Historical instructor

TIM OSSWALD

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.50/5 from 26 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

ME 310
Quality 3/5Difficulty 2/5
He's a great guy but a bad professor. Interesting lectures, actually wants to be there. However, this is the worst course structure I've ever experienced. The only assignments are labs and exams, and the labs are so different from lectures they should be a different course. As a result, studying for exams is extremely difficult.
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ME 310
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Although he is very interested in what he teaches, he treats students as knowledgeable colleagues, leading to confusing exam questions and completely disorganized lab structure. He also is terrible at operating technology required to lead lectures. I was interested in the first part of the course, but found it less than ideal towards the end.
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ME 310
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Osswald really knows his stuff, but the class structure/flow seemed kind of random (especially after spring break). Im not very interested in the material personally, so the lectures were also pretty boring. He cares about his students and doesnt write trick questions in the exams, its mostly the class structure I have a problem with.
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ME 310
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
He definitely is very knowledgeable on the material for lecture and is very passionate. A bit hard to pay attention to as he goes off on a LOT of tangents. Exams were surprisingly difficult in comparison to the labs and lecture material.
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ME 417
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
This class is definitely worth taking if you are looking to work for any plastics manufacturing company. It is more in depth than ME 313 or ME 418 (also taught by Tim). You should prepare for exams with practice problems from the book. Sometimes you have to use excel for homework problems. Making a study group for the class is helpful!
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ME 417
Quality 2/5Difficulty 4/5
Not a fan. The homework assignments do almost nothing to help you understand the content of the class. Instead, the homework asked you to make huge graphs using technology that was never discussed in class. Most of the students in the class are graduate students . There is also a prerequisite course that was not listed on the course page. STAY AWAY
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with TIM OSSWALD

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2024CBE 990Thesis-research
Spring 2024ENVIRST 990Research
Spring 2024ME 310Manufacturing: Polymer Processing and Engineering
Spring 2024ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Spring 2024ME 514Polymer Additive Manufacturing
Spring 2024ME 718Modeling and Simulation in Polymer Processing
Spring 2024ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Spring 2024ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2023CBE 990Thesis-research
Fall 2023ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Fall 2023ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Fall 2023ME 717Advanced Polymer Processing
Fall 2023ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2023ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2023MS&E 890Pre-dissertator's Research
Spring 2023CBE 990Thesis-research
Spring 2023ENVIRST 990Research
Spring 2023ME 299Independent Study
Spring 2023ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Spring 2023ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Spring 2023ME 718Modeling and Simulation in Polymer Processing
Spring 2023ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Spring 2023ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2022CBE 990Thesis-research
Fall 2022ME 299Independent Study
Fall 2022ME 310Manufacturing: Polymer Processing and Engineering
Fall 2022ME 417Transport Phenomena in Polymer Processing
Fall 2022ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Fall 2022ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Fall 2022ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Fall 2022ME 699Advanced Independent Study
Fall 2022ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2022ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2022MS&E 699Independent Study
Spring 2022CBE 990Thesis-research
Spring 2022ME 299Independent Study
Spring 2022ME 310Manufacturing: Polymer Processing and Engineering
Spring 2022ME 417Transport Phenomena in Polymer Processing
Spring 2022ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Spring 2022ME 514Polymer Additive Manufacturing
Spring 2022ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Spring 2022ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Spring 2022ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2021ME 310Manufacturing: Polymer Processing and Engineering
Fall 2021ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Fall 2021ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Fall 2021ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Fall 2021ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Fall 2021ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2021ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2020CBE 890Pre-dissertator's Research
Fall 2020ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Fall 2020ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Fall 2020ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Fall 2020ME 699Advanced Independent Study
Fall 2020ME 717Advanced Polymer Processing
Fall 2020ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Fall 2020ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2020ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Spring 2020CBE 890Pre-dissertator's Research
Spring 2020EMA/ME 722Introduction to Polymer Rheology
Spring 2020ME 299Independent Study
Spring 2020ME 417Transport Phenomena in Polymer Processing
Spring 2020ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Spring 2020ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Spring 2020ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Spring 2020ME 699Advanced Independent Study
Spring 2020ME 718Modeling and Simulation in Polymer Processing
Spring 2020ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Spring 2020ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2019ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Fall 2019ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Fall 2019ME 699Advanced Independent Study
Fall 2019ME 718Modeling and Simulation in Polymer Processing
Fall 2019ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Fall 2019ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2019ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Spring 2019ME 299Independent Study
Spring 2019ME 417Transport Phenomena in Polymer Processing
Spring 2019ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Spring 2019ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Spring 2019ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Spring 2019ME 514Polymer Additive Manufacturing
Spring 2019ME 699Advanced Independent Study
Spring 2019ME 717Advanced Polymer Processing
Spring 2019ME 718Modeling and Simulation in Polymer Processing
Spring 2019ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Spring 2019ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Spring 2019ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Spring 2019MS&E 790Master's Research or Thesis
Fall 2018ME 417Transport Phenomena in Polymer Processing
Fall 2018ME 418Engineering Design with Polymers
Fall 2018ME 491Mechanical Engineering Projects I
Fall 2018ME 492Mechanical Engineering Projects II
Fall 2018ME 699Advanced Independent Study
Fall 2018ME 717Advanced Polymer Processing
Fall 2018ME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Fall 2018ME 890Phd Research and Thesis
Fall 2018ME 990Dissertator Research and Thesis
Fall 2018ME 999Advanced Independent Study

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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