John Swain is a Physics professor at Northeastern University rated 4.2/5 by 39 students, with 2.0/5 difficulty and 100.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
John Swain professor reviews and ratings: 4.2/5 from 39 student reviews at Northeastern (100.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
AMAZINGPHYSICS2ILS 2022-11-09 22:32:53 +0000 UTC
Good guy, makes lectures interesting but they can get confusing so you need to pay attention. Tests come straight off the homework, as long as you take a look at the assignments before the test you'll have no problem. Highly recommend.PHYS3601 2016-05-17 12:31:19 +0000 UTC
John Swain gets it. He presents physics in a fun, upbeat way that makes non-physics college students enjoy it. He's a character and he's lectures are entertaining. If you try a little bit you'll get an A. I appreciate physics more bc he didn't shove it down my throat, he made it fun.PHYS1 2015-07-06 17:41:49 +0000 UTC
Really great instructor. If you study from the problem sets and take good notes you are sure to pass.1145 2015-04-22 15:49:16 +0000 UTC
Great Professor: kind, understanding, need to know the basics but no trick questions. Makes the material easy to understand. Very fair and promotes real life work like collaborationPHYS1145 2015-03-24 15:56:02 +0000 UTC
A really fantastic person who wants his students to not only do well but also enjoy the subject matter. caution: he mixes a very divergent mindset with occasional convergence to the main ideas and some analysis. If you haven't learned where to pay attention and take notes, you will only be catching about half of the information presented in class.PHYS111 2011-07-10 12:22:58 +0000 UTC
fun guy, class easy to get through, very smart but terrible class if you want to learn physics-had to have someone else teach me the material-he says dont worry about your grade he'll curve but his curve brought my grade down so be carefulPHY102 2007-05-08 09:59:36 +0000 UTC
Very entertaining professor. He tells great stories and keeps you awake in class for the most part. Unfortunately, his teaching method is not all that effective and the tests can be hard if you didnt understand the material. Gives very generous curves tho.PHYU112 2007-01-09 21:28:52 +0000 UTC
Halarious guy, it's more of a physics class than astronomy though, His tests are kinda hard, he says he tries to make them easy, but he's kinda off the deep end, He means well and wil help you, and i only went to class like 6 times all semester and did well, plus he's the most entertaining person in the world.PHYU111 2006-12-04 12:16:34 +0000 UTC
He's zany and spontaneous, like a mad scientist, and usually has good stories, so it's fun to watch. He's not an effective teacher, unfortunately. His lectures are very hard to follow. The tests are pretty tricky, but he gives you a very generous curve. Do not take this course if you want to actually LEARN physics.PHYU141 2006-12-04 08:52:57 +0000 UTC
Swain is AMAZING. he's energetic, fun, and knows what he's talking about. He's a great teacher, doesn't use notes, tells funny/interesting stories, and you'd have to be a total sped to fail the class. no homework. attendence isn't manditory, and he gives you take home final/midterms.AST101 2006-12-01 02:48:11 +0000 UTC
He is INSANE (but in a good way)...take his class if you like to laugh. He throws chalk, electrocutes himself, ad does lots of other crazy things. He makes class interesting (though he doesn't talk about much astronomy...it's mostly physics). He doesn't make us do calculations though. Also, he stops teaching after about 45 minutes of class timePHY111 2006-11-03 21:42:02 +0000 UTC
great prof.way entertaining & really wants u to understand physics from a different perspective than you've probably ever been taught before. he goes a little slow but asks for class feedback on how "slow" he's going.. ppl just let him continue for the most part. he is probably one of the smartest guys ive ever but most impt he wants u to do well.PHYS141 2006-09-18 13:19:03 +0000 UTC
Haha great guy, it prob **** for class every day, wears black shirts every day cuz he knows hes going to spill coffee on it and doesnt want it to be noticable. Not a particularly great teacher, kinda confusing, but he really wants everyone to do well so he scales everything and basically gives points away.PHYSICS1 2006-05-15 12:53:14 +0000 UTC
Great elective, easy class, great teacher, dont even need the bookENERGYENV 2006-01-20 16:11:03 +0000 UTC
John Swain has an average rating of 4.2/5 from 39 student reviews. 100.0% of students said they would take them again.
John Swain's classes have a difficulty rating of 2.0/5 based on student reviews.
John Swain has taught PHYS1132, PHYS3601, PHYS3602, PHYS1153 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.