# Brian Esselman — Courses & Reviews | UW–Madison

[View on UW Courses](https://uwcourses.com/instructors/BRIAN_ESSELMAN--instructor_e3d0d57946d3b197f645a702)

## Dataset

### revision

e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349

### repository

twangodev/uwcourses

### schema version

6

### importer version

7

### projection id

85abe9ff8837c2c5a134368dcc4cfc85eb723524b21ddeb3d2e953887d2f0c8f

### observed at

2026-09-07T15:55:43.033547+00:00

### built at

2026-09-11T07:45:51.576183+00:00

### courses

8951

### current instructors

5754

### limited

false

### terms

* 1272
* 1264
* 1262
* 1254
* 1252
* 1244
* 1242
* 1234
* 1232
* 1224
* 1222
* 1212
* 1204
* 1202
* 1194
* 1192
* 1184
* 1182
* 1174
* 1172
* 1164
* 1162
* 1154
* 1152
* 1144
* 1142
* 1134
* 1132
* 1124
* 1122
* 1114
* 1112
* 1104
* 1102
* 1094
* 1092
* 1084
* 1082
* 1074
* 1072

### term

1272

### departments

| subject   | count |
| --------- | ----- |
| AAE       | 90    |
| ABT       | 20    |
| ACCTIS    | 36    |
| ACTSCI    | 14    |
| AFAERO    | 10    |
| AFRICAN   | 87    |
| AFROAMER  | 71    |
| AGROECOL  | 21    |
| AMERIND   | 53    |
| ANAT\&PHY | 7     |
| ANATOMY   | 2     |
| ANESTHES  | 8     |
| ANSCI     | 57    |
| ANTHRO    | 95    |
| ART       | 125   |
| ARTED     | 10    |
| ARTHIST   | 121   |
| ASIALANG  | 129   |
| ASIAN     | 109   |
| ASIANAM   | 28    |
| ASTRON    | 38    |
| ATMOCN    | 69    |
| BIOCHEM   | 51    |
| BIOCORE   | 10    |
| BIOLOGY   | 14    |
| BIOMDSCI  | 18    |
| BME       | 66    |
| BMI       | 41    |
| BMOLCHEM  | 10    |
| BOTANY    | 69    |
| BSE       | 44    |
| C\&ESOC   | 73    |
| CBE       | 48    |
| CHEM      | 101   |
| CHICLA    | 52    |
| CIVENGR   | 133   |
| CLASSICS  | 47    |
| CNP       | 10    |
| CNSRSCI   | 50    |
| COMARTS   | 137   |
| COMPBIO   | 15    |
| COMPLIT   | 11    |
| COMPSCI   | 138   |
| COUNPSY   | 78    |
| CRB       | 19    |
| CS\&D     | 71    |
| CSCS      | 40    |
| CURRIC    | 193   |
| DANCE     | 93    |
| DERM      | 8     |
| DS        | 88    |
| DYSCI     | 35    |
| ECE       | 155   |
| ECON      | 145   |
| EDPOL     | 114   |
| EDPSYCH   | 97    |
| ELPA      | 70    |
| EMA       | 53    |
| EMERMED   | 17    |
| ENGL      | 206   |
| ENTOM     | 40    |
| ENVIRST   | 148   |
| EP        | 15    |
| EPD       | 67    |
| ESL       | 16    |
| F\&WECOL  | 60    |
| FAMMED    | 22    |
| FINANCE   | 50    |
| FOLKLORE  | 40    |
| FOODSCI   | 43    |
| FRENCH    | 63    |
| GEN\&WS   | 145   |
