No course-specific feedback yet.
Fall 2026
Population Problems
SOC 170 examines social, economic, and political problems related to population dynamics, migration, and world ecology.
Summary
1 / 7
Historical reviews of Jenna Nobles, Michal Engelman: Students report heavy reading loads, with some noting materials are long and dull. Exams are described as difficult or complex, while writing assignments are criticized for having vague criteria or being unmentioned in these specific reviews.
Grade history
↗ average GPA
letter grades
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F
All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
“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 2026No course-specific feedback yet.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.49 GPA, 78.5% A/AB (n=191 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.45 GPA, 70.9% A/AB (n=189 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.54 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=187 letter grades).
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Historical reviews for Michael Topping describe an engaging and fun experience with clear explanations and flexible assignment deadlines. Reviewers found his lectures interesting and appreciated his willingness to grant extensions for writing assignments.
JENNA NOBLES is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Spring 2017, Fall 2019, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MICHAEL TOPPING is recorded teaching in Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MICHAL ENGELMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
MONICA GRANT is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
NICHOLAS MARK is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, 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 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 192 / 195 | 4 |
| DIS 301 | Classroom Instruction | 22 / 25 | 1 |
| DIS 302 | Classroom Instruction | 19 / 20 | 0 |
| DIS 303 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 304 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 305 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 306 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 2 |
| DIS 307 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 0 |
| DIS 308 | Classroom Instruction | 25 / 25 | 1 |
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
Historical reviews for Michael Topping describe an engaging, fun, and humorous experience with flexible grading and easy quizzes. Students found his storytelling helpful and appreciated his willingness to grant extensions.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.90 GPA, 95.3% A/AB (n=191 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.53 GPA, 75.3% A/AB (n=182 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.54 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=187 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Historical reviews of Jenna Nobles, Michal Engelman: Students report heavy reading loads, with some noting materials are long and dull. Exams are described as difficult or complex, while writing assignments are criticized for having vague criteria or being unmentioned in these specific reviews.
Historical reviews of Monica Grant: Monica Grant's classes are frequently cited as frustrating due to specific exam questions, busy work, and audio issues. One reviewer noted harsh grading by the TA, while others found the lectures boring and the content unengaging.
Topics
Grades
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 4 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.
8 earlier forecasts · 0.15 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.
Selected offering source records
Population Problems
Recorded 2026-09-07Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:900:017536",
"course_id": "SOC 170",
"course_uid": "course_eb97963ac46895311ec0acd6",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "017536",
"source_subject_id": "900",
"title": "Population Problems",
"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
Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "0a5b67e5e27aaacfdf718e4743e1f860342bc8446923436aa85185c11fe7b3f4",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}