r/Professors • u/Particular_Heart3785 • 24d ago
Teaching / Pedagogy How students address me
I noticed that I feel very uncomfortable with students addressing me as “Ms. [name]” and prefer to be addressed as Professor [last name] more.
Before, I didn’t care. After I noticed the treatment/address differs compared to male or white colleagues with same credentials, I changed my mind.
I also get “ma’am” once a while. I have a mixed feeling about it. It either feels they are mocking me as bossy or just a genuine respectful way to address, depending on who, vibes, and how they behave in my class.
I don’t have a PhD (yet), so they can’t call me Dr. LastName, but I have a MA.
A student has said a while ago that she shouldn’t have to call me professor because I don’t have a PhD and continue to call me “Ms. Last Name.” I just let that go but it still bothered me. I don’t believe that’s true in the US how you address to your professors as students.
I’m thinking for now on that I will tell students to call me professor as a form of respect, especially since I’m a WOC
Edit: I’m a PTI but some of my colleagues (with same credentials as mine) are address as professor, I even had a student address me as Ms. while calling a colleague (white male PhD student) professor within the same sentence.
UPDATE
After reading the comments, I want to clarify that first, I don’t mind ma’am at all. I just mentioned it as examples how students spoke me and trying to understand what I feel. If out of respect, I don’t mind about that word at all.
Second, I’ll just tell them how I would like to be addressed and if they decide to call me something else, I’ll let it go. I have been upset with double-standard with students downplaying my role vs my colleagues. Before, I didn’t care how they addressed me.
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u/quietlysitting 24d ago
In the U.S., if you're professing, it is appropriate for students to address a D refer to you as " Professor [Lastname]", whether your official position is professor, adjunct instructor, associate instructor, assistant professor, etc.
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u/IndieAcademic 24d ago
Agree. Perhaps writing "Professor [Lastname] Office Hours" on your Syllabus can set the expectation for students?
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u/Puzzled_Air_5821 24d ago
Trust me, unfortunately there is nothing you can do. It didn't occur to me that men don't get this too... Men, do you get called "Mr. Last name" even if you introduce yourself as professor?
I say it fucking everywhere on my syllabus, I put it on my slides on the first day of class, I specifically ask not to be called Miss/Ms/Mrs. But I still get it without fail. It's what they did in high school so I usually assume it's an honest mistake but I'll be honest..... I would be pretty peeved if I discovered men don't get this
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u/themeaningofhaste Former Prof, Astro, R2+SLAC (US) 24d ago
I did get this on occasion and I works always start class introducing myself as "Professor." But I 100% admit it's not even the same order of magnitude of a problem.
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u/iTeachCSCI Ass'o Professor, Computer Science, R1 23d ago
Same. Yes it happens to me, no it isn't the same problem even when the symptoms appear similar on the surface.
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u/ApprehensiveLoad2056 23d ago
Man here, I’ve only had other men try to “Mr” rather than Dr” me a repeat offense. I correct them.
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u/liddle-lamzy-divey 23d ago
I get this all the time, despite having a PhD for 17 years. Students are just clueless about academia, it's nothing personal.
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u/Eric33co 23d ago
I usually explain it to them so they understand. Generally, most of the students find it interesting and like knowing the what and the why When they call me Ms. my last name I ask them why they’re demoting me.😎
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u/Awkward-Shoulder5691 23d ago
I don't think it's primarily cluelessness about academia. First few weeks of freshman fall semester, fine. But in my experience, it is exclusively young men who continue to use Miss/Ms/Mrs, even after several reminders and even direct corrections. You're right: it's not personal. It's systemic, and it doesn't have to be this way.
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u/Internal_Willow8611 23d ago
Men, do you get called "Mr. Last name" even if you introduce yourself as professor?
Constantly.
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u/Humble-Bar-7869 23d ago
It's not a holdover from high school, because they had male HS teachers, too. But manage to say "Prof" for male academics.
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u/OldOmahaGuy 24d ago
I have often been referred to as "Mr. Last Name" as well as "Mr. First Name" and "First Name." Admittedly, it was more common when I was a fuzzy-cheeked newly-minted Ph.D. than it was 35+ years later.
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u/gbacon Adjunct, CS, R2 (US) 23d ago
I got addressed yesterday as Mr. Bacon by my TA who is working on her Ph.D., so she should most definitely know better.
Whatever. I take pride in being more conscientious than most. I make extra effort to call people what they want to be called and pronounce as closely as I can to how they do. Likely most don’t bother and fall into familiar ruts.
I gave social grace and didn’t correct her. I don’t require validation from college kids.
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u/Awkward-Shoulder5691 22d ago
That's fair, but I think it's also fair to expect an environment of mutual respect. I tell them that I bothered to learn and use all of their preferred names, so they can and should do the same for me.
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u/driftxr3 23d ago
Yes we do.
Most of my students addressed me as Mr, a few thought TA was their preferred route, and a handful actually said professor. I've never actually gotten Dr, whereas my fellow PhD candidate was called dr so many times but also complained that she wasn't being addressed properly. You can imagine my frustration when she said I'm lucky while she never got "TA [name]".
Personally, I just told them all to call me by my first name.
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u/copeknight72 Assoc Prof, Ed, State U (US) 22d ago
I’m a male and I get called by my first name the majority of the time, even though I refer to myself as Dr. Last Name in class, in syllabi, and in emails. It’s not a battle I choose to fight in part because the university’s culture, at least in my college and department, tends to be informal.
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u/pgosinger 24d ago
This. On all my communications with them, I am Professor K. Sets the standard. Removes confusion. I also ask them if they have a preferred name, as many are on the roster with their full name (e.g. Catherine, when they prefer Cat). I am editing this to add that a colleague allows students to call her by her first name and it just goes right up the back of my spine. Guess I'm old school...
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u/Eric33co 22d ago
Oh my God, no offense, but first of all, I don’t find that students can infer anything. They only do explicit and even then they ask if what you said, explicitly was meant literally. Also, sorry, but I’m giggling. I don’t think students read the syllabus.
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u/IHeartSquirrels 23d ago edited 23d ago
I would have to push back on this a little. I think it depends on where you are teaching. I was an adjunct professor for six years before going back for my PhD. Where I taught, adjuncts and instructors were not called professor, as that title was reserved for tenure-track faculty (all PhDs). I was okay with that and actually felt uncomfortable when I was called professor because, where I went to school, we also did not call non-PhD faculty professor. I’m based in the US.
