Career Advice Advice

What should I call my professor?

When most students get to university, they end up with one of two problems. Either they don’t know what to do or they say the wrong thing.

Andrea Eidinger

May 11, 2018

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Career Advice Articles

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This is a reprint from Andrea Eidinger’s blog Unwritten Histories. It has been reproduced with her permission.

What do you call a professor? Professor. Oh, I’m so funny…

In all seriousness, the answer to this question is much more complicated than you might think, hence my humour flow chart. Let me explain. Most students who attend university grew up in homes that valued manners to one degree or another. So unless told otherwise, they referred to adults as Mr., Mrs., or, more rarely, Ms. This was standard procedure from their parents’ friends to their elementary and high school teachers. So when these students get to university, they end up with one of two problems. Either they don’t know what to do or they say the wrong thing. So in this post, I’m going to discuss what not to do, why the title you use is important, and how to avoid feeling like an ass. The easy answer is to just call your professor, “Professor.” It’s a good catch-all and you are unlikely to offend anyone. If you want to delve further into this topic, read on!

Doctor Who?

This first thing you need to keep in mind is that university professors are not the same as your elementary and high school teachers. In most cases, you need to have a minimum of a doctorate in order to be a professor. This can involve anywhere from 4 to 10 plus years of extra education. As a mark of respect for this work, professors can use the title “Dr.” in their names. This stands for Doctor of Philosophy. All people with PhDs are Doctors of Philosophy, regardless of the field they study. This goes back to the medieval era in Europe and the establishment of the first universities. In many cases, you can tell that someone has a PhD because their name will be listed as Dr. So and So, though some people choose to simply add PhD to the end of their name. They both mean exactly the same thing. While PhDs are not the same as medical doctors, the amount of training and expertise required is roughly equivalent. So if you’re in doubt, calling your professor Dr. So and So is a good place to start.

What about PhD students?

Not all professors have PhDs. Sometimes, PhD students will teach a course as part of their training. You can usually tell if this is the case when there is no Dr. or PhD listed with their name on the syllabus. These professors should not be addressed as Dr., unless you are vying for teacher’s pet status. These professors can either be addressed as “Professor” or by their regular title — Mr., Mrs., or Ms.

What’s in a name

Unless you have specific permission, NEVER call your professor by their first name. This is especially true for older professors, who are used to a much more formal environment. However, some younger professors, like myself, will ask you to just use their first name. This is what I do, since trying to pronounce “Eidinger,” while funny, looks and sounds painful. (In case you’re wondering, just drop the E. So you would say: I-Din-Grrr. [insert joke here])

Mrs. Professor

Many students have been taught that the polite way to refer to a mature woman is to call them “Mrs.” In university, this is a VERY bad idea. Why? There are a couple of reasons. First of all, you can’t assume your professor is married. And even if they are and you can tell (wedding ring), you still can’t assume they aren’t using their maiden names. For example, I never changed my name after I got married. As Diana Gabaldon put it, I’ve been spelling it for so long that I’d hate to see all that effort go to waste. Second, many female professors are feminists, and find the title of Mrs. to be problematic. This is not only because it reduces a woman to her married status, but also because male professors are rarely called “Mr.” Our society has trained us to assume that men are of high status, and women of lower status. A great example of this is how we (often) refer to men by their last names, but women by their first names. One is formal and respectful; the other is informal and familiar. In theory, you can use the title “Ms.” to refer to female professors with Ph.Ds, but I’d avoid it for the same reasons. If you are dealing with a female Ph.D student, though, you should call them “Professor” or “Ms.,” unless asked to do otherwise.

Ms. Versus Miss

What’s the difference between these two titles? “Miss” used to be used for any unmarried woman. “Ms.” is a relatively new title, and it is supposed to be a neutral term that is unrelated to marital status. This is due to complaints that traditionally female titles, like Miss and Mrs., are based on a woman’s marital status, while Mr. is used for all men regardless of whether or not they are married. So now, “Miss” is for little girls, and “Ms.” is for grown women. Again, while many students are taught to refer to their female teachers as Miss, calling your female professor Miss So and So is generally a bad idea.

Miss versus Sir

It’s very common for polite students to say things like, “Excuse me, Miss,” when asking a question. They are usually doing so because that’s what they’ve been taught to do. This often harks back to elementary or high school, since saying, “Excuse me, Ma’am,” sounds weird. The same students, when addressing a male professor, will say “Excuse me, Sir.” However, Miss refers to little girls, while Sir is a title of respect to a senior male. Again, it’s best to just say, “Excuse me, Professor.”

