Historical instructor

WALTER DRUGAN

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.93/5 from 14 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

EMA506519 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 5/5
pros: knowledge depth, careful and detailed teaching. Cons: you may fail! For me, these are the most helpful classes ever.
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EMA506 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 5/5
Brilliant Professor, incredibly rigorous yet fulfilling classes. A class with Drugan is a class you want to approach as different than a typical college class, he covers very complicated material in sufficient depth and then gives very rigorous homework, exams, and design projects. If you want to advance as an engineer take a class with him.
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EMA506 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Prof. Drugan is harsh, unforgiving and assigns a massive homework load. HOWEVER he is without a doubt the finest instructor I've ever had. I've never before encountered an educator capable of explaining such complex concepts with such clarity. If you want a friend, find someone else. If you want to learn some Engineering, go with Drugan.
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EMA622 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
I really like the way he manages his classes. You will be in big trouble if you are not really paying attention in class. Homework is sometimes pretty difficult and time consuming, but that is the way you can learn stuff.
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EMA 303
Quality 1/5Difficulty 4/5
one of the worst, if not the worst, ever instructor who ever existed. I have no idea how any school would even have such a person working for them. Forget getting any help or any response from him. You are on your own. A terrible so called teacher. Avoid at any cost.
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EMA506 · course not matched
Quality 2/5Difficulty 5/5
Going to office hours are a waste of time as he WILL NOT help you. His lectures are clear and organized. Unfortunately, a lot of the material is from the (terrible) book and not covered in class.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with WALTER DRUGAN

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
Fall 2016EMA 700Theory of Elasticity
Spring 2016EMA 519Fracture Mechanics
Fall 2015EMA/ME 703Plasticity Theory and Physics
Spring 2015EMA 700Theory of Elasticity
Spring 2015EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Spring 2014EMA 519Fracture Mechanics
Spring 2014EMA 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2013EMA 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2013EMA 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2012EMA 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2012EMA 519Fracture Mechanics
Spring 2012EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Spring 2012EMA 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2011EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Fall 2011EMA 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2011EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Fall 2010EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Spring 2010EMA 519Fracture Mechanics
Spring 2010EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Fall 2009EMA 303Mechanics of Materials
Fall 2009EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Spring 2009EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Spring 2009EP 569Research Practicum in Engineering Physics II
Fall 2008EMA 890Pre-dissertator Research
Fall 2008EP 568Research Practicum in Engineering Physics I
Spring 2008EMA 519Fracture Mechanics
Fall 2007EMA 700Theory of Elasticity

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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