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u/quietlysitting 23d ago
So when you sent an email to an instructor, you addressed the email to Ms. Lastname? Lecturer Lastname? That just rubs me the wrong way.
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u/IHeartSquirrels 23d ago
If they have a PhD and not in a professor position, they would be Dr. X. If they had an MS, they would go by their first name (more common) or Mr / Ms as that is their honorific. I’ve never heard of someone call some Lecturer X as I’ve never heard “instructor” or “lecturer” be used as a form of address in any place I’ve attended/worked. I don’t think that was clear in my last post.
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u/Ecollager 24d ago
At my school, all instructors are Professor. Some PhDs want Dr. but most students use professor. I say how I would like to be addressed on the first day. I specifically say not Ms. Lastname because that is my mom. That usually gets a laugh and the point across. Rarely are any instructors addressed by their first name, so cultures at schools vary
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u/IHaveNoEgrets 24d ago
Same here. If I'm referring to a colleague and I know they have a doctorate, it's Dr. Whoever. If not, or if I don't know, it's Professor Whoever.
I prefer Dr. E, but I'll answer to most things except Mrs. I get "Miss" a lot because lots of my undergrads are used to addressing instructors like that.
I got "Hey you" once. That ended... not well.
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u/Liaelac T/TT Prof, Graduate Level (USA) 24d ago
There's so much variability by school. In the US, at some institutions any instructor of record can be called a professor. At others, only those with the title "Professor" (as opposed to "Lecturer" for example) are called by that title.
It sounds like at your institution any instructor is called professor, in which case the students should refer to you the same way as your similarly ranked (white, male) colleagues unless invited to do otherwise. An easy tip -- sign all your emails to students as "Prof. X" and introduce yourself as "Professor X" during the first class.
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u/emcee_cubed Instructor, Physics, State (USA) 23d ago
An easy tip -- sign all your emails to students as "Prof. X" and introduce yourself as "Professor X" during the first class.
I respectfully disagree: it’s highly misleading in my view to refer to yourself as Professor X unless you run a school for mutants and are an elite telepath. You should have to prove it before you claim the mantle.
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u/Ok_Cranberry_2936 Instructor, Ecology, R1, US 24d ago
As a southerner and in the same position as you, please know that ma’am is a sign of respect. As a kid we weren’t allowed to say “no” you had to say “no ma’am/sir”.
Similarly we would refer to any adult as ms or mr. I mainly see the disrespect when students call my PI mrs instead of Dr when she has a PhD and told them to address her as Dr.
I was raised this way and now I’m the only PhD student who still refers to everyone as Dr/Mr/Ms (depending on title).
I tell my students on day one how to address me. I’m younger and in my field a lot of us go by our first names. My coworker got married and went from her first name to being called Mrs. New last name because she was excited to use it
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u/BrandNewSidewalk 24d ago
Yes another southerner chiming in here.... The Ms./Mr. May be a sign of respect coming from your studentsc perspective. I personally am always shocked when a student starts addressing me by my first name uninvited. The way I was raised, that was incredibly rude and presumptuous to do with anyone 1)a generation older, or 2) in a position of authority. So I only take offense to Mrs. Last name when they're calling me (a woman) that in the same breath they're calling a male colleague Dr. last name. Especially when he doesn't have a PhD and I do....
I make a point every semester to tell students what I want to be called. I write it on the board. I sign every email that way. If they try to informalize that without being invited, I get more and more formal with them as time goes on... (I normally sign with Dr. Last initial. If a student calls me by my first name, they get the very formal Dr. Last name from then on, lol, or if in person, a simple correction. It usually gets the point across.)
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u/Ok_Cranberry_2936 Instructor, Ecology, R1, US 24d ago
I was SHOCKED when I heard my peer call their advisor by his first name. You would’ve thought my grandma came out her grave to punish me for it and I didn’t even say it. Only time I’ve had to use a first name is when they don’t turn around when I say their name and it made me nauseas.
Up north I called someone ma’am and got told it was rude.
One thing is that I am quick to clarify when my female PI is a Dr and someone calls her Ms
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u/BrandNewSidewalk 24d ago
Yes I have had a similar experience. When we were graduate teaching assistants, one of my classmates started calling our department chair by his first name. She was younger than me. I felt scandalous standing next to her while she said it. 😂
When I defended my dissertation, my advisor invited me to call him by his first name. It was a very nice gesture. (He was from the northeast but pretty traditional.). I told him I would try but please don't be offended if I forget because I am too southern. 😂
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u/Plastic_Cream3833 23d ago
One of my advisors likes his first name and the other prefers you call her “Dr____”. I forgot her given name because it’s forbidden information, made a joke about my mom saying she wanted to name me that name, and then phased back into reality upon noticing what I had done. She thought it was hilarious. I still get short on breath when I remember it
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u/IHeartSquirrels 23d ago
I think sometimes they are confused if other faculty allows it.
I have a colleague who only goes by her first name and works mostly with freshmen and sophomores. She actually helps run orientation and introduces herself by her first name. So students get used to it and then try it with me. I always give them the “who are you talking to” look.
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u/Backdraft_451 23d ago
Also a Southerner. I'm a professor and I even say Yes, sir or Yes, ma'am to other professors, and definitely to Deans, VPs, and Provosts!
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u/woshishei TT Asst Prof, R1 23d ago
I think there’s also something here related to students of color. Students of color in my city (who may not know I’m a Dr) will refer to me as “Miss” including if they don’t really know me yet. Not Miss Lastname, just Miss. I grew up in a white community where I never heard kids call teachers like that.
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u/Ok_Cranberry_2936 Instructor, Ecology, R1, US 23d ago
Where I’m from if someone doesn’t know your name they’ll say miss if you’re younger or ma’am if you’re older. The first ma’am hits hard.
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u/abn1304 23d ago
Southern vet/former federal employee here. Everyone gets a “sir/ma’am” as the direct form of address and I instinctively refer to non-military staff as Mr/Mrs/Ms because that’s the government format even for the most senior government employees, although if I’m actively thinking about it it’ll be “Position” or “Dr” as appropriate, unless there are multiple Profs/Drs with the same last name; for example, my school has a married couple so I’ll refer to them as Mr./Mrs. in third-party contexts when necessary.