| GENBUS    | 72    |
| GENECSLR  | 17    |
| GENETICS  | 60    |
| GEOG      | 113   |
| GEOSCI    | 83    |
| GERMAN    | 82    |
| GLE       | 48    |
| GNS       | 38    |
| GREEK     | 27    |
| HDFS      | 41    |
| HEBR-BIB  | 13    |
| HEBR-MOD  | 10    |
| HISTORY   | 233   |
| HISTSCI   | 56    |
| HONCOL    | 13    |
| ILS       | 43    |
| INFOSYS   | 9     |
| INTEGART  | 7     |
| INTEGSCI  | 22    |
| INTER-AG  | 18    |
| INTER-HE  | 11    |
| INTER-LS  | 22    |
| INTEREGR  | 16    |
| INTLBUS   | 21    |
| INTLST    | 50    |
| ISYE      | 83    |
| ITALIAN   | 53    |
| JEWISH    | 56    |
| JOURN     | 88    |
| KINES     | 128   |
| LACIS     | 26    |
| LANDARC   | 61    |
| LATIN     | 24    |
| LAW       | 120   |
| LEGALST   | 48    |
| LINGUIS   | 35    |
| LIS       | 89    |
| LITTRANS  | 78    |
| LSC       | 52    |
| M\&ENVTOX | 7     |
| MARKETNG  | 62    |
| MATH      | 153   |
| MDGENET   | 8     |
| ME        | 130   |
| MEDHIST   | 43    |
| MEDICINE  | 60    |
| MEDIEVAL  | 32    |
| MEDPHYS   | 39    |
| MEDSC-M   | 29    |
| MEDSC-V   | 41    |
| MHR       | 68    |
| MICROBIO  | 45    |
| MILSCI    | 16    |
| MM\&I     | 22    |
| MOLBIOL   | 6     |
| MS\&E     | 59    |
| MUSIC     | 165   |
| MUSPERF   | 126   |
| NAVSCI    | 20    |
| NE        | 44    |
| NEURODPT  | 11    |
| NEUROL    | 7     |
| NEURSURG  | 4     |
| NTP       | 11    |
| NURSING   | 111   |
| NUTRSCI   | 65    |
| OBS\&GYN  | 18    |
| OCCTHER   | 39    |
| ONCOLOGY  | 14    |
| OPHTHALM  | 5     |
| OTM       | 43    |
| PATH      | 34    |
| PATH-BIO  | 29    |
| PEDIAT    | 26    |
| PHARMACY  | 31    |
| PHILOS    | 77    |
| PHMCOL-M  | 11    |
| PHMPRAC   | 45    |
| PHMSCI    | 60    |
| PHYASST   | 37    |
| PHYSICS   | 88    |
| PHYSIOL   | 3     |
| PHYTHER   | 37    |
| PLANTSCI  | 52    |
| PLPATH    | 35    |
| POLISCI   | 192   |
| POPHLTH   | 58    |
| PORTUG    | 33    |
| PSYCH     | 101   |
| PSYCHIAT  | 22    |
| PUBAFFR   | 54    |
| PUBLHLTH  | 23    |
| RADIOL    | 11    |
| REALEST   | 41    |
| RELIGST   | 90    |
| RHABMED   | 9     |
| RMI       | 24    |
| RP\&SE    | 102   |
| S\&APHM   | 17    |
| SCANDST   | 73    |
| SLAVIC    | 89    |
| SOC       | 149   |
| SOCWORK   | 87    |
| SOILSCI   | 46    |
| SPANISH   | 83    |
| SRMED     | 21    |
| STAT      | 94    |
| STDYABRD  | 52    |
| STS       | 8     |
| SURGERY   | 25    |
| SURGSCI   | 33    |
| THEATRE   | 91    |
| URBRPL    | 60    |
| UROLOGY   | 5     |
| ZOOLOGY   | 89    |