Transgender and gender queer professors and gender pronouns

It’s important to remember that not everyone identifies as male or female. Unfortunately, English does not have gender-neutral pronouns. A commonly accepted compromise is the use of they/them/theirs/themselves. However, if you are not certain which pronoun to use when addressing your professor, the best thing to do is to simply ask how they would like to be addressed. If you are not able to ask, for whatever reason, use the pronoun that most closely matches your professor’s appearance and gender expression. For more information, I’d recommend checking out GLAAD’s advice, which can be found here.

Types of professors

Ever heard the term “associate professor” or “full professor” and wonder what this means? These titles are what are referred to as academic ranks. These ranks usually distinguish between professors based on seniority, and are not related in any way to their capabilities as professors. Academic rankings vary tremendously from country to country.

Here in Canada, the four main ranks, from lowest to highest are: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor (also called Full Professor), and Emeritus Professor. All of these individuals are full time and permanent faculty members, and they are eligible for tenure (which is a topic for a whole different blog post). These ranks usually distinguish between professors based on seniority, and are not related in any way to their capabilities as professors.

In addition to these professors, there are also individuals who teach part time or on contract. There are several terms used to describe these individuals, including “sessional instructor” and “adjunct professor.”

In general, all of the recommendations in this post apply to anyone teaching at a university, regardless of their academic rank or position, but it’s still a good idea to be aware of these terms.

The most important takeaway is that if you aren’t sure what to call your professor, just ask! Trust me, no one will be offended! They are more likely to think that you are a considerate and conscientious student. I don’t want to give the impression here that professors are egotistical idiots with tempers. Even if you make a mistake, most professors will simply just correct you and move on. However, I also like to subscribe to the important principle of not pissing off the person deciding your grade. Have you had any positive or negative experiences with professors around their titles? Professors — any stories about your encounters with strange titles? I know I get called Mrs. Eidinger at least once every semester, which, since even my mother doesn’t use that name, refers to my dead grandmother. Awkward….

Andrea Eidinger has worked as a sessional instructor at a number of universities in British Columbia, and is the creator and author of Unwritten Histories, a Canadian history blog.

Andrea Eidinger

Andrea Eidinger has worked as a sessional instructor at a number of universities in British Columbia and Quebec, and is the creator and author of Unwritten Histories, a Canadian history blog.

15 Comments

I usually respond to the question by saying, “My friends call me Professor Bérard. You may address me any way you like, except “Hey” and its variants.

Increasingly, I receive emails from students that begin with “Hey”. Not “Hey Professor”, “Hey Dr X” or “Hey Mr Y”. Not even simply “Hi” or “Hello First name”. Just “Hey”.

I have to say it infuriates me. An email that begins with a simple “Hey” should never been sent to a professor or in any professional context really. These students are not doing this because they were taught to do so. And I don’t think it is because they lack manners in general. Rather, I think students no longer buy into the hierarchy, they are no longer “afraid” of their professors, and many of them send hundreds of texts a day addressed to “Hey”, and their email to a professor is just one more. Communication styles are changing along with the rampant use of cell phones.

I’d gladly take “Hi First Name” over “Hey”, even though I’d prefer Professor or Dr. I think for some students even “Hi First Name” is formal. Kids these days…

Never wanted to be called by anything but my first name. Not phony youthfulness or too-friendliness; it was the only thing that felt natural. I would make my preference known at the first class. Most students were fine with it but a few weren’t and insisted on Prof. or Mr., and in a couple of cases Sir. With each of these I’d mention it once and then drop the subject forever. No doctorate so Dr. was just something to correct. Of course I also addressed students by their first names and none expressed a preference for anything else.

I’ve seen syllabi insisting on “Dr. XYXY” and heard a preference for Dr. expressed by some, citing not only the effort required to obtain the degree but also its character as certification of disciplinary expertise and fitness to teach, therefore requiring some marker of respect and distance. Maybe so. I sensed a lack of respect only rarely and it had nothing to do with forms of address. Frankly, if you need to be addressed with an honorific title to feel respected, you probably have some things to work on.

The article is partially incorrect. You mean to say not all *instructors* have a PhD, but all *professors* certainly do – it is required for to be hired as a University professor. There is a difference.
Whether named “Dr., Professor or first name basis (i.e. Jimmy) ” tends to vary with different university cultures. Things are fairly informal here on the west coast, but best not to assume. Certainly ‘hey’ is far too informal to address anybody in any profession, bordering on rude.

Thank you for this article. I was a bit surprised by it, but then, I haven’t been teaching full-time for a good number of years. I don’t recall such awkwardness, maybe because we, my late partner and I, always indicated at the beginning of a course, how students could refer to us. We emphasized that their comfort was what was important: we were fine with Dr., Professor or first names.
But I do note that on a recent visit to an elementary school, most of the name-plates were Mrs. so and so. I don’t know what happens at the high school level, but clearly these elementary students must think most teachers are Mrs.
On another item: please note that some of us prefer Professor Emerita.
Sincerely,

Another minor (though not insignificant) error is in this sentence:

“Here in Canada, the four main ranks, from lowest to highest are: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor (also called Full Professor), and Emeritus Professor.”

