Browse all Computer Sciences courses →
Red: department · Gray: UW–Madison
GPA and percentages are weighted by recorded letter grades. UW comparisons use the same terms. Cross-listed courses count once within this department and once across UW; department totals should not be added together. Grade counts are not unique students. Offering counts reflect captured records, not a complete historical schedule.
Grades have not been recorded for this term. Historical results remain in the overview above.
Historical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Grade sorting prioritizes courses with at least 100 letter grades.
A capstone course where students design, develop, and deliver a software project for a corporate client using agile techniques.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course imposes significant busywork on top of weekly meetings and project progress requirements.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2024–Spring 2026COMPSCI 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.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 639 is an undergraduate elective covering selected topics in computing, with specific content determined by the instructor for each offering.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers describe the homework as interesting and hands-on, while one reviewer characterizes the overall class difficulty as hard.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to computer network architecture, protocols, and performance including TCP, IP, and security.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Paul Barford, Suman Banerjee: Workload includes multiple quizzes and programming assignments, with some reviewers noting a lighter load while others emphasize the need for extensive textbook reading and careful note-taking.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Senior-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.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 681 is an individual study course for senior Computer Science majors to complete honors theses under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 682 is an individual study course for seniors completing honors theses in Computer Sciences, arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleCOMPSCI 691 is a senior thesis course involving individual study arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 692 is a senior thesis course involving individual study and research arranged with a faculty member, serving as a continuation of COMPSCI 691.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 698 is a directed study course for juniors and seniors to conduct projects arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 699 offers directed study projects for junior and senior students arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 702 is a Graduate Cooperative Education course where students apply computer science principles in a hands-on, professional setting.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Introduction to principles of advanced programming languages and programming-language theory.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sampleCOMPSCI 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.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025COMPSCI 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.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025COMPSCI 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.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025COMPSCI 765 covers principles of data visual presentation, surveying Information Visualization, Scientific Visualization, and Visual Analytics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers report that assignments toward the end of the semester felt like busywork rather than meaningful learning.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025COMPSCI 769 teaches advanced NLP algorithms and models for tasks like text categorization and machine translation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Fall 2025COMPSCI 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.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 790 is a Master's Thesis course for graduate students, focusing on independent research and thesis completion.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 839 covers selected topics from advanced areas in computing.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers rate the difficulty as low to moderate, with ratings of 2 and 3 out of 5.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 880 covers advanced topics in algorithms, complexity, and cryptography.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 899 is a pre-dissertator research course for master's graduates preparing for doctoral dissertation work under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMPSCI 900 is an advanced seminar covering recent research across various aspects of computer science.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI 990 is an advanced mentored reading and research course for students with dissertator status.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Introduction to Computer Engineering covers logic components, Boolean algebra, logic design, computer organization, and assembly-language programming.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Sinclair enforces strict deadlines and requires diligent self-study. Wadle’s lectures are criticized as unhelpful or confusing, requiring heavy independent work.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Covers digital system fundamentals including logic components, Boolean algebra, and computer organization design.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homework is challenging and time-consuming, but attending discussion sessions and collaborating with groups makes the class much easier to manage.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026COMPSCI/ECE 354 introduces computer system structures and C programming, covering memory, assembly, and compilation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Projects are lengthy and require early starts, while bi-weekly quizzes and dense course materials add to the workload and preparation demands.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Software 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.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026No released grades for this term.
Offering snapshots currently cover Fall 2026. Earlier grade records do not provide a complete offering history.