## instructor

### instructor uid

instructor\_e3d0d57946d3b197f645a702

### source

legacy

### identity basis

name\_only

### identity status

unresolved

### name

Brian Esselman

### email

ESSELMAN\@WISC.EDU

### first observed at

2025-12-03 12:33:41.418072+00:00

### last observed at

2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00

### ratings

#### review count

162

#### quality

4.26

#### difficulty

3.98

#### quality count

162

#### difficulty count

162

#### profile id

rmp:1445180

#### source url

<https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180>

#### match basis

exact\_name

#### observed at

2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00

#### courses

##### course 34903ee31ae592cff4822461

###### review count

79

###### quality

4.34

###### difficulty

4.06

###### quality count

79

###### difficulty count

79

##### course daf4a0053696c0e96c07064d

###### review count

22

###### quality

4.27

###### difficulty

3.86

###### quality count

22

###### difficulty count

22

##### course 75930c37cc749772d3f9356c

###### review count

14

###### quality

3.07

###### difficulty

4.14

###### quality count

14

###### difficulty count

14

##### course 7b873528188d902b83da8c1f

###### review count

1

###### quality

5

###### difficulty

3

###### quality count

1

###### difficulty count

1

#### bayesian quality

4.19403140478534

#### prior mean

3.6596857835465957

#### prior weight

20

### current

false

### courses

None recorded.

### revision

e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349

### instructor url

/instructors/BRIAN\_ESSELMAN--instructor\_e3d0d57946d3b197f645a702

## history

None recorded.

## timeline

None recorded.

## term

1272

## courses

None recorded.

## reviews

### items

```json
[
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQzMzExMjc1",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1445180",
    "instructor_name": "Brian Esselman",
    "course_label": "343",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2026-07-18 22:25:47 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "This man is the only reason I enjoyed 343. He is super knowledge about the content, will reply to your piazza question at all hours, and is very funny in lectures. DO THE PROBLEM SETS AND GO TO LECTURE- 343 is very doable if you stay on top of the (very heavy) workload and don't try to cram!",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQyMzY5NTk5",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1445180",
    "instructor_name": "Brian Esselman",
    "course_label": "CHEM343",
    "course_id": "CHEM 343",
    "course_uid": "course_34903ee31ae592cff4822461",
    "review_date": "2025-12-21 21:42:06 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Brian is fantastic. Ochem is a hard class in general but Brian makes the content easy to understand and it is laid out well. All my friends in other lectures came to Brian's lecture with me by the end of the year. By far the best instructor, I recommend taking him if possible and changing your schedule to be in his lecture. ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQyMzQ2MTky",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1445180",
    "instructor_name": "Brian Esselman",
    "course_label": "343",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-12-19 14:33:59 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "This class was relatively hard in the beginning, but Brian really helps us grasp the concepts, rather than memorizing patterns. I would highly recommend going to his office hours and using piazza for help, as you will understand fundamentals for the course and how to connect ideas, all while listening to Brian's jokes. What more could you want!",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 3
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQyMjI5ODYz",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1445180",
    "instructor_name": "Brian Esselman",
    "course_label": "CHEM343",
    "course_id": "CHEM 343",
    "course_uid": "course_34903ee31ae592cff4822461",
    "review_date": "2025-12-13 17:44:34 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "He was a good teacher but the class was very difficult.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180",
    "quality_rating": 4,
    "difficulty_rating": 5
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQyMDQ5NjA3",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1445180",
    "instructor_name": "Brian Esselman",
    "course_label": "343",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-12-05 02:37:32 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Chem 343 is defiantly not an easy course but he is a great professor. If I hadn't been so busy I really recommend reading the textbook and watching lecture videos in person and then later on your own (he records every one). Good luck! Also- attend his office hours. He is super kind and willing to help ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:51:18.949684+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQxODcxMjYw",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:1445180",
    "instructor_name": "Brian Esselman",
    "course_label": "CHE343",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-11-14 22:59:36 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Really funny guy who is clearly very passionate about what he teaches. Probably my favorite prof I've ever had. Genuinely might convince me to get a PhD in chemistry. He knows what he's talking about and makes a difficult class very enjoyable. Gives a lot of coolness at parties advice so listen up",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1445180",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 3
  }
]
```

### total

162

### page

1

### courses

| course\_uid                      | course\_id |
| -------------------------------- | ---------- |
| course\_7b873528188d902b83da8c1f | CHEM 342   |
| course\_34903ee31ae592cff4822461 | CHEM 343   |
| course\_75930c37cc749772d3f9356c | CHEM 344   |
| course\_daf4a0053696c0e96c07064d | CHEM 345   |

### matched

true

## social Image

false