# PhDs who are referred to as Dr, and those who aren't **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 3, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312 "2019-12-03T14:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/21 "2019-12-03T17:59:04Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > If they are my coworker, I am going to call them by first name unless they tell me to do otherwise. > > Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk That’s what I figured, and what I was trying to get the OP to clarify. In the government sector nobody goes from Steve to Dr. Brown just because they have a PhD, but they will go from Mr. Brown to Dr. Brown. In current events, Fiona Hill has a doctorate in history and was always referred to as Dr. Hill instead of Ms. Hill. I would imagine very few people on her staff call her “Fiona.” ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/22 "2019-12-03T18:09:17Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > That’s what I figured, and what I was trying to get the OP to clarify. In the government sector nobody goes from Steve to Dr. Brown just because they have a PhD, but they will go from Mr. Brown to Dr. Brown. > > In current events, Fiona Hill has a doctorate in history and was always referred to as Dr. Hill instead of Ms. Hill. I would imagine very few people on her staff call her “Fiona.” I can see her staff calling her “Fiona” behind closed doors. But if her staff were addressing or referring to her in the presence of people who are outsiders (members of the public, congressmen, the press, etc), then use of her title would be appropriate. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/23 "2019-12-03T18:38:08Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I wonder if the people who put a string of alphabets in their signatures have worked in previous environments where that isn’t totally weird. Where I work (a university library) this is required. We must include the initials of our degree(s) after our name in email signatures, along with job title, email, and phone and fax numbers. No exceptions. So yeah, I suppose if I were to move to someplace new, I would probably continue to do that for awhile, until someone told me to stop because I looked like a boob. I do quite a bit of community theater. One of the other people I’ve acted with several times has a Ph.D. in chemistry. He always insists on being billed as “Dr. So-and-so” in the programs and in any publicity materials. It’s weird and off-putting. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/24 "2019-12-03T18:52:01Z")
> [@bump](#): > > In my general opinion, it’s a title that’s used more in academia than anything else; your average history prof is called “Dr. History Prof” as part of his job. In my experience with more than 40 years in Academia this is not at all true. Most everyone calls each other by their first name including about half the students. If they use an honorific, it’s Prof. not Doctor. In fact, it’s usually Professor even when that’s not technically correct. That is a lecturer with a PhD is called Prof. not Dr. if an honorific is used. Personally, the only time I use Dr. is when booking flights as I was told that airlines are reluctant to bump doctors. I have no idea if this is true or was true some 20-30 years ago when I was told so. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/25 "2019-12-03T19:17:51Z")
It’s probably ego more than anything. I’m “Mallard” but if you want to call me “Dr. Drake” that’s ok too.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/26 "2019-12-03T19:31:46Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Personally, the only time I use Dr. is when booking flights as I was told that airlines are reluctant to bump doctors. I have no idea if this is true or was true some 20-30 years ago when I was told so. So how many times have the flight attendants asked you for help? My first boss, who also had a Ph.D, told a new PhD that we never used doctor since we didn’t want people telling us about their headaches. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/27 "2019-12-03T19:33:09Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Question for those surrounded by PhDs you don’t address as Dr, do you address them as Mr or Mrs instead? In Silicon Valley everyone uses first names, including for billionaire CEOs. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/28 "2019-12-03T20:20:36Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > In my experience with more than 40 years in Academia this is not at all true. Most everyone calls each other by their first name including about half the students. If they use an honorific, it’s Prof. not Doctor. In fact, it’s usually Professor even when that’s not technically correct. That is a lecturer with a PhD is called Prof. not Dr. if an honorific is used. > > Personally, the only time I use Dr. is when booking flights as I was told that airlines are reluctant to bump doctors. I have no idea if this is true or was true some 20-30 years ago when I was told so. I don’t know… maybe it’s changed in the 15 years since I was in grad school, but in general, the professors called each other by first names, or maybe Dr. So-and-So if they were introducing each other. Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor/lecturer were more academic job titles than anything else- I can’t recall EVER having called the guy teaching a class “Professor”- it was Dr. or first-name (usu. grad student lecturers or TAs). In graduate school, there was sort of a generation gap- the older (50+) professors tended to be “Dr.”, while the younger ones were first-name, except for a couple of dorky recently hooded ones, who still had a boner for being called “Dr.”. Based on what I can find online googling the academics I know personally, most everything I can find uses “Dr” if there’s an honorific at all. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/29 "2019-12-03T20:34:05Z")
