Fall 2026

Introduction to Comparative Politics (honors)

An honors introduction to comparative politics focusing on national-level institutional analysis and systematic comparison.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Yoshiko Herrera3.0/5Marika Olijar

Summary

1 / 5

The course is heavy on readings and features difficult assignments that require significant effort throughout the semester.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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Prerequisites

Course map

Declared in an Honors program. Not open to students with credit forPOLI SCI 120

    • Declared in an Honors program
    • not eligible with
    take all
POLISCI 182 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

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  • All of
    • Declared in an Honors program
    • Not eligible with

Professors

Fall 2026

Yoshiko Herrera

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

Raw average: 2.72/5 from 39 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: 3.3/5 raw quality · 4.1/5 difficulty · 7 reviews

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

Yoshiko Herrera facilitates thoughtful discussions and structures the course effectively, offering high accessibility and encouragement to students. Reviewers note her willingness to help and her ability to make content engaging even for non-majors.

Herrera is described as a tough grader with inconsistent feedback, particularly regarding paper requirements and grader preferences. Some students report significant point deductions for minor errors and unclear expectations communicated after assignments.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.43 GPA, 68.2% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.72 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.68 GPA, 86.4% A/AB (n=22 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

YOSHIKO HERRERA is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 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
SEM 001Classroom Instruction25 / 300

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

Yoshiko Herrera facilitates engaging discussions and provides helpful support, though the course is challenging with rigorous readings and high expectations.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.43 GPA, 68.2% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.72 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.68 GPA, 86.4% A/AB (n=22 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is heavy on readings and features difficult assignments that require significant effort throughout the semester.

Reviewers consistently describe Herrera as a tough grader with inconsistent feedback and unclear expectations, despite her engaging lectures.

Topics

  • Political institutions and processes
  • Country case studies
  • Political theory and methods

Skills

  • Analyze government operations and power dynamics
  • Apply systematic comparative methods

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
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Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

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.

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Selected offering source records
POLISCI 182 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Comparative Politics (Honors)

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": "1272:778:015866",
    "course_id": "POLISCI 182",
    "course_uid": "course_04f599bc81ae97c23a32cf59",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "015866",
    "source_subject_id": "778",
    "title": "Introduction to Comparative Politics (Honors)",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Not Applicable"
  }
]
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Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

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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": "15630c915e62e89442755ddc525cdb8ad5c35b73e5b2e9b4590c9a419378f31f",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}