Historical instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Phil was a tough grader but good professor overall. He goes fast during lecture but the course is set up for you to use the lectures, discussions and homework to figure out the curriculum. Lots if homework but I would reccomend.Rate My Professors ↗
He's okay, he has a sense of humor but he goes really fast. There's multiple assignments every week. Tests are real tough, be ready to study weeks before. There's a curve which is nice, but the course was by far my hardest of the semester. He did not go at a pace that's beneficial for students, but rather for him and to get through the curriculum.Rate My Professors ↗
Highly recommend you stay away. He is very odd, a terrible grader and teacher, and has no desire to see you do well or learn. He is in no way understanding of his student's situations and should be avoided at all costs.Rate My Professors ↗
He was such a bad professor and was misleading about how the class was going to be curved. After a while I stopped going to lecture because I didn't learn anything from him. I had a solid TA but otherwise learned it on my own. I have no clue how phil wood is a professor at a university as good as UW Madison. If you take 211 choose another prof.Rate My Professors ↗
Philip grew on me throughout the semester. He has a really funny nerdy sarcastic sense of humor that came out throughout the semester. The class isn't easy and there's a ton of homework, but that isn't really his fault. Mini quiz every lecture so you have to go, but you wouldn't do well in the class if you didn't go. Good choice for profRate My Professors ↗
Best Professor I've met in math department ever. Professor Wood explained everything very well and made the complicated stuff easy to understand. Highly recommended.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 |
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Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
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