Historical instructor

FRANZ HIMPSEL

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.43/5 from 7 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

PHY107 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 1/5
Good course for non-major requirement. Spend some time for the paper and that's it.
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PHYS107 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 1/5
The most pointless class ever. 2 midterms and a final- lowest score dropped. The hardest part of the class is staying awake as he tends to drone on. However, if you can deal with this, Franz has a great heart and he is genuinely a nice guy. This class is also very easy especially for non-science majors- almost no math involved at all.
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PHYS107 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 1/5
This guy is pointless. His lectures are the most agonizing thing in the entire world. He stands there and talks nonsense for 50 min. HOWEVER, the class is super easy. All homework is 12 mc questions and exams are 24 mc questions, and you have to write 1 4-5 page paper. As long as you don't screw up the homework you'll be fine.
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PHY107 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Not being the greatest math student took 107. However there was quite a bit of math. Also, Himpsel was ABSOLUTELY USELESS when a student had a question! Studying for the exam is worthless, just do your allowed cheat sheet with all the homework problems. If you have any prior physics, then don't bother attending lecture.
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PHY107 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 1/5
Quite possibly the easiest class I've taken so far at the UW. I'm horrible at science, and even I got an A. Would definitely recommend to any non-science major.
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PHYS107 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 1/5
A houghty toughty intellectual. He has little ear for student questions. His class is super easy though as long as you do the work. Some studying is necessary, but if you get it you will do well.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with FRANZ HIMPSEL

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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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
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2015PHYSICS 299Directed Study
Fall 2014PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Spring 2014PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Spring 2014PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2013PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Fall 2013PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2013PHYSICS 107The Ideas of Modern Physics
Spring 2013PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2012PHYSICS 107The Ideas of Modern Physics
Fall 2012PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2012PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Spring 2012PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2011PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Fall 2011PHYSICS 900Colloquium
Fall 2011PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2011PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2010PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Fall 2010PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2010ECE/PHYSICS 235Introduction to Solid State Electronics
Spring 2010PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2009PHYSICS 805Special Topics in Physics
Spring 2009PHYSICS 107The Ideas of Modern Physics
Spring 2009PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2008PHYSICS 107The Ideas of Modern Physics
Fall 2008PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2008PHYSICS 107The Ideas of Modern Physics
Spring 2008PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2007PHYSICS 107The Ideas of Modern Physics
Fall 2007PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2007PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Spring 2007PHYSICS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2007PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2006PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Fall 2006PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2006PHYSICS 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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