Fall 2026

Introduction to Statistical Methods

Introduction to statistical methods covering distributions, inference, regression, and experimental design.

offering recorded3 credits

Summary

1 / 6

Workload is described as manageable with straightforward exams, though success requires consistent effort and engagement with the material.

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

Satisfied Quantitative Reasoning (QR) A. Not open to students with credit for STAT 302, 324, or 371.

STAT 301 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

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.39/5 from 67 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: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

John Gillett is described as charming, kind, and funny, with a genuine desire for student success. Reviewers note that his classes are manageable and exams are straightforward, though one recent review mentions he taught with a new textbook after a long hiatus.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2010: 3.15 GPA, 57.9% A/AB (n=95 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.91 GPA, 38.6% A/AB (n=132 letter grades).

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

Raw average: 3.57/5 from 14 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: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 1 reviews

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

Derek Bean is described as an effective substitute instructor who provided more learning in a single session than the regular professor did all semester. This single review highlights his teaching strength in delivering clear, impactful instruction when covering course material.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2016: 3.29 GPA, 60.0% A/AB (n=135 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.92 GPA, 37.8% A/AB (n=193 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 2.81 GPA, 34.2% A/AB (n=187 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 2.87 GPA, 35.8% A/AB (n=187 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.92 GPA, 37.8% A/AB (n=193 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews show mixed experiences. Richard Johnson and Chen Cheng were criticized as difficult or unhelpful, while Alexander Covington was average. Conversely, Gina Benninger was praised as funny with easy exams, and Robert Wardrop offered flexibility. Victoria Mansfield was helpful and clear, Ryan Zea was respected, and Liam Johnston was knowledgeable despite mumbling.

ALEXANDER COVINGTON is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

BI CHENG WU is recorded teaching in Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CHEN CHENG is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DEREK BEAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GINA BENNINGER is recorded teaching in Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ISMOR FISCHER is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN GILLETT is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KEVIN PACKARD is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KRITTIKA BASU is recorded teaching in Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LIAM JOHNSTON is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MITCHELL PAUKNER is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2021. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RICHARD A. JOHNSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2008. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROBERT WARDROP is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

RYAN ZEA is recorded teaching in Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

VICTORIA MANSFIELD is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

VIVIAN MOGBOLU is recorded teaching in Fall 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
LEC 001Classroom Instruction206 / 2164
LEC 002Classroom Instruction211 / 21610

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

John Gillett is praised as an engaging and kind instructor who makes the course manageable and straightforward for students willing to put in effort.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.91 GPA, 37.7% A/AB (n=393 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.84 GPA, 35.0% A/AB (n=374 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.88 GPA, 36.8% A/AB (n=380 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Workload is described as manageable with straightforward exams, though success requires consistent effort and engagement with the material.

Derek Bean is noted for effective teaching, with one student reporting significant learning gains during a substitute session.

Topics

  • Distributions and descriptive statistics
  • Hypothesis testing and confidence intervals
  • Assumption violations in statistical methods
  • Regression and correlation analysis
  • Experimental design

Skills

  • Understanding statistical distributions and descriptive measures
  • Conducting hypothesis tests and constructing confidence intervals
  • Performing regression and correlation analysis
  • Applying basic experimental design principles

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.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.09 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
STAT 301 · Fall 2026

Introduction to Statistical Methods

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
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    "offering_id": "1272:932:018439",
    "course_id": "STAT 301",
    "course_uid": "course_bf80347054c4234ada79c07e",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "018439",
    "source_subject_id": "932",
    "title": "Introduction to Statistical Methods",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

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.

Explore recorded grades
Model 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
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