I'll start off by saying that the reviews talking about his ego were not exaggerated. If you ignore that, overall he's a pretty great professor. Super knowledgeable, expectations for assignments and exams are typically quite clear, also he's pretty funny. I'd recommend you take the class, the topic is super interesting and he teaches it well.

He is super intense but actually so fun in lecture I really like him. His papers are pretty easy but the tests are so detailed so make sure you know your stuff. So many graphs to remember which is hard but the content is interesting.

I could never tell if I liked light or not, dude has an ego on him and it comes out during lecture. I did appreciate how much he made us think and reflect on issues, and the assignments and exams were pretty straightforward.

This class is incredibly fascinating and presents information unlike any college class I've taken before. Light presents on his own research and is clearly passionate about his work. The class is only graded on 2 exams and 2 papers, which are all decently challenging, but what you would expect from a class on such complex and dense topic matter.

This class with Light is one of the best classes I have ever taken at this university. The content truly changed my ability to critically think about material and what is going on in the world. There's a fair amount of reading, but the exams are fair. Only two essays throughout the semester. Highly recommend this class!

He was such a great professor and I learned so much! I definitely look forward to taking more of his classes in the future!

Engaging professor and involves discussion with the class in lectures. He made an effort to get to know us which I appreciated. Sometimes he has a little bit of a superiority vibe to him but easy enough to ignore that. He does lecture fast and expects you to know numbers. The class was interesting and tests are fair (he has reviews for each).

Prof. Light is highly engaging in class, but he lectures quite fast, making it hard to follow along and take notes effectively. Grade is calculates based only on 5 things, with the biggest % going to article evaluations, for which the process and criteria isn't the most clear. Interesting lectures that stimulate participation, but on the whole hard

Lectures were great & I learned a lot! You might want to take Stats before this though, since we had to do analysis with basic stats concepts. Grading was really strange; he had a grader who graded the two written assignments very hard, but then I still got an A because the exams were very easy- It worked out for me, but it was a bit stressful.

Professor Light is incredibly knowledgeable, and his criminology (SOC 441) lectures were highly engaging and thought-provoking. He genuinely cares about his students' thoughts and frequently interacts with them throughout lectures, unlike many other professors. While the textbook is "required", he covers most of the test content in lecture slides.

Prof. Light was one of the nicest and most personable professors I have ever had. He truly cares about his students and is accessible outside of class. The exams were straightforward and so were the papers, though they were tougher to do well on. He makes class engaging and does a Jeopardy review day which tells you the main points for the exams.

I've taken three of his classes and I've loved every one of them. He teaches you things that you need to know, things that will help educate you in life outside of the classroom. Such valuable information, amazing lectures, he doesn't bore you with irrelevant stuff. One of those professors that truly cares. Favorite at UW-Madision.

His class is interesting but I'd suggest you have prior knowledge to catch up his lecture. He is not the grader, so the other person is a grader who is a tough grader with unclear grading criteria which it finds odd in this class. There is no ranging grade like C 76-82, it has only the single grade C76 or B82, so your grade is dropped easily.

Mike is awesome. Super funny and really committed to his students and his research. He truly loves what he studies and it shows. His lectures are engaging and his tests are VERY FAIR. The material is super interesting as well. He is respectful and cautious especially since he has to teach some tough material. He is really awesome. Highly recommend!

Light honestly cares about his students and what he researches about. Attending lectures, although not mandatory, is definitely a must, but the lectures are fun. He's ready to listen to what students have to say and I'm taking his class next semester too. He challenges you, but doesn't grade too harshly.

This is the third class I've taken w/ Prof Light, so it's easy to say I love not only him but also the classes that he teaches. There are few classes that I actually enjoy attending, but his are worth going to. You never have to read, just go over the notes for exams. Super easy but also extremely interesting content.

Professor Light is one of the best professors I've ever had. His class is super interesting. He's funny and he tries to make the lecture light even when we're talking about heavy subjects which makes it more interesting. He specifically says that he lectures on the readings and tests on the lectures. So the readings/textbook aren't really required.

I loved Professor Light. The class itself was very interesting and I really enjoyed the readings. He only tests on lectures, which are very fun to listen to and he makes it clear that this is what he does. While you don't necessarily have to read the book, it helped my short answers/understanding of the material.

Professor Light is the best professor I've had. I also took 441 with him this semester. Both classes were super interesting, but also extremely easy as long as you understand/go over the notes, which he posts online. He lectures on the readings and tests you on the lectures, so you never actually have to do the readings. I definitely recommend him.