Iraklis Tsekourakis is a Computer Science professor at Northeastern University rated 3.37/5 by 484 students, with 3.96/5 difficulty and 38.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Iraklis Tsekourakis professor reviews and ratings: 3.37/5 from 484 student reviews at Northeastern (38.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
This course is NOT about algorithms—it's about proving trivial inequalities and guessing what counts as "obvious." The name should be changed to "CS5800: Do I Need to Prove nº + 7n + 1 > 0 for n > 10." I signed up expecting to learn algorithms, not to play a guessing game where every TA has a different definition of what needs to be proven.CS5800 2026-02-19 06:40:59 +0000 UTC
He cares about his students, is a nice guy, and will answer any question, but is an awful lecturer. You can tell he is really trying to explain the concepts, but he just makes things more confusing and hard to understand. I spent the whole semester working with a tutor and he was able to explain the concepts WAY better.CS3000 2024-04-21 02:39:21 +0000 UTC
Amazing lectures. If you do the work, you'll learn a lot.CS5800 2026-01-21 20:09:03 +0000 UTC
One of the best professors I've ever had. Very clear and helpful.CS5800 2026-01-21 20:08:17 +0000 UTC
No matter how much other students berate him, one can't deny that he is a great instructor for algo. He knows what he's teaching and his lecture delivery style is also clear.CS5800 2026-01-21 19:58:27 +0000 UTC
Great professor. He's always there to help his students!CS5800 2026-01-21 19:56:47 +0000 UTC
People are just fearmongering in his reviews page. He isn't a bad professor. Students just have to pay extra attention to his lectures, and that's it. Exams are very predictable and he offers ample supports to students who approach him for help.CS5800 2026-01-21 19:53:48 +0000 UTC
Prof. Iraklis isnt as bad as other people show him to be. They all are rating him low cuz they couldn't maintain their sanity and grades in this class.CS5800 2026-01-21 19:51:59 +0000 UTC
Disorganized rubric and poorly structured exams that expect answers in one rigid format. Even correct solutions get zero if they differ (e.g., using a stack instead of a queue). Little concern for students. Take this course only if you can memorize and reproduce CLRS exactly as expected.CS5800 2025-12-19 18:32:55 +0000 UTC
I got baited into memorizing 30+ pseudocode for the final. which i guess is alright to know but it didnt feel good when i didnt get to apply my 30+ pseudocode of knowledge on the 5 questions which are on the final it feels like he said gullible is written on the ceiling and i looked upCS5800 2025-12-18 23:18:38 +0000 UTC
The grading practices are excessively punitive, communication is effectively nonexistent, and the lack of transparency has caused extreme and unnecessary stress. This experience has significantly impacted my mental well-being and delayed my academic progress, and it should be formally reviewed.CS5800 2025-12-18 16:44:42 +0000 UTC
If you want to sharpen algorithms, this course delivers. Lectures are structured and well paced—until the end, when it suddenly accelerates. But if you're aiming for a smooth learning curve or you're protecting your GPA, think twice: grading feels bureaucratic, partial credit is hard to defend, and the pressure can make learning feel punishing.CS5800 2025-12-12 21:58:29 +0000 UTC
Run, worst professor of all time, would ask you to follow EXACTLY how the slides or the book implement the algorithm, or you lose a lot of points even if you are correct.CS5800 2025-11-03 02:41:49 +0000 UTC
Algorithms is a very hard class to take in general. Materials are heavy - it's just not a fun topic. But Prof. Herc really tries his hardest to make it work in the short time frame and the knowledge people already have (1st Sem. Grads all the way to PhD).CS5800 2025-10-27 21:18:31 +0000 UTC
Poor learning structure. Exams are questions directly from the textbook but the textbook is dense. His lectures help a little with the exams and homework but they are more so supplements. Also, not enough questions on exams, if you miss just one, you fail.CS5800 2025-10-09 21:30:41 +0000 UTC
Iraklis Tsekourakis has an average rating of 3.37/5 from 484 student reviews. 38.0% of students said they would take them again.
Iraklis Tsekourakis's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.96/5 based on student reviews.
Iraklis Tsekourakis has taught CS5800, CS5005, CS5004, CS3000 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.