# Ilya Esterlis — Courses & Reviews | UW–Madison

[View on UW Courses](https://uwcourses.com/instructors/ILYA_ESTERLIS--instructor_cae99e00535429e7bda849d9)

## Dataset

### revision

e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349

### repository

twangodev/uwcourses

### schema version

6

### importer version

7

### projection id

85abe9ff8837c2c5a134368dcc4cfc85eb723524b21ddeb3d2e953887d2f0c8f

### observed at

2026-09-07T15:55:43.033547+00:00

### built at

2026-09-11T07:45:51.576183+00:00

### courses

8951

### current instructors

5754

### limited

false

### terms

* 1272
* 1264
* 1262
* 1254
* 1252
* 1244
* 1242
* 1234
* 1232
* 1224
* 1222
* 1212
* 1204
* 1202
* 1194
* 1192
* 1184
* 1182
* 1174
* 1172
* 1164
* 1162
* 1154
* 1152
* 1144
* 1142
* 1134
* 1132
* 1124
* 1122
* 1114
* 1112
* 1104
* 1102
* 1094
* 1092
* 1084
* 1082
* 1074
* 1072

### term

1272

### departments

| subject   | count |
| --------- | ----- |
| AAE       | 90    |
| ABT       | 20    |
| ACCTIS    | 36    |
| ACTSCI    | 14    |
| AFAERO    | 10    |
| AFRICAN   | 87    |
| AFROAMER  | 71    |
| AGROECOL  | 21    |
| AMERIND   | 53    |
| ANAT\&PHY | 7     |
| ANATOMY   | 2     |
| ANESTHES  | 8     |
| ANSCI     | 57    |
| ANTHRO    | 95    |
| ART       | 125   |
| ARTED     | 10    |
| ARTHIST   | 121   |
| ASIALANG  | 129   |
| ASIAN     | 109   |
| ASIANAM   | 28    |
| ASTRON    | 38    |
| ATMOCN    | 69    |
| BIOCHEM   | 51    |
| BIOCORE   | 10    |
| BIOLOGY   | 14    |
| BIOMDSCI  | 18    |
| BME       | 66    |
| BMI       | 41    |
| BMOLCHEM  | 10    |
| BOTANY    | 69    |
| BSE       | 44    |
| C\&ESOC   | 73    |
| CBE       | 48    |
| CHEM      | 101   |
| CHICLA    | 52    |
| CIVENGR   | 133   |
| CLASSICS  | 47    |
| CNP       | 10    |
| CNSRSCI   | 50    |
| COMARTS   | 137   |
| COMPBIO   | 15    |
| COMPLIT   | 11    |
| COMPSCI   | 138   |
| COUNPSY   | 78    |
| CRB       | 19    |
| CS\&D     | 71    |
| CSCS      | 40    |
| CURRIC    | 193   |
| DANCE     | 93    |
| DERM      | 8     |
| DS        | 88    |
| DYSCI     | 35    |
| ECE       | 155   |
| ECON      | 145   |
| EDPOL     | 114   |
| EDPSYCH   | 97    |
| ELPA      | 70    |
| EMA       | 53    |
| EMERMED   | 17    |
| ENGL      | 206   |
| ENTOM     | 40    |
| ENVIRST   | 148   |
| EP        | 15    |
| EPD       | 67    |
| ESL       | 16    |
| F\&WECOL  | 60    |
| FAMMED    | 22    |
| FINANCE   | 50    |
| FOLKLORE  | 40    |
| FOODSCI   | 43    |
| FRENCH    | 63    |
| GEN\&WS   | 145   |
| GENBUS    | 72    |
| GENECSLR  | 17    |
| GENETICS  | 60    |
| GEOG      | 113   |
| GEOSCI    | 83    |
| GERMAN    | 82    |
| GLE       | 48    |
| GNS       | 38    |
| GREEK     | 27    |
| HDFS      | 41    |
| HEBR-BIB  | 13    |
| HEBR-MOD  | 10    |
| HISTORY   | 233   |
| HISTSCI   | 56    |
| HONCOL    | 13    |
| ILS       | 43    |
| INFOSYS   | 9     |
| INTEGART  | 7     |
| INTEGSCI  | 22    |
| INTER-AG  | 18    |
| INTER-HE  | 11    |
| INTER-LS  | 22    |
| INTEREGR  | 16    |
