Worst professor Ive ever had in all of college, high school, middle school, even my elementary school teachers were better at teaching. If you attend the lectures I promise you will leave more confused and have less iq. But attendance is mandatory so youre screwed. In the first lecture he went over Lab 1, and then proceeded to assign lab 7 for hwRate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
JAMES LAWLER
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Quality 1/5Difficulty 3/5
If you have Lawler for 307, prepare yourself to be confused for the semester. His lecture notes are basically just essays and are unhelpful. He gives his lectures before the lab session, which doesn't help because nobody know what he is talking about. The lab instructions are incredibly vague and unhelpful. Hope for a helpful TA to explain the lab!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
Professor Lawler's lectures may perhaps be less than exciting for some students, but he genuinely tries to pick subject material that he believes to be interesting. He is very nice and cares about the lectures he presents.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Lawler is one of my favorite professors I have taken a class with so far. His lectures are very interesting. He relates the lab work to research in the past or what he is currently doing. The actual labs are easy and TA's are usually helpful. Do not save labs for end of semester because there is little time to catch up.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 1/5Difficulty 1/5
Physics 308 with Lawler was easily the most pointless class I have ever taken at UW. He made attendance at all of his lectures required even though he described many of them as "enrichment lectures" which did not pertain to class material. When he did talk about class material he made things very unclear and was super boring. Would not recommend.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
He's easily the worst physics teacher I've ever had. It's obvious the entire class has no idea what's he saying when he's talking, and half the time he doesn't even address the class, he just mumbles to himself and writes on the board. DO NOT take a class with him unless you're desperate and willing to do a lot of work.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with JAMES LAWLER
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 2023 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2022 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2022 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Spring 2022 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2021 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2021 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2020 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2020 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2020 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2019 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Spring 2019 | PHYSICS 415 | Thermal Physics |
| Spring 2019 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2018 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2018 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2018 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2017 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Spring 2017 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2016 | PHYSICS 545 | Introduction to Atomic Structure |
| Fall 2016 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2016 | PHYSICS 499 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2016 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2015 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2015 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2015 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2014 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2014 | PHYSICS 625 | Applied Optics |
| Spring 2014 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2013 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2013 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2012 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2012 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2012 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2011 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2011 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2011 | PHYSICS 415 | Thermal Physics |
| Spring 2011 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2010 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2010 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2010 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2009 | PHYSICS 545 | Introduction to Atomic Structure |
| Fall 2009 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2009 | PHYSICS 498 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2009 | PHYSICS 625 | Applied Optics |
| Spring 2009 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2008 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2008 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2008 | PHYSICS 499 | Directed Study |
| Spring 2008 | PHYSICS 625 | Applied Optics |
| Spring 2008 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2007 | PHYSICS 307 | Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics |
| Fall 2007 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Spring 2007 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
| Fall 2006 | PHYSICS 545 | Introduction to Atomic Structure |
| Fall 2006 | PHYSICS 990 | Research |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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