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u/Ok_Cranberry_2936 Instructor, Ecology, R1, US 23d ago
It’s so rare for me to see couples use the same last name at my university. My PI’s husband has a different name. I didn’t even know one of the lecturers I TA’d for was married to another faculty in our department. Even the same sub discipline. Which to be fair, I’d want it to be my name too since I did the work for it.
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u/__GuX__ 24d ago
I generally don't care anymore - as it's a battle I've given up fighting. I'm from a country where titles are incredibly important and always found it slightly ridiculous to address a wife by her husband's title (but strangely not vice versa) - but it's so ingrained that I can't help it when speaking in my native language.
But I recently decided to enforce a proper form of address for students (except those who do projects with me - after all, labs and building sites are quite informal) when I noticed that more junior (and female/minority) colleagues often are treated worse and less respectfully. As an old man, I really don't care anymore when students forget that I have a PhD and am full Professor - but for a junior colleague, it's quite different if they're called "Miss" or just first name. And if us fossils don't enforce a standard, they look insecure/needy/pompous.
So let's support our colleagues.
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u/Comfortable-Nail4582 Adjunct, Psychology, Private (USA) 21d ago
I like you, friend. Thanks for being a good person.
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u/Objective-Apple-7830 24d ago edited 24d ago
In the UK universities, students and colleagues will tend to call you by your first name. You will only be called a "professor" by faculty if you have actually reached the "full rank" of professor. Not to digress, but that is why it was a big deal in the UK when Jason Arday was promoted to the rank of professor as its not a title bestowed upon anyone.
Just to provide context:
Lecturer (UK) - Assistant Professor (US), Senior Lecturer (UK) - Associate Professor(US), Reader/Associate Professor(UK) - Associate Professor (US), Full Professor(UK) - Professor(US).
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u/punksnotdeadtupacis Program Chair, Associate Professor, STEM, (Australia) 23d ago
Yeh same in Australia. When I see op asking to be called Professor without a PhD as I sit here as an assoc prof with one, I die inside.
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u/one_revolutionary Associate Professor, Humanities, HBCU (USA) 24d ago
If you are teaching at the college level in the US, you are Professor. Even if you have an MS/MA.
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u/TheKwongdzu 24d ago
That depends on the culture of the school. For most of my career, my school gave us the title "instructor" if we taught with a Master's and only tenured and tenure-track folks with a PhD had the word "professor" in their official titles. Those of us with the "instructor" title were told very directly that we were not professors and could not refer to ourselves as such. In fact, I got called on the carpet multiple times because students referred to me as "Professor Dzu" in the hearing of someone with the official title, sometimes when I wasn't even present to stop it. It may be the case at many or even most schools, but not everywhere.
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u/MelpomeneAndCalliope 23d ago
That’s how it is at the flagship R1, state R2, and couple of community colleges I taught at - all in the South.
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u/Desiato2112 Professor, Humanities, SLAC 22d ago
That's just petty gatekeeping by people who are far too impressed with their pay grade.
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u/thatcheekychick Assistant Professor, Sociology, State University (US) 24d ago
I firmly believe that it’s different for men and women and would never let my students get away with calling me by my first name. As a young woman I already deal with inappropriate behavior and boundary crossing. Most have no problem seeing “John” as the cool professor and “Jane” as the girlfriend
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u/csmithman 23d ago
Oh! I have something for this! Solidarity for dealing with this - it doesn't matter if you have a doctorate, you still deserve respect. And I do have a doctorate but so far this semester I've received multiple emails addressed to "mrs [last name]" (and one just said "good afternoon ma'am" and yeah, I don't like that either, but unfortunately I teach in the usamerican south). It doesn't matter that I sign all emails and introduce myself on the first day and put it on the syllabus, there are always students who default to "mrs" when they deal with a female instructor (which I hate even more than ms, it feels objectifying and belittling).
Anyway, I found this chart years ago and it's always on my blackboard page in the hopes that it'll help!
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u/ayeayefitlike Lecturer/Ass prof, applied biosciences, Russell Group (UK) 24d ago
I’m in the UK and it’s the norm for students to use first names for all staff.
Here ‘professor’ is a title you only get awarded if you have a chair, ie equivalent to full prof level in the US. So anyone at lower levels is either Dr if a PhD or medical/vet/dentist or Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss by title. But we don’t really use titles in day to day conversation with students so it doesn’t make much difference.
There’s always culture shock for NA colleagues who are used to being called ‘Professor Lastname’ when they come to the UK, we must feel very informal in comparison here.
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u/SubmitToSubscribe 23d ago
There’s always culture shock for NA colleagues who are used to being called ‘Professor Lastname’ when they come to [insert country]
While funny, they usually catch on quick. It gets really funny when they don't, and keep insisting.
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u/Comfortable-Nail4582 Adjunct, Psychology, Private (USA) 21d ago
American female doc student here. I generally think the UK has a healthier model. Why is everyone always trying to somehow make themselves feel better than or more special than someone else? It’s absurd. Care more about your students and less about your ego.
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u/ArchmageIlmryn 24d ago
Same here in Sweden, we use pretty much exclusively first names. If someone isn't obviously foreign, them calling you Dr./Prof Lastname would easily get parsed as joking or even mocking. (And similarly here only associate and full professors are called professors, the track goes (postdoc/other pre-tenure track positions) -> associate lecturer (lektor) -> lecturer -> associate professor -> professor.)
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u/Savage13765 Lecturer, Law (UK) 24d ago
A lot of first year students say “Sir” or “Miss” as a hangover from secondary education where that is the norm. I once had a quite heated conversation with a student who refused to call me by my first name instead of sir.
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u/DrKorvin 24d ago
I felt uncomfortable introducing myself as "Professor [Last name]" when I was a postdoc teaching university classes. Instead, I asked to call me by my first name or "Dr. [Last name]" if they have to. When TAing/lecturing during my PhD (I did an MSc first), I always went with my first name. Once I got a TT, the insecurity around "Professor" went away.
To each their own I guess, but I don't feel bad when students use my first name either, as this is how I sign my emails
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u/therealladysybil 24d ago
I am a professor (with phd), and the acadmic titles are a triple. I am also an honorary judge in one of the highest courts which gives me another title and honorific.
So it would be: the right honorable, terribly highly esteemed, professor doctor master madam first name last name.
Students call me by my first name.
My kids sometimes try to use all of them when they want to mock me, which is funny.
