Current instructor

Joel Rogers

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

Raw average: 2.75/5 from 158 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

SOC 120
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
His lectures were rambling, he called people out for leaving the room to go to the bathroom, if you were a minute late he called you out, his tests weren't that hard but just a not great class
Rate My Professors ↗
SOC 125
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
I do not know why there are so many 5 star ratings. The worst Prof I've ever had in my entire life. Anytime I can forget about him and his class is such a blessing. His lectures were so long and drawn-out, if he didn't digress class would be 50min. Complete waste of time, the only thing I learned was to stay as far away from his classes as I can.
Rate My Professors ↗
SOC 125
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
The class is definitely difficult, but everyone should take a class with Joel Rogers. He has great experience in politics and sociology and that translates into the classroom well.
Rate My Professors ↗
SOC 125
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Professor Rogers is hands down one of the most brilliant professors at UW. His lectures are packed with insight, challenging you to think critically about American society in ways you never have before. As long as you do the readings and go to lecture, you will succeed in this class.
Rate My Professors ↗
SOC 125
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
If you have the chance to take a class with Joel Rogers, do it, this man is incredibly insightful and intelligent. He doesn't just teach sociology; he rewires your entire understanding of American society with a level of depth and clarity that makes you question everything.
Rate My Professors ↗
S125 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
While Professor Rogers might sometimes be stubborn and a little bit offensive, if you have any interest in social issues in America, this class is a good class to take. The long lectures are annoying, but you get used to them. Professor Rogers wrote the textbook for this class and is a very interesting man that is very passionate about the material
Rate My Professors ↗

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

Classes with Joel Rogers

SOC 990

Thesis

1–12 credits

SOC 990 is a thesis course involving mentored research for Master's or doctoral dissertations.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026SOC 990Thesis
Fall 2026SOC 999Reading and Research in Sociology

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

Instructor identity & provenance
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_fd37a565f0f13cd7364b873a",
  "source": "enrollment",
  "source_instructor_id": "jerogers",
  "identity_basis": "netid",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "Joel Rogers",
  "email": "JEROGERS@WISC.EDU",
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 158,
    "quality": 2.75,
    "difficulty": 2.88,
    "quality_count": 158,
    "difficulty_count": 158,
    "profile_id": "rmp:265817",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/265817",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:31:58.693989+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_98ade9d46c01304a303c64be": {
        "review_count": 4,
        "quality": 2.5,
        "difficulty": 4,
        "quality_count": 4,
        "difficulty_count": 4
      },
      "course_0be5a695ca3454e263bbc0de": {
        "review_count": 138,
        "quality": 2.73,
        "difficulty": 2.83,
        "quality_count": 138,
        "difficulty_count": 138
      },
      "course_7db8e8a54301d7db98bc7674": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 3,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      },
      "course_cebc93b8748658e94ab376c4": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 5,
        "difficulty": 4,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 2.8522118857917524,
    "prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "current": true,
  "courses": [
    {
      "course_uid": "course_0727e488c64c40e76ed24203",
      "course_id": "SOC 990",
      "title": "THESIS",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 12,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_7a3599b8e5758d00c8f03c44",
      "course_id": "SOC 999",
      "title": "READING AND RESEARCH IN SOCIOLOGY",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 12,
      "gpa": null
    }
  ],
  "revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/JOEL_ROGERS"
}