Richard Wamai is an African-American Studies professor at Northeastern University rated 2.98/5 by 221 students, with 3.45/5 difficulty and 29.0% who would take them again (TRACE + RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated July 2026).
Richard Wamai professor reviews and ratings: 2.98/5 from 221 student reviews at Northeastern (29.0% would take again). TRACE + RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
If you are debating taking his class, RUNAFRS3424 2025-12-17 04:48:06 +0000 UTC
Dr. Wamai is accomplished in the field of global health, experienced, and very well connected. Many readings and lectures with a lot of content, and his grading is detailed and pretty strict. But he is inspiring, eager to connect with students, and if you put in the effort he can connect you to lots of opportunities (co-ops, Kenya DOC, research)PHTH1270 2025-12-17 02:09:11 +0000 UTC
1. He treated students down. 2. Similar theme lesson within 12 week curriculum. 3. The narrow view of the development problem, he focused only on Africa continent. 4. Inadequate grading system, we hav not received the grade within semester, no clarity about grades.GST6700 2014-12-11 08:48:19 +0000 UTC
simply put...the man. best teacher/person/research in public health.AFRS4939 2012-07-19 11:49:01 +0000 UTC
final grades are due in 7 minutes and i haven't gotten any feedback from him in the past month. that's two papers, a quiz and a presentation. i have no idea what my grade is in the class. that's all you need to know about him.AFRS3424 2025-12-16 18:53:56 +0000 UTC
This course is very light on work; he can be sassy in class and will call you out for not paying attention, but it's very easy to get a good grade. He speaks very softly, and his lectures often get repetitive and boring. I'd suggest this class if you want an easy A or need an NU path requirement. Great guy and very knowledgeablePHTH1270 2025-12-11 04:36:28 +0000 UTC
An excellent doctor. You feel him sometimes easy and sometimes very hard.GST6700 2013-05-01 13:40:27 +0000 UTC
he has extremely high expectations that aren't listed in the rubric, so you have no idea what he's looking for. extremely condescending and will cold call students, and called out a student who had emailed him and posted the email in our announcements. no professor should embarrass a student like that. super condescending.AFRS3424 2025-12-16 18:52:00 +0000 UTC
Very difficult elective to get an A in. Attendance and participation really matters and he is a super tough grader. However you will learn so much from him and he is low key inspirationalPHTH1270 2023-05-01 19:35:38 +0000 UTC
If you need to email him at the end of the semester, he will not respond to you. TERRIBLE COMMUNICATION!!!AFRS3424 2025-12-16 04:59:41 +0000 UTC
Wamai is very knowledgable and cares about his field. He loves students who participate and show up to his office hours. He can be sassy over emails, especially when you email close to the deadline. His grading criteria is vague and his feedback doesn't always make sense.PHTH1270 2020-04-12 01:50:27 +0000 UTC
If you are a global health minor and need a course to complete one of the three core courses, AVOID this course and AVOID Dr. Wamai if you can. I considered dropping my minor because of how difficult he is.AFRS3424 2025-12-14 03:00:57 +0000 UTC
Professor Wamai is a really great professor and has many different connections in global health. The class if fairly easy and does not require much work outside of the lectures. You must go to lectures and participate in discussions if you want to do well.PHTH1270 2018-05-20 19:17:47 +0000 UTC
Really disappointed in this course because the content itself was interesting, but he is not a good lecturer. He posts way too many articles to read per lecture, and each lecture presentation is too long to go through. He spends a significant amount of time talking about himself and the papers he's written rather than focusing on the content.AFRS3424 2025-12-13 23:17:50 +0000 UTC
Dr. Wamai is a smart and compassionate man. He is the professor who will respect a student more if they participate in class and show interest in the medical field or public health. Class isn't particularly hard, but his criteria can sometimes be vague. If you speak with him, he will make it a point to know your name and establish a relationship.PHTH1270 2017-01-05 22:04:10 +0000 UTC
Richard Wamai has an average rating of 2.98/5 from 221 student reviews. 29.0% of students said they would take them again.
Richard Wamai's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.45/5 based on student reviews.
Richard Wamai has taught AFCS3424, PHTH1270, AFCS1270, AFRS1270, HONR3310, AFRS3424, AFRS2465 at Northeastern.
Data updated July 2026.