Philip Thai is a History professor at Northeastern University rated 4.34/5 by 585 students, with 3.19/5 difficulty and 80.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Philip Thai professor reviews and ratings: 4.34/5 from 585 student reviews at Northeastern (80.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Professor Thai is a really nice lecturer. But his class is so note-based. You need to be in class to take notes, or you don't know what he wanna present on his slides with pictures only. Since this is a history class, the exam is kinda subjective. Attendance is mandatory, one midterm and one final.ASNS1150 2025-12-13 04:19:53 +0000 UTC
Professor Thai is a good, well-prepared professor. In order to follow along in the lectures, make sure to do the readings. The exams are 60% of your grade (midterm and final, 30% each), weekly quizzes are 20% of your grade (12 in total), and class participation matters.1500 2025-04-29 21:59:48 +0000 UTC
He is just lovely. Class is straight forward and easy, and I did fine without reading the weekly readings. If u want to, you can skim them. He tries to get to know his students and memorizes everyone's name. He really is the best, if you have the chance to take this class take it. Tests are easy to study for and all the material is organized well.HIST1150 2025-04-02 17:50:44 +0000 UTC
I 've learned a lot in his lectures on modern Chinese history. The classes are graded through four essays and a lot of weekly canvas quizzes. The essays are easy to get B+ or A- but very difficult to get an A on, so prepared to work hard in order to get an A. But overall, it was a very enjoyable class but do be prepared to work a lot.HISTCLTR1500 2021-04-26 18:13:31 +0000 UTC
Professor Philip is a good man in person. He is very passionate about the subject and sometimes sounds 'sarcastic' too - mostly funny. He welcomes students in his office for further helps and always available. The work to his class is a lot, you have to read a lot and writing paper is the replacement for test and finals.HIST2350 2018-12-05 21:31:04 +0000 UTC
Very engaging solid professor. Makes the material of the class very interesting. Beware of him calling on your if he sees you not paying attention in class, but doesn't do this often. Overall, clear grading criteria. Reading quizzes are relatively simple. Essays are fairly graded.ASNS1510 2018-11-15 13:59:39 +0000 UTC
Took Philip Thai for Law, Justice and Society in Modern China. He assigned a LOT of reading, and there were four 4-to-5-page papers due throughout the semester. Also had a couple short presentations, and you were expected to have done the long readings even in the weeks when you weren't writing a paper on themHIST2308 2017-11-29 16:58:01 +0000 UTC
Really great professor. Goes out of his way to help students and makes lectures interesting. Also super hot. He gives out take-home practice exams and holds review sessions before tests. The only issue I had was that it can be a little hard to recognize places and names that are in Chinese, since they're often not pronounced the way they're spelledCLTR1500 2015-04-16 09:21:45 +0000 UTC
Run!!! His quizzes are playing with languages!ASNS1150 2022-06-14 03:42:30 +0000 UTC
Professor Thai is a kind and smart teacher, but his class setup is not for me. Attendance is better than other classes, but still somewhat mandatory. You grade is made up 60% for two exams (midterm and final, 30% each), 20% weekly quizzes (each out of 5 points so its easy to get a 60% 3/5), and class participation (attendance and discussions).1500 2025-04-25 18:19:46 +0000 UTC
This professor is nice. If you are not confident for your essay, you can go to his office hour and discuss the essay with him. He will provide about 1% extra credit. Quizzes are easyas long as you read, you can get 5/5 or 4/5.HIST1150 2018-01-07 19:57:51 +0000 UTC
Best Professor Ever. Gives great lectures, kind grader and extremely nice and funny.HISTCLTR1500 2017-04-18 12:18:12 +0000 UTC
Professor Thai is a wonderful lecturer! Exams are all short answeressay questions, and he gives us the possible questions ahead of time. Lots of readings, but I rarely ever read them (sometimes skimmed) and went to review sessions (which filled me in on the readings). Going to lectures alone is enough to do well. Generous grader.CLTR1500 2014-11-18 13:12:48 +0000 UTC
Professor Thai is a good professor who always comes well prepared. The class isn't hard, but you do have to write a good amount of essays which are graded (way too harshly lol) by the TA's. But he gives lots of extra credit opportunities so your overall grade won't really suffer.ASNS1150 2022-05-16 21:30:41 +0000 UTC
I have taken 2 courses with Professor Thai and he is one of my favorites. Getting an A is not easy but if you read, pay attention to what he asks for, and do the work it will pay off. He expects participation, you don't always have to talk but if you show up and he knows ur face and name that counts. Read the books because they are useful for tests1500 2015-05-12 21:55:26 +0000 UTC
Philip Thai has an average rating of 4.34/5 from 585 student reviews. 80.0% of students said they would take them again.
Philip Thai's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.19/5 based on student reviews.
Philip Thai has taught HIST3330, HIST1500, HIST2360, CLTR1500, ASNS1150, HIST1150, HIST2308 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.