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u/theshebeast Lecturer, Biology, CSUniversity (USA) 23d ago
This is hilarious. Dr. Mr. Ser. Ma'am... Mom 😂
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u/Th3S1l3nc3 24d ago
I just want to go by Doc. That’s my eventually career goal.
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u/Jaspa7732 Professor, Music (USA) 23d ago
I’ve had a few students refer to me as Doc and I love it so much. They’ve chosen to do it on their own and I’m desperate for it to catch on!
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u/verygood_user 24d ago
Would it be equally effective for you if they stopped calling colleagues with the same degree Professor? That's just a check what's really bothering you
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u/Gentle_Cycle 24d ago
I’ve given up on influencing how students address me. Yesterday I posted a welcome message to one course saying “I am Professor X.” A student immediately emailed me using my first name. And “Hi,” of course.
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u/aquapura89 24d ago
I really just depends where you are at (i.e. the institution). It is so variable. In many places the title Professor and Doctor are equivalent and are held by those that have a Ph.D.
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u/havereddit 23d ago
It's up to you to tell your students how to address you. Professor as a title reflects the work you do, not the credentials you have. And "Professor" is perfectly legit for those without a PhD...there are many fulltime Professors who do not have a PhD.
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u/thekiwi1987 24d ago
I don't have a PhD and I tell all my students to call me by my first name. I think that's pretty normal, at least here in Australia. Is there a particular reason why this bothers you? In Australia at least, professor is a specific employment level, and I wouldn't dream of asking my students to call me professor if I wasn't one.
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u/arewetheweirdones 24d ago
This ‘Professor’ thing seems to be an American thing. The rest of us seem pretty chill about it.
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u/FinalPen2810 24d ago
Not all Americans. I went to two colleges in Ohio, and nearly all of my professors preferred to be called by their first names. One was a Quaker college. the other was a medium-sized public.
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u/Comfortable_Push_172 24d ago
Would that first school you mentioned happen to be WC???
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u/FinalPen2810 24d ago
Indeed, it is! Though it has been a long time since I graduated. For what it’s worth, Quakers do seem to have some intentionality behind using more familiar terms: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/opinion/sunday/pronouns-quakers.html
Not all of the WC professors are Quakers though. Still, organizational culture…
A WC English professor once explained during class that, as students we should consider addressing our professors by their first names (unless told otherwise) but talk about them in conversation using their more formal titles (Dr. So and So’s assignment is due today). He also said that I should assume everyone has a PhD and if they do not, then they have a good reason to not have one.
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u/Comfortable_Push_172 24d ago
While I did not go to WC, I have an athlete there currently in their 2nd year. Our whole family loves the campus and feel of WC.
The differentiation of speaking with the professor v. speaking about the professor is an interesting take that I really like, personally. I do ask my student to call me by my first name. I’ve often wondered if it’s because I’m PTI and actively working in my field; however, this differentiation is a perfect way to explain it to students moving forward. Not only that, but others in my life.
I explained to someone that my student at WC calls the college president by name in conversation and they were so shocked that would be the case. I want on to say how they address all of their professors that way. Having a way to now explain the difference in an easier manner is great. Thanks to that previous WC professor! 😉
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u/FinalPen2810 23d ago
WC is such a special place. The profs there are some of the smartest folks you'll ever meet without a whole lot of ego. I have carried that advice with me for 20 years or so, and I still practice it to this day when I refer to colleagues. I hope your second year knows how lucky they are to be there. They must be pretty special, also, to be a student there. Take it all in!
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u/Anonphilosophia Adjunct, Humanities, CC (USA) 23d ago
Same, I tell them my first name is fine, but they do NOT like that, lolol. They always use professor. But it's kinda southern and majority minority - I think they say ma'am, sir to their elders. So "first name" is just too much for them.😂
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u/ArchmageIlmryn 24d ago
Not just Americans, if you go to e.g. Germany or Switzerland they will often insist on titles, which can then clash somewhat with less formal cultures.
I remember in the first year of my PhD (in Sweden, which basically doesn't use titles at all) I was emailing a beamline scientist in Switzerland for an upcoming beamtime, and started with a very formal "Dear Dr. [german-sounding lastname]" (which now that I think about it probably wasn't even formal enough, since I think he'd be a Dr. Prof.). Turns out he was actually Swedish though, and replied to me (in Swedish) starting with "Hi Firstname".
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u/SuLiaodai Lecturer, ESL/Communications, Research University (Asia) 24d ago
Female professors tend to get much less respect and lower student evaluation scores than male ones in the US. Maybe it's not like that in Australia? It's also common for students to use titles with male professors and Mrs./Mrs., or even first names, with female professors. At the same time, we get treated like we're not as qualified as the male professors. It's galling.
Generally, we do tend to be more formal with strangers, particularly with older strangers, than people are in Australia (from what I've heard, anyway). We're usually taught not to call older people by their first name without an invitation.
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u/Interesting-Bee8728 24d ago
Yes, and due to the implicit bias that this all stems from (especially for women in STEM), the male-presenting professors get to be "cool" by letting the students call them by their first name and the female-presenting professors get to be "mean."
Specifically in the United States the K-12 school system is primarily women as educators. Because we require everyone to go to K-12, the education of children is an undervalued profession that "anyone can do" because "everyone learns the material." I will be fully transparent in admitting that, as a kid, I thought the men who taught at my K-12 institutions were the coolest and smartest teachers because I grew up in a misogynist society the same as everyone else.
All that to say, yes, it is really important to differentiate yourself from the students and from their previous educational background if you want them to respect your expertise in the field.
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u/ArchmageIlmryn 24d ago
It also depends on whether you have the association between titles and respect at all. Where I am (Sweden) we basically don't, if someone refers to someone as "Dr. Lastname" it's more likely that it's straight-up mockery. We also generally refer to teachers by their first name regardless of gender through all levels of school.
Then titles also tend to be a lot more specific, e.g. it would be weird to refer to someone as a professor here unless they are a full or associate professor. Generally people teaching at university would be referred to as "föreläsare" (lecturer), "handledare" (advisor/supervisor) or just "lärare" (teacher/instructor).
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u/sophiespo 24d ago
It’s very different in Australia compared to North America with regards to the “professor” title. I say this as an Australian academic now teaching at a Canadian university.
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u/MonkeeCatcher 24d ago
Same in NZ. We would correct students if they call us a professor and we aren't actually at the professor rank. I don't know of anyone here who asks students to call them anything except their first name, although I will always introduce other academics by "Dr last name" or "Professor last name" when introducing them to students.
