Prof Van Swol is super knowledgeable in her field, and it's very apparent. The class itself was interesting because it's easy to recognize the content in everyday life. The textbook is nonnegotiable, and your exams will include material from it. Listen to it, and you'll be fine.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Lyn Van Swol
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Exams are all multiple-choice, drawing from specific examples & theories (mostly from lecture). There are a few papers, but nothing is too hard if you pay attention and take good notes. Lectures are fairly interesting, but slides are somewhat disorganized. However, she is clearly knowledgable about the topic and uses fun examples, so overall good!Rate My Professors ↗
She was one of my favorite professors at UW Madison! She's funny and makes very interesting lectures. I liked listening to her talk which actually made me pay attention. Exams were fair and you lowkey do not need to buy the textbook, just google the studies it mentions before the exam. CA 368 was really interesting- definitely reccomend!Rate My Professors ↗
Very knowledgable and passionate. She was funny and engaged with her students.Rate My Professors ↗
Her lectures were structured terribly and often went on tangents, the class itself lacked a concrete structure and was very disorganized.Rate My Professors ↗
I had her this past sem, she is very spacey and did not give us much information for papers, assignments, or quiz/tests. Half the lectures are online and one in-person lecture per week. she would often last minute cancel discussion sections, not send the link to online review, and overall was not on top of her teaching. this class was disorganizedRate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Lyn Van Swol
Directed Study
1–3 creditsCOMARTS 299 is a Directed Study offering an intermediate-level project, such as independent reading, research, or production, under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
COMARTS 368 teaches persuasion and social influence skills, exploring nonconscious processes and campaign creation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Lyn Van Swol is described as a great, friendly, and respectful professor who delivers entertaining and exciting lectures. Reviewers found the class interesting and enjoyable, noting that the workload outside of class was not excessive.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Directed Study
1–3 creditsCOMARTS 698 is a directed study allowing students to complete advanced independent projects, such as research papers or productions, under faculty guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Directed Study
1–3 creditsCOMARTS 699 is a directed study allowing students to complete advanced independent projects, such as research papers or productions, under faculty guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades); Fall 2025: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sampleCOMARTS 760 covers advances in communication theories through in-depth review and evaluation of behavioral and social scientific perspectives on human communication.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2017: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades); Fall 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Fall 2024: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2024 · limited sampleIndependent Study
1–3 creditsCOMARTS 799 is an independent study course focused on independent research and writing under instructor supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleCOMMUNICATION SCIENCE COLLOQUIUM applies social scientific approaches to study interpersonal communication and media effects.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Research and Thesis
1–9 creditsCOMARTS 990 is a research and thesis course focusing on independent research and writing under instructor supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 299 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 368 | Persuasion and Social Influence |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 698 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 760 | Advances in Communication Theories |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 799 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 904 | Communication Science Colloquium |
| Fall 2026 | COMARTS 990 | Research and Thesis |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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