Fall 2026

Introduction to International Relations

Introduction to International Relations covers major global issues since WWII, focusing on state interactions and analytical tools.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Mark Copelovitch4.3/5Amy LeeEmmanuel Gyasi +4 more

Summary

1 / 7

Students must attend lectures, complete readings, and participate in discussions to succeed on exams covering multiple choice and essay sections.

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

None

  • None
POLISCI 140 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
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026

Mark Copelovitch

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

Raw average: 4.51/5 from 77 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: 4.4/5 raw quality · 3.5/5 difficulty · 21 reviews

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

Mark Copelovitch is passionate and engaging, using pop culture to aid understanding. Students disagree on difficulty; some find exams fair, others confusing. Success requires consistent attendance and reading. The course is rigorous and not an easy A.

A TA alleges Copelovitch enforces predetermined grade averages, forcing TAs to regrade work to fit targets. This review claims deserving students were denied high grades, raising serious concerns about grading fairness.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.48 GPA, 73.4% A/AB (n=301 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.49 GPA, 73.8% A/AB (n=225 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.43 GPA, 70.4% A/AB (n=226 letter grades).

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews of Andrew Kydd, Jon Pevehouse, Signe Janoska-Bedi: Jon Pevehouse is described by reviewers as engaging and funny, with lectures that apply content to current events. Some note that slides are lacking and require reading the textbook, while others praise his accessibility and fair grading. Andrew Kydd is also cited for interesting lectures and simple quizzes, with one reviewer finding the course easy if they attend and read.

ANDREW KYDD is recorded teaching in Spring 2020, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JON PEVEHOUSE is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARK COPELOVITCH is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Fall 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

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
DIS 303Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 307Classroom Instruction19 / 210
DIS 308Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 309Classroom Instruction17 / 210
DIS 311Classroom Instruction15 / 210
DIS 312Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 302Classroom Instruction18 / 210
LEC 001Classroom Instruction342 / 3780
DIS 315Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 306Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 310Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 314Classroom Instruction14 / 210
DIS 304Classroom Instruction21 / 210
DIS 313Classroom Instruction17 / 210
DIS 305Classroom Instruction20 / 210
DIS 316Classroom Instruction19 / 210
DIS 317Classroom Instruction14 / 210
DIS 318Classroom Instruction20 / 210
DIS 319Classroom Instruction16 / 210
DIS 532Classroom Instruction6 / 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

Mark Copelovitch teaches a rigorous course requiring significant effort, with mixed reviews on lecture engagement and grading fairness.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.49 GPA, 73.8% A/AB (n=225 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.69 GPA, 85.9% A/AB (n=347 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.43 GPA, 70.4% A/AB (n=226 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Students must attend lectures, complete readings, and participate in discussions to succeed on exams covering multiple choice and essay sections.

Reviewers describe Copelovitch as passionate and engaging, using pop culture to make content accessible and approachable.

Topics

  • Causes of war and ethnic conflict
  • Global economic development and trade
  • Globalization and the environment
  • International organizations (UN, IMF, World Bank, WTO)
  • International law and human rights

Skills

  • Develop analytical tools for world politics
  • Systematic examination of international affairs

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 · 0.21 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 140 · Fall 2026

Introduction to International Relations

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": "1272:778:015889",
    "course_id": "POLISCI 140",
    "course_uid": "course_06dafc75d411dce45dc57976",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "015889",
    "source_subject_id": "778",
    "title": "Introduction to International Relations",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "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": "e1a30960479791598040f7733d9e1bb614a31248012b4917b2ec32d7de10b874",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}