What should I call my professors?

I’m an odd position with some professors. In a classroom setting, it’s Dr. X. However, I’m also on committees with them, where I am encouraged to call them by their first names. It happens with student government, I guess. In a non-classroom setting, you’re seen as more of a colleague even though you are a student.

Depends on the professor. My former voice teacher was Dr. Lastname, or slightly more informally, Dr. B. I think I could get away with calling her by her first name now that I’m no longer her student, but it’d feel weird.

I’ve had mostly Dr. Lastnames, and a few Firstnames. If they don’t specify, ask them what they’d like to be called. Simple.

If you decide to use the ask the professor what to call him technique, I recommend that you ask as soon as possible.

It sounds kind of silly to ask half-way through the semester.

I generally address all the academic staff by their first names, even those with PhDs. Australians tend to be a bit less formal about that sort of thing.

I don’t know about couldn’t. Every professor I’ve ever known–all Ph.Ds or J.D.s, has introduced him/herself as “Professor So-and-So.” That’s how lots of us address them, and we’ve never been corrected.

Maybe it isn’t exactly correct, but there aren’t hordes of Ph.Ds getting pissy about this, in my experience.

I inspired a thread! Sniff. I’m so proud.

Anyway, contrary to what I sound like in that thread, I’m going to side with “Doctor”. My contention in the other thread is that a doctor/patient relationship is one of equals; not in medical knowledge, but there is no real reason that a patient should supplicate (is that a word? I’m just high on the fact that someone used “hypothecate” in that thread) him or herself to a doctor; it benefits no one.

That is different from a teacher/student relationship. Through college, students and teachers are not equal. Thus, if he or she has a doctorate, be it MD or PhD, he or she is “doctor” to a student. Students at this level are pretty smart, but I think they need to be reminded and remind themselves that they aren’t quite there yet. While this is exactly the attitude I don’t want between a doctor and patient, it is advisable in a teacher/student relationship.

A caveat is, that I think in college (though not below), professors should consider requesting that they be called by their first name if discipline isn’t a problem (as it shouldn’t by college!) and that they want to foster a more discussive class. If I were teaching a college course, I would ask to be called by my first name.

As has been mentioned, in the US, full-time teaching staff at nearly all institutions of higher learning are divided into three ranks: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor. Anyone in any of those ranks may be called “Professor So-and-so.” In most schools, the majority of those persons will also hold a doctorate, and may also be called "Dr. So-and-so,"which is usually but not always the prefered form for those people. (Since not all professors are doctors, “Doctor” may have more cache at some schools, or simply be the norm if everyone holds a doctorate.)

At British universities, however, only the highest rank of teaching staff at a university hold the rank of Professor, and so Professor is considered a higher title than Doctor. It would therefore be rude to call a Professor “Doctor So-and-so” in the UK, even though such a person holds a doctorate, and inapropriate to call most instructors “Professor So-and-so”, since he is not, in fact, a professor (though he would be in the US.)

I am sure Canada follows one of these two forms, but I don’t know which.

I’d err on the side of safety to start with-- brown-nose points can’t hurt. Ask them a question, addressing them as Dr Lastname, and if they look embarassed and say “Oh, just “Firstname” is fine,” then go ahead with that; otherwise stick with Doctor as a sign of respect, which can’t hurt. If they’re Professors without doctorates go with Professor. A grad student will just be surprised and sputter for a minute and tell you to call them Mike or Jen, but will be privately flattered, which can’t hurt. They grade your papers, after all. I don’t think it’s a good idea to call someone with a Masters Master or Mistress these days. A PhD in the classroom is unlikely to snort and go “I’m not a SURGEON, Sheesh!”-- They’ll appreciate your respect and let you know if they prefer you to be more casual. It’s just polite, not necessarily asskissing. It’s like the German du and Sie-- only move gramatically if invited to.

Note: Doctor first UNLESS you are in (continental-- no idea about England) Europe, in which case Professor is always more important than Doctor (to have a chair you need to be of higher status there-- Professor is a more impressive title)-- call them Professor Lastname. Unless they are German or Austrian, and then it can’t hurt to start with Herr/ Frau Doctor Professor Lastname.

I’ve been a TA for a hundred years and it takes some practice remembering that while Professor Mark Lastname is Mark when we’re in a grad seminar or one-on-one drinking beer at Nick’s English Hut, in front of 600 undergrads in the big lecture he remains Doctor Lastname-- it’s surprisingly hard to get your mouth to make those sounds at the spur of the moment. You gotta keep up a unified front and maintain the appearance of hierarchy and respect or else chaos will eventually ensue.