| INTLBUS   | 21    |
| INTLST    | 50    |
| ISYE      | 83    |
| ITALIAN   | 53    |
| JEWISH    | 56    |
| JOURN     | 88    |
| KINES     | 128   |
| LACIS     | 26    |
| LANDARC   | 61    |
| LATIN     | 24    |
| LAW       | 120   |
| LEGALST   | 48    |
| LINGUIS   | 35    |
| LIS       | 89    |
| LITTRANS  | 78    |
| LSC       | 52    |
| M\&ENVTOX | 7     |
| MARKETNG  | 62    |
| MATH      | 153   |
| MDGENET   | 8     |
| ME        | 130   |
| MEDHIST   | 43    |
| MEDICINE  | 60    |
| MEDIEVAL  | 32    |
| MEDPHYS   | 39    |
| MEDSC-M   | 29    |
| MEDSC-V   | 41    |
| MHR       | 68    |
| MICROBIO  | 45    |
| MILSCI    | 16    |
| MM\&I     | 22    |
| MOLBIOL   | 6     |
| MS\&E     | 59    |
| MUSIC     | 165   |
| MUSPERF   | 126   |
| NAVSCI    | 20    |
| NE        | 44    |
| NEURODPT  | 11    |
| NEUROL    | 7     |
| NEURSURG  | 4     |
| NTP       | 11    |
| NURSING   | 111   |
| NUTRSCI   | 65    |
| OBS\&GYN  | 18    |
| OCCTHER   | 39    |
| ONCOLOGY  | 14    |
| OPHTHALM  | 5     |
| OTM       | 43    |
| PATH      | 34    |
| PATH-BIO  | 29    |
| PEDIAT    | 26    |
| PHARMACY  | 31    |
| PHILOS    | 77    |
| PHMCOL-M  | 11    |
| PHMPRAC   | 45    |
| PHMSCI    | 60    |
| PHYASST   | 37    |
| PHYSICS   | 88    |
| PHYSIOL   | 3     |
| PHYTHER   | 37    |
| PLANTSCI  | 52    |
| PLPATH    | 35    |
| POLISCI   | 192   |
| POPHLTH   | 58    |
| PORTUG    | 33    |
| PSYCH     | 101   |
| PSYCHIAT  | 22    |
| PUBAFFR   | 54    |
| PUBLHLTH  | 23    |
| RADIOL    | 11    |
| REALEST   | 41    |
| RELIGST   | 90    |
| RHABMED   | 9     |
| RMI       | 24    |
| RP\&SE    | 102   |
| S\&APHM   | 17    |
| SCANDST   | 73    |
| SLAVIC    | 89    |
| SOC       | 149   |
| SOCWORK   | 87    |
| SOILSCI   | 46    |
| SPANISH   | 83    |
| SRMED     | 21    |
| STAT      | 94    |
| STDYABRD  | 52    |
| STS       | 8     |
| SURGERY   | 25    |
| SURGSCI   | 33    |
| THEATRE   | 91    |
| URBRPL    | 60    |
| UROLOGY   | 5     |
| ZOOLOGY   | 89    |

## instructor

### instructor uid

instructor\_cae99e00535429e7bda849d9

### source

legacy

### identity basis

name\_only

### identity status

unresolved

### name

Ilya Esterlis

### email

ESTERLIS\@WISC.EDU

### first observed at

2025-12-03 12:33:41.418072+00:00

### last observed at

2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00

### ratings

#### review count

7

#### quality

5

#### difficulty

4

#### quality count

7

#### difficulty count

7

#### profile id

rmp:3005503

#### source url

<https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503>

#### match basis

exact\_name

#### observed at

2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00

#### courses

##### course aa45660f057a2b2997243229

###### review count

2

###### quality

5

###### difficulty

4.5

###### quality count

2

###### difficulty count

2

#### bayesian quality

4.00717465447896

#### prior mean

3.6596857835465957

#### prior weight

20

### current

false

### courses

None recorded.

