Thomas Murphy

This professor has taught: EDSP652, ENEE205, ENEE324, ENEE791, ENES603

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Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Anonymous 06/17/2024	Overall, I think my issues with this class were caused by my own ineptitude more than anything Murphy did. I had a very hard time with the concepts and didn't do well on quizzes or exams despite studying quite a lot. It seems like other people in the class did not have this issue, as averages were pretty high. There were a few things I didn't like: 1. Murphy doesn't use slides, he's a "write on the whiteboard for 75 minutes" kind of professor. I generally like this approach, but he had a tendency to quickly move back and forth between diagrams, erase stuff on a diagram and replace it, etc, which made it hard for me to take organized and effective notes. I often found when I went back to my notes the next day they were hard to follow even though I had put extra effort into trying to make them make sense. 2. When I went to office hours, he gave me very unhelpful and somewhat condescending advice.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/25/2024	5 stars is what prof. Murphy deserves. Best for effective learning of a fundamental course of ECE. Lots of admiration for his skill Pros: - Excellent lecturer, able to explain things with analogies and from multiple angles - Personally helpful at office hours/after class, though somewhat tough to get the answer you're looking for - All work is productive, no wasting of your time happening here - Largely stayed on track with labs, though I was blessed with a great TA (also the labs are moderately annoying)
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/29/2023	Dr. Murphy is an incredible lecturer, he always explains all the concepts clearly and without any confusion. He boils the important concepts down to the most important points and explains the applications of what he teaches as well. The quizzes were easy, the problem set homeworks were relatively difficult, and the exams were perfectly fair. Doing the problem sets really ensured you had the concepts down and were able to apply them which made them perfect study material for the exams. Murphy was also always fair with deadlines, working with students who had scheduling issues for exams, and even split the exams into two rooms to give everyone enough space while taking the exam. He is always engaging in lecture and brings a positive attitude to class that has virtually everyone in the room paying attention instead of distracted on their phones. Could not recommend Murphy enough
Thomas Murphy ENEE324 Anonymous 05/24/2022	I agree with most of the other reviews. Dr. Murphy is a brilliant guy who is a wonderful lecturer. He made this course, which is notoriously challenging, very accessible. His transitions between topics during lecture are seamless, and he truly broke down concepts well. As others have said, his homework assignments occasionally featured questions that were not covered in lecture yet, making it difficult to complete. But, his exams are fair and he provides plenty of practice material (as well as other resources) to help students succeed in the course. I recommend students take Dr. Murphy if they truly want to learn this difficult course. You'll certainly have to work for a good grade, since he doesn't curve (to my knowledge), but it'll be worth it!
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/05/2022	Great lecturer, homeworks are slightly challenging but fair and relate directly to lecture content. Provides pre-recorded screencasts for clarification and plenty of study materials for exams. Exams are fair. Take him if you have the option.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Anonymous 01/25/2022	Dr. Murphy definitely lives up to his reputation as a solid professor. To start off, he's pretty understanding and cares about his students. He's very knowledgeable of the subject and teaches the class pretty effectively. He has recordings for most/all of his lectures, and I used them often as references while I did the homework and studied. Big disclosure: this class is NOT easy. The homework assignments are slightly more difficult than the examples done during lecture, and many of them took hours to do (so definitely start them ahead of time). While tough, they are very useful practice for the concepts taught in the class. The exams are straightforward, but make sure that you understand the concepts in the class. The lab portion of the class was relatively challenging, but it didn't require much time outside of class. The TA's who run the lab/discussion sections were very good as well, and they were helpful resources for assignments. The quizzes each week were made by the TA's, so the difficulty was dependent on which TA you had. As a final note, there is no curve for this class. Exam averages were in the 80% and the final exam average was around 70%. Dr. Murphy is a great choice to take for this class. You will definitely learn a lot from this course. It might not be a walk in the park, but you can always ask him or the TA's for help.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 03/07/2021	I took Murphy's 205 over a year ago and I can easily say he has been one of the best professors I have ever had. He is an excellent instructor, whose exams, homework's, and overall class difficulty are perfectly refined. He won best teacher for a reason.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/05/2019	Great guy, when I first learned about circuits in Physics 260, I was worried about my major Electrical Engineering because it's all about circuits, but as soon as I was Prof Murphy's class learning about circuits and how to solve them, everything made sense, I had gained more confidence and was sure this major is right for me. Amazing guy, it's crazy how much of a difference a good professor can make. There's weekly problem sets, which are meant to me hard and great practice of the materials, fair exams - prof provides a lot of practice exams, no curve but you won't need it because you will do well. Just practice and ask him for help if needed.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting a B Anonymous 09/18/2018	Best professor for 205. Take him above everyone. All the other reviews are excellent. Only reason I'm reviewing is so people know that even in 2018 his teaching ability is still the best lol.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A+ dfarias 10/17/2013	Dr. Murphy is the best professor I have had here at UMD. The other reviews have it just right; he is quite literally the ideal professor. He put in a tremendous amount of effort into the class. He created weekly screencasts of the material in an extremely clear and informative manner. He was exceptional at teaching in class, and in office hours. He is so good at teaching that the averages were quite high (despite medium difficulty tests) simply because people learned very well from him. He is extremely approachable in office hours, regardless of whether you need help in the class or just advice in general. He wants students to go to office hours. He truly cares about his students' success. I wish I could take another class with Murphy, but it's unlikely given he only teaches ENEEE205 now it seems. If you have the opportunity to take him; TAKE HIM!
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 bigbabby 05/15/2012	One of the best professors in the ECE department. Lectures are actually interesting, with a good amount of focus on examples. There are homeworks every week which take a good amount of time, but they help to learn the material. Quizzes about every other week but those are created by the TFs and usually not too hard. Labs, on the other hand, are annoying and vague, and lab reports are due weekly. They aren't worth too much, though. There is absolutely no curve in the class, which sounds terrible, but test averages are usually in the mid 80s because everyone more or less understands the material. Tests are fair and similar to samples he posts online. Take him for 205.
Thomas Murphy Expecting a B Anonymous 05/26/2009	Great professor and very approachable during office hours. He will literally go out of his way until you understand the concepts. Very dedicated to teaching students the fundamentals of circuit methods. Homeworks were worth 16% and were indeed difficult, so go to the TA for help. Quizzes are expected once a week, and there were 11 total (the lowest one dropped) and worth 10% total. The first midterm was pathetically easy and worth 20%, the 2nd midterm was a tad bit more difficult and worth 24%. The final was fair game and was actually cumulative and worth 30%. Final verdict: attend EVERY single lecture because if you fall behind even one class it will be hard to catch up. Make use of all possible office hours and DO NOT PURCHASE the required textbook written by Lawson because it does not help and Murphy's lectures are more helpful. Note: No curve. At all. Whatsoever. But you probably learn more from him than any other professor who gives out ridiculous 10-15% curves.
Thomas Murphy Expecting a B Anonymous 05/21/2009	I can't say enough good things about him. He is very good at responding to emails if you cannot make office hours. The homework is doable if you pay attention in class. Gives you plenty of practice for the exam, and does everything he can to get you to understand and to do well. He is just a great professor. I highly recommend him.
Thomas Murphy Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2009	BY FAR the best professor I have ever had throughout my entire college career. Extremely intelligent, but more importantly extremely approachable (for office hours) and an extremely effective communicator. Walks you through how to solve problems step-by-step, then gives similar problems on the exams. Problem sets were very instructive. I would take Murphy for any class he offers.