Current instructor

Chris Rycroft

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.65/5 from 17 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

MATH 521
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Dropped this class because it was so disorganized. Please don't tell me this has become the standard at UW. It was SO hard to sit through
Rate My Professors ↗
COMPSCI/MATH 514
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Lectures are confusing and lack clear examples. Be prepared to rely heavily on YouTube and tutoring. I wish I had taken this class with another professor instead. Also....painted fingernails? Really?
Rate My Professors ↗
MATH 521
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
Would not take this professor again, he was not able to explain concepts to students clearly.
Rate My Professors ↗
COMPSCI/MATH 514
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
This was the worst class, wish I had never taken it. Disorganized, lectures were rambling, difficult to understand. And the color theme with coordinating nails! Save yourself from sitting through this.
Rate My Professors ↗

Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Chris Rycroft

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027MATH 990Reading and Research
Fall 2026MATH 990Reading and Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_4b46c1ced3603b78a5d9b39d",
  "source": "enrollment",
  "source_instructor_id": "rycroft",
  "identity_basis": "netid",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "Chris Rycroft",
  "email": "RYCROFT@WISC.EDU",
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 17,
    "quality": 2.65,
    "difficulty": 3.76,
    "quality_count": 17,
    "difficulty_count": 17,
    "profile_id": "rmp:2868294",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2868294",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 19:21:35.286090+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_364c50303ed83d1234b4ea51": {
        "review_count": 9,
        "quality": 2.67,
        "difficulty": 3.78,
        "quality_count": 9,
        "difficulty_count": 9
      },
      "course_f237678d9fac59631b4aa4ff": {
        "review_count": 7,
        "quality": 2.71,
        "difficulty": 3.71,
        "quality_count": 7,
        "difficulty_count": 7
      },
      "course_346ab4e00def5d21d922d818": {
        "review_count": 1,
        "quality": 2,
        "difficulty": 4,
        "quality_count": 1,
        "difficulty_count": 1
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 3.195510043511605,
    "prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "current": true,
  "courses": [
    {
      "course_uid": "course_01a16b5311010cfe0f48754c",
      "course_id": "MATH 990",
      "title": "READING AND RESEARCH",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    }
  ],
  "revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/CHRIS_RYCROFT"
}