America has professors on the brain. In the past 24 hours, “rate my professor” has been one of the busiest searches in the United States, and right behind it are Professor X, the Professor T cast, Professor McGonagall and even the Nutty Professor. It is not a coincidence. Course registration is opening, a new Professor X has been cast, Professor T is back on PBS and the Harry Potter series is two months out. Here is every one of those professors, explained in one place.

Why everyone is searching rate my professor

Every fall, the same thing happens: the spring course schedule drops, registration opens, and students everywhere type “rate my professor” into Google before they commit to a 9 a.m. lecture. Rate My Professors lets students rate professor quality and difficulty and leave comments, and for a lot of people it is the first stop before they pick a section.

This week the searches are very specific. Rate my professor UML (UMass Lowell), rate my professor WKU (Western Kentucky University) and rate my professor UNC (the University of North Carolina) are all climbing fast. Students are not looking for professors in general. They are checking the exact names in their own course catalogue.

UConn Student Admin and registration week

One of the fastest-rising searches is UConn Student Admin, up 3,900 per cent. That is UConn’s Student Administration System, where students register for classes. Third-party academic calendars list winter and spring 2027 registration at UConn opening on October 26, 2026, which explains the rush. Check your enrollment appointment and clear any holds before your time slot, and confirm the exact dates with the UConn Registrar.

How to rate a professor fairly

• Read the pattern, not one review. One furious comment after a failed exam tells you little. Ten comments that all say “no feedback on assignments” tell you a lot.
• Look at the date. A professor who was tough in 2018 may have changed the course completely.
• Match it to your style. “Lots of reading, great discussions” is a warning for some students and a selling point for others.
• Be the review you wanted to find. When you rate a professor, say what the course was actually like, not just whether you liked your grade.

Adjunct professor vs associate professor: who is teaching you?

When you look up my professor and see a title, it actually means something. An adjunct professor is usually part-time, paid per course and not on the tenure track; many universities rely heavily on adjuncts for first-year courses. An assistant professor is on the tenure track, usually about six years from a tenure review. An associate professor has usually passed that review and earned tenure, and a full professor is the senior rank. None of those titles tells you who is the better teacher, which is exactly why students check reviews.

The professors trending on screen

Christopher Abbott as Professor X

The breakout search “christopher abbott professor x” comes from Marvel’s X-Men reboot. Christopher Abbott, known for Poor Things and Kraven the Hunter, was revealed at Disney’s D23 event in August as the new Professor Charles Xavier, better known as Professor X. He follows Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy. Abbott told New York Magazine the reveal was “a bit of a nightmare” because a lot of people in the crowd didn’t know who he was. Jake Schreier directs, the film is set for May 5, 2028, and the cast includes Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops and Adam Driver as Mr. Sinister.

The Professor T cast: Frances de la Tour and Zoe Wanamaker

The searches for the cast of Professor T, along with Frances de la Tour and Zoe Wanamaker, come from the British crime drama’s fifth season airing on PBS. The Professor T cast is led by Ben Miller as Professor Jasper Tempest, a brilliant and very particular Cambridge criminologist who helps the police. Frances de la Tour plays his formidable mother, Adelaide; Zoe Wanamaker plays his aunt, Zelda Radclyffe; and Juliet Stevenson plays psychologist Dr Helena Goldberg. Without spoilers: season 5 has a big storyline for Adelaide that fans have been bracing for. Ben Miller has said a sixth season is already in development.

Fun link to the next section: both actresses have been to Hogwarts. Frances de la Tour played Madame Maxime in the Harry Potter films, and Zoe Wanamaker played Madam Hooch in the first one.

Professor McGonagall and the new Harry Potter

Searches for Professor McGonagall and Harry Potter are steady because HBO’s Harry Potter series premieres on HBO and HBO Max on December 25, 2026. Janet McTeer plays Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor and deputy headmistress, the role Maggie Smith made famous. The eight-episode first season adapts the first book, and a second season based on Chamber of Secrets is already confirmed.

The Nutty Professor and The Professor

The Nutty Professor is getting a new 4K Blu-ray of Eddie Murphy’s 1996 comedy from Kino Lorber on December 22, restored from the original camera negative. Its 30th-anniversary theatre re-release over Labor Day weekend did not go so well, with about $24,400 from 571 theatres. And The Professor is the 2018 Johnny Depp film about a professor who drops all his filters after a terminal diagnosis.

My take

I love that the same week students are nervously checking rate my professor, the rest of the country is arguing about who gets to be Professor X. Some professors save the world, some solve murders in Cambridge, and some just post the syllabus late. Pick your classes carefully, leave honest reviews, and maybe watch a little Professor T while you wait for your registration slot.

Grading the big builds

I spend my own time grading something else: AI and computing projects. If you want to see how the cost of a big server build is graded line by line, or what the concrete and steel part of the bill looks like, it is all laid out. There is a breakdown of what an AI-ready facility costs per megawatt, a capital cost calculator for the finance crowd, and the AI Build Configurator if you want a full quote.

Professor FAQ

Why is everyone searching rate my professor right now?

Late October is course registration season for the spring term at many North American universities. Students look up instructors before they pick classes, so searches for Rate My Professors and school-specific versions such as rate my professor UML, WKU and UNC jump.

What is UConn Student Admin?

Student Admin is UConn’s Student Administration System, where students register for classes, check enrollment appointments and see holds. Third-party academic calendars list winter and spring 2027 registration opening on October 26, 2026; check the UConn Registrar for your own appointment time.

Who is playing Professor X in the new X-Men movie?

Christopher Abbott plays Professor Charles Xavier in Marvel’s X-Men reboot, directed by Jake Schreier and set for May 5, 2028. He follows Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy in the role.

Who is in the Professor T cast?

Ben Miller stars as Cambridge criminologist Professor Jasper Tempest, with Frances de la Tour as his mother Adelaide, Zoe Wanamaker as his aunt Zelda, and Juliet Stevenson as psychologist Dr Helena Goldberg. Season 5 is airing on PBS, and Ben Miller has said a sixth season is in development.

Who plays Professor McGonagall in the HBO Harry Potter series?

Janet McTeer plays Professor McGonagall in HBO’s Harry Potter series, which premieres on HBO and HBO Max on December 25, 2026. Maggie Smith played her in the films.

What is the difference between an adjunct professor and an associate professor?

An adjunct professor is usually a part-time instructor hired course by course, often without a path to tenure. An associate professor is a mid-level, usually tenured, faculty rank between assistant and full professor.

Sources: Google Trends, United States, past 24 hours (October 25, 2026); Variety, Deadline, Collider and Slashfilm on the X-Men reboot (2026); PBS and ITV on Professor T; TV recap coverage of Professor T season 5; HBO and Variety on the Harry Potter series; JoBlo and EURweb on The Nutty Professor; third-party academic calendars for UConn registration. Rate My Professors is an independent website; this post is not affiliated with it or with any university or studio.

Images: three original graphics by Kevin Katovic. © 2026 Kevin Katovic, all rights reserved. To license an image, email support@kevinkatovic.com.