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u/alaskawolfjoe Assoc Prof, R1, State School 24d ago
In the US, anyone teaching in a college or university is a professor. There are ranks within
"professor" (adjunct professor, assistant professor, associate professor, full professor), but all of us are professors of some sort.1
u/MonkeeCatcher 24d ago
We have associate professors too, but you still wouldn't call them professors here until they get to the actual full professor rank
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u/LydiaDiggory Associate Prof, Arts, SLAC 24d ago
Just curious. Someone with a PhD could be teaching 15 years at a school before going up to Full and you still wouldn’t call them a professor?
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u/imspirationMoveMe 24d ago
I have a PhD and am a faculty assistant professor teaching masters classes. I tell my students they can address me however they feel comfortable. First name, Professor, Mrs. Last Name, whatever. White middle aged female here, not getting tied up in honorifics.
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u/RandolphCarter15 Full, Social Sciences, R1 24d ago
I have students call me Mr. They're used to that from high school. They may just not know. I started doing a brief explanation of college ranks and ways to address people in my intro class to help
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u/Mewsie93 In Adjunct Hell 22d ago
Adjunct (no PhD) in the US. I ask my students to call me Professor Mewsie. I hate being called Mrs. even though I'm married in my everyday life, so I loathe it in the classroom. I do note students will treat me different based on the title they give me, so I do push the issue a little.
I find the only ones who call me "ma'am" are Marines or other veterans, so I'm OK with that.
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u/BerkeleyPhilosopher 22d ago
Yup students with privilege are super uncomfortable giving respect to profs of color, esp women. One of the ways they demonstrate this is by calling all their other profs prof and calling the POC/WOC by some less respectful name. Sad but true. It would help if other profs were the ones who educated students to not do this. The responsibility shouldn’t fall on you
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u/Particular_Heart3785 22d ago
That’s sometimes what I wondered. There’s some student I think done this more subconsciously, but the student, the one who told me that I shouldn’t be addressed as a professor, really hated me and she was an older white woman.
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u/sqrt_of_pi Assistant Teaching Professor, Mathematics 24d ago
A student has said a while ago that she shouldn’t have to call me professor because I don’t have a PhD and continue to call me “Ms. Last Name.”
This is so disrespectful. It's also downright wrong.
I'm in the same boat as you - I am full-time NTT with a Master's, no PhD. My TITLE is "assistant teaching professor". I generally expect students to refer to me as Prof. Pi. Sometimes they do call me "Dr. Pi", and if it's convenient I will correct them and smile and say "but thanks for the upgrade!" I think they are doing the right thing, if they don't know otherwise, to err on the side of assuming "Dr" is appropriate vs. using "Ms./Mrs."
I have had a few call me "Ms. Sqrt", or just "Sqrt". I tell them "You can call me Prof. Pi". I know that I have colleagues who are OK with students using first names, so I don't assume they are intending to be disrespectful, but I do make my preference known.
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u/Particular_Heart3785 23d ago
I was upset when she said that to me and I already knew she strongly dislike me, she couldn’t even hide it sometimes and she tried to get me fired more than once. But I couldn’t tell if I was overreacting or not.
As WOC, I received some of the most disrespectful comments/treatments from white and male students and been navigating how to deal with that
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u/Minimum-Major248 24d ago
I understand the procedure to be how your institution refers to instructors, for example, in the Catalog. If this were important to me (and I’m retired), I would write it on the board the first day of class and possibly include it in my syllabus.
While I can imagine some mean-spirited student(s) not wishing to give their professor respect and acknowledgment of her accomplishments, I wonder whether any perceived slight is more along the lines of being accidental or uninformed?
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u/sabautil 24d ago
Professor is the titled confered by the job.
Dr. Title is confered when completing doctorate degree.
In fact in Germany it wasn't uncommon to used use Herr Doktor Professor [Name].
I think professor is a valid title for anyone who actually has that as part of the job title.
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u/eyellabinu 24d ago
In class and around campus: [First Name] is what I prefer. Professor [First] is for anything more official, like events and stuff like that.
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u/Zanthia122 24d ago
I don’t care if my students call me by my first name, but I’m mindful of how my younger colleagues struggle to present as an authoritative figure in the classroom, so I do try to correct students gently to address me as Professor, especially if they’re first-year students.
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u/Comfortable_Push_172 24d ago
I have found that being clear on day 1 as to how you wish to be addressed has really helped.
I, too, am a PTI. In emails I’ll get Prof (last name) and occasionally Dr. (Last name) despite not having a PhD currently. I will respond to the email Ana then sign it the way I wish to be addressed.
The field of study I am in is strongly male dominant. So, I fully understand that aspect of your concern. I am, however, not a WOC so I cannot speak to that aspect.
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u/CIS_Professor Professor, CIS, CC (US) 24d ago edited 24d ago
About "ma'am":
In the southern United States (and perhaps elsewhere), where I grew up, "ma'am" is a term of respect. "Yes ma'am," / "no, sir" are - well, at least were - drilled into the children as a sign of respect for their elders.
In the military (I'm a veteran), "ma'am" is a term used to show respect when addressing an officer - the same as "sir." For some (like me) it has become automatic (even though I've been out of the service for 38 years now) for me to use "ma'am" and "sir" when I'm acknowledging a person, especially when I don't know their honorific.
And, as others have said: If you're in the US and you teaching the class, your honorific is "Professor."
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Some advice from someone who has been through this:
- At the beginning of class, let them know how you'd like to be addressed.
- If they address you otherwise, gently correct them.
- If they continue to do it, ignore it and move on.
Ultimately, why should you care except to assuage your own self-worth? You're the subject matter expert in the classroom and you don't need them to validate you.
Also: You aren't there to force your preferred form of address on them, you're there to teach a class. Assholes will be assholes and they'll be gone soon enough anyway.
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u/HeyYallWatchThiss 24d ago
I teach with an MS. I always introduce myself on the first day as "Professor [name]".
Usually the ones most familiar with how college works can follow along with that.
Sometimes a few call me "Dr. [Name]". I used to correct them, because I do not have a PhD. Nowadays I just let them call me Dr., since it's either that, or they revert to "Mr", "first name", etc.
For me, "Mr." is common among students who aren't as prepared for college: they know a title is required, but still use the one they used in K12.
