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University of Virginia

University of Virginia's course descriptions average 66.0 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so University of Virginia reads 1.5 points further right.

ShowCompared withDepartments

Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)

University of Virginia: 66.0 (likely range 64.3 to 67.8) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

4%Far left92–100

26%Left75–91

43%Center-left59–74

11%Center42–58

2%Center-right26–41

7%Right9–25

6%Far right0–8

269 plotted courses (the ones with a political subject). 100 = far left, 50 = the average American, 0 = far right. Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes.

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Framing Subject

Subject places what a course studies, not the side it takes. A course on slavery or the Holocaust lands far right and a course on Marx or the Soviet Union lands far left, whether the course praises, criticizes or simply describes it.

Underlined: words the model quoted from the description when we asked it, after scoring, to explain its score.

Furthest-left subjects

AAS 7300 · Revolutionary Struggles of the African Atlantic100

Ethnic & African American Studies

In this course, we will grapple with the concept of struggle as it pertains to Africans’ desire to wrestle themselves from the interlocking white supremacist systems of colonialism, enslavement, apartheid and racialized capitalism. How has…

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HIEU 2152 · History of the Russian Empire 1700-1917100

History

Studies the history of Russia from Peter the Great to the Bolshevik Revolution and the establishment of Soviet power.

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HIEU 3670 · The Fall of Communism: How the Soviet Empire Lost the Cold War100

History

This course will examine the roots, causes, and aftermath of communism’s collapse in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. We will consider economic stagnation and abortive attempts at reform; political crises and the rise of dissident…

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Furthest-right subjects

AAS 4005 · Morven’s Enslaved and Descendant Communities0

Ethnic & African American Studies

This course invites students to explore the complex, multilayered history and evolving interpretation of UVA’s Morven Farm, with a focus on the site’s 19th century enslaved and descendant communities. The course combines lectures, research,…

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ANTH 3603 · Archaeological Approaches to Atlantic Slavery0

Anthropology

This course explores how archaeological and architectural evidence can be used to enhance our understanding of the slave societies that evolved in the early-modern Atlantic world. The primary focus is the Chesapeake and the British…

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HIAF 3031 · History of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade0

History

This course concerns the trans-Atlantic slave trade, with an emphasis on African history. Through interactive lectures, in-class discussions, written assignments and examinations of first-hand accounts by slaves and slavers, works of…

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Why this number, in plain words

Political lean of course descriptions. Average Framing score (0 = far right, 50 = center, 100 = far left) of the scored courses in the group.

50 is the survey-anchored center of US adults on each issue (the "moderate" place of the ANES/GSS/PRRI seven-label ruler), not the cohort midpoint; scores above 50 read leftward, below 50 rightward.

Counted: courses with a Framing score (categories L/R/B/C). The likely range (95% interval) is 64.3 to 67.8; a comparison whose range overlaps this one is not a reliable difference.

Most course descriptions carry no political lean at all and are not in this average; the "share described from the left" view counts them.
Readings are of catalog description text, not of teaching, syllabi or individual professors.

University of Virginia by department (share of courses described from the left)

Department	Left-framed share	Courses
Women's & Gender Studies	37.8%	45	view
Ethnic & African American Studies	23.4%	47	view
Sociology	7.2%	138	view
Anthropology	5.4%	147	view
Psychology	4.3%	186	view
History	2.2%	404	view
Religious Studies	2.1%	428	view
Political Science	1.3%	231	view
Art & Art History	0.8%	124	view
English & Comparative Literature	0.3%	296	view
Economics	0%	106	view
Philosophy	0%	88	view

Lean (mean Framing score) is not published per department within a school; only the left-framed share is. Department rows carry no interval.

Details: exact rows, definitions and method

Name	Metric	Value	95% interval	n	scored
University of Virginia	mean_bias_score	66.0	64.3 – 67.8	2,240	78
All 100 schools	mean_bias_score	67.5	67.4 – 67.7	124,290	10,124

Formula: SUM(bias_score) / COUNT(bias_score)
Interval: normal approximation: mean +/- 1.96 * sd / sqrt(n), sample sd (n-1); undefined when n < 2
Model / prompt / snapshot: gpt-5.6-sol · r12 (2026-10-16-le49-r12) · 6df50b10
Metric caveats: Scored courses only (L/R/B/C); N and I carry no score and are excluded, so n here is smaller than the group's course count. Scores are model readings of catalog description text against a fixed anchored definition, not teaching or syllabi. The interval covers sampling noise in the mean only; it does not represent model reading error. Every value carries a `method` label: exact_rows or histogram_midpoint.

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