Philosophy
Examines the economic, political, and philosophical thought of Karl Marx, placing it in the context of his predecessors in the classical German tradition and his successors (and critics) in the twentieth century. Themes may include the…
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University of Colorado-Boulder
University of Colorado-Boulder'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 Colorado-Boulder reads 2.1 points further right.
Liberal (100)center (50)Conservative (0)
Where its courses fall
5%Far left92–100
33%Left75–91
43%Center-left59–74
12%Center42–58
2%Center-right26–41
3%Right9–25
3%Far right0–8
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
Women's & Gender Studies
Examines theoretical and activist approaches concerning the oppression, agency, and liberation of Black girls, women, and femmes. Traces the development of Black feminisms and womanisms created, co-constructed, and advanced by Black women…
Ethnic & African American Studies
Studies the religious lifeways of diverse Indigenous peoples in North America. The course considers how these religious lifeways facilitate healing, movements of social protest, and efforts for self-determination in response to ongoing…
Furthest-right subjects
Anthropology
Focuses on the Holocaust during the Third Reich, which involved the murder of millions of people, including six million Jews. Reviews the Holocaust's history, dynamics and consequences as well as other genocides of the 20th century, using…
Ethnic & African American Studies
Intensive examination of a topic or issue affecting Asian Americans, such as the Japanese American internment during World War II, or Asian American social movements or community organizations. Repeatable: Repeatable for up to 9.00 total…
History
Examines the interplay of politics, culture, psychology and sociology to try to understand why the great philosopher Isaiah Berlin called the 20th century, "The most terrible century in Western history." Our focus will be on the Holocaust…
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 64.1 to 66.8; 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 Colorado-Boulder by department (share of courses described from the left)
| Department | Left-framed share | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnic & African American Studies | 22.7% | 97 | view |
| Women's & Gender Studies | 21.1% | 90 | view |
| Sociology | 9.2% | 109 | view |
| Anthropology | 6.8% | 161 | view |
| English & Comparative Literature | 6.3% | 159 | view |
| Religious Studies | 3.5% | 85 | view |
| Philosophy | 3.3% | 121 | view |
| History | 2.1% | 282 | view |
| Political Science | 1.9% | 159 | view |
| Art & Art History | 1.7% | 233 | view |
| Economics | 0% | 82 | view |
| Psychology | 0% | 87 | 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 Colorado-Boulder | mean_bias_score | 65.5 | 64.1 – 66.8 | 1,665 | 92 |
| 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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