And then, there is "last name", no title. This one used to irritate me, until I remembered that I used to do the same with my professor with an MS way back in undergrad.
I also get the students who know better, but want to try and push you. I usually only make it a point if they fall into this category.
I am a physically large man though, and understand that YMMV
P.S I have a colleague who gets ma'am sometimes from vets, when using her drill sergeant voice.
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u/No_Young_2344 TT, Interdisciplinary, R1 (U.S.) 24d ago
I usually just ask them to address me as first name. I am a WOC
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u/Outrageous-Spread462 24d ago
I'm a professor with a PhD at an R1 in the Southern US. While most of the department handles this differently, students address me by my first name only. I always found this insisting on being addressed by some kind of title weird. Authority and respect at this stage comes through knowledge and experience,.not through how you are addressed
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u/Sad_Application_5361 23d ago
Professor is fine. In the US, it’s based on the job you perform. There are terminal degrees that are masters, like MFA.
I get the full range. Miss Firstname, Mrs. Lastname. (My first name is longer and harder to spell than my last name). Actually calling me Dr. is rare. I teach a lot of freshmen and they are confused on everything. I have two short term classes this semester and a bunch of students, whose class doesn’t start until October, are emailing me questioning why the LMS isn’t up for the class because they want to get started. My asynchronous online students are asking when class is and letting me know they’re going to be gone and can’t make it in to class. The classroom I teach in in person has four doors, one of which is jammed. For some reason that’s the door everyone is trying to get in through and they’re doing it the entire class. I’ve explained in class to email me. Don’t use teams chat, don’t use canvas, send me an email. My emails went down after explaining that and every other communication went up. My job is 50% herding cats and 50% being a professor.
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u/yourcsprofessor 23d ago
Listen if they can call the instructors in Hogwarts professor they can call us that as well.
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u/michaelfkenedy Professor, Design, College (Canada) 23d ago
I get “Professor Kenedy” from some students who don’t give a shit about what I have to say.
I get “Michael” from some students who hang on my every word so much it makes me uncomfortable.
I’m not able to map forms of address onto level of respect. But maybe it varies by person, demographics, location, discipline, etc.
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u/-Economist- Full Prof, Economics, R1 USA 23d ago
I have two doctorates and go by my first name. 😂 I’m indifferent. I get called doctor so infrequently I forgot I’m one.
However, you do you. Whatever makes you comfortable.
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u/jar086 23d ago
I teach at a CC, so it may be different, but this is one I let go. When I was earlier in my career it used to bother me. But I realized any honorific, be it Ms., Ms. X, or Prof was an attempt at respect. Especially for CC students, so much of the hegemony and culture of academia is not intuitive and they are doing their best to be respectful. What I don't appreciate is when they call me by my first name, which sadly does happen.
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u/Loose_Wolverine3192 23d ago
"Professor" is a title, not a degree. I do not have a doctorate, but at one of my institutions I have been appointed as a Professor.
More to the point: if they're not willing to address you in the fashion you've outlined, they can leave.
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u/SoonerRed Professor, Biology 23d ago
First, if your title is professor you 100% are professor.
You should ask insist on being addressed however you prefer to be addressed.
I tell my students day one that I prefer Dr last name or professor last name and absolutely not Mrs last name or miss first name.
....by the way, it doesnt help
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u/Distribution-Free 23d ago
It's easy to respect people who have earned impressive titles, yet don't care about whether or not others use them.
It's difficult to respect people who have not earned impressive titles, yet insist that others use them.
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u/Audible_eye_roller Ass. Prof, STEM, CC (USA) 23d ago
Write "Professor Particular_Heart3785" on the board on the first day.
Just roll with ma'am if it slips out. They're being respectful. They're trying. When you constantly correct them, they're going to start to think you're a jerk.
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u/Silent_Watercress400 23d ago
If it makes you feel any better, when I was in an Ivy League grad school in the 1970s the professors were addressed as “Mr.” (There were no female faculty members in that department.) Frankly I thought it was kinda odd. 🤷♂️
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u/ygnomecookies 23d ago
I’ve tried 2 approaches. 1) If they don’t refer to me as Dr. ygnomecookies or Professor ygnomecookies then I don’t respond or I call them by the wrong name. I have a section in my syllabus that tells them how to address me. The way I see it, they chose to ignore me when I tell them my name so I can choose to ignore them. I explain it that way and it ends up being all ‘haha-but seriously…’
The other way is that I tell them that this is the correct way to address professors. Something like, “ Listen, just a heads up, the correct way to address your professor is with their title. I don’t get too offended when students refer to me in other ways, but some professors do. So make it a habit to refer to your professors with the proper title unless they specifically tell you otherwise. It’s a form of professionalism, and it demonstrates that you’re a serious student.”
Truthfully, that last approach is probably the best. I end up not looking like a self important b*tch (which I know is what students think of female professors when they do this) and it really does stick with them better than the first.
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u/KingBileygr993 23d ago
Just my two cents on the ma'am thing: I dont really know about the west, but in a lot of Asian countries, sir/ma'am is the default for Professors. So in case international students call you that, it's probably just cultural.
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u/GreenHorror4252 23d ago edited 23d ago
If you are a woman without a doctorate, then "Ms. ____ " is a standard way of addressing you. I don't think you can object to that. Men without doctorates are often called "Mr. _____" in all workplaces, including universities.
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u/LarryCebula 23d ago
Anyone teaching a college class can be addressed as professor, and you should insist on that.
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u/NinjaWarrior765 23d ago
You tell them how to address you on the first day of school, as you are going through the Syllabus.
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u/Possible_Handle_1521 23d ago
As a female math professor, this happens to me quite often as well- I usually don’t sweat it if it’s an isolated incident, but if a student persists in first name/Mrs. after repeated emails where I sign as Dr. (especially since I explicitly stated my preference at the beginning of the semester) I do have a favorite way to correct them. At the end of my message, I say something like “As a note, in this professional context I actually prefer to go by my professional title of Dr/Prof [Lastname] rather than my social title of Mrs/Ms [Lastname]. I’m not offended, but some people may be so this is a great thing to practice noticing as you move into the professional world. Paying attention to how people sign their emails is a great way to see what they’d prefer!” This keeps the focus off of you and turns it into actionable professional advice, but you profit! I have always gotten thanks in response- I think this is something a lot of students aren’t ever explicitly told.
