# James Messina — Courses & Reviews | UW–Madison

[View on UW Courses](https://uwcourses.com/instructors/JAMES_MESSINA--instructor_d062e5947f032b8af8c1452f)

## Dataset

### revision

e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349

### repository

twangodev/uwcourses

### schema version

6

### importer version

7

### projection id

85abe9ff8837c2c5a134368dcc4cfc85eb723524b21ddeb3d2e953887d2f0c8f

### observed at

2026-09-07T15:55:43.033547+00:00

### built at

2026-09-11T07:45:51.576183+00:00

### courses

8951

### current instructors

5754

### limited

false

### terms

* 1272
* 1264
* 1262
* 1254
* 1252
* 1244
* 1242
* 1234
* 1232
* 1224
* 1222
* 1212
* 1204
* 1202
* 1194
* 1192
* 1184
* 1182
* 1174
* 1172
* 1164
* 1162
* 1154
* 1152
* 1144
* 1142
* 1134
* 1132
* 1124
* 1122
* 1114
* 1112
* 1104
* 1102
* 1094
* 1092
* 1084
* 1082
* 1074
* 1072

### term

1272

### departments

| subject   | count |
| --------- | ----- |
| AAE       | 90    |
| ABT       | 20    |
| ACCTIS    | 36    |
| ACTSCI    | 14    |
| AFAERO    | 10    |
| AFRICAN   | 87    |
| AFROAMER  | 71    |
| AGROECOL  | 21    |
| AMERIND   | 53    |
| ANAT\&PHY | 7     |
| ANATOMY   | 2     |
| ANESTHES  | 8     |
| ANSCI     | 57    |
| ANTHRO    | 95    |
| ART       | 125   |
| ARTED     | 10    |
| ARTHIST   | 121   |
| ASIALANG  | 129   |
| ASIAN     | 109   |
| ASIANAM   | 28    |
| ASTRON    | 38    |
| ATMOCN    | 69    |
| BIOCHEM   | 51    |
| BIOCORE   | 10    |
| BIOLOGY   | 14    |
| BIOMDSCI  | 18    |
| BME       | 66    |
| BMI       | 41    |
| BMOLCHEM  | 10    |
| BOTANY    | 69    |
| BSE       | 44    |
| C\&ESOC   | 73    |
| CBE       | 48    |
| CHEM      | 101   |
| CHICLA    | 52    |
| CIVENGR   | 133   |
| CLASSICS  | 47    |
| CNP       | 10    |
| CNSRSCI   | 50    |
| COMARTS   | 137   |
| COMPBIO   | 15    |
| COMPLIT   | 11    |
| COMPSCI   | 138   |
| COUNPSY   | 78    |
| CRB       | 19    |
| CS\&D     | 71    |
| CSCS      | 40    |
| CURRIC    | 193   |
| DANCE     | 93    |
| DERM      | 8     |
| DS        | 88    |
| DYSCI     | 35    |
| ECE       | 155   |
| ECON      | 145   |
| EDPOL     | 114   |
| EDPSYCH   | 97    |
| ELPA      | 70    |
| EMA       | 53    |
| EMERMED   | 17    |
| ENGL      | 206   |
| ENTOM     | 40    |
| ENVIRST   | 148   |
| EP        | 15    |
| EPD       | 67    |
| ESL       | 16    |
| F\&WECOL  | 60    |
| FAMMED    | 22    |
| FINANCE   | 50    |
| FOLKLORE  | 40    |
| FOODSCI   | 43    |
| FRENCH    | 63    |
| GEN\&WS   | 145   |
| GENBUS    | 72    |
| GENECSLR  | 17    |
| GENETICS  | 60    |
| GEOG      | 113   |
| GEOSCI    | 83    |
| GERMAN    | 82    |
| GLE       | 48    |
| GNS       | 38    |
| GREEK     | 27    |
| HDFS      | 41    |
| HEBR-BIB  | 13    |
| HEBR-MOD  | 10    |
| HISTORY   | 233   |
| HISTSCI   | 56    |
| HONCOL    | 13    |
| ILS       | 43    |
| INFOSYS   | 9     |
| INTEGART  | 7     |
| INTEGSCI  | 22    |
| INTER-AG  | 18    |
| INTER-HE  | 11    |
| INTER-LS  | 22    |
| INTEREGR  | 16    |
| INTLBUS   | 21    |
| INTLST    | 50    |
| ISYE      | 83    |
| ITALIAN   | 53    |
| JEWISH    | 56    |
| JOURN     | 88    |
| KINES     | 128   |
| LACIS     | 26    |
| LANDARC   | 61    |
| LATIN     | 24    |
| LAW       | 120   |
| LEGALST   | 48    |
| LINGUIS   | 35    |
| LIS       | 89    |
| LITTRANS  | 78    |
| LSC       | 52    |
| M\&ENVTOX | 7     |
| MARKETNG  | 62    |
| MATH      | 153   |
| MDGENET   | 8     |
| ME        | 130   |
| MEDHIST   | 43    |
| MEDICINE  | 60    |
| MEDIEVAL  | 32    |
| MEDPHYS   | 39    |
| MEDSC-M   | 29    |
| MEDSC-V   | 41    |
| MHR       | 68    |
| MICROBIO  | 45    |
| MILSCI    | 16    |
| MM\&I     | 22    |
| MOLBIOL   | 6     |
| MS\&E     | 59    |
| MUSIC     | 165   |
| MUSPERF   | 126   |
| NAVSCI    | 20    |
| NE        | 44    |
| NEURODPT  | 11    |
| NEUROL    | 7     |
| NEURSURG  | 4     |
| NTP       | 11    |
| NURSING   | 111   |
| NUTRSCI   | 65    |
| OBS\&GYN  | 18    |
| OCCTHER   | 39    |
| ONCOLOGY  | 14    |
| OPHTHALM  | 5     |
| OTM       | 43    |
| PATH      | 34    |
| PATH-BIO  | 29    |
| PEDIAT    | 26    |
| PHARMACY  | 31    |
| PHILOS    | 77    |
| PHMCOL-M  | 11    |
| PHMPRAC   | 45    |
| PHMSCI    | 60    |
| PHYASST   | 37    |
| PHYSICS   | 88    |
| PHYSIOL   | 3     |
| PHYTHER   | 37    |
| PLANTSCI  | 52    |
| PLPATH    | 35    |
| POLISCI   | 192   |
| POPHLTH   | 58    |
| PORTUG    | 33    |
| PSYCH     | 101   |
| PSYCHIAT  | 22    |
| PUBAFFR   | 54    |
| PUBLHLTH  | 23    |
| RADIOL    | 11    |
| REALEST   | 41    |
| RELIGST   | 90    |
| RHABMED   | 9     |
| RMI       | 24    |
| RP\&SE    | 102   |
| S\&APHM   | 17    |
| SCANDST   | 73    |
| SLAVIC    | 89    |
| SOC       | 149   |
| SOCWORK   | 87    |
| SOILSCI   | 46    |
| SPANISH   | 83    |
| SRMED     | 21    |
| STAT      | 94    |
| STDYABRD  | 52    |
| STS       | 8     |
| SURGERY   | 25    |
| SURGSCI   | 33    |
| THEATRE   | 91    |
| URBRPL    | 60    |
| UROLOGY   | 5     |
| ZOOLOGY   | 89    |

