Spring 2027

Criminology

Explores theoretical explanations of criminal behavior, measurement of crime, evaluation of criminological research, and current issues in crime-related public policy.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Jason Nolen4.5/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Jason Nolen

The class involved four exams with a focus on memorization, though one student noted that exams sometimes covered material found only in readings rather than lectures.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Critically analyze key criminological theories, including classical, control, differential association, social disorganization, and life-course theories, and apply them to real-world cases.

  • Assess methods and measures used in criminological research, evaluating the strengths and limitations of official and self-reported data, and identifying methodological principles such as causality and sampling.

  • Evaluate the relationship between crime and social structures such as race, class, gender, neighborhood context, and social capital influence patterns of criminal behavior and victimization.

  • Interpret and critique empirical criminological studies, assessing peer-reviewed and policy-oriented criminological research, identifying research questions, methods, findings, and the validity of conclusions.

  • Articulate and defend evidence-based arguments supported by criminological theory and empirical evidence.

  • Analyze the social impacts of criminal justice policies using sociological concepts and data.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

Junior standing or (SOC/​LEGAL ST 131,SOC 181,C&E SOC/​SOC 210, or 211)

SOC 441

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

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Jason Nolen

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.70/5 from 86 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 · 2.3/5 difficulty · 7 reviews

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

Past student reviews · Jason Nolen

Jason Nolen’s four-exam format was straightforward, with content relying on memorization and clear exam focus. Discussion sections were helpful for some students, though others found them unnecessary. While Nolen was described as fair and communicative, his lectures were considered dry or disorganized, and exams sometimes covered material only in the readings.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.52 GPA, 70.7% A/AB (n=92 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.71 GPA, 83.5% A/AB (n=97 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.65 GPA, 78.0% A/AB (n=91 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Michael Light, Michael Massoglia

Past students described Michael Light’s lectures as engaging and noted he tested primarily on lecture material rather than textbooks. Michael Massoglia’s exams were considered fair, but one student warned that the class required hours of weekly reading. Another student praised Massoglia’s interesting readings and helpful TA, while noting the difficulty of keeping up with the material.

CECILE DAVID is recorded teaching in Spring 2011. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JASON NOLEN is recorded teaching in Spring 2019, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MELANIE MURCHISON is recorded teaching in Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL LIGHT is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL MASSOGLIA is recorded teaching in Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, 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
DIS 301Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 302Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 303Classroom Instruction0 / 250
DIS 304Classroom Instruction0 / 250
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1000

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

Past student reviews · Jason Nolen

Students found the material interesting and the course manageable, with one reviewer noting it was an easy A and another enjoying the discussion sections.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.94 GPA, 52.6% A/AB (n=97 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.65 GPA, 78.0% A/AB (n=91 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.05 GPA, 48.2% A/AB (n=85 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Jason Nolen

The class involved four exams with a focus on memorization, though one student noted that exams sometimes covered material found only in readings rather than lectures.

Past student reviews · Jason Nolen

Several students described Dr. Nolen as a nice person but found his lectures dry and lacking passion, making it hard to stay engaged during class.

Topics

  • Theoretical explanations of criminal behavior
  • Measurement of crime and evaluation of criminological research
  • Current issues in criminology and crime-related public policy

Skills

  • Critical analysis of criminological theories
  • Evaluation of research methods and data measures
  • Analysis of social impacts of criminal justice policies

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · 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.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.33 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

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.

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Selected offering source records
SOC 441 · Spring 2027

Criminology

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": "1274:900:017582",
    "course_id": "SOC 441",
    "course_uid": "course_c5c70ab310ccd9fa991e83e6",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "017582",
    "source_subject_id": "900",
    "title": "Criminology",
    "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
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "ec56d8af80a2271a306025ec9aab5773e559695c2a2e853648d49f0792d514e6",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}