It all depends on the institution, and on the level of familiarity. My director of studies, was for most of my time as an undergrad simply referred to as his first name. My MSci dissertation supervisor was “Dr.”, until she told me that first names was OK. Maybe its a British thing?
Entertainer Bill Cosby earned his Ed.d and tied his thesis to The Fat Albert Show, defending it as a learning aid. I’ll note that whenever the Cos does a speaking engagement at a university, he is invariably bestowed the title “Dr. Cosby” and is identified as such on the end credits of “The Cosby Show”. Which brings me to another question…
If you never completed higher education and receive honorary degrees from a university, are you ever entitled call yourself, “Dr.”?
In general, the award entitles you to use the abbreviation, e.g. LLD(Honorary); HonDSc, etc. after your name.
If you insist that people call you “doctor”, all that you’ll get is sniggering and derision.
If it’s pretentious for a non-MD to use “Dr.” in non-professional circumstances, and I believe it is, I think it is even more so for entertainers, celebrities, motivational speakers, etc. to call themselves “Dr.” if the confirmation of such a degree was honorary. Dr. Maya Angelou comes to mind. Puleease.
Hmmm… I think we’re seeing a major difference here between UK and USA impressions of “pretentious”. It is not pretentious at all in the UK for a non-MD to use Dr in a non-professional situation. Its a title that’s been rightly earned through sheer hard work, so why should it be pretentious for someone to use it?
Well, that territory has been explored in the thread. Here, most people who have earned anything other than an MD tend to prefer to be called Ms/MR in non-academic settings. MD’s use the term everywhere, and as Dr. Qadgop implies, if someone asks, “Is there a doctor in the house?” chances are that a Ph.D. or Ed.D. would be pretty useless and unwelcome. The title is a matter of deference to their training and acacemic and social standing. In a restaurant, for instance, such deference is irrelevant and immaterial for all but the most erudite and accomplished academics - i.e. Dr. Einstein, Dr. Hawkings, etc. It is generally reserved for the MD’s. On a personal note, I definitely understand the enjoyment one gains from being called Dr. When I received mine, one of the first things I did (I’m now ashamed to confess) was to call a restaurant and make a reservation in the name of Dr. Me. Once I did that, however, and thought about it for a minute, I was chagrinned and I’d never do it again.
Interesting; I’ve always been more likely to call my professors in grad school “professor” before “doctor.” This seems contrary to what a lot of people relate. Of course, as Bob said, you’re on first name basis almost immediately, so it hardly matters.
I’d never call myself, my dad, or my professors “Dr” in a place where I thought it would br miscontrued. However, it’s not like you lose your degree as soon as you step onto a medical facility’s campus. We have an awful lot of PhDs in our medical center. Now I wonder what they go by.
Do we have a rash of celebritied using “Dr.?” I know Maya Angelou does, and it does seem a little odd except good god, the woman has been given honorary degrees by just about every damn institution in the universe. Maybe at some point, she’s entitled. Har. I guess I mean to say, if anyone were going to do it, she’s be the one I’d give a pass to.
So, why isn’t it pretentious then for a medical doctor to use the title doctor in a non-professional setting?
Again, I must repeat: It is my experience that in academic situations, “Professor” is usually preferred over “Doctor.” Not 100%, but I default to “Professor” in correspondence when they have a tenure track position. (An interesting game we play: the salutation says “Professor SoAndSo” but we cross that off and write their first name in pen. A personal touch as it were.)
It is pretentious, regardless of field, to use “Doctor” in a non-professional context. The “Is there a doctor in the house?” situation defines a medical professional context unless it is clear that a non-medical situation is involved. So, medical context -> medical doctors reply.
I have been in situations on campus where Something Happens and a call is made for a professor. I.e., someone in some sort of authority that knows the rules and can prescribe actions. E.g., kicking an unauthorized student out of a lab. Different context -> different doctors reply.
My father was a professor of mathematics (in the U.S.). In my experience, the title “Dr.” was not tied to whether the situation was professional or non-professional. “Dr.” was used in any situation in which it was considered inappropriate to refer to someone by his or her first name. I grew up in the '70s and was taught that it was inappropriate to refer to or address any elder or superior by first name. Maybe that seems pretentious to some people, but I would hesitate to use a broad brush in making that kind of value judgement.
“Doctor” the title and “doctor” the occupation are two different things. It’s pretty apparent in a given situation when a physician is needed, so it’s hardly relevant to the discussion whether a doctor of education is going to be useful in a medical emergency.