## instructor

### instructor uid

instructor\_d062e5947f032b8af8c1452f

### source

legacy

### identity basis

name\_only

### identity status

unresolved

### name

James Messina

### email

JMESSINA\@WISC.EDU

### first observed at

2025-07-13 04:59:22.367394+00:00

### last observed at

2025-11-16 05:32:31.273726+00:00

### ratings

#### review count

41

#### quality

4.9

#### difficulty

2.63

#### quality count

41

#### difficulty count

41

#### profile id

rmp:1761516

#### source url

<https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516>

#### match basis

exact\_name

#### observed at

2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00

#### courses

##### course 9135c71251486b5b91c37031

###### review count

1

###### quality

5

###### difficulty

4

###### quality count

1

###### difficulty count

1

##### course 432c74beba85cb7bdc1287f7

###### review count

3

###### quality

5

###### difficulty

2

###### quality count

3

###### difficulty count

3

#### bayesian quality

4.493339601162819

#### prior mean

3.6596857835465957

#### prior weight

20

### current

false

### courses

None recorded.

### revision

e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349

### instructor url

/instructors/JAMES\_MESSINA--instructor\_d062e5947f032b8af8c1452f

## history

None recorded.

## timeline

None recorded.

## term

1272

## courses

None recorded.

## reviews

### items

```json
[
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQxMTQ0MjI2",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1761516",
    "instructor_name": "James Messina",
    "course_label": "PHI101",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-05-03 15:28:46 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "James is so awesome. He encourages debate and conversation in his class and you can tell he absolutely loves to teach and he loves philosophy. This class was easily my favorite I had this semester, I would recommend him to anyone. ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 2
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM5OTEyMDAx",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1761516",
    "instructor_name": "James Messina",
    "course_label": "PHI101",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2024-11-08 03:06:55 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Probably my favorite teacher that I have ever had. Hilarious, engaging, and knows what he's talking about. No matter what argument someone has he is ready to provide a counter which makes the discussion during lecture fun every time. I genuinely think this class has made me a better critical thinker. It is easy overall and you'll never be bored. ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 2
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM5NzM5MDk0",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1761516",
    "instructor_name": "James Messina",
    "course_label": "432",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2024-09-12 15:28:55 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Extremely inviting and cool lectures. Brings everyone together and knows everyone's names while having great discussions. Not to mention he is hilarious. Recommend to everyone. ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 3
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM5MzQxNzIx",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1761516",
    "instructor_name": "James Messina",
    "course_label": "432",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2024-05-02 17:24:25 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Find his classes and take them.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 3
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM5MjUyNTM3",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1761516",
    "instructor_name": "James Messina",
    "course_label": "PHI432",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2024-04-24 17:20:19 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "James is one of the best professors I have had in my four years here in Madison. He shows his passion for teaching and philosophy in every lecture and is the funniest professor I have ever had. He is incredible, I think every student interested in philosophy should take a course with him before they graduate.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 3
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:34:38.927986+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM4NjQyNzE3",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1761516",
    "instructor_name": "James Messina",
    "course_label": "PHILOS503",
    "course_id": "PHILOS 503",
    "course_uid": "course_9135c71251486b5b91c37031",
    "review_date": "2023-12-13 03:31:52 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "As a philosophy major, James is a gem in the department. He is energetic and funny, constantly making the material easier to understand with his humor. Attendance and participation matter, but he is very understanding in personal cases. We were graded on four papers and five discussion posts. ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1761516",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  }
]
```

### total

41

### page

1

### courses

| course\_uid                      | course\_id |
| -------------------------------- | ---------- |
| course\_432c74beba85cb7bdc1287f7 | PHILOS 101 |
| course\_9135c71251486b5b91c37031 | PHILOS 503 |

### matched

true

## social Image

false