Brian O'Connell is an Engineering professor at Northeastern University rated 3.14/5 on Rate My Professors by 58 students, with 4.2/5 RMP difficulty and 45% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Brian O'Connell professor reviews and ratings: 3.14/5 from 58 RMP ratings at Northeastern (45% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
O'Connell's teaching style is tough love, but it doesn't work very well: it ends up being not supportive to learning. The group projects and homeworks are extremely time consuming, but the major problem is how vague he is with instructions. I think he wants to teach thoroughness, but requirements are often too well-hidden in lots of pedantic text.GE1501AND1502 2026-09-11 17:10:30 +0000 UTC
The instructor was very proficient in all of the course's aspects and was able to explain anything a student could have a question on.GE1502 2024-09-05 15:12:27 +0000 UTC
he definitely is a fan of what he teaches, and that much is apparent, whether you agree with his teaching methods or notGE1501 2024-09-05 15:11:22 +0000 UTC
Most of class is major group projects, but he uses a god-awful digital textbook software called tophat that integrates discussion posts and makes a few of these due a week. Class itself isn't that hard but turnaround time on projects during the summer is very fast, and discussion posts are inherently evil. Cool guy though.GE1110 2024-05-27 19:33:48 +0000 UTC
O'Connell is super accessible outside of class. Anytime you're struggling with homework or anything at all just message him on Teams and he will respond right away. Lots of homeworks and work outside class but if you go to FYELIC and message the prof in time it's great. Very understanding and great specific lectures.GE1111 2022-05-05 17:03:40 +0000 UTC
Prof. O'Connell is clearly passionate about engineering, which makes this class very helpful and rewarding. However, HW is brutal, about 20-25 hours outside of class per week sometimes. His project manuals are very information-dense and contradictory; be prepared for harsh grading. Overall, don't take hard classes alongside this; you will be ok.GE1501AND1502 2026-06-25 19:25:41 +0000 UTC
He was always prepared for class and was always willing to help. You can reach out to him at any time of day, and he is always there to assist.GE1502 2024-01-29 20:06:26 +0000 UTC
Was available for help, taught concepts well and was well organizedGE1501 2024-05-18 18:34:30 +0000 UTC
I think the professor was fantastic. They were very helpful in all aspects and were understanding when a student was having trouble. Coming to class was really helpful bc we would start assignments in class. He held frequent office hours and was always available to respond to messages on Teams.GE1110 2024-05-16 20:35:30 +0000 UTC
Every SINGLE class will be him reading from slides, he doesn't show/ explain any of the important material enough and if you need to take your attention away YOU WILL fall behind on the lecture, and if you're coding you might as will give up he will not let you catch up. Learn to teach yourself PLEASE, do not waste your time with him if you get himGE1111 2022-02-11 19:18:00 +0000 UTC
Prof. O'Connell was a good professor, but stacked cornerstone is a tough class and extremely time consuming. Tons of homework and be prepared to spend at least 15 hrs/week on your group projects on top of the hw. He has good lectures and if you reach out to him he is usually very helpful. sometimes grading criteria can be a bit vague, but not bad.GE1501AND1502 2026-05-05 05:15:44 +0000 UTC
O'Connell is an amazing guy. He is well passionate on topics discussed in class. One major down side about his course is that you really need to acquire a solid background on what is taught. The fact that all lessons are posted online, and his expectancy of students to teach themselves, makes it hard for beginners to reach their goals.GE1502 2020-04-29 18:57:38 +0000 UTC
The instructor did a good job explaining new software/coding languages. While there's some criticism about the difficulty of the course, you are in class to learn, and O'Connell provides an amazing environment to learn in.GE1501 2024-05-14 15:16:26 +0000 UTC
He's pretty laid-back and doesn't care if assignments are handed in a day or two late. The class was pretty easy. He was a generous grader on AutoCAD/SolidWorks assignments and on our final assignments but was tougher on memos and presentations for our group design projects. The lectures were pretty useless but he took attendance randomly, so...GE1110 2018-01-09 22:28:20 +0000 UTC
Learned a lot from him this semester, and he was always willing to help inside/outside of class. Don't know why the ratings are low.GE1111 2021-12-20 19:22:21 +0000 UTC
Brian O'Connell is rated 3.14/5 on Rate My Professors from 58 ratings. 45% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Brian O'Connell's classes have a difficulty rating of 4.2/5 on Rate My Professors.
Brian O'Connell has taught GE1501, GE1502, GE1110, GE1111, GE2500 at Northeastern.
Brian O'Connell has received: COE Outstanding Teacher of First-Year Engineering, College of Engineering (2019).
Data updated October 2026.