Historical instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
I've taken two mathematics courses with Professor Mingzhong Cai. I'd just like to mention that his teaching ability is phenomenal. Besides offering a very organized presentation of the material, he writes very clearly on the board, and draws nice diagrams. To top it all off, he also gives nice intuition for the objects being discussed.Rate My Professors ↗
Cai was horrendously difficult to understand, if I hadn't taken this class in high school I would have received a very low grade. He goes off on random tangents constantly and can't understand a medium difficulty question, much less answer it. HW/Quiz-20%, Tests-20,20,40. Tests weren't too difficult, but I studied a ton.Rate My Professors ↗
Literally the worst professor I have had thus far in any given subject. Math typically came naturally to me, but his class as well as exams made that statement false. His class will defeat you.Rate My Professors ↗
He had hard exams, but the curve helped a lot. Do your homework because it's 20% of your grade. Put things on exams that he didn't teach and that were't in the book. You have to make sure you understand the topic fully or else you won't do well. The final was the hardest math test I have ever seen. Exams get harder each time.Rate My Professors ↗
The worst professor I've had by far. Took this same class at another university last year and after putting in twice the amount of work this year I received 2 grades lower. His class material is easy but the tests are somehow impossible. Don't listen to what he tells you won't be on the test, because I guarantee it will be. Avoid him at all costs.Rate My Professors ↗
Worst professor I've ever had, and hardest class I've ever taken. The exams are extremely difficult and he is not clear about what and what isn't being tested. He should not be teaching a mandatory class for a some students. He may be smart, but he is not a good teacher. Seems like he WANTS you to fail.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_9f80ab9d6baf252edc944fb2",
"source": "legacy",
"source_instructor_id": null,
"identity_basis": "name_only",
"identity_status": "unresolved",
"name": "MINGZHONG CAI",
"email": null,
"first_observed_at": "2025-04-16 05:20:33.104844+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 24,
"quality": 2.62,
"difficulty": 4.21,
"quality_count": 24,
"difficulty_count": 24,
"profile_id": "rmp:1709676",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/1709676",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 16:16:53.463913+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_9b0dc1865ea603eb0083bc33": {
"review_count": 11,
"quality": 2.36,
"difficulty": 4.09,
"quality_count": 11,
"difficulty_count": 11
},
"course_7d3f055b392d74c588d35d0b": {
"review_count": 2,
"quality": 4.5,
"difficulty": 3.5,
"quality_count": 2,
"difficulty_count": 2
},
"course_eec4aae06b946a73f1878be4": {
"review_count": 6,
"quality": 3,
"difficulty": 4.67,
"quality_count": 6,
"difficulty_count": 6
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.0925844470666344,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": false,
"courses": [],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/MINGZHONG_CAI--instructor_9f80ab9d6baf252edc944fb2"
}