Current instructor

Basil Tikoff

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.23/5 from 26 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

ILS 153
Quality 2/5Difficulty 3/5
Basil is knowledgeable, and explains things well. He is a very good scientist. However, his assignments are very disconnected and hard to follow, and feedback often contradicts the prompt he gives. He is almost never consistent. Readings are fine, but he is a very subjective, unhelpful, and unclear grader.
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GEO202 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Basil truly wishes the best for all of his students and makes his free time your time. I really enjoyed his course however it is definitely challenging in ways that were unexpected. Definitely not a course you can skip at all, I don't think you could pass unless you had lots of previous knowledge on the subject while skipping.
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GEO202 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Basil might be one of the best professors I have ever had. Each course I take now, I hope that he is teaching it. Not only is he able to excellently and clearly articulate difficult spatial problems, he very genuinely cares about his students and their understanding of the topic. He also makes himself extremely available for student support.
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GEO202 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Basil was my favorite professor I have had in college. He explains complex concepts in a very digestible way. Always open to feedback or explaining things in a different way.
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ILS 153
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
I loved Basil, he is so sweet and impressively knowledgeable in so many different areas. I liked the material in this class, but I sometimes found the expectations for assignments to be unclear and there was often an extreme amount of work, which could be frustrating. However, I would still recommend taking a class with him if you can.
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ILS 153
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
I loved Basil. He's a great prof and a great person. He really cares about his students and cares about their learning and understanding of the topic. He has some issues with technology and with being clear about assignments, but overall gives good lectures. This course was a lot of work, but I feel it was worth it because I learned a lot.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Basil Tikoff

GEOSCI 198 is a directed study course allowing independent research arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

Introduction to recognition and mapping of geologic structures in the field

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Basil Tikoff is engaging and helpful, using humorous pre-recorded videos to teach concepts concisely. However, his teaching can sometimes be confusing, and tests are consistently described as tough and hard to finish. Homework expectations are occasionally unclear.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample

GEOSCI 682 is an individual mentored study course for seniors completing theses for Honors in the Major.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

GEOSCI 691 is a mentored individual research course for students completing a senior thesis.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

GEOSCI 699 is a directed study course allowing students to conduct independent research or study arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Advanced structural geology covering structures in layered, intrusive, and metamorphic rocks and structural analysis.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2010: 3.30 GPA, 40.0% A/AB (n=5 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

No recorded grade history

GEOSCI 990

Research

1–12 credits

GEOSCI 990 is a research course where students conduct supervised independent study projects.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

GLE 990 is a research and thesis course for PhD students in Geological Engineering conducted under faculty supervision.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026GEOSCI 198Directed Study
Fall 2026GEOSCI 202Introduction to Geologic Structures
Fall 2026GEOSCI 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026GEOSCI 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026GEOSCI 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026GEOSCI 699Directed Study
Fall 2026GEOSCI 755Advanced Structural Geology
Fall 2026GEOSCI 990Research
Fall 2026GLE 699Independent Study
Fall 2026GLE 790Master's Research or Thesis
Fall 2026GLE 890Pre-dissertator's Research
Fall 2026GLE 990Research and Thesis

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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