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University of Wisconsin-Madison

University of Wisconsin-Madison's course descriptions average 65.5 on the 100-to-0 ruler: clearly left of center. Across all 100 schools, the average is 67.5, so University of Wisconsin-Madison reads 2.0 points further right.

ShowCompared withDepartments

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

University of Wisconsin-Madison: 65.5 (likely range 63.0 to 68.1) All 100 schools: 67.5 each other school in the comparison

Where its courses fall

6%Far left92–100

41%Left75–91

34%Center-left59–74

9%Center42–58

3%Center-right26–41

3%Right9–25

3%Far right0–8

86 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

POLI SCI 534 · Socialism And Transitions To The Market100

Political Science

3-4 credits. Course focusing on state socialism as a political and economic system and the transition from that system in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, China, and elsewhere. Not open to students with credit for POLI SCI 612 prior to fall 2017

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GEN&WS 446 · Queer Of Color Critique94

Women's & Gender Studies

3 credits. An examination of the emergent theoretical field of queer of color critique, a mode of analysis grounded in the struggles and world-making of LGBTQ people of color. Activists, artists, and theorists have mobilized queer of color…

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GEN&WS 529 · The Science And Politics Of Reproductive92

Women's & Gender Studies

3 credits. Explores the contemporary science and politics of reproductive health in North America. Taught from a reproductive justice (RJ) perspective, a framework for analysis and action developed by Black women health organizers and…

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Furthest-right subjects

AFROAMER 231 · Introduction To Afro-American History0

Ethnic & African American Studies

3 credits. Survey from the African beginnings to the present day. Focus on slave trade and slavery; major black figures of the past; social, economic, and political trends within the black community.

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AFROAMER 621 · Slavery And Capitalism In The United0

Ethnic & African American Studies

3 credits. Addresses the relationship between slavery and capitalism in the British North American colonies and the United States of America. Drawing on recent scholarship that explores how slavery and capitalism are independent systems,…

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HISTORY 357 · The Second World War0

History

3-4 credits. Background and history of World War II. Problems of peacemaking and international organizations; rise of Fascism, National Socialism, and Japanese imperialism; breaking the peace; World War II.

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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 63.0 to 68.1; 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 Wisconsin-Madison by department (share of courses described from the left)

Department	Left-framed share	Courses
Women's & Gender Studies	36.5%	52	view
Ethnic & African American Studies	14.5%	55	view
Sociology	8.2%	49	view
Anthropology	3.8%	53	view
History	2.9%	104	view
Art & Art History	1.2%	165	view
English & Comparative Literature	0.8%	119	view
Economics	0%	92	view
Philosophy	0%	41	view
Political Science	0%	131	view
Psychology	0%	67	view
Religious Studies	0%	20	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 Wisconsin-Madison	mean_bias_score	65.5	63.0 – 68.1	948	40
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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