Historical instructor

MAXIM VAVILOV

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.00/5 from 7 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

PHYS449 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Favorite guy, easy class recommend
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYS311 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
Vavilov is pretty decent and his class is well structured; if you put in the work you do well. Exams were fair. My only gripe with the homework was that it was typically VERY algebra heavy. His lectures were pretty average; mostly a bunch of equations, sometimes it was hard to follow exactly WHY he was doing what he was doing. Overall 3.5/5.
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYS311 · course not matched
Quality 4/5Difficulty 2/5
Vavilov's tests are based on the homework so none of the problems are a surprise. We didn't have a final exam for 311- instead we had a project that was very easy if one showed up to class. The homeworks were bi-weekly, so one had plenty of time to do them. Overall, not a hard class to get a decent grade in if one practices a few of the problems.
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYS531 · course not matched
Quality 3/5Difficulty 5/5
Prof. Vavilov is a very respected physicist but his lecture style can be difficult to parse. He tells the story of QM with almost only math on the whiteboard and very little context. My recommendation would be to heavily supplement or even replace lecture by reading the Griffiths textbook (it's a famous textbook).
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYS449 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Awful professor. Notation not at all consistent with the textbook or often even internally consistent. Large portion of homework based around poorly explained computing assignments. Generous grader and the class is curved, but your passing grade will only seem ridiculous when you consider you never understood anything he was doing. Textbook saves.
Rate My Professors ↗
PHY448 · course not matched
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
In my study group of 6, none of us could understand him or ever knew what was going on. If you read the book you were able to understand some but teaching yourself quantum mechanics is hard and he used different notation than the book. Notation on his midterms was different than the homework or lecture, making very difficult. Worst prof I've had,
Rate My Professors ↗

Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with MAXIM VAVILOV

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
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026PHYSICS 301Physics Today
Spring 2026PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Spring 2026PHYSICS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2025PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2025PHYSICS 709Introduction to Quantum Computing
Fall 2025PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Fall 2025PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2025PHYSICS 732Quantum Mechanics
Spring 2025PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Spring 2025PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2024PHYSICS 731Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2024PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Fall 2024PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2024PHYSICS 751Advanced Solid State Physics
Spring 2024PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2023PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2023PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2023PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Spring 2023PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2022PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2022PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2022PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2022PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2021PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2021PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2020PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2020PHYSICS 449Atomic and Quantum Physics
Spring 2020PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2019PHYSICS 448Atomic and Quantum Physics
Fall 2019PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2019PHYSICS 449Atomic and Quantum Physics
Spring 2019PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2018PHYSICS 448Atomic and Quantum Physics
Fall 2018PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2018PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Spring 2018PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2017PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Fall 2017PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2017PHYSICS 751Advanced Solid State Physics
Spring 2017PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2016PHYSICS 716Statistical Mechanics II
Fall 2016PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2016PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Spring 2016PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2015PHYSICS 415Thermal Physics
Fall 2015PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2015PHYSICS 732Quantum Mechanics
Spring 2015PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2014PHYSICS 731Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2014PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2014PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2013PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2013PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Spring 2013PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2012PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Fall 2012PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2012PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Spring 2012PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2011PHYSICS 731Quantum Mechanics
Fall 2011PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2011PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Spring 2011PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2010PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Fall 2010PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2010PHYSICS 551Solid State Physics
Spring 2010PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2009PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Fall 2009PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2009PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Spring 2009PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2008PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2008PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Spring 2008PHYSICS 531Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Spring 2007PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Fall 2006PHYSICS 731Quantum Mechanics

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_ec45351e48abfd06f1746dd7",
  "source": "madgrades",
  "source_instructor_id": "4187683",
  "identity_basis": "source_id",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "MAXIM VAVILOV",
  "email": null,
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-06 23:14:58.172943+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 7,
    "quality": 3,
    "difficulty": 3,
    "quality_count": 7,
    "difficulty_count": 7,
    "profile_id": "rmp:1729783",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1729783",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:19:22.735076+00:00",
    "courses": {},
    "bayesian_quality": 3.488656135960441,
    "prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "grade_statistics": {
    "gpa": 3.501,
    "graded": 1040,
    "counts": [
      497,
      279,
      159,
      56,
      27,
      6,
      16
    ],
    "sections": 75
  },
  "current": false,
  "courses": [],
  "revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/MAXIM_VAVILOV--instructor_ec45351e48abfd06f1746dd7"
}