Current instructor

Ken Ferrier

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.48/5 from 23 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

Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
Professor Ferrier was very passionate about the material, but lectures could be very boring some days. Weekly labs in discussion were easy, and TAs were helpful, but a poor grade on one lab could ruin an otherwise good grade. He was a joy to talk to outside of class, and clearly a very caring person.
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Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor was passionate about topics discussed in class. Quizzes utilize textbook terms and vocabulary that was mentioned but not just the slides. TA's are great resources for labs, but only for that. Can be hard to balance for a new student.
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GEOSCI/GLE 350
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
Took this class as an engineering elective (cross-listed as GLE350). One homework assignment a week and one group project at the end of the year with plenty of time to work on it. The lectures can be a little heavy, but Ken occasionally integrates some fun experiments to make it more engaging. He is very nice and accessible outside of class.
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Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
Took this for my physical science credit. I liked Professor Ferrier a lot and really enjoyed his lecture, and my TA was amazing/gave helpful hints for lab. The quizzes are a sizable portion of your grade, though, and never seemed to be super related to what was emphasized in lecture/were very strangely worded. The video project was a blast, though!
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Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
Good lecturer and I personally really enjoyed lectures, but weekly quizzes seemed to be only tangentially related and unnecessarily complicated. However, weekly "labs" - discussion sections- were mostly decent. Content was extremely interesting and a good intro to geoscience, and despite the frustrating quizzes, it's not a hard course overall.
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Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Good class to take to fulfill physical sci credit. Ken is super lovely and really cares about his work. Weekly quizzes are tough and don't always align with lecture material, labs aren't too bad and aren't graded super harshly. Optional exam at end of sem which is nice. Lectures can feel long but content is super interesting, his voice is golden.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Ken Ferrier

Introductory course on applied geoscience data analysis covering uncertainty propagation, hypothesis testing, linear regression, time series, and experimental design for rock, soil, and water sampling.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

No recorded grade history

Advanced Topics in Geology covers special topics in Geoscience, focusing on evaluating research, assessing scientific information, and communicating results to peers.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2019: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
GEOSCI 990

Research

1–12 credits

Research course in GEOSCI supervised by individual faculty members, requiring graduate or professional standing.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

No recorded grade history

Introduction to geophysics covering methods for earth structure and plate tectonics, including seismology, gravity, geodesy, magnetism, and heat flow.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Ken Ferrier

Ken Ferrier's course included one weekly homework assignment and a year-end group project with ample completion time. While the lectures could be heavy, he occasionally used experiments to boost engagement and remained accessible outside of class.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027GEOSCI 340Geoscience Data Analysis
Spring 2027GEOSCI 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027GEOSCI 699Directed Study
Spring 2027GEOSCI 875Advanced Topics in Geology
Spring 2027GEOSCI 990Research
Spring 2027GEOSCI/GLE 350Introduction to Geophysics: the Dynamic Earth
Fall 2026ENVIRST/GEOSCI 106Environmental Geology
Fall 2026GEOSCI 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026GEOSCI 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026GEOSCI 699Directed Study
Fall 2026GEOSCI 701Quantitative Geomorphology
Fall 2026GEOSCI 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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