Plan ahead for courses where students have earned lower grades.
Lowest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the
selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.
Find your fit
62 courses
Historical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Only courses with at least 100 letter grades are ranked.
Senior-level introduction to information security covering cryptographic primitives, security protocols, and system security.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Earlence Fernandes, Rahul Chatterjee: Workload varies by instructor, with some describing simple, fun homework and others citing unnecessarily hard coding assignments. Exams are often open-book, but one review warns that OS security topics can be extremely difficult and heavily weighted.
Advanced Computer Architecture I covers processor design, pipelining, cache memories, and instruction set design.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers describe the class as having a heavy workload with significant reading and difficult exams, though one notes the instructor curves grades to historical averages.
COMPSCI 320 teaches intermediate data science programming in Python, covering data structures, reproducibility, and machine learning techniques.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The workload consists of biweekly projects, midterms, and a final, with exams being online and attendance effectively optional due to full credit policies.
Software Engineering teaches techniques for designing, developing, and modifying large software systems, covering processes, architecture, and team management.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course focuses on agile team software projects and is considered easy if students participate, though logistics and reading quizzes add to the workload.
Methods of Computational Mathematics I covers finite difference and volume methods for PDEs, analyzing accuracy and stability, and solving linear systems.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
One historical review describes the load as not heavy, while others do not specify workload intensity.
COMPSCI 787 covers advanced algorithm design and analysis, focusing on randomness, linear programming, and semi-definite programming for optimization and distributed problems.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is mathematically rigorous with heavy proof requirements, though one historical review notes an average workload of two homeworks and one exam under a different instructor.
COMPSCI 740 covers advanced topics in computer communications networks including congestion control, routing, and network services.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
One review criticizes class management and grading transparency, describing the experience as unfair due to mystery quizzes and exam proctoring issues.
Introduction to Computing provides a broad overview of computing topics like security, robotics, and AI, and algorithmic problem solving.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The workload involves daily in-person attendance and completing assignments posted after lectures, often requiring students to bring fully charged computers. Some reviewers note that outside work can be long and that the Canvas page is disorganized.
COMPSCI 764 covers the implementation of database management systems, including distributed systems, concurrency control, query execution, and recovery mechanisms.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Alan Halverson: Reviewers suggest self-study via research papers is more effective than attending class, noting the professor explains little beyond the assigned readings.
COMPSCI 736 covers advanced operating system topics such as process communication, fault tolerance, and virtual machines.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Barton Miller: The course requires reading and a single project without tests or quizzes, though Miller enforces high expectations and takes class participation seriously.
COMPSCI/ECE 533 covers the mathematical representation of images, including degradation models, enhancement, restoration, segmentation, coding, pattern recognition, and tomography.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews indicate high difficulty, citing assignment errors and unclear problem explanations in class.
Introduction to human-computer interaction focusing on user-centered design, prototyping, and usability evaluation through group projects.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Workload perceptions vary significantly. Some reviewers describe the class as very easy with minimal coding, while others cite 8-10 hour weekly assignments and confusion over project requirements.
COMPSCI 638 covers selected topics in computing, with content varying by instructor and offering.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Deborah Joseph, Laura Legault, Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau: Reviewers describe the course as generally easy, though one instructor is noted for requiring outside-the-box thinking.
Covers hardware and software solutions for advanced computing in engineering, with hands-on parallel programming assignments.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Dan Negrut: Reviewers note the class involves significant work, particularly weekly programming assignments, but consider them doable with effort.