PHYSICS 1626
Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology
Intended as a general survey for the nonscience major. Topics include the structure and evolution of stars, such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, and black holes; galaxies and quasars, cosmology and the big bang theory.
Instructors
Andrina Nicola, Claude Bernard, Henric Krawczynski, Ramanath Cowsik, Yajie Yuan
Reviews
Class and lectures were very boring and confusing. Take it if you want an easy A
4/27/2026
Professor Cowsik has achieved a lot in his time as a scholar and honestly has better things to be doing than teaching an intro physics course. The class is all graded off homework and two easy to complete projects. He's a chill and caring guy who will extend deadlines if you just ask.
12/17/2025
Professor Cowsik was super intelligent and basically an Einstein of his field; it made me sad that most people in the class were not interested by astronomy at all but he really tried to make it as good as it could be. Soft speaker so try to sit more up front; A very kind, sweet, brilliant guy. 8.5/10
8/26/2025
Man is too smart to be teaching an intro solar systems class. People stopped showing up to lecture which I felt bad about, but he's still a great guy. Easy class, he made it as interesting as he could. Sometimes it showed that he was smarter than everyone in the room which made it hard to explain some basic topics.
5/4/2025
Professor Cowsik is a truly accomplished genius (look up his Wikipedia) that you can learn a lot from and is chill. His notes are difficult to read, and you always don't know what is going on in the class. All tests are take home, which are slight extensions of the weekly homework sets. You have to fumble hard to not get an A in the class.
6/12/2024
Professor Cowsik is very passionate about his subject, but speaks softly and is difficult to hear even with a mic and small classroom. His handwritten notes are difficult to read as well. Graded on homework only, once per week. Midterm and Final are the same as HW but a little longer, all take-home. Easy class with a bit of Physics background.
5/3/2024
Nobody went to the lectures, and the TA gave the homework assignments. The midterms and the final are taken home, so that makes it easier. Great professor, super understanding
4/29/2024
Don't be tricked by this being a class for non-majors, she expects you to have a background in physics and does not teach for students who have never taken a physics class before. Homework questions additionally require physics knowledge that she does not teach. She is extremely unhelpful and homework is graded way too harshly. Would avoid.
2/28/2023
Awful. Lectures were terrible and entirely not engaging, nor did they make sense half the time. He would blatantly ignore students questions or give non answers. Syllabus was unclear, grading criteria were inconsistent and completely unclear as well. Was blatantly rude to students and unwilling to work with them. Take anything else.
6/5/2021
Krawczynski is nice, comes up with fun and interesting topics, and enjoys speaking to students. Homework can be tedious but is easy and in-class quizzes were always a breeze. He and the TAs are also always available to help. If you need an NSM credit and are not a math/science person, this class will work out well for you!
5/19/2021
I love this man. He is so sweet and cares so so much about what he teaches and is so knowledgeable. He genuinely just wants his students to learn and succeed and gives you every opportunity to do so. He does have mini quizzes you have to answer in class but they are very easy, so you have to show up to get the points. One of my favorite professors.
4/23/2020
Easiest class I've taken at WashU and also super interesting. Henric makes it easy for you to succeed in class, while also learning a lot of cool things.
12/24/2016
Professor Krawczynski is an awesome lecturer. He's engaging, hilarious, and inspirational. He makes an already interesting subject even more fascinating.
4/28/2016
At WashU, you're always supposed to choose classes by the professors, and that was exactly why I enjoyed this class so much. Professor Krawczynski has such enthusiasm for the class that it becomes interesting even if you don't have a background in astronomy or physics. The assignments and quizzes are also easy!
3/30/2016
Professor Krawczynski is such a cute professor who really cares about the material he's teaching as well as the students he's teaching them to. He always tries to find ways to interact with the students, and his lectures are awesome--so is his accent.
2/14/2016
Dr. Bernard is a fantastic professor! Always willing to help students outside the classroom. Gives pop quizzes to make sure students go to class, but they are extremely easy if you do the reading. Tests are fair. Very cool guy, plays music before class. Would definitely take this class if you enjoy astronomy or need to fill a science credit.
5/17/2014
Super fun class. Go to the help sessions with the TA, he/she will give you all the answers to your indepth homework which is 15% of the grade. Take your time on the online homework and go to class to make sure you don't miss out on a pop quiz. Easy if you do these things.
3/7/2011
Great class! Bernard gives clear lectures, is helpful out of class, plays good music, and is really funny. I totally recommend it for filling an NS cluster.
6/9/2010
Great professor. Pop quizzes, but if you go to class and read they're easy. Tests are worth less than 50% of your grade.
4/26/2010