Simply, "meh." Class is a little more physics intensive than I expected as someone who has never taken an astro class, though that is to be expected. Not a lot of actual math you have to do, but you have to have a strong conceptual understanding of the physics. It's not the world's best class, but if you need a QR or a natural sciences, take it.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Amy Barger
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
The class is straight forward and interesting, but she goes pretty fast. 3 midterms no final exam all online and can take anywhere between 9 to 1. do quizzes in lecture, but online/ can retake or wait till she puts answer on the board. In discussion had 4 projects all "group" projects. They honestly didn't connect to class content and were hard.Rate My Professors ↗
HORRIBLE. have never had a worse professor. everything you learn in lecture has nothing to do with the readings, which has nothing to do with the homework, and the homework has nothing to do with the section work. is basically is a figure out yourself with barely any guidance. The exam questions have nothing to do what is taught in lecture.Rate My Professors ↗
Prof Barger is super sweet and is obviously very passionate about astronomy. Her lectures can be a little dry sometimes, but lecture slides were always posted on canvas. The weekly homework is super important and helps a lot in getting ready for the midterms and tests. Also, the honors optional assignments were 3-4 easy, 1 page papers.Rate My Professors ↗
Amy is clearly knowledgeable and passionate about her field, but this didn't help her teach an intro-level class. She went through lectures way too fast and went into details far beyond a beginner's level (and what tests covered). Group projects were assigned that were equally complicated and in-depth, without helping you understand the essentials.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Barger is clearly very knowledgable in her field, but this often made her lectures hard to understand. She went through them very quickly and rarely ever elaborated beyond what was on her slides. Discussions section activities and groups projects had little to no relevance to course content and it felt pointless to go. Exams were online.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Amy Barger
Senior Honors Thesis
3 creditsASTRON 681 is an individual study course for seniors to complete honors theses in the Astronomy major under faculty supervision.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Senior Thesis
2–3 creditsASTRON 691 is an individual study course for seniors completing their theses, arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Directed Study
1–6 creditsASTRON 699 is a directed study course for junior and senior students to conduct independent projects arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sampleResearch and Thesis
1–12 creditsASTRON 990 is a research and thesis course providing advanced mentored reading and research opportunities for graduate students.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Seminar in Astrophysics
0–1 creditsA graduate seminar covering current topics in astrophysics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Research
1–12 creditsPHYSICS 990 is a research course where students conduct supervised research projects with individual faculty members.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON/PHYSICS 910 | Seminar in Astrophysics |
| Fall 2026 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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