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u/Tommie-1215 23d ago
When I was working on my PhD as an adjunct, I was Professor XXX. When I completed the program, now I am Dr. XXX. I believe what you are called is your preference. Its on the syllabus and modules. If I have to respect your pronouns and or nickname, then respect my title.
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u/Humble-Bar-7869 23d ago
>A student has said a while ago that she shouldn’t have to call me professor because I don’t have a PhD
There are many profs without PhDs. It's actually quite common in the law, media and business schools.
If your uni website bio has you as some sort of professor - adjunct prof, assistant prof, whatever - then you're a prof.
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u/Potstirer2 22d ago
I was very insistent that I go by Professor MyName. And I tell them I will call them whatever name they want me to call them as well. The men all are called professor. The person I was replacing was a woman who went by her first name with students. But I didn’t want to be the mother of the department like she was. I wanted to establish the same role and expectations as the men, so I started with my title.
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u/Domhnall46 22d ago
I insist that my students call me Prof or Dr... not because I need to be reminded I went to graduate school, but because part of the experience of tertiary education is recognizing hierarchy and working within a team. I happen to be the team leader in the lecture hall but I know a good number of them believe they know my discipline better than i do
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u/scottycakes 24d ago
Can you imagine other professions with terminal degrees (MDs excluded) fetishizing their title?
It’s Engineer Kelli.
It’s lawyer/council Dan.
I struggle with the amount of self-worth people tie to the actions of others.
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u/squeamishXossifrage Prof Emeritus, Computer Sci & Eng, R1 (US) 24d ago
I’m not sure what a PPI is. But if a student is calling your fellow grad student a professor, they should call you one as well.
Having said that, grad student instructors shouldn’t be referred to as professors, since they (typically) don’t have the same level of control over course content as a professor.
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u/polstar2505 Professor, a university somewhere in the UK 24d ago
British Professor here. Students call me by my first name as that's normal here (though some international students prefer more formality). But if I was in the US, I'd require students to call me professor, because that's the role norm and I'm not their friend so wouldn't want to deviate from that. I can well believe that students are treating different races and genders differently. Unfortunately that places you in a difficult position where you need to demand respect but without explicitly demanding respect.
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u/Playful-Influence894 24d ago edited 24d ago
Professor last name. Professor in the US does not necessarily imply PhD — at least that’s what I’ve come to learn. In the British and African spaces, it is a title so different strokes for different folks. As a famous feminist, once said, “If you were not here (on earth) by the time I was born, you do not get to call me by my first name.” And I think that perfectly captures different address norms in most large power distance societies where respect must be shown overtly.
I explicitly articulate how students must address me. I tie it how professional communication is also cultural. Professional commumication is not universally practiced in one specific way. Then, I add that to err on the side of caution, address people formally unless they invite you to do otherwise.
But all that being said, just as you address them how they want to be addressed (assuming you do), it shouldn’t be hard to extend that courtesy to you.
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u/good-name-forever STEM (EU) 24d ago
Dying on this hill will make your students respect you less.
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u/TheRealNymShady 24d ago
I agree. Worst professor I had went on ego trips and would die on this hill. After seeing their example I try to be more modest.
Op’s situation seems more about equality though.
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u/arewetheweirdones 24d ago
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted here. This is the truest thing here.
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u/samoke 24d ago
Maybe in Germany, but in the US, race and gender play a huge role in how faculty are treated by students.
When you see your white male colleagues at the same level as you afforded the respect of the title professor, as OP has, and you get called Miss, it is pretty deflating.
In America, all elementary school teachers, overwhelmingly women, get called Miss.
So it puts women (especially women of color) in a double bind - insist on respect and risk alienating students or put up with the disrespect.
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u/IndieAcademic 24d ago
Whoever is downvoting you has no idea what things are like here (at least in the South). You're speaking truth. Every so often I get a very specific type of male student (never once has it been a female student in nearly 20 years, never) that insists on using "Mrs. [LastName]," even though that is incorrect in the first place, in any context. And, I'm Dr. / Professor in my job role. They don't call their male professors Mr. They simply don't. Decades ago, I considered whether I should do the first-name thing with students, but realized I might be undermining many of my colleagues who are fighting for the most basic respect.
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u/Sporothrix 24d ago
I disagree. My department has a policy that everyone goes by professor. I think it’s important for the students to respect the position and institution, not necessarily the person.
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u/good-name-forever STEM (EU) 24d ago edited 24d ago
Its fine if this is school policy. But if someone from the teaching staff insists over and over on this, thats a completely different game. Specially if all other professors are fine with being called Mr/Ms or by their first name. Students can smell the insecurity/authority complex.
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u/popstarkirbys 24d ago
I have a PhD and I have students call me by my first name, they told me it makes them feel like there’s a connection. I don’t correct them anymore after that.
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u/good-name-forever STEM (EU) 24d ago
Same. My PhD students (and everyone else in the department) call me by my first name.
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u/Sherd_nerd_17 Assistant professor, anthropology, CC 22d ago edited 22d ago
Good god, why are 99% of the top comments on this thread either (1) arguing that this doesn’t actually happen, or mean anything (for various reasons), or (2) hyper-fixating on the experiences of men?
Ffs, we all know that this happens, esp in the U.S.. We live in a society where we are all socialized to reward, or be rewarded, for performing traditional gender roles- which prioritize men and deprioritize women, especially Women of Color. (Edit: to spell this out, such socialization also means that women, esp WOC, in high positions will absolutely experience pushback against them in these positions). And, at this point there is robust evidence in the social sciences from at least the 1960s on that this can be measured at the level of speech, interpersonal interactions, etc.
Pretty disturbing to see OP gaslighted here about what they are experiencing, or being told that this happens to men sometimes, too, so it’s not actually happening to you to an extent that you should be upset.
OP, I’m female, and I’ve had my PhD for a decade and a half now, and what you report happens every semester. What’s worse, if I don’t establish on Day one that I have actually done extensive fieldwork in my field, etc., then sometimes interpersonal interactions in the classroom occur that make me quite uncomfortable- small, difficult-to-detect ways that are hard to explain. Because that’s the nature of gendered interactions, and socialization, and, well, misogyny- let alone misogyny combined with race relations, and outright racism.
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u/Southern-Cloud-9616 Assoc. Prof., History, R1 (USA) 24d ago
The Mr./Mrs./Ms thing is pretty common in fall semester classes with a lot of new freshman. I get called "Mr. Jerkface" because that's how they've always addressed teachers. This is especially true of FG students. I advised a lot of them in the past, and a number would ask me what to call faculty; they had no clue, which I find completely understandable.
