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Monday, May 24, 2010

How should I Address a Professor?

Understanding how a professor wants to be addressed can be difficult to determine. If you are uncertain, you should address your professor as Professor LastName. You will always be correct in using this form of address.

If you know your professor has a doctorate (e.g.,PhD or EdD), you can refer to her/him as Doctor LastName.

If invited, you can refer to your professor by her/his first name.

You can usually find clues on a course syllabus regarding the professor’s preference. If you see your instructor is “Dr. So and So” or “So and So, PhD,” it is my recommendation is that you refer to her/him as Doctor. If her/his name is simply “So and So,” your best bet would be to refer to her/him as Professor.

If the syllabus indicates they are a graduate student, graduate teaching fellow, teaching assistant or so on, he/she will probably be ok with being addressed by her/his first name.

The underlying theme is to be respectful, always. It generates positive feelings and behavior between people.

1 comment:

  1. This is a great way to let students know of the etiquette when dealing with his/her professor!

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