Richard Whalen is an Engineering professor at Northeastern University rated 4.65/5 on Rate My Professors by 81 students, with 2.5/5 RMP difficulty and 88% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Richard Whalen professor reviews and ratings: 4.65/5 from 81 RMP ratings at Northeastern (88% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
Whalen was an awesome Cornerstone 1 & 2 prof! It can be a lot of homework, but after this class I feel really prepared and confident to study engineering.GE1501 2026-04-30 01:33:18 +0000 UTC
He is by far the hardest cornerstone professor. He gives the most work and the hardest projects. He's a pretty understanding guy, but he will hold you accountable and isn't afraid to call you out. It is an easy A because there is plenty of grades, and tests/quizzes are easy if you study a little. Make sure you know people in the class.GE1502 2024-05-23 19:54:41 +0000 UTC
Great guy and good teacher. Very smart at what he does, but he also assumes everyone else has a background with computer science prior to the class, so there is a decent amount of learning and work to do if you don't know anything.GE1101 2023-10-25 15:20:56 +0000 UTC
Whalen is just amazing. Had him for both 1110 and 1111, and would take his class again if I was a MechE. Yes, there are a lot of assignments and they take a while but they're very straightforward, he is completely willing to help if you ask, and coming in with little/no knowledge of coding, it was honestly so helpful. He's awesome! Definitely take.GE1111 2016-04-20 12:33:18 +0000 UTC
He's the man. Probably the best professor in the engineering department. If you don't have him, I actually feel bad for youGE1110 2016-01-11 17:02:08 +0000 UTC
Probably the best teacher that I have had in college! His lesson plans are well thought out and thorough. All of the tests and homework were very fair. I truly looked forward to going to class!ME2350 2014-01-14 22:11:16 +0000 UTC
Prof Whalen gives a lot of work but isn't that hard of a grader. He wants to see everyone do well and understand the key topics. He tends to focus towards mechanical engineering. His pumpkin drop is an awesome project.GE1000 2011-12-07 15:36:01 +0000 UTC
Very cool professor. We had so much fun in class.GEU1111 2010-03-27 13:54:48 +0000 UTC
This guy is the reason why I lift my family and came to America.Iam serious ! he is very smart , easy going , the class and material are very intersting and helpful.Take with him with no doubt !GEU1110 2009-12-03 18:42:12 +0000 UTC
Great teacher. I had him for Engineering Design, and signed up for him again for Engineering Computations. He is probably the best teacher i have ever had, except that his homework can be difficult at times. Show up to class, pay attention, and do the homework, and you will do fine on the finals/ projects.ENGCOMP 2009-09-01 23:55:46 +0000 UTC
Great professor. I knew nothing about programming going in but came out with an A in the class. Most lab assignments are easy enough to understand and quizzes are graded pretty leniently. The lecture days can be a little slow but they're always balanced out with practice programming assignments to help you undersand the material.GEU111 2009-04-30 16:45:48 +0000 UTC
learned a lot of programming skills. really nice guy and willing to help. quizzes are straight forward and he is an easy grader.GE111 2009-04-16 13:56:06 +0000 UTC
wow. papa w's is the man. great teachers, teaches u everything u need to know for a GOOD intro to engineering. heads up you WILL have 6 projects at one time or another in the semester, but deal with it. gotta love prof. whalenGEU110 2007-12-19 11:35:04 +0000 UTC
he is the bestCEU111 2007-06-08 15:56:52 +0000 UTC
Everything is straightforward and grading is fair. At time the class is flooded with work, but the work is interesting at least.ENGU110 2006-12-19 11:48:41 +0000 UTC
Richard Whalen is rated 4.65/5 on Rate My Professors from 81 ratings. 88% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Richard Whalen's classes have a difficulty rating of 2.5/5 on Rate My Professors.
Richard Whalen has taught GE1502, GE1501, GE1110, GE1111, GE1000, ME2350 at Northeastern.
Richard Whalen has received: COE Outstanding Teacher of First-Year Engineering, College of Engineering (2016).
Data updated October 2026.