Mike was genuinly fun to learn from not text heavy made light jokes and was actually someone whose class i enjoyedRate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Michael Doescher
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
His overall does not reflect him well anymore. He used to be not a great professor but he had a heart attack and now he is super relaxed all the time. He gives out extensions super easily and he seems to really care about teaching. He is incredibly smart and knowledgeable.Rate My Professors ↗
He was great, played Fortnite lobby music to start class one day, and it was a great beginning.Rate My Professors ↗
His lectures are very helpful in understanding the niche code rules, and the only con really was that when he made a mistake, he would fix it and move on quickly. I did not have to do any extra reading/work outside the class besides the graded assignments. The class in general is very manageable, and I did not come in with code experience.Rate My Professors ↗
Mike is an amazing professor! I had never coded before taking CS220 but the content was easy to follow. Although attendance is not mandatory (notes are provided), I'd still recommend attending them since it was so much easier for me to understand. Projects take a lot of time but are still manageable. The exams are easy if you do the practice exams.Rate My Professors ↗
Ignore the bad reviews they are mostly from a bad semester (not his fault). Lowkey hilarious teacher and explains the class clearly. Very accommodating to students and tries to make sure everyone has a fair chanceRate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Michael Doescher
Introduction to Data Science programming using Python with no prior experience required, emphasizing analysis of real datasets and visual communication.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Michael Doescher
Michael Doescher taught a project-heavy course in which projects were time-consuming, and one student also found them repetitive. He live-coded during lectures, which some found engaging, though another student said lectures did not help because he spent time on unrelated content.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introductory Data Science Programming I for Research course covering Python, programming basics, web scraping, database queries, and tabular analysis.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.86 GPA, 96.6% A/AB (n=29 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.77 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.92 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | COMPSCI 220 | Data Science Programming I |
| Spring 2027 | COMPSCI 319 | Data Science Programming I for Research |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 220 | Data Science Programming I |
| Fall 2026 | COMPSCI 319 | Data Science Programming I for Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_97805752d14314b7d669169c",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "mdoescher",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Michael Doescher",
"email": "MDOESCHER@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": 89,
"quality": 3.48,
"difficulty": 3.34,
"quality_count": 89,
"difficulty_count": 89,
"profile_id": "rmp:2593156",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2593156",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 18:53:04.508362+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_834bc468ca49d8090d0f211f": {
"review_count": 49,
"quality": 4.18,
"difficulty": 3.06,
"quality_count": 49,
"difficulty_count": 49
},
"course_6e524f2d6f14b4e14c7ac770": {
"review_count": 39,
"quality": 2.56,
"difficulty": 3.72,
"quality_count": 39,
"difficulty_count": 39
},
"course_37a551eb9007bebe6a41c6b3": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 2,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.512879556054398,
"prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_834bc468ca49d8090d0f211f",
"course_id": "COMPSCI 220",
"title": "DATA SCIENCE PROGRAMMING I",
"credits_min": 4,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": 3.424
},
{
"course_uid": "course_933b36d4952c8b40f181b993",
"course_id": "COMPSCI 319",
"title": "DATA SCIENCE PROGRAMMING I FOR RESEARCH",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.832
}
],
"revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/MICHAEL_DOESCHER"
}