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ECE 2200 Applied Physics II
Last taught: Fall 2026 Add to Schedule
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Review Summary Updated April 05, 2026

Take-home exams, frequent grade drops, and short, flexible lab windows make this a straightforward, stress-free way to knock out a tough science prerequisite. Grading is incredibly forgiving if you lean heavily on the homework, which you can revise for full credit and which makes up nearly half your final grade. Lectures can sometimes wander into historical tangents or feel a bit scattered, but the assessments consistently lean toward conceptual understanding rather than heavy number crunching. Just stay consistent with the problem sets and fully utilize the generous retake and drop policies, and you will easily secure a high mark without the usual grind.

17 Reviews

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Fall 2025
5.0
Average

This class was super chill and easy, and Williams makes it as easy as possible. There is one take-home midterm, one in-class, and a take-home final. For each test, he prepares you pretty well with the homework and also provides the images that will be used on the test, so you know what to expect. I also thought the labs were pretty fun. The lectures themselves are pretty boring and not needed to succeed in the class. Overall, a pretty easy class to get an A in if you just do the weekly homework and kind of lock in for the midterms.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 1.0
Fall 2025
5.0
Average

Keith is the best professor ever. Honestly don't need to go to class just like get the jist of whats going on, get the TA to check your homework and make sure you know how to do the homework and you'll be fine. Take this class over physics 2 100%.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2025
4.7
Average

If you need to take a Physics 2 requirement, take ECE 2200. It is an extremely easy class, the TAs are all so helpful, and Professor Williams is such a down-to-earth professor who truly wants the best for his students. Some of the other Instructors did have pretty boring lectures when they taught in Williams class, but Williams is the head instructor and all classes will have Williams.

My recommendation is to make sure you get 20/20s on all of the homework. I didn't care that much about the homework in the first half of the semester until I realized that they are worth 40% of my overall grade. Two midterms and one final. The first midterm is take-home, the second is in-person, final is take-home. Labs were also always fun if you did them with your friends.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2024
5.0
Average

This class is definitely the best alternative to Physics II. I've heard horror stories in that class, so if you have the opportunity to take this class over Physics II, even if you have credit for lab, definitely take this class instead. Professor Williams is so caring about his class and caring about the topics that he teaches, it's a joy to go to lecture because you never know what he's going to talk about. Definitely my favorite course so far at UVA, and I'm not even a physics guy.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2024
4.7
Average

ECE 2200 is an easy alternative to Physics II. Keith Williams does his absolute best to ensure that you have multiple opportunities to improve your grades, including homework corrections and vetoing one question on each exam. The actual content wasn’t terribly difficult, but sometimes the lectures focused a lot on history and less on working through the problems. However, the textbook is a really good resource to walk through practice problems independently. Another really great part about the class is the flexibility in scheduling labs, as there is no weekly lab section like in Physics I and Physics II. You can schedule a 30 minute lab session any time during the 1.5-2 week period per lab. Overall, the course can be a little monotonous at times, but it is pretty easy and enjoyable. Professor Swami, who lectured alongside Professor Williams, was also very well-versed in the content, but his lecture style was a bit harder to comprehend.


#tCFF24

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 5.0
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Fall 2024
5.0
Average

I love Keith Williams so much. This course is a fantastic course, and I fully recommend taking this course. I always have anxiety taking physics tests, but Keith makes sure to teach the material pretty well, and there are not too many numbers and math crunching, instead the tests are mostly conceptual. Keith is extremely kind and gives us test figures before giving the exams, and most of the exams are even take home, which is amazing because it means I can take it after all my other exams in a week. Additionally, the homework basically prepares you for the exams that are given in the class. The best part about this class is the trivia that Keith provides during class, and he always is happy to answer questions and teach a different way of understanding something if you do not understand the material that he is teaching. I love this class, and it is taught in a way that is very digestible and interactive. I hope that you take this class and learn about physics 2, because I really enjoyed the class.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 1.0
Hours/Week 4.0
Fall 2024
4.7
Average

Great prof who has a lot of fun teaching the class. This course is not meant to be challenging, just meant to teach you the material. Was a great way to fulfill my physics 2 credit. Labs are around 30 minutes and happen about every two weeks-ish. Homeworks weren't bad and the TA's are helpful in OH.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 4.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 2.0
Fall 2024
5.0
Average

I took this course instead of the normal Physics II requirement for the engineering school. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who was interested in maybe taking it. I had Professor Williams and you can tell that he puts a lot of consideration into this course for the students. The format of the exams tend to test for fundamental knowledge surrounding the equations you use rather than your ability to perform large amounts of calculus and arithmetic while plugging in a bunch of numbers. This ends up making them quite easy to review for, as the homeworks tend to be very similar and sometimes even slightly more difficult than the exams themselves. Lectures also tend to have quite a bit of historical context for the concepts that end up being studied, so lectures aren't extremely informationally dense to the point of making your mind numb and your note taking hands sore by the end of the 50 minutes.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2024
5.0
Average

Folks, gather 'round and let me tell you about the man, the myth, the legend - Professor Keith Williams. This guy doesn't just teach Applied Physics; he's basically the Thor of E&M, wielding Maxwell's equations like Mjolnir!

Five weeks in, and I'm convinced Williams has some sort of quantum entanglement with the laws of physics. He doesn't just know this stuff; he lives it, breathes it, and probably eats cereal with it for breakfast.

Pros:
1. Williams' enthusiasm is so contagious, the CDC should classify it as a pandemic.
2. You'll start seeing physics everywhere. That lightning storm? Nature's own Van de Graaff generator!
3. His demonstrations are like magic shows, but instead of pulling rabbits out of hats, he's pulling electrons out of thin air.
4. You'll develop a Pavlovian response to the word "flux" - equal parts excitement and terror.

Cons:
1. You might start making terrible physics puns. Your social life may experience significant resistance.

Let me tell you, this isn't your grandma's physics class (unless your grandma is Marie Curie). Williams doesn't just break down barriers between students and professors; he breaks them down at the atomic level!

By the end of this course, you'll either be ready to revolutionize modern physics or start a very successful YouTube channel debunking pseudoscience with finger guns and dad jokes.

Sooooooooooo, in conclusion, if you don't take ECE 2200 with Keith Williams, you're missing out on the chance to have your mind blown at approximately the speed of light. It's not just a class; it's a life-altering experience that'll have you seeing the world through electromagnetic-tinted glasses.

In conclusion, if you don't take ECE 2200 with Keith Williams, you're missing out on the chance to have your mind blown at approximately the speed of light. It's not just a class; it's a life-altering experience that'll have you seeing the world through electromagnetic-tinted glasses.

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 3.0
Fall 2023
5.0
Average

Keith is an amazing lecturer. I've never been more interested in a gen ed's course material before. The grading is very forgiving, and Keith focuses more on concepts and symbolic derivations than numerical calculations, which is very refreshing.

I highly recommend taking this course.

#tCFF23

Instructor 5.0
Enjoyability 5.0
Recommend 5.0
Difficulty 2.0
Hours/Week 5.0
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