Very sweet and passionate professor. Lectures are helpful but only if you have read/are going to read the textbook. Midterms are super easy and content is mostly from the textbook, everything is very straightforward.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Elena Donghia
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Had an "attendance" grade but only required like 70% of classes attended and halfway through she was just like "actually it doesn't even matter." She explains material simply and loves engaging directly with the students. Minimal HW that is given right before exams as basically a "mock" exam.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Elena is a kind lecturer. Attendance is not really mandatory. Pretty interesting content with very basic math involved. Tests and midterms are open book and pretty easy. Can drop the final if your midterm scores are good. A great and easy way to fulfill Physical Science requirement.Rate My Professors ↗
- This course was made ridiculously easy this semester. Ridiculously easy. I expect the A rate to be well over 90%. Every single assignment/quiz/exam was in effect open everything. The grades reflected this as the median was an A on virtually all assignments. Lectures were interesting for those intrigued by the subject.Rate My Professors ↗
Elena is very kind and positive in lecture. I got very lucky with a great TA but i could imagine the class being a lot harder if given a bad one. You are allowed to drop 1 test and 1 quiz and there is an extra credit opportunity. Do with that what you will.Rate My Professors ↗
This class is simply not a good class to take, but she is nice. I would look elsewhere for a physical science credit.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Elena Donghia
An introduction to the evolving universe covering the big bang, stellar lifecycles, black holes, galaxies, and modern cosmology including dark matter and energy.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2015: 2.64 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=183 letter grades); Spring 2020: 3.87 GPA, 94.9% A/AB (n=351 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.73 GPA, 88.0% A/AB (n=476 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Directed Study
1–3 creditsDirected Study is an introductory mentored independent study course in Astronomy, arranged individually with faculty.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Senior Honors Thesis
3 creditsIndividual study for seniors completing theses for honors in the major as arranged with a faculty member; continuation ofASTRON 681.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Senior Thesis
2–3 creditsSenior Thesis: Individual study for seniors completing theses as arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Senior Thesis
2–3 creditsSenior Thesis is an individual study for seniors completing theses arranged with a faculty member, serving as a continuation of ASTRON 691.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=2 letter grades).
No recorded grade history
Directed Study
1–6 creditsDirected study projects for juniors and seniors as arranged with a faculty member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Research and Thesis
1–12 creditsAdvanced level mentored reading and research for graduate students in the Astronomy PhD program, focused on thesis work.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Research
1–12 creditsResearch 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
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 103 | The Evolving Universe: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology |
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 199 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2027 | ASTRON 990 | Research and Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | ASTRON 990 | Research and Thesis |
| 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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