2026

Steven Brooke

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.58/5 from 24 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.

Steven Brooke is praised by some reviewers for engaging lectures that clarify difficult readings and dense political science concepts. These students note his encouraging nature and ability to make material digestible, often stating that attending class is key to success.

Other reviewers criticize Brooke’s lectures as repetitive and dragging on, with one describing the content as dry. Another reviewer reported that discussions led by TAs were unengaging and that the professor repeated the same points excessively.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 3.52 GPA, 77.7% A/AB (n=94 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.64 GPA, 85.1% A/AB (n=121 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.62 GPA, 81.0% A/AB (n=105 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Steven Brooke teaches this course. Historical reviews for Nadav Shelef describe engaging instruction with heavy reading loads, while Nils Ringe is viewed as structured but sometimes boring. Rikhil Bhavnani is praised for kindness and humor, though other reviews criticize his monotone delivery and unengaging lectures.

NADAV SHELEF is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

NILS RINGE is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

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

STEVEN BROOKE is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, 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.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction154 / 1890
DIS 302Classroom Instruction18 / 210
DIS 303Classroom Instruction14 / 210
DIS 304Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 305Classroom Instruction19 / 210
DIS 306Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 307Classroom Instruction20 / 210
DIS 308Classroom Instruction10 / 210
DIS 310Classroom Instruction12 / 210
DIS 309Classroom Instruction17 / 210
DIS 532Classroom Instruction2 / 00

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

Steven Brooke is described as an engaging lecturer who clarifies dense political science readings. Reviewers note that attending his lectures is crucial for success, as exams are directly based on lecture objectives and slides.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.62 GPA, 81.0% A/AB (n=105 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.83 GPA, 92.9% A/AB (n=141 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.37 GPA, 74.3% A/AB (n=144 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course features weekly readings that some find long and dry, but exams are considered easy if students study lecture materials. Workload includes mandatory attendance, weekly quizzes, and occasional extra credit opportunities.

Experiences vary regarding lecture style, with some finding them repetitive or dragging, while others find them engaging. Discussion sections are frequently described as boring or poorly managed by TAs, though lectures remain the primary value.

Topics

  • Political institutions and processes
  • Organization and contestation of power
  • Citizen participation and interests
  • Key concepts, theories, and methods

Skills

  • Comparative analysis of political systems
  • Systematic comparison methods
  • Analysis of government and power structures
  • Understanding citizen participation

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.

7 earlier forecasts · 0.36 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 · 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

1283 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
POLISCI 120 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Comparative Politics

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": "1272:778:015860",
    "course_id": "POLISCI 120",
    "course_uid": "course_0a1fb69f6aa31e633df90ce2",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "015860",
    "source_subject_id": "778",
    "title": "Introduction to Comparative Politics",
    "credits_min": 4,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
  }
]
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 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
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": "71ecf54eceaa34bb2642afe895fb603bd678b53d66a8d2e6d83ab89b73d81e48",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}