Francis was a super sweet guy, but he seemed super confused about what he was teaching and the TA's would correct him a lot of the time. He was also really bad at answering questions. He would send the lecture notes and just read off of them during the class. The TA's taught way more content than Halzen even attempted to cover.Rate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
FRANCIS HALZEN
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
He's a really nice guy but his lectures do NOT help you with anything in your homework or labs or exams. He rambles on and does not go over any of the math problems which make up almost all of the problems on each test. I do not recommend this class unless Pupa is the only one teachingRate My Professors ↗
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
This class was literally terrible and Francis is a really nice guy but actually doesn't teach you much. He cares more about the concepts rather than the mathematics, which is actually what all the tests are on. Our class had to go through 3-hour review sessions the day before the test with the TA to understand the material. Do not recommend.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
Dr. Halzen is a very sweet guy, but his lectures can be kind of confusing. He gets off track easily and doesn't always make stuff super clear. In general, he's an okay professor but I think if he taught a harder class, I would have struggled. The subject material is interesting and he is clearly passionate, just not always very articulate.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 2/5Difficulty 2/5
Very nice old man but not very helpful. He writes a ton of formulas on the board, and you just copy it all down. I never knew what was going on. He assigns 5 problems from the book a week. Figure out how to do those, and you will be fine. Tests are exactly like the homework and study guide questions. Easy A, without any work.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 2/5Difficulty 3/5
He is very nice but not the best professor. His lectures are unclear and tests are somewhat hard. Grading scale is predominantly based on 3 exams. I would not recommend him as a professor.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with FRANCIS HALZEN
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
View last recorded teaching term →No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2025 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2025 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2024 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2024 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2023 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2023 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2022 | PHYSICS 499 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2022 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2022 | PHYSICS 499 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2022 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2021 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2020 | PHYSICS 109 | Physics in the Arts |
| Fall 2020 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2020 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2019 | PHYSICS 109 | Physics in the Arts |
| Fall 2019 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2019 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2018 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2018 | PHYSICS 499 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2018 | PHYSICS 799 | Independent Study |
| Spring 2018 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2017 | PHYSICS 499 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2017 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2017 | PHYSICS 107 | The Ideas of Modern Physics |
| Spring 2017 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2016 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2016 | PHYSICS 299 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2016 | PHYSICS 535 | Introduction to Particle Physics |
| Spring 2016 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2015 | PHYSICS 299 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2015 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2015 | PHYSICS 535 | Introduction to Particle Physics |
| Spring 2015 | PHYSICS 799 | Independent Study |
| Spring 2015 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2014 | PHYSICS 799 | Independent Study |
| Fall 2014 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2014 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2013 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2013 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2012 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2012 | PHYSICS 107 | The Ideas of Modern Physics |
| Spring 2012 | PHYSICS 498 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2012 | PHYSICS 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2012 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2011 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2011 | PHYSICS 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2011 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2010 | PHYSICS 107 | The Ideas of Modern Physics |
| Fall 2010 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2010 | PHYSICS 498 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2010 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2009 | PHYSICS 107 | The Ideas of Modern Physics |
| Fall 2009 | PHYSICS 498 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2009 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2009 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2008 | PHYSICS 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2008 | PHYSICS 805 | Special Topics in Physics |
| Fall 2008 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2008 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2007 | PHYSICS 109 | Physics in the Arts |
| Fall 2007 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2006 | PHYSICS 109 | Physics in the Arts |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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