Carney Curve

Boston College course evaluations · every published number, ranked class by class

Top of the board1.ECON 9902962.LAWS 8856973.PRTO 3300984.BSLW 2299975.PHIL 4932986.LAWS 8308987.SCWK 9960998.EESC 99011009.MUSP 16609610.UGMG 10109811.UNCP 55119712.SCWK 883197

Positions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted.

Instructor record · Physics · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026

Ziqiang Wang

Professor of Physics · Physics · 8 evaluation records across 4 classes

On each class's board
PHYS 77411st of 2 instructorsPHYS 33001st of 2 instructors ProvisionalPHYS 77083rd of 5 instructors ProvisionalPHYS 87622nd of 4 instructors Provisional
What the overall is made of
93BC evaluations8 records · weight ×1.0 · Fall 2021 – Spring 2026
100RateMyProfessors1 rating · weight ×2.0
—Student reviewsno reviews — does not contribute

Sources are averaged by how much we trust each one and by how many records sit behind it, so a handful of reviews nudges the number rather than replacing it.

What the challenge rank is made of
85thMore challenging than 85% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
93BC — “Intellectually Challenging”8 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College's own “intellectually challenging” question — students answer it positively about courses that stretched them, so it measures intellectual challenge and NOT grading, workload or quality. Almost every BC class scores high on it, which is why it is shown as a rank rather than a score. RateMyProfessors separately rates this instructor 100 out of 100 for difficulty — that IS a difficulty measure, but it is about the person across everything they teach, not about any one class, so it is shown here rather than folded into the number above.

What the workload rank is made of
61stMore work than 61% of BC instructorsranked against every one we hold
56BC — “Workload”8 records · raw score out of 100

Boston College reports workload as one of five bands, not as a number of hours, and it does not publish what the bands mean — so this site will not translate it into hours. Higher means more work, which is not the same as worse.

Ratings from outside BC

Not evaluation data

Collected from RateMyProfessors, not from Boston College: 1 rating, difficulty 100 out of 100. Difficulty is not a quality signal in either direction — a harder course is not a worse one.

Anyone can post there — no @bc.edu check and no enrolment check — so it is weighted alongside the evaluation data, never above it.

The line

All 13 items · means across 8 records
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9785th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9465th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9577th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9679th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9156th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9368th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9472nd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8737th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8942nd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8841st pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
5661st pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9385th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9584th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

Class by class

4 classes · 8 sections

How each position is worked outPositions account for how many records stand behind each number, so one perfect review does not outrank a semester of them. Every score shown is the real average — only the ordering is adjusted.

PHYS 7741 Quantum Mechanics IOvr97Chal71stWork78th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors

4 sections on record · course itself rated 96 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 7741.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Fall 202501100100—
Fall 2023019595—
Fall 20220110097—
Fall 202101919360
All 13 items for PHYS 7741
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9776th pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9559th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9671st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9771st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
9679th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9575th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9676th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8832nd pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
9573rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
9467th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9471st pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9573rd pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

PHYS 3300 Introduction to Modern PhysicsOvr91Chal82ndWork78th
On this class's board1st of 2 instructors Provisional

2 sections on record · course itself rated 90 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 3300.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202301868960
Spring 202201959060
All 13 items for PHYS 3300
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9562nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9242nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9457th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9771st pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8832nd pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9043rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9245th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8728th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8523rd pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8726th pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9682nd pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9676th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

PHYS 7708 Physics Graduate Seminar IIOvr91Chal19thWork25th
On this class's board3rd of 5 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 87 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 7708.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202401918740
All 13 items for PHYS 7708
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9882nd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9562nd pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9667th pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9659th pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8936th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
8934th pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9350th pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8312th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
8936th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
8933rd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
4025th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
8419th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9147th pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

PHYS 8762 Solid State Physics IIOvr87Chal87thWork78th
On this class's board2nd of 4 instructors Provisional

1 section on record · course itself rated 83 out of 100. See the full board for PHYS 8762.

TermSecInstrCourseWork
Spring 202601878360
All 13 items for PHYS 8762
The Professor4 items
Clearly Explains MaterialThe instructor was effective at creating an understanding of difficult subject matter.
9773rd pctl
Available Outside of ClassThe instructor was available for help outside of class.
9349th pctl
Brings Out Your Best WorkThe instructor motivated me to do my best work.
9351st pctl
Sparked My InterestThe course stimulated my interest in the subject matter.
9343rd pctl
The Course3 items
Well-Organized CourseThe course was well organized.
8317th pctl
Clear Learning GoalsThe learning objectives for the course were clear.
9363rd pctl
Useful Beyond the CourseWhat I learned is applicable beyond this course.
9033rd pctl
Assignments & Feedback3 items
Assignments Help You LearnAssignments and exams contributed to my learning.
8725th pctl
Gives Feedback PromptlyI received feedback on my work in a timely manner.
735th pctl
Meaningful FeedbackThe feedback I received on my work was meaningful.
733rd pctl
Workload, difficulty & attendanceNot ratings
WorkloadHow much work the course took outside class, on Boston College's five-band scale — the band boundaries are not published, so this is not a number of hours.
6078th pctl
Intellectually ChallengingThe course was intellectually challenging.
9787th pctl
Attendance MattersAttending class was necessary to do well in this course.
9361st pctl

Bar length is the rank against every comparable record we hold, not the raw score: BC's questions all have a median around 4.5, so a raw-scale bar would be nearly full on every row and would tell you nothing. Every bar is one ink colour — nothing here is graded green or red. The hatched bars are not ratings at all: a higher number on either describes a different course, not a better one.

How to read this pageScores are out of 100 — Boston College's 1–5 agreement scale, ×20, the way these numbers were printed for years. Almost every class scores high on that scale (the median is about 90), so challenge and workload are shown as a rank against every instructor we hold rather than as a score; the raw figure is in the breakdown above. Neither describes quality, and neither is ever marked better or worse anywhere on this site. A dash means the question was not reported, and is never a zero. The position printed against each class is this instructor's place on that class's own board, computed from the same records the board itself is built from.