Thomas Kelley is a Physics professor at Northeastern University rated 3.79/5 on Rate My Professors by 28 students, with 3.5/5 RMP difficulty and 71% who would take them again (RateMyProfessors + Reddit, updated October 2026).
Thomas Kelley professor reviews and ratings: 3.79/5 from 28 RMP ratings at Northeastern (71% would take again). RateMyProfessor + Reddit.
prof kelley is a rlly funny guy and makes lectures fun. although lectures aren't mandatory they are helpful. the class is very manageable. i would just recommend you understand the homework and assignments/quizzes from ILS. The midterm was pretty easy but the final was pretty tricky. practice problems are your friend. overall i would recommend.PHYS1151 2026-04-30 22:20:28 +0000 UTC
This professors lectures were useless. I did not learn a single thing from his lectures and he was a very tough grader during the exams.PHYS1155 2024-04-25 23:57:19 +0000 UTC
Tom Kelley is a pretty good professor, but not a great lecturer. I probably went to less than half of his lectures for that reason, but I had taken Physics before and succeeded because of that and ILS. Overall not too bad, just kind of average. Still the best professor of all the physics 1 for engineering profs.PHYS1151 2025-05-13 01:10:05 +0000 UTC
Saw the review was a bit high so had to lower a bit.PHYS1155 2024-01-17 22:15:11 +0000 UTC
He honestly doesn't really teach during class; you're pretty much expected to know material coming into lectures, and the lectures serve as practice time. Physics 1151 is difficult and time-consuming, but homework helps guide understanding. I love this guy, he's super nice and full of energy, but his handwriting and lecture notes are a bit messy.PHYS1151 2025-04-21 17:04:47 +0000 UTC
Very hard class so I do not think he is all to blame. Some days he would give a really good lecture, other days it would make no sense.PHYS1155 2023-12-13 20:16:32 +0000 UTC
He is an amazing professor. The class size is huge so difficult to ask lots of questions but his office hours are the best. He is really helpful and explains class material really well. Well prepared for lecturesPHYS1151 2024-12-08 00:32:43 +0000 UTC
Physics 2 is a tough class so it is unfair to place any blame on Professor Kelley for the difficulty that I had taking this course. There were sometimes where the lecture would go off on a bit of a tangent and he would end up proving a lot of formulas that were unnecessary to prove. Super nice dude. Hard class.PHYS1155 2023-12-04 21:20:26 +0000 UTC
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Walked into class on the first day and he announced that he didn't feel like teaching this semester, so he employed a flipped classroom. I have had to try and teach myself this entire course with no previous physics knowledge with a heavy course load and it's been hell. He frowned and sighed when I walked into office hours too..PHYS1151 2024-12-05 05:29:31 +0000 UTC
I do not understand Tom's current rating. I have taken him for both physics 1 and 2. I have always heard that he was the better professor. However, after a year of classes with him I disagree. It may be the class layout, but at the end it felt like I was only going to get the equations I needed then I would teach myself the rest. Tom is overrated.PHYS1155 2022-12-02 17:18:50 +0000 UTC
Office hours are a saving grace. He expects all the learning takes place outside class, thus class time is only practice for stuff he expects you to know. If thats your style then you will love him. Personally I'm paying to be taught by a teacher not have then be a tutor for 100 ppl simultaneously. Funny guy, cares about students just doesnt teach.PHYS1151 2024-12-04 15:49:43 +0000 UTC
Very good prof for this course. Easy to understand and learn a lot from. The difficulty of phys 2 is the same across all the profs so that's not a knock against him. Write down the example problems or go back to them because those scenarios will be in the homework.PHYS1155 2020-12-06 02:00:05 +0000 UTC
Kelley is a good prof, knows what he's talking about. 1151 is a hard class overall but kelley does help us understand whats going onPHYS1151 2024-04-28 19:06:15 +0000 UTC
He is my 2nd fav professor so far. His lecture won't make u sleepy as he throws random jokes as well as objects. He shocked himself to demonstrate static current. He has clear voice, answers any question also has an online anonymous q & a for shy students.PHYS1155 2018-11-06 23:05:32 +0000 UTC
Professor Kelley is a very good professor. He cares about success and gives good feedback on everything. He is a good lecturer, however, he often chooses hard in class examples that do not allow us to understand the topic in a simple sense. We also never finish the in class problems. There is a decent amount of HW, however its spread out well.PHYS1151 2024-04-26 22:05:46 +0000 UTC
Thomas Kelley is rated 3.79/5 on Rate My Professors from 28 ratings. 71% of RMP reviewers said they would take them again.
Thomas Kelley's classes have a difficulty rating of 3.5/5 on Rate My Professors.
Thomas Kelley has taught PHYS1211, PHYS1155, PHYS1151, PHYS3211, PHYS3602, PHYS1153, PHYS1157, PHYS2303 and 2 more at Northeastern.
Thomas Kelley has received: COE Outstanding Teacher of First-Year Engineering, College of Engineering (2026); COE Outstanding Teacher of First-Year Engineering, College of Engineering (2018); COS Excellence in Teaching Award, College of Science (2018).
Data updated October 2026.