Historical instructor

JEFFREY SCHMIDT

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.91/5 from 75 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

PHYS531 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 2/5
Jeff is a nice guy. He's trying. He's just not a very good lecturer. His lectures are all over the place and impossible to follow. He posts somewhat helpful lecture notes after the fact but it's clear he comes into class not knowing what he's going to talk about. Easy exams though.
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PHYSICS 249
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
Didnt really learn anything, exams were not related to lectures or homework he gives a practice exam and you have to copy all the formulas from the practice exam and use them on the actual exam to do well so you dont actually learn anything.
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PHYS208 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Schmidt is passionate professor, but for a tough E&M unit he teaches it poorly. His slides are super complex and he doesn't make it easy to follow since he just reads off the slides without engaging the class at all. The labs and homework for this class are time consuming so you will need to lock in a lot more than you think for this class.
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PHYS207 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Schmidt is one of the two professors for Phys 207, and is a caring person if you go to his office hours, but his lectures are impossible to follow and understand. He does not try to engage the class in any way and just reads off complex slides which are impossible to follow. The homework is time consuming but the labs are not as difficult.
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PHYSICS 208
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Taking 208 with Jeff was an absolute nightmare. Class was super unorganized, didn't go over actual content in lectures, exams were super difficult, TA's were awful, they often ignored questions on piazza they didn't want to answer. This class honestly tested your ability to memorize questions/answers from course material rather than learning it.
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PHY208 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Jeff is boring. Really boring. I'd rather have this class be taught by a potted plant. Getting up at 8 am every Monday and Wednesday was impossible. Jeff doesn't teach the material well, and seemed surprised when nobody knew the answers to his questions. If I had an hour to live, I'd spend it in this class, because it felt like an eternity.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with JEFFREY SCHMIDT

A modern physics course covering quantum mechanics, nuclear, particle, condensed matter, and atomic physics.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026

PHYSICS 499 is an advanced-level mentored research project in physics.

No offering record · Spring 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

Introduction to quantum mechanics covering historical background, experimental basis, and key principles like the Schrödinger equation and Pauli principle.

No offering record · Spring 2026

with this instructor · course overall, matching historical terms

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2021–Spring 2026

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026PHYSICS 249A Modern Introduction to Physics
Spring 2026PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Spring 2026PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2025PHYSICS 307Intermediate Laboratory-mechanics and Modern Physics
Fall 2025PHYSICS 721Theoretical Physics-electrodynamics
Fall 2025PHYSICS 801Special Topics in Theoretical Physics
Spring 2025PHYSICS 208General Physics
Spring 2025PHYSICS 449Atomic and Quantum Physics
Fall 2024PHYSICS 207General Physics
Fall 2024PHYSICS 448Atomic and Quantum Physics
Spring 2024PHYSICS 208General Physics
Spring 2024PHYSICS 449Atomic and Quantum Physics
Fall 2023PHYSICS 249A Modern Introduction to Physics
Fall 2023PHYSICS 448Atomic and Quantum Physics
Spring 2023PHYSICS 201General Physics
Spring 2023PHYSICS 449Atomic and Quantum Physics
Fall 2022PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Fall 2022PHYSICS 448Atomic and Quantum Physics
Fall 2022PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Spring 2022PHYSICS 323Electromagnetic Fields
Spring 2022PHYSICS 449Atomic and Quantum Physics
Spring 2022PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2021PHYSICS 711Theoretical Physics-dynamics
Fall 2021PHYSICS 801Special Topics in Theoretical Physics
Fall 2021PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2020PHYSICS 711Theoretical Physics-dynamics
Fall 2020PHYSICS 801Special Topics in Theoretical Physics
Fall 2020PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2020PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2020PHYSICS 721Theoretical Physics-electrodynamics
Spring 2020PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2019PHYSICS 208General Physics
Fall 2019PHYSICS 711Theoretical Physics-dynamics
Fall 2019PHYSICS 801Special Topics in Theoretical Physics
Spring 2019PHYSICS 208General Physics
Spring 2019PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Fall 2018PHYSICS 207General Physics
Fall 2018PHYSICS 711Theoretical Physics-dynamics
Fall 2018PHYSICS 801Special Topics in Theoretical Physics
Spring 2018PHYSICS 208General Physics
Spring 2018PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Fall 2017PHYSICS 208General Physics
Fall 2017PHYSICS 711Theoretical Physics-dynamics
Spring 2017PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2017PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Spring 2017PHYSICS 207General Physics
Spring 2017PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Fall 2016PHYSICS 207General Physics
Fall 2016PHYSICS 247A Modern Introduction to Physics
Fall 2016PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2016PHYSICS 711Theoretical Physics-dynamics
Spring 2016PHYSICS 202General Physics
Spring 2016PHYSICS 322Electromagnetic Fields
Fall 2015PHYSICS 103General Physics
Fall 2015PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2015PHYSICS 207General Physics
Spring 2015PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2015PHYSICS 721Theoretical Physics-electrodynamics
Fall 2014PHYSICS 207General Physics
Fall 2014PHYSICS 299Directed Study
Fall 2014PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2014PHYSICS 104General Physics
Spring 2014PHYSICS 202General Physics
Spring 2014PHYSICS 299Directed Study

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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