Historical instructor

MARK NELSON

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.50/5 from 4 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

DS 501
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Such a disappointing class. His grading system is unbelievably knit-picky and there is practically no partial credit. It's all or nothing friends.
Rate My Professors ↗
DS50119 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
A required 1-credit DESIGN course yet we were assigned a 4-page SINGLE-SPACED paper as if we were English majors. I'm not saying that it was hard by any means, but it was ridiculous if he expected us to complete that much work for a 1-CR course
Rate My Professors ↗
DS50121 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
I tagged him as having a clear grading criteria but for this very reason he is a ridiculously hard grader. If you don't follow his expectations to the letter expect to receive 0 points for that section. After a while we simply copy-and-paste his requirements into our Powerpoint slides and spend our entire presentation answering these questions.
Rate My Professors ↗
DS 501
Quality 4/5Difficulty 1/5
DS 501 Contemporary Designers. One of the easiest classes I've ever taken. Mark is a really nice guy and is really passionate about design. Lots of interesting material, just very easy to do well overall. I recommend!
Rate My Professors ↗

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

Classes with MARK NELSON

DS 223

Interior Architectural Design

3 credits

Interior Architectural Design covers building components, construction, working drawings, and project development.

No offering record · Fall 2019

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Mark Nelson

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2015–Fall 2019
DS 341

Design Thinking for Transformation

3 credits

DS 341 teaches design thinking techniques for creative analysis and human-centered problem solving through innovation, prototyping, and testing.

No offering record · Fall 2019

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

Lesley SagerMark Nelson

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2018–Fall 2019 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2019DS 223Interior Architectural Design
Fall 2019DS 341Design Thinking for Transformation
Spring 2019DS 623Interior Design IV
Spring 2019DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2018DS 223Interior Architectural Design
Fall 2018DS 341Design Thinking for Transformation
Fall 2018DS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018DS 623Interior Design IV
Spring 2018DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2018DS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2018DS 999Independent Study
Fall 2017ANTHRO/ARTHIST/DS/HISTORY/LANDARC 264Dimensions of Material Culture
Fall 2017ANTHRO/ARTHIST/DS/HISTORY/LANDARC 764Dimensions of Material Culture
Fall 2017DS 223Interior Architectural Design
Fall 2017DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2017DS 999Independent Study
Spring 2017DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2016DS 699Independent Study
Fall 2016DS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2016DS 242Visual Communication II
Spring 2016DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2016DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2015DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2015DS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2015DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2015DS 999Independent Study
Fall 2014DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2014DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2014ANTHRO/ARTHIST/DS/HISTORY/LANDARC 264Dimensions of Material Culture
Spring 2014DS 299Independent Study
Spring 2014DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2014DS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2014DS 999Independent Study
Fall 2013DS 299Independent Study
Fall 2013DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2013DS 699Independent Study
Fall 2013DS 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2013DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2013DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2012DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2012DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2012DS 699Independent Study
Fall 2011DS 623Interior Design IV
Spring 2011DS 699Independent Study
Fall 2010DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2010DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2009DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2008DS 623Interior Design IV
Spring 2008DS 299Independent Study
Spring 2008DS 699Independent Study
Spring 2008DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2007DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2007DS 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2006DS 623Interior Design IV
Fall 2006DS 699Independent Study
Fall 2006DS 990Research and Thesis

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_fa12b0a6ad6d2f1576ef4043",
  "source": "madgrades",
  "source_instructor_id": "3573624",
  "identity_basis": "source_id",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "MARK NELSON",
  "email": null,
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-06 23:14:58.172943+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 4,
    "quality": 2.5,
    "difficulty": 3.5,
    "quality_count": 4,
    "difficulty_count": 4,
    "profile_id": "rmp:1714603",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1714603",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:20:37.193778+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_4925cb96bb7a8d9a437bc1c1": {
        "review_count": 2,
        "quality": 2.5,
        "difficulty": 2.5,
        "quality_count": 2,
        "difficulty_count": 2
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 3.466404819622163,
    "prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "grade_statistics": {
    "gpa": 3.567,
    "graded": 506,
    "counts": [
      231,
      184,
      54,
      16,
      16,
      3,
      2
    ],
    "sections": 56
  },
  "current": false,
  "courses": [],
  "revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/MARK_NELSON--instructor_fa12b0a6ad6d2f1576ef4043"
}