Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor goes into the specific mechanisms for each reaction which is nice but not always helpful. Grading rubrics are extremely specific and can be harsh.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Helen Blackwell
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
This was my second time taking Ochem, and the first time I crashed and burned. Blackwell made it easy to get back on my feet and keep on learning. Excellent Teacher, I'd take her for sure.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Such a great professor! Makes organic chemistry really interesting and does a really thorough job at working through the material at a reasonable pace and providing lots of practice! She is also really clear about her expectations! She made Chem 343 a very positive experience!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Dr. Blackwell is a solid ochem professor, one who isn't talked about much. She really cares about her students and explains topics quite well. I felt like Sapling problem sets didn't convey the difficult material well compared to the exams though. Her lectures are quite interesting actually.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Blackwell is one of the best professors I have ever had. She does an amazing job explaining the "why behind everything which helps decrease the amount of memorizing in the course. She is extremely clear in lecture. Overall, she is amazing and I highly recommend taking Ochem with her.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Overall pretty good prof. However, lectures are very fast-paced. The second half of the semester seemed rushed and we went through a ton of mechanisms very quickly. The class became more about memorizing mechanisms than actually learning about what was happening. Just do lots of mechanism practice for exam 3 and the final and it will be okay.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Helen Blackwell
CHEM 299
Directed Study
1–4 creditsA mentored research project arranged with a faculty or academic staff member, offered as Directed Study in Chemistry.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
CHEM 682
Senior Honors Thesis
2–4 creditsSenior Honors Thesis involves mentored research for students completing a thesis in an Honors program.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
CHEM 692
Senior Thesis
2–6 creditsSenior Thesis is a mentored research course for students completing a senior thesis in Chemistry.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
CHEM 699
Directed Study
1–6 creditsDirected Study is an advanced mentored research project arranged with a faculty or academic staff member.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026 · limited sampleCHEM 990
Research
1–15 creditsSupervised research course where students exhibit broad understanding of chemical principles, conduct independent research, and collaborate with investigators.
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 | CHEM 299 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2027 | CHEM 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | CHEM 692 | Senior Thesis |
| Spring 2027 | CHEM 699 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2027 | CHEM 990 | Research |
| Fall 2026 | BIOCHEM/CHEM 945 | Seminar-chemical Biology (advanced) |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 299 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 691 | Senior Thesis |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 699 | Directed Study |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 890 | Highlights at the Chemistry-biology Interface |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 980 | Seminar: Review of Current Research |
| Fall 2026 | CHEM 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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