Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Dr. Balster has immense respect and care for his students, he makes a point to learn everyone's name. His lectures were engaging and informative but required you to pay close attention. You cannot be a complacent learner otherwise you will fall behind, however, Dr. Balster offers many opportunities for support and will meet you in the middle.Rate My Professors ↗
Dr. Balster is truly a great professor. This class is definitely difficult (especially if you are not a STEM major), but it is so worth it for a lecturer as engaging and passionate as he is! Attendance is basically mandatory (but you won't really want to miss class anyway). Light readings, lots of extra credit opportunities, and written notes only.Rate My Professors ↗
Dr. Balster is a strict professor but extremely passionate and very friendly. He may seem tough but he ultimately just wants you to learn the material. Honestly, what you put in is what you take out, so you might need to give a little extra effort but it'll pay off Heads up, there is a good amount of reading so be aware of that :)Rate My Professors ↗
No matter how much you study, it is never enough. Willing to sell my soul to pass. His quizzes and exams are quite literally impossibleRate My Professors ↗
Do not take his classes. Classes are way too hard for them, being intro classes for many majors. Class time is spent talking about nothing that will help you on exams, and when students come up unhappy with their grades, they are told that thinking wrong is incorrect. Makes it hard to skip class by having many in class quizesRate My Professors ↗
dont suggest. exams are not well prepared for in class. asked help multiple times and kept saying its "logically" based thinking. what does that even mean..Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Explores agricultural systems as coupled ecological and social complexities, analyzing management impacts and tradeoffs to address societal challenges.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.77 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=11 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2025–Fall 2025 · limited sampleF&WECOL 990 is an independent research course for graduate thesis preparation under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Introduction to Environmental Science covering Earth's interconnected systems, natural services, and environmental challenges.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Nick Balster is criticized for outdated teaching and confusing lectures that fail to prepare students for difficult weekly quizzes and exams. Reviewers describe the workload as excessive with little relevant learning, noting a lack of grading curves despite high difficulty.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025SOILSCI 299 is an independent study course involving research work under the direct guidance of a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.89 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=9 letter grades); Fall 2025: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=9 letter grades); Spring 2026: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=9 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sampleSOILSCI 399 is a coordinative internship in Soil Science where students arrange and complete supervised work under faculty and site guidance.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
SOIL MANAGEMENT is a capstone course applying problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills to soil and environmental sciences issues.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
SOILSCI 681 is an individual study course for Soil Science Honors majors to complete their senior thesis under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
SOILSCI 682 is the continuation of SOILSCI 681, serving as the senior honors thesis component for Soil Science majors.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
SOILSCI 699 is an individual study course for Soil Science majors completing their theses, arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
SOILSCI 990 is an independent research and writing course designed to help students complete their dissertation requirements.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | AGROECOL 303 | Agroecological Systems: Working Towards Sustainability |
| Fall 2026 | F&WECOL 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 250 | Introduction to Environmental Science |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 299 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 399 | Coordinative Internship/cooperative Education |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 486 | Soil Management |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 699 | Special Problems |
| Fall 2026 | SOILSCI 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_d0392633eeb3a37acc53f98b",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "njbalster",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Nick Balster",
"email": "NJBALSTER@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": 64,
"quality": 3.2,
"difficulty": 3.45,
"quality_count": 64,
"difficulty_count": 64,
"profile_id": "rmp:262714",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/262714",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:14:06.113894+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_0d4cf169ef7d2f1437b00cb6": {
"review_count": 2,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 2,
"difficulty_count": 2
},
"course_04ccf69fb33982ff8a62a49f": {
"review_count": 6,
"quality": 2,
"difficulty": 3.5,
"quality_count": 6,
"difficulty_count": 6
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.309448996082523,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_04ccf69fb33982ff8a62a49f",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 250",
"title": "INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.116
},
{
"course_uid": "course_0ce33941a9d88ae81d68fe62",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 699",
"title": "SPECIAL PROBLEMS",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.984
},
{
"course_uid": "course_234edf2f558e9387aa43319d",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 682",
"title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
"credits_min": 2,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_5a21252438edde7093e668a3",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 681",
"title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
"credits_min": 2,
"credits_max": 4,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_5aab32e882fe646f9d176a47",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 399",
"title": "COORDINATIVE INTERNSHIP/COOPERATIVE EDUCATION",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 8,
"gpa": 4
},
{
"course_uid": "course_6b951bd6bbbdbd7b82e83172",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 990",
"title": "RESEARCH",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 12,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_7372b46383ee6d6c8363f28b",
"course_id": "F&WECOL 990",
"title": "RESEARCH AND THESIS",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 12,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_a706700864ec69ba8a659ce1",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 299",
"title": "INDEPENDENT STUDY",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.887
},
{
"course_uid": "course_cb48202f2abd505901a4ce2b",
"course_id": "SOILSCI 486",
"title": "SOIL MANAGEMENT",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": null
},
{
"course_uid": "course_e6cd8abf8ddcc19f093ffbff",
"course_id": "AGROECOL 303",
"title": "AGROECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS: WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.773
}
],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/NICK_BALSTER"
}