Historical instructor

RANDALL GOLDSMITH

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.37/5 from 46 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

CHEM 562
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Prof. Goldsmith is incredibly smart and intelligent, and you can tell he knows this too. Most of the time his lectures and his vocabulary are unnecessarily complex to the point of me wondering what is he trying to prove. The material is not conveyed clearly and I rely heavily on the textbook to understand concepts.
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CHEM 562
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
He might understand quantum mechanics, but he can't teach it! He assumed we somehow understand everything and uses advanced PChem language in class. Also, his hand is on top of his writing 70% of the time, and he explains the topics extremely fast. Homework is irrelevant to both lecture notes and textbook. Exam had stuff we never learned. Bad prof.
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CHEM109H · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 5/5
Goldsmith is by far one of the best professors I've ever had. He's super smart and passionate about chem, which is awesome. The exams are the hardest that I've ever taken, but he gives plenty of opportunities to build up your grade outside of the exams (weekly quizzes, problem sets, tophat, etc). Definitely a hard class but worth it!
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CHEM109H · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Goldsmith was overall good, with a few small flaws. His lectures are clear and informative, though sometimes his homework sets aren't really taught/addressed in class. Overall, you end up very prepared for lecture.
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CHEM109H · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Lectures are always super interesting and engaging he truly cares that students understand the material. Very accessible during office hours and also very approachable.
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CHEM109H · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Prof Goldsmith is an amazing teacher that genuinely cares a lot about his students. The class is challenging but he sets you up for success. This was the course that convinced me to change my major to Chemistry. My biggest piece of advice is to go to the group homework sessions; they did wonders for my understanding of the material.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with RANDALL GOLDSMITH

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026CHEM 623Experimental Spectroscopy
Spring 2026CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2026CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2026CHEM 990Research
Fall 2025CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2025CHEM 562Physical Chemistry II
Fall 2025CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2025CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2025CHEM 990Research
Spring 2025CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2025CHEM 860Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry
Spring 2025CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2025CHEM 990Research
Fall 2024CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Fall 2024CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Fall 2024CHEM 668Biophysical Spectroscopy
Fall 2024CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2024CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2024CHEM 990Research
Spring 2024CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Spring 2024CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Spring 2024CHEM 623Experimental Spectroscopy
Spring 2024CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2024CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2024CHEM 990Research
Fall 2023CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2023CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2023CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2023CHEM 990Research
Spring 2023CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2023CHEM 860Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry
Spring 2023CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Spring 2023CHEM 990Research
Fall 2022CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Fall 2022CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Fall 2022CHEM 668Biophysical Spectroscopy
Fall 2022CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2022CHEM 980Seminar: Review of Current Research
Fall 2022CHEM 990Research
Spring 2022CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Spring 2022CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Spring 2022CHEM 623Experimental Spectroscopy
Spring 2022CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2022CHEM 990Research
Fall 2021CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Fall 2021CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Fall 2021CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2020CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2020CHEM 860Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry
Spring 2020CHEM 299Directed Study
Spring 2020CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2019CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2019CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2019CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2019CHEM 960Seminar-physical Chemistry
Fall 2018CHEM 109Advanced General Chemistry
Fall 2018CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2018CHEM 990Research
Spring 2018CHEM 299Directed Study
Spring 2018CHEM 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2018CHEM 860Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry
Spring 2018CHEM 990Research
Fall 2017BIOCHEM/CHEM 918Single Molecule Approaches to Biology
Fall 2017CHEM 109Advanced General Chemistry
Fall 2017CHEM 299Directed Study
Fall 2017CHEM 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2017CHEM 990Research
Spring 2017CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2017CHEM 990Research
Fall 2016BIOCHEM/CHEM 918Single Molecule Approaches to Biology
Fall 2016CHEM 109Advanced General Chemistry
Fall 2016CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2016CHEM 990Research
Spring 2016CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2016CHEM 860Selected Topics in Physical Chemistry
Spring 2016CHEM 990Research
Fall 2015CHEM 109Advanced General Chemistry
Fall 2015CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2015CHEM 990Research
Spring 2015CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Spring 2015CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Spring 2015CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2015CHEM 990Research
Fall 2014CHEM 109Advanced General Chemistry
Fall 2014CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2014CHEM 990Research
Spring 2014CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Spring 2014CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Spring 2014CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2013CHEM 109Advanced General Chemistry
Fall 2013CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2013CHEM 299Directed Study
Spring 2013CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Spring 2013CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Spring 2013CHEM 699Directed Study
Fall 2012CHEM 562Physical Chemistry II
Fall 2012CHEM 699Directed Study
Spring 2012CHEM 563Physical Chemistry Laboratory I
Spring 2012CHEM 564Physical Chemistry Laboratory II
Spring 2012CHEM 699Directed Study

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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