When I was a adjunct professor 16 years ago and hadn’t yet earned my doctorate, my students called me Professor, the same title they used for their other professors. Only TAs were called by their first name. Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/30 "2019-12-03T23:40:12Z")
Maybe it depends on the school and the professor. When I was in grad school 40 years ago the grad students called the professors by their first names. On the other hand, I used to go to a seminar run by a very famous professor at Stanford, and his students and former students called him Professor. Oddly, former students who were famous themselves went by first names, but he always went by Professor. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/31 "2019-12-03T23:47:12Z")
I’ve taken some classes at various Community Colleges over the years. There, it was generally not made clear which instructors did or didn’t have what kinds of degrees. “Professor” was a common form of address from students towards instructors, without much regard for what their degrees might have been. “Mr/Mrs” was also common. I don’t think “Professor” was actually an official job title. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/32 "2019-12-04T00:21:29Z")
Two of my brothers have PhDs. One of them gets referred to as “Dr” in academic circles (classical Greek academic circles, that is). The other…I’ve never heard him called “Dr”. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/33 "2019-12-04T00:29:39Z")
I’m a professor at a university. We all have PhDs. Most don’t use the title among other faculty (a few of the graybeards may). The staff refer to me as “Dr” even though I’ve been telling them not to for the better part of a decade. My students call me by Dr ir by my first name, whichever they’re comfortable with. I don’t use the title myself in public life unless I’m using it as a crowbar: either to open a door or to hit some wanker over the head with it. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/34 "2019-12-04T01:23:13Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > That’s what I figured, and what I was trying to get the OP to clarify. In the government sector nobody goes from Steve to Dr. Brown just because they have a PhD, but they will go from Mr. Brown to Dr. Brown. Well, I don’t have occasion to talk to people above branch manager level. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone at work refer to a colleague or boss as Mr or Mrs something. It’s just the full name if referring to someone in the 3rd person, and first name when talking to them. Except the few that are “Dr.” ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/35 "2019-12-04T01:55:01Z")
In pharma it’s first names only. Anything else really would seem pretentious. Side note: when I was a young fellow, the pharma company I was at had custom built-in lab-style desks in the labs–nothing fancy, just some beige Formica with oak trim at the edge. They had a standing policy that PhD scientists got a desk that was, say, 36" deep, while the humble Masters chemist had to make do with 28" deep. These were made on site by our maintenance guys, and they diligently followed the rule, to the point that they would rip out a 36" desk and replace it with its lesser cousin when the new occupant did not hold a PhD. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/36 "2019-12-04T02:34:52Z")
If I want to go all formal, I would like to be addressed as Professor. Otherwise, Mr. is fine. In 1982-84 I was a “parental representative” to the school board and had the administrators and other board members address me as Mr since I was not there in my professional capacity. I represented the elementary school parents and my counterpart for HS parents, a professor at another university, insisted on being addressed as Dr. Once I asked him about it and he said that he had worked damned hard for his PhD and wanted it recognized. I refrained from replying that I hadn’t. But it was true, for me, grad school was a lark. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/37 "2019-12-04T04:35:40Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > In pharma it’s first names only. > > Anything else really would seem pretentious. I have a Master’s degree in Law. Tried to get friends and co-workers to address me as ”Master”. Didn’t get much uptake. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/38 "2019-12-04T07:22:14Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I have a Master’s degree in Law. > > Tried to get friends and co-workers to address me as ”Master”. > > Didn’t get much uptake. You’d have more success if your last name had been Bates. d & r ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/39 "2019-12-04T08:05:49Z")
My father has a PhD and is a university lecturer in a scientific field (in a country where one can have a complete tenured academic career without ever being titled “Professor”). He goes by Doctor \ with undergraduate students. Staff and grad students are on a first-name basis almost universally; those who insist on honorifics are considered a bit stuck-up. (This actually became slightly awkward for me when I became a student in the same department, and while talking to colleagues of my father who I had known for years already, found myself addressing them by first name. Not that they were ever offended, but my fellow students were a bit surprised.) Outside of the academy the only place my father uses the title is when booking air tickets. Like **OldGuy** , he thinks it reduces the chance of being bumped, and also that it increases the chances of getting an upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312/40 "2019-12-04T12:34:44Z")
I work at a college. Students usual refer to the faculty as “Professor.” Nearly all of them have Ph. D’s. Among employees, people use first and last names. First name only if you know them. We also have Franciscan friars teaching. Their referred to as Father or Brother and their first name: e.g., “Father Dennis” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phds-who-are-referred-to-as-dr-and-those-who-arent/844312.md?page=3)