Nathaniel Tuck is a Computer Science professor at Northeastern University rated 3.41/5 by 98 students, with 3.86/5 difficulty and 47.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Nathaniel Tuck professor reviews and ratings: 3.41/5 from 98 student reviews at Northeastern (47.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Nat (usually) boils his lectures down to the very core: if you listen, you will learn exactly what you need to succeed at the homeworks. The challenges are tough because he doesn't give you the step-by-step like he does for the HW, but they are also completely reasonable given the info you learn from the lectures. Just don't make bad jokes in chatCS3650 2021-03-28 06:21:32 +0000 UTC
Homeworks take well over 20 hours (sometimes 30-40) and range in topics from orbital mechanics to computer vision. I definitely learned a ton, but the cost was lots of sleepless nights and a near constant stress. Fwiw, I've heard that he's usually much better prepared, but this class was awful. Don't take robotics with him.CS5335 2020-11-30 20:06:13 +0000 UTC
I was looking forward to this class... We didn't cover any robotics concepts systematically just completed arbitrary assignments. Not clear what was the progression of topics from week to week or the goal of each assignment, unclear grading, starter code filled with bugs, no additional resources provided. By far the worst class I have taken at NE.CS5335CS4610 2020-11-16 16:41:32 +0000 UTC
If you want to learn and improve, choose Nat Tuck. No exams, just assignments. His assignments are really good. You will become a good C programmer and have your OS concepts clear if you diligently take efforts. Nat is not "academic", he is from industry and keeps only relevant things in the course. Paper reading and theory are off the list.CS5600 2020-10-26 01:39:23 +0000 UTC
I've always heard that Nat Tuck was notorious for making his classes hard. This class, however, is a total train wreck with no support at all from himself or the TA's, and the projects are given with little to no guidance from lectures. The starter code we get are often riddled with bugs, are super difficult, and this class is not enjoyable at all.CS4610 2020-10-20 15:35:37 +0000 UTC
Heavy homework without good explaining. The project just let someone who is not able to code be your teammate but he will not listen to the situation and give a fair score based on distribution.CS5610 2019-05-02 19:30:31 +0000 UTC
Good lecturer with a sense of humor that you will either love or hate. Personally I found him to be amusing and thought he presented the topics clearly with plenty of examples. No matter who you take this course with you'll have a lot of homework, so be ready for that. I would recommend Nat Tuck to a friend.CS2500 2016-04-24 20:22:47 +0000 UTC
Tuck is completely unwilling to explain concepts from scratch, often rambling for an hour and a half about a concept he never even defined. No room for questions, is super unhelpful and just tells people to look at the notes if they're confused, and expects everyone to be on the same page as him. He does not care, do not take it with him if you canCS3650 2021-03-22 05:14:15 +0000 UTC
I took CS5335 under Professor Nat Tuck. Although the course for a rough ride because of the ongoing pandemic, but Professor Nat tuck handled in an awesome way. Learning robotics in an online environment is always difficult, but the assignment were amazing and helped learn orbital mechanics which is something new and mostly skipped in basic roboticsCS5335 2020-11-25 18:04:47 +0000 UTC
Does not teach in-depth. Unless you question him at every step he won't explain how things are working underneath. Huge load work and assignments are given before the related topics are taught in class. If you take CS5600 Systems under him be prepared to forget about internship/full-time search because the assignment will take the entire week.CS5600 2020-03-29 00:50:32 +0000 UTC
Moves at a daunting pace. If you look away for a split second you feel as if you miss six lines of code. He answers questions and asks for participation but sometimes it seems as if he doesn't take it as seriously as he should.CS2500 2015-11-18 20:20:21 +0000 UTC
Not the absolute worst experience I've had in a class at Northeastern, but that's about the kindest thing I have to say. I took computer systems with him and it was extremely difficult, as if the course is made to give you no help at all.CS3650 2020-12-02 02:54:31 +0000 UTC
really hard assignmentsCS5600 2020-02-28 21:56:20 +0000 UTC
nat is love. nat is lifeCS2500 2015-10-29 17:37:13 +0000 UTC
Gonna be a tough class but he knows what he's talking about and he's a good teacherCS3650 2020-11-16 21:36:22 +0000 UTC
Nathaniel Tuck has an average rating of 3.41/5 from 98 student reviews. 47.0% of students said they would take them again.
Nathaniel Tuck's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.86/5 based on student reviews.
Nathaniel Tuck has taught CS3650, CS4550, CS4610, CS5335, CS5600, CS5610, CS1802, CS2500, CS6240 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.