Current instructor

Robert Mathieu

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.75/5 from 12 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

ASTRON 310
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Bob is honestly such an authentic person, both in class and out of class. The class is hard, no doubt, and he expects a lot of you, but the tests and homework were not unfair nor impossible if you paid attention in lecture, read the material, and asked questions. He is not always 100% super nice, but he is kind and truthful and tells it like it is.
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INTER-LS 107
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
He was a very nice professor, it was a very interesting class to make more sense of Astronomy (as part of the fig). That being said, if you intend on getting a major in Astronomy, do not take the fig, just start taking the classes required to achieve that degree. Reading "the structure of scientific revolutions" was not fun, however.
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INTER-LS 107
Quality 1/5Difficulty 2/5
Very belittling, do not take this FIG. It would be more beneficial to any students interested in astronomy to just take astronomy courses. Book we read was complex for a freshman level. Does not believe women can succeed in astronomy. (His words not mine). AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
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ASTRON 310
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
Bases all grades on very few homework assignments (which are extremely tedious) and exams. Extremely disrespectful in lectures and plays favorites with those who do the best in the course. Fixed curves with no compassion for those doing poorly in the class. If you start off the class poorly, drop it.
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ASTRON 310
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Honestly he's a great professor and great guy, but the final was worth 40% of the grade with normal grade cutoffs (92+ for an A, 89 for an AB, 82 for a B, etc), and his homework required a lot of thinking and work, making it a lot each week just for it to be worth only 20% of the grade. If you're fine with a lower grade, definitely take him.
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ASTRON 310
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Prof Mathieu is an awful professor. Final was 40% of our grade. Hw's took more time than all my other classes combined. Didn't post notes or practice tests. Used standard grade cutoffs (93 for A, 89 for AB...). Not caring or understanding of personal circumstance. His attitude is pompous, arrogant, and always belittled students in lec as a "joke"
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Robert Mathieu

ASTRON 199 is an introductory directed study allowing students to conduct mentored independent research arranged with faculty.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

ASTRON 699 is a directed study course for junior and senior students to conduct independent projects arranged with a faculty member.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited sample

ASTRON 990 is a research and thesis course providing advanced mentored reading and research opportunities for graduate students.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

No recorded grade history

A first-year seminar exploring interdisciplinary topics in the social and natural sciences.

Offering recorded · Fall 2026

Robert Mathieu is described as very belittling and accused of holding sexist views about women in astronomy, with one reviewer advising to avoid the course entirely.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2025 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Fall 2026ASTRON 199Directed Study
Fall 2026ASTRON 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026ASTRON 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2026ASTRON 699Directed Study
Fall 2026ASTRON 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026INTER-LS 107First-year Seminar in the Social Sciences and Natural Sciences

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

Instructor identity & provenance
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