Back

UW-Madison Classes

A review of my coursework at Wisconsin-Madison

Published · Updated ·Sam Baumohl

Below are the courses I’ve taken at UW-Madison. The credit count for each course is in parentheses; if a credit count isn’t indicated, a course is three credits. I initially declared a double major in Computer Sciences and Legal Studies. But, I dropped Legal Studies and picked up a Math certificate (equivalent to a minor). I’m also pursuing Honors in the Liberal Arts and Honors in the Major for Computer Sciences. Both require a slightly more intense course load via honors courses. Some courses are seminars or passion courses created by one professor, and taking them with another may result in a vastly different experience. For those classes, I’ll include the professor’s name.

For UW-Madison CS Majors and especially incoming students, I highly recommend looking at Michael Noguera’s course map.

Legend:

  • (!): Particularly challenging, intense, or required many hours of work
  • (=): Gen-ed course
  • (+): Graduate, honors optional, honors only, or accelerated honors course
  • (^): Particularly interesting or enjoyable

Spring 2025

  • CS 537 (4): Intro. to Operating Systems1 (!^)
  • MATH 632: Intro. to Stochastic Processes (!)
  • GERMAN 276: Global Readers; Digital Age (=+)
  • CS 839: Game Theory, Optimization & Learning w/ Prof. Manolis Vlatakis (+^)

Fall 2024

  • CS 532: Matrix Methods in Machine Learning
  • CS 544: Intro. to Big Data Systems (^)
  • MATH 421: Intro. to the Theory of Single Variable Calculus
  • MATH 431: Intro. to the Theory of Probability (!)
  • PHILOS 543: AI Ethics w/ Prof. Annette Zimmermann (^)

Spring 2024

  • CS 354: Machine Organization and Programming (^)
  • POLI SCI 601: Proseminar: Topics in Political Science w/ Prof. Ryan Owens (!+)
  • ANTHRO 105: Principles of Biological Anthropology (=+)
  • CS 540: Intro. to Artificial Intelligence
  • CS 368 (1): Learning a Programming Language (C++) (^)

Fall 2023

  • INTER-LS 210 (1): L&S Career Development
  • ILS 203: Western Culture: Literature and the Arts I (=+^)
  • CS 577 (4): Intro. to Algorithms
  • CS 252: Intro. to Computer Engineering
  • MATH 340: Elementary Matrix and Linear Algebra

Summer 2023

  • INTL ST 501 (4): Global Security

Spring 2023

  • CS 400: Programming III (!)
  • SOC 220 (4): Ethnic Movements in U.S. (=)
  • MATH 240: Intro. to Discrete Mathematics
  • LEGAL ST 131 (4): Criminal Justice in America (^)

Fall 2022

  • LEGAL ST 261: American Legal History to 1860 (!)
  • CS 300: Programming II
  • ART HIST 105: Intro. Topics in Art History w/ Prof. Daniel Spaulding (=+)
  • MATH 234 (4): Multivariable Calculus

Footnotes

  1. While I usually encourage people only to take elective courses that interest them, the Operating Systems course at Madison is fantastic, and not taking it wastes a valuable opportunity. ↩