Mahsa Derakhshan is a Computer Science professor at Northeastern University rated 3.75/5 by 242 students, with 3.89/5 difficulty and 50.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Mahsa Derakhshan professor reviews and ratings: 3.75/5 from 242 student reviews at Northeastern (50.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Best professor ever. So friendly, only professor at Northeastern that's good. Take her for algo and you won't regret it.cs5800 2026-01-19 18:41:47 +0000 UTC
Given the nature of the course it was already difficult as is, but to top things off my experience with the professor was quite horrid, cannot blame her for tough grading given it is luck of the draw with TAs, but most of this course was fairly self taught with little reinforcement from the professor, as she stopped uploading her slides to canvas.cs3000 2023-09-13 07:14:34 +0000 UTC
Prof Derakhshan is a great lecturer, i learned a lot about algorithms. Main issue was she is very poor at communication on piazza, a student asks when the final exam is and she and the TAs ghost for a week. grading clarification? ghosted. the time it took to grade the midterm was absurd, the midterm took nearly a month for grades to release.cs5800 2025-12-16 23:53:33 +0000 UTC
Very caring and willing to take feedback into consideration. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand what she's trying to teach but her teaching has improved dramatically over the course of the semester and I would assume it will continue to as she gains more teaching experience.cs3000 2023-04-16 19:13:54 +0000 UTC
She's genuinely one of the best professors I've ever met. The class was a little bit fast-paced at the start but then I think she found a really good pace. It's definitely still a challenging class since it's algo, but she's really considerate and is always willing to help. Classes are helpful to learn the material but you gotta actually focus.cs3000 2023-04-12 01:53:51 +0000 UTC
The class started out a little rough to be honest (it's her first time teaching) but greatly improved throughout the semester. I think she really cares about her students a lot and listens to feedback because she's always very willing to help and try to make the course run more smoothly for us. Lectures can be a drag but I think that's just algo.cs3000 2023-04-08 21:14:57 +0000 UTC
The lectures are not very engaging or understandable. The lecture notes are very barebones and do not go into great detail on the topics, so you will probably need to do outside research on the topics such as watching youtube videos. The grading is quite strict for a class of such difficulty.cs3000 2023-04-04 10:17:12 +0000 UTC
It was her first-semester teaching so bear in mind. We have gone through the course material pretty slowly. There are weekly quizzes that are supposed to be easy but are worded very confusingly. Homework is doable but time-consuming. Tests are fairly hard so study early. Her PowerPoints are hit or miss. Not terrible but I'd check other profs first.cs3000 2023-04-03 03:02:32 +0000 UTC
Mahsa Derakhshan has an average rating of 3.75/5 from 242 student reviews. 50.0% of students said they would take them again.
Mahsa Derakhshan's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.89/5 based on student reviews.
Mahsa Derakhshan has taught CS5800, CS7870, CS3000, CS4810 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.