Current instructor

Grant Nelsestuen

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.74/5 from 38 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.

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

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

CLASSICS 340
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
If you get the opportunity to take any of his classes, do it! His lectures are amazing. Theres a lot of written work, but all the material you need to pull from is discussed at length in class. Attendance is not mandatory, but I recommend going anyways as the essays have high expectations. He loves talking to students outside of class!
Rate My Professors ↗
CLASSICS 340
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
- Don't go to lecture except on Response Paper days when its mandatory - Go to office hours for both essays and Final Paper as TA Grades those and is harsh - Don't sweat for literally anything else, Grant grades everything a 100% if it isn't complete rubbish - Do your journal entries right after posts so you remember - Dont buy the books
Rate My Professors ↗
ILS 200
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Lectures were not mandatory, but I enjoyed going because he is clearly passionate. My grade was more determined by my TA and discussion participation.
Rate My Professors ↗
ILS 400
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
I loved Grant! He was very funny and approachable. Class was very laid back and mostly student led in discussions. To do well you have to do the readings (which can be dense) and participate (attendance required!). But in my opinion it was super easy and near impossible to do poorly if you do that. Grade was mostly a final paper and project.
Rate My Professors ↗
ILS 200
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Take this class if you need a Com B! The lectures weren't mandatory, but he offered extra credit if you could answer a question based on the lecture each week. You do not need to go to lectures to do well in the class. Discussions are mandatory and vary based on your TA. There aren't too many papers, and I never felt stressed or overwhelmed.
Rate My Professors ↗
ILS 205
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Grant is an absolute king. Lectures are very interesting and he often makes short tangents and/or jokes to keep it entertaining. You can tell he's passionate about what he teaches.
Rate My Professors ↗

Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Grant Nelsestuen

CLASSICS 691

Senior Thesis

3 credits

Senior Thesis is individual mentored study for seniors completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member. Students produce original scholarly projects on ancient Greek, Roman, or Near Eastern society and culture.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Grant NelsestuenWilliam Aylward+2 more

No recorded grade history

LATIN 681

Honors Thesis

3 credits

Individual mentored study for Honors in the Major theses, focusing on analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating ancient classical Latin texts.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Grant Nelsestuen

No recorded grade history

LATIN 682

Senior Honors Thesis

3 credits

Senior Honors Thesis provides individual mentored study for seniors completing theses for Honors in the Major, arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Grant Nelsestuen

No recorded grade history

LATIN 692

Senior Thesis

3 credits

Individual mentored study for seniors completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Grant Nelsestuen

No recorded grade history

LATIN 699

Directed Study

1–3 credits

Advanced directed study involving analysis of Latin texts and producing an original scholarly project on ancient Greek, Roman, or Near Eastern society and culture.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Grant NelsestuenWilliam Brockliss+3 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027CLASSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027CLASSICS 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027CLASSICS 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027CLASSICS 699Directed Reading
Spring 2027LATIN 681Honors Thesis
Spring 2027LATIN 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027LATIN 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027LATIN 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027LATIN 699Directed Study
Spring 2027LATIN 890Individual Research Thesis
Fall 2026CLASSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026CLASSICS 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026CLASSICS 692Senior Thesis
Fall 2026CLASSICS 699Directed Reading
Fall 2026LATIN 681Honors Thesis
Fall 2026LATIN 699Directed Study
Fall 2026LATIN 890Individual Research Thesis

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_1477e919744bd2755605c9bd",
  "source": "enrollment",
  "source_instructor_id": "nelsestuen",
  "identity_basis": "netid",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "Grant Nelsestuen",
  "email": "NELSESTUEN@WISC.EDU",
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 38,
    "quality": 4.74,
    "difficulty": 2.39,
    "quality_count": 38,
    "difficulty_count": 38,
    "profile_id": "rmp:816195",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/816195",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 19:11:43.069183+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_e8726d3608f6bfcf5770ec65": {
        "review_count": 8,
        "quality": 4.38,
        "difficulty": 3.12,
        "quality_count": 8,
        "difficulty_count": 8
      },
      "course_d36506bb8ebe07b832e1c3a3": {
        "review_count": 2,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 1.5,
        "quality_count": 2,
        "difficulty_count": 2
      },
      "course_3d9d718b2517adabaca3167d": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 2,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      },
      "course_dac3c0e554bb8fd4c39452f9": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 3,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      },
      "course_7d1330f9bea95b7a84f4b597": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 2,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      },
      "course_8d940202723509f7569afa43": {
        "review_count": 5,
        "quality": 4.8,
        "difficulty": 1.6,
        "quality_count": 5,
        "difficulty_count": 5
      },
      "course_76270c244e07faeb8a2d61ba": {
        "review_count": 3,
        "quality": 4.67,
        "difficulty": 3.33,
        "quality_count": 3,
        "difficulty_count": 3
      },
      "course_6826851be367f1ff628c0659": {
        "review_count": 3,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 2,
        "quality_count": 3,
        "difficulty_count": 3
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 4.367308131205679,
    "prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "current": true,
  "courses": [
    {
      "course_uid": "course_1a5a470f5545dfc2d56980b3",
      "course_id": "LATIN 691",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_5643514c6f67d7fcef387d9d",
      "course_id": "LATIN 681",
      "title": "HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_5ad4839de46f024f65c51882",
      "course_id": "CLASSICS 691",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_698dff11f351058a996cb1df",
      "course_id": "LATIN 692",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_6f6d5f7dfe70bbb3e45bc24b",
      "course_id": "CLASSICS 681",
      "title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_7f483e5a7d44f4784bf3b6bd",
      "course_id": "CLASSICS 699",
      "title": "DIRECTED READING",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_c2bd461e7d1de64d54b62f4a",
      "course_id": "LATIN 682",
      "title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_d19797aead9834f2ee2e8169",
      "course_id": "CLASSICS 692",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_d26a1367c5de6acb3aca24e9",
      "course_id": "LATIN 699",
      "title": "DIRECTED STUDY",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_f2aaca23cf0f4cee595c6348",
      "course_id": "LATIN 890",
      "title": "INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 12,
      "gpa": null
    }
  ],
  "revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/GRANT_NELSESTUEN"
}