Current instructor

Samuel Dennis

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 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 341
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Professor Dennis was the best professor I've ever had. He is incredibly understanding and an easy grader. Attendance is somewhat mandatory and this entire class is group work, but it is an easy A as long as you go to class. So do not take this course if you're planning on skipping often. You also do NOT need to buy any textbooks for this course.
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DS 341
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Best professor at UW-Madison. I'm not even a design studies major (engineering major).
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LANDARC 260
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Class was interesting and not difficult at all. Only 5 tests throughout the semester that you'd easily pass if you showed up to class. Prof. Dennis is a super nice guy and makes it obvious in the way he lectures that he really cares about landscape architecture and really just wants you to do well in the class.
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LANDARC 260
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Very nice guy. 75% of grade is 5 tests and the rest of your grade is super easy in-class stuff. No outside of class work. Just memorized the text on his slides the day before tests and this will be and easy A
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Samuel Dennis

DS 221

Person and Environment Interactions

3 credits

DS 221 examines how built and outdoor environments impact people throughout their lives.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Samuel DennisCurtis Xu+2 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025
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.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Samuel Dennis is praised as an incredibly understanding and easy grader who fosters a positive learning environment. Reviewers highlight his effectiveness across different majors, with one calling him the best professor they have ever had.

Samuel DennisMonika Thadhani

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2026
LANDARC 990

Research

1–12 credits

LANDARC 990 is an individual mentored research and study course for completing theses, as arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Samuel DennisDavid Bart+3 more

No recorded grade history

LANDARC 999

Independent Studies

1–3 credits

LANDARC 999 is an independent study course offering students the opportunity to explore concepts or issues of interest.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

Samuel DennisDavid Bart+2 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026AGROECOL 990Research
Fall 2026DS 221Person and Environment Interactions
Fall 2026DS 341Design Thinking for Transformation
Fall 2026LANDARC 990Research
Fall 2026LANDARC 999Independent Studies

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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