### revision

e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349

### instructor url

/instructors/ILYA\_ESTERLIS--instructor\_cae99e00535429e7bda849d9

## history

None recorded.

## timeline

None recorded.

## term

1272

## courses

None recorded.

## reviews

### items

```json
[
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQxMjgwOTYw",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:3005503",
    "instructor_name": "Ilya Esterlis",
    "course_label": "PHYS415",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-05-14 16:58:34 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Absolutely phenomenal professor. He taught in a way that made the concepts extremely interesting and incredibly easy to learn (which is saying something from a 400 level physics course). Lecture notes are well-crafted and his assigned homework is really interesting, applicable and fun to solve. Over all, he is the best professor I have ever had.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 3
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQxMjcxNzk3",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:3005503",
    "instructor_name": "Ilya Esterlis",
    "course_label": "PHYS415",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-05-13 21:50:47 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "One of the few physics professors here at UW that I've actually liked. Very organized and helpful. I wouldn't say lectures are required because of the textbook, but he definitely helped explain concepts I didn't understand initially from the text. Good guy.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQxMjMxMjA5",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:3005503",
    "instructor_name": "Ilya Esterlis",
    "course_label": "PHYS415",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-05-09 22:18:29 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "The most engaging, well-spoken, and approachable professor I have had the pleasure of meeting. His passion for the content and high level of organization make it a joy to attend his lectures. He's always accessible by email and his office hours were extremely helpful. Despite the difficulty of the content, you will walk away feeling accomplished.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTQxMjA0MDYy",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:3005503",
    "instructor_name": "Ilya Esterlis",
    "course_label": "PHYS415",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2025-05-08 01:16:25 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Ilya is a fairly new professor and already outshines the many professors I've already had. He is extremely talented and is always open to questions. His lectures are extremely organized and clear. He posts lecture notes, but I still recommend showing up to every lecture since he is such a joy to learn from.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM5NjIwNzM3",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:3005503",
    "instructor_name": "Ilya Esterlis",
    "course_label": "PHYS711",
    "course_id": null,
    "course_uid": null,
    "review_date": "2024-07-11 20:01:13 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Ilya is an excellent professor. His lectures are clear and concise and he closely follows Goldstein as well as Landau. He provides resources for the class and posts his lecture notes online. His class is not attendance-mandatory but it is strongly encouraged. Plus, his lectures are awesome so you don't want to miss them anyway. Highly recommend. ",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 4
  },
  {
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:35:50.012106+00:00",
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "source_review_id": "UmF0aW5nLTM5MjYwMzM3",
    "source_instructor_id": "rmp:3005503",
    "instructor_name": "Ilya Esterlis",
    "course_label": "PHYSICS311",
    "course_id": "PHYSICS 311",
    "course_uid": "course_aa45660f057a2b2997243229",
    "review_date": "2024-05-14 15:12:57 +0000 UTC",
    "comment": "Dr. Esterlis is one of the best professors I've ever had.  His lectures are absolutely fantastic.  He speaks clearly, explains things well, and manages to communicate the profundity of, for example, symmetry and conservation laws.  The class was very tough, but homework counts for a lot of your grade, and it's more than worth the challenge.",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/3005503",
    "quality_rating": 5,
    "difficulty_rating": 5
  }
]
```

### total

7

### page

1

### courses

| course\_uid                      | course\_id  |
| -------------------------------- | ----------- |
| course\_aa45660f057a2b2997243229 | PHYSICS 311 |

### matched

true

## social Image

false