Current instructor

Alex Levchenko

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.94/5 from 18 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

Phys406 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 5/5
Kind guy, very considerate, hilarious. Do not be fooled, however, he will make you work harder than you've ever worked. In fact he will challenge you more if you seem to do be doing well; he wants you to learn. I learned more in one semester than probably the rest of my physics degree.
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PHY415 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
He derives pleasure from torturing students with long difficult homeworks. He doesnt help students and ridicules them for asking questions. Avoid him if possible.
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PHY415 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Horrible professor. Horrible explanations. Horrible class. Physics is supposed to be like a fun math class, but he makes this class unbearable. So horribly bad at explaining things it's actually crazy. He being employed by UW makes one question the reputation of this school. God awful lecturer and hater of students.
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PHY415 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
God awful professor. Thick accent that makes it hard to follow his lectures. He does not care if his students learn anything from the class.
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PHY415 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 5/5
I wrote a +ve review earlier mid-sem but I wish I had waited for the hell that came at the end before opening my mouth. Horrible class taught at a graduate level to undegrads. Class strength fell from 45 to <20 in the first 3 wks *I wond… Read full reviewShow less
I wrote a +ve review earlier mid-sem but I wish I had waited for the hell that came at the end before opening my mouth. Horrible class taught at a graduate level to undegrads. Class strength fell from 45 to <20 in the first 3 wks *I wonder why*. Dense homeworks, doesnt help students and ridicules them for asking doubts. Avoid if you're into thermo.
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PHYS311 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Alex Levchenko is a theorist who does not understand how to teach undergraduate courses. Only take a class from him if you have a PhD in math. He doesn't understand the level that his students are at, mathematically and in physics. He doesn't explain any of the physics concepts, he just speaks math during lecture. He cares about pedagogy at least.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Alex Levchenko

PHYSICS 311

Mechanics

3 credits

Advanced classical mechanics covering vector analysis, conservation laws, symmetry, rigid-body dynamics, and Lagrangian/Hamiltonian formalisms.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Alex Levchenko

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
PHYSICS 799

Independent Study

1–3 credits

Independent Study is a graduate-level mentored research project in physics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Roman KuzminDeniz Yavuz+20 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2025–Spring 2026 · limited sample
PHYSICS 990

Research

1–12 credits

Research supervised by individual faculty members. Students formulate and plan original research, creating work that contributes to the field of physics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Pupa GilbertIrena Knezevic+78 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Spring 2027PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Spring 2027PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Spring 2027PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2026PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026PHYSICS 716Statistical Mechanics II
Fall 2026PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Fall 2026PHYSICS 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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