“Emeritus professor” is a title automatically conferred when a full professor retires. It is not really a “rank” above that of full professor, or at least not “earned” in a conventional sense.

Hello Reuben, it is not quite correct to say that the emeritus professor title is automatically conferred. There are still a few Canadian universities where one has to be nominated. See our feature from a few years back:
https://archives.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/the-elusive-emeritus/

Léo Charbonneau, editor

Nice post. Useful and well pitched. I discuss this and other communication issues at the beginning of each class, using a “How to Talk to Your Professor” handout (posted on the class website and available on my personal site – http://stevenengler.ca/?p=278). For me, the key thing is to recognize that different students are comfortable with different ways of communicating. So I present a range of options, including telling students they can call me “Steven” or “Professor Engler,” as they wish.

Thanks for the link, Leo.

When I retired I remember asking my dean whether I could automatically use the title emeritus professor or whether I had to wait for a formal designation. I learned that in my university (U. Alberta), the title is essentially automatic for a retired full professor (some minor exceptions) but others can also be nominated for the title. My apologies for not being aware that there is much variety across the country ….
duh!!).

But I think that my main point is that the designation is really an honorary title rather than an “earned” academic rank above that of full professor in the conventional sense? I could be wrong, of course!

Your article is very helpful and I agree with most of it. However, the proviso should perhaps be added that your advice generally reflects Canadian academic culture. In the UK, the ranks are different (Research Fellow, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader, Professor) and only Professors should be called Professor. Others should be Dr. if they have a doctorate degree. This is changing in many institutions, with the North American titles now being adopted (i.e. to avoid questions like “Don’t all professors need to be able to read?”). On using first names, I have been taught that you must not do so on first encounter. Do not send an email to a professor you do not know with the opening, “Dear John”. Too familiar. Even better, wait until they say it is okay before doing so. I have to admit to feeling irked when receiving an email from a student looking for a position that starts with my first name. My impression is that some American students feel so inclined stemming from a more democratic and informal university culture in some institutions. Maybe I’m old but it feels disrespectful. Unless you are a graduate student when using first names becomes somehow okay. I’m probably confusing students with my own confusions. Finally, I have recently been struggling with being called “Mam” by some students from South Asia. It is very respectful but a colonial hangover which makes me feel like the Queen. To show respect to my students, I have not corrected them as this would seem a bit churlish and still seems far better than being called “Hey Prof” (which was on an actual email).

As the article notes, individual professors vary in their preference of first name or ‘Professor’ or ‘Dr X’. And I agree with some of the other posters, its much more informal out in western Canada (and yes, Manitoba is ‘western Canada’).

I differentiate between how graduate students address me (always by first name) and undergraduates (encourage Dr/Professor). I also advise – as does the article – that all students are best served by asking whomever they meet in academe to simply ask; asking never offends and avoids embarrassing and awkward mistakes.

However, I have found over my 30 years in academia, working in Canada, the US, Australia and even Fiji, that sometimes that ‘professional distance’ conferred by students using by default ‘Doctor’ or ‘Professor’ is useful in situations where informality can lead to awkwardness or unfounded assumptions of familiarity. As a field biologist I have often taken classes on a field school with other professors. Young undergraduate students having a few drinks can sometimes get out of hand (and even some professors!), and whatever the psychology of the situation may actually be, my fellow profs and I found that when the students were in the habit of addressing us as ‘Dr X’ they were more likely to confer a modicum of respect that allowed us to redirect their energies away from behaviour that might get us banned from the Park or Field Station where we were working.

A number of colleagues at my university by default have students address them by their first name, and their choice is fine by me. However, at least 2 of these young profs switched to ‘Dr X’ on hearing my stories of field schools past, and reported better class behaviour. Anecdotal and perhaps saying more about individuals than a generality.

These days I introduce myself as ‘Doctor G’ in the first lecture of the term as this combines both the title and a degree of informality that many students like. Nonetheless I still get plenty of ‘Sir’, ‘Professor’ and ‘Doctor’ … and yes, sometimes ‘dude’, and emails addressed to ‘Heh!’ Smile, and carry on!

Regarding remaining gender neutral, “professor” or “doctor” should cover it much better than “they.” Though I’m male, I don’t want my students referring to me as ‘he/him/his” to my face.

Interesting article! I am not sure about other places but we rarely call PhD students “professor”.

Calling your college teacher “professor” is almost always a safe bet even if they are an adjunct faculty member. If you call them “doctor” and they do not hold a PhD it can be embarrassing for them to correct you. In some fields, a master’s degree may be the professional degree, so not every professor holds a doctorate degree – especially among “professors of practice”.

Who even wants to study at a place where people aren’t on a first name basis from the start.

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