Thomas Murphy

This professor has taught: EDSP652, ENEE205, ENEE324, ENEE382, ENEE791, ENES603

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Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/01/2026	Murphy was an absolutely wonderful professor to have. He actually made me genuinely interested in electric circuits for the first time since starting my degree, which surprised me since I've really just been sticking with it for the sake of it at this point. I'm honestly considering searching out and taking another class of his when he's next teaching undergrad just for him. He is very engaging and clearly cares about student learning, and he has a lot of patience. He also connects lectures to real-world examples in a way that makes the material feel very practical, and after lecture, I often feel like I could build some of the more complex circuits he talked about. He also does a really good job pacing the class, even when students ask a lot of questions or things go off track. I especially appreciated that he always takes the time to answer questions and treats all of them seriously, even if they are basic or come from someone who missed something. It makes it easier to follow along in a difficult subject. He provided a lot of useful practice materials with solutions, which I really appreciated, and the recorded Panopto videos (leftover from Covid I think?) were helpful when reviewing confusing topics. His in-class examples are also paced well, so I can fully write them down without missing what he is explaining. He is also very approachable after class. Also, this might be a bit of a random point, but I liked having assignments due on Fridays at 5pm instead of Sundays, since it kept me from procrastinating (this is just a personal preference though). The homework was definitely time consuming, but it felt manageable when I started Monday or Tuesday and just covered a problem or two each day. The only issue was that sometimes we covered relevant material on Thursday when the assignment was due Friday, which made things a bit tight. Still, I feel like the homework have always been very relevant and have reinforced what we were learning. Because of this, I felt well prepared for exams, which were also very similar to the practice problems he provided. The only thing though was that there was usually one question that was a bit different and tied more to labs or real-world applications, but generally that still felt very accomplishable. In terms of content, the amount of material on exams felt reasonable for the time given. I am writing this before taking the final, but I do not expect any of my assessments so far to change before or after then. The labs were also time consuming, but I only needed extra lab time once. Even though the lab period is listed as two hours, we usually spent about 20 minutes in discussion for a quiz and overview, and the rest of the time went toward the lab itself (so we had more like an hour and a half to an hour and 45 minutes to get everything done). However, I do believe that having a good TA is important, since there is a lot of natural troubleshooting with the equipment and procedure. The difficulty of labs varied, but overall the lab reports were manageable. Having random partners each week was not ideal, but that is not really something that I think the professor of TAs can control. One minor complaint I've seen in these reviews is that some people didn't like that class examples were not posted online, but personally I felt that it encouraged me to attend class. I do understand if this is less of an effective method of learning for some students though, in which case I would suggest taking pictures of the board as the professor goes along, potentially working in a study group with people that have mixed styles of learning, or if you have accommodations, contacting the professor individually to find a middle ground (he does go off of a few pages of pre-written examples when he's writing on the whiteboard, so you may be able to get access to those in the absence of a better alternative). You can also still ask about the material or use the recorded videos to catch up if you miss a class. This said, I have never felt like the professor has moved along too fast for me to keep up with the content, and I've noticed he makes sure to wait for most people to finish writing before he moves on with concepts. But in general, this is still a somewhat challenging and time consuming class, so take my praise with a bit of caution as well. For the TA: This is a challenging lab for newer undergraduate TAs, but Vera did a really good job. She was prepared each week and made sure we could succeed during labs. The quizzes were fair, and she always went over the answers and took questions. She graded work in a timely manner and was very helpful when students got stuck. She was usually able to figure out issues, even when they were difficult, which for a lab of about 20 students, I'd say is pretty commendable. To any future professors viewing this, I would definitely recommend her as your TA.
Thomas Murphy Anonymous 12/17/2025	Murphy is one of my all time favorite professors or any form of teacher I've had throughout my education. Its not often that I come away from a class that I didn't do my best in and still feel like I need to praise my professor. I was lucky enough to have the Murphinator for 205 and was really happy when he was switched to my section of 382. However, If you are looking for an easy class where you never have to study and the exams are free this isn't your guy. With Murphius you're gonna learn everything the concept has to offer. There were so many topics that were foreign to me that after this class I understand pretty well. The beginning of this class was a little rough since it was his first time teaching it so some negative reviews may pop up, but for future people interested I think you should take him since by the end he had figured out the flow of the content. Didn't really study as much as I should've and hence the B+. Also just a chill guy, lowkey mogged when he was young you can look it up.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 06/06/2025	Explained the content on the board very well, had videos from prior semesters if you needed more practice or explanations on the topics. No lecture notes as mentioned in other reviews which was a downside, but Murphy's lectures were so in depth that it makes up for it. Lab was relatively simple, but some took a while. All can be finished within the lab period though. Homeworks were really tough and some were time consuming but easily prepared you for the exams.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2025	I cannot recommend taking Dr. Murphy for 205 enough. Although it may be objectively harder when compared to other professors like Lawson, you truly learn and understand so much more. I was always able to pay attention and understand the content he was teaching during lectures. His explanations are intuitive and makes typically difficult concepts approachable. His exams and homeworks are extremely fair and he provides you with plenty of resources and practice exams. My only complaint is that there aren't lecture notes, but he does have videos that correspond to each lecture if you're willing to go through them yourself.
Thomas Murphy ENEE205 Expecting an A- Anonymous 04/17/2025	Murphy made the content easy to digest, even though it was a lot of complex concepts. The first exam I found to be very easy, and the second exam was a bit more difficult, both were worth 20% which is fair. I liked the grade breakdown and I enjoyed his lectures as they were engaging and he really helped you understand things with lots of examples. The weekly problem sets were always fair, sometimes they took a while but as long as you stayed on top of starting them early, they were very reasonable and helped you understand the topics. Quizzes mostly every week in lab, but none were difficult at all if you understood the previous problem set. If you have to take 205, take it with Murphy.
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.