Donald O'Malley is a Biology professor at Northeastern University rated 3.09/5 on Rate My Professors by 44 students, with 2.12/5 RMP difficulty and 57.8% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Donald O'Malley professor reviews and ratings: 3.09/5 from 44 RMP ratings at Northeastern (57.8% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
So funny and wants his students to do well. Easy class, GPA booster, automatic A. He would also give out candy or fig newtons if you answered a question. He would ramble about random things a lot (like lions??), but it was always entertaining!biol2299 2026-06-23 04:13:02 +0000 UTC
Sweetest professor ever. His inquiry class is curated towards his research, so you learn a lot about his specific interests (neurotech) which was very interesting to learn about from his perspective. He is extremely passionate about his research and wants all of his students to succeed. Def take this class if you are interested in neurotech.BIOL2299 2026-06-13 16:54:58 +0000 UTC
He's a nice guy but horrible lecturer and presenter. He's so all over the place it's so hard to follow along. Do not take the class.BIOL4705 2024-12-12 09:41:20 +0000 UTC
Do your GPA a favor and take him! His class is very lecture-heavy there are open response quizzes which he will allow anyone who gets less than an A to redo. As long as you attend class and are somewhat knowledgeable about something he will give you an A in the class. No final exam just a paper. He's a great guy take his class!BIOL3611 2023-04-12 13:58:15 +0000 UTC
Prof O'Malley's class was a joke. I attended class but you really done need to. Grade is based on 3 major tests and thats it. April 14th and no grades have been put in yet. The slides are wordy and he goes off on tangents a lot. Nice guy but I don't think his main interest is anatomy. Book is unnecessary, first test is hard others are prac tests.BIOL2217 2020-04-14 18:19:55 +0000 UTC
Professor O'Malley was such a kind and caring professor. He clearly cared about the material, and really made an effort to get to know students (a rarity in the College of Science). Definitely would recommend taking a class with him, he will go above and make sure you do well, and loves answering questions.BIOL5581 2020-04-09 19:48:10 +0000 UTC
His tests were just the practice tests. Literally same position and everything, I learned nothing in this course but just memorized the practice test the day of and got one of the best grades on the final.BIOL1117 2019-06-17 19:42:11 +0000 UTC
2+2 is 4 - 1 that's 3 quick maffs. he taught me that, he teach quick maffsBIOL3405 2017-10-28 20:23:46 +0000 UTC
Goes off topic all the time and refers nearly everything to the text instead of adequately answering in class.BIOL7384 2017-09-15 16:18:04 +0000 UTC
this is an intro class so you have to be dead not to get an A. i skipped 50% of class and don't miss much. he is very interested in biology and tries to encourage students to get into it as well. he is friendly but not very intune with the students, though he tries. show up, bring a lap top to keep occupied,he rants, you get an a.BIOL1000 2015-12-03 23:41:37 +0000 UTC
He's always sidetracked and isn't clear at all. Its really hard to pay attention to his lectures, which is a bummer because neurobio is super interesting, but he just makes it dreadful, long and painful.3405 2014-10-02 23:52:32 +0000 UTC
I enjoyed the class, but you must be motivated to learn this material. Class averages were 68-76 plus a usual 10 pt curve. He's funny if you like punny and nerdy cultural references (esp monty python). If you only took Psychobio you are not prepared for this class!BIOU405 2008-12-18 16:46:43 +0000 UTC
Had O'Malley for Neurobio. He knows the material very well, but gets sidetracked and wanders off topic. Loves his slides, which are useless unless he's explaining them. He knows the material very well, but isn't so great at getting anybody else to understand it. Tries to help, but not so great at itBIO405 2008-12-15 15:46:19 +0000 UTC
He trails off after every sentence so its hard to understand him. THe use of projectors doesn't help in the slightest. Hes all over the place with the slide. He is willing to help however. Unless your a grad student i would not recommend this class to anyone, unless i didn't like them.BIOSECT 2007-10-02 22:34:28 +0000 UTC
confusing teacher, he was all over the place.APIII 2005-01-08 18:12:29 +0000 UTC
Donald O'Malley is rated 3.09/5 on Rate My Professors from 44 ratings. 57.8% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Donald O'Malley's classes have a difficulty rating of 2.12/5 on Rate My Professors.
Donald O'Malley has taught BIOL4705, BIOL2299, BIOL5581, BIOL2217, BIOL3405, BIOL1000, BIOL3611 at Northeastern.
Data updated October 2026.