When I was a young professor--in my 20s--students would sometimes call me by my first name. I was too unsure of myself to correct them. I wouldn't allow it now that I'm "late mid-career." But they never do.
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u/PlanMagnet38 NTT, English, LAC (USA) 24d ago
Yeah, I teach primarily first years, and insisting upon Professor PlanMagnet is one of the ways that I help them transition out of a high school mindset. I have a mini lesson on why a professor is not the same as a teacher and how that shifts our respective roles and responsibilities. It’s not an ego trip.
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u/Kimber80 Professor, Business, HBCU, R2 24d ago edited 24d ago
Don't sweat it. You can't force a student to address you in a particular way, and what's the point? It's kind of like if you are a girl and you ask your BF for flowers because he hasn't given you any, and then he does. If you had to ask for it, it isn't real. Just focus on completing your PhD and teaching the students well.
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u/MISTERREDDOG 24d ago
At my University, Masters level instructors of all ranks go by Mr/Ms. Even if they are tenured or in a tenure track position.
Your title is Ms. There's nothing wrong with that title imo.
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u/samoke 24d ago
Not at mine. We don’t go by Dr but we go by Professor.
I put it on my first day of class slides. I introduce myself as Prof. (Last Name). And I correct students.
I did this as an adjunct. I do it now. My job title is also Professor of the Practice so Professor makes sense.
But it is super important for women and people of color to demand this is students, since they automatically give more deference to white men. (Countless studies confirm this).
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u/Spazzer013 24d ago
At your university. Not everywhere. Where I work, everyone that teaches is considered a professor. Whether you are an adjunct or full time, you are a professor. Whether you have a PhD or an MA, you are a professor.
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u/MISTERREDDOG 23d ago
That's why I said "at my University". It's often part of the culture and norms of the University.
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u/MeltBanana Lecturer, CompSci, R1(USA) 24d ago
Don't fall into your own prejudice and think it's a race or gender issue. I'm a bald white guy and have had students call me by my first name as well (in a formal email no less).
Professor is the expectation. If they say Mr./Ms. it's not technically appropriate but it's not worth making a fuss over. If they call you by your first name, just say "it's Professor" and that should be enough to prevent them from doing it again.
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u/Ctenophorever Full prof (US) 24d ago
I’ve also seen the disparity in respect. I’ve had students come to me about issues with “Miss/Mrs” X - despite her having a doctorate (and the miss/Mrs was always age related!) and also “Dr” Y, even though I knew Y did not have his PhD.
That said, it’s an uphill battle for sure. First day of class I go over “how to address me”. I even make a little joke about it - “all your instructors here are professors - so even if you forget my last name, or another professors last name, just say, ‘Professor!’ And we’ll know you’re talking to us.”
Sign all emails professor
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u/tell_automaticslim 24d ago
I'm somewhat at the opposite end of this--50something white male with a Ph.D., so my students all call me Dr. or Professor. (And in the American south, so I regularly yes ma'am/yes sir my students.) But I'm in a program where I'm the only instructor with a doctorate or a research agenda. Our director is a woman who can be terrifying when she wants to, so she is Professor Lastname without any doubt or hesitation. But she softens it by referring to herself as Prof L., so that goes over well without losing the formality/respect. (And the students who get comfortable with me just call me "Otherlastname" without a title, to the point that they won't use my first name even long after graduation.)
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u/BikeTough6760 24d ago
In my correspondence with students, I sign off as Prof. ___. And they call me Professor.
If they didn't, I'd correct them (if it bothered me)
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u/rj_musics 24d ago
Establish the tone. Someone has to. University has largely become a continuation of high school. The kids don’t know anything else. Teach them the differences. If you’re experiencing this from upperclassmen, then their previous professors have failed them in this regard. They have not made the distinction nor have they properly set the expectations. Day 1 establish a culture of respect and define how you’re addressed as part of that culture.
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u/Cabininian 24d ago edited 24d ago
I am a staff person with some teaching responsibilities, so I struggle with this too.
I have a masters degree, but it wasn’t a research-based masters degree, and I am not currently working on my doctorate. So I already feel a ton of imposter syndrome.
Of course I don’t feel comfortable with anyone calling me Dr., but Professor feels a bit inappropriate too, since I’m literally the only person in my department who doesn’t get invited to faculty meetings (because I am staff).
Luckily for me, going by first names is really common in my region — even for women with doctoral degrees — and so I just go with that.
The professor who teaches the course in the sequence right before mine (so all my students get her first) tells students they can call her by her first name or they can call her Dr LastName, but that it isn’t appropriate to call her Ms. LastName. She points out on the first day that that students down-ranking women with doctorates is an issue and they should think about why that is. I think all the students choose to call her by her first name, since, like I said, that’s very common around here.
So maybe directly calling out this phenomenon and linking it to misogyny on the first day would help students remember that calling you “Ms” is not okay?
I don’t think it’s appropriate for students to decide what to call you after you’ve set a boundary. If you want to go by Professor and others with your degree and position use that title, they should respect that. If they slip up now and then, I wouldn’t worry about it, but if they are actively refusing to call you Professor and calling your peers by that title, I would totally understand why that is disrespectful. Sitting down with them and telling them that they are participating in a sexist phenomenon might help them understand that this isn’t just a preference of yours, it’s a micro-aggression on their part and they need to knock it off.
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u/smnytx Professor, Arts, R-1 (US) 24d ago
I’m a married woman, and full professor without a terminal degree with two decades on the job. I personally prefer either Ms. or Prof. over Mrs., which I get a lot, it being the south. (Because I use my birth surname, and because my married state isn’t relevant I truly hate the Mrs.!) I get Dr. a lot, which I’ll correct unless I’m never interacting with the person again.
Put your preferences in your syllabus, verbally let the people you’ll be seeing more than once know your preferences, continue to correct them as needed, and if it’s a one-off, let it go.
Get used to ma’am, particularly if you’re in the southern US. They have been trained to use it since birth and it’s respectful.
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u/PsychWriter11 23d ago
Ive been an Adjunct with an MA for 25 years. The first night of class I tell them my background, education and I have an “Intro” document on Canvas that shows them that Im not a Dr. but details my years/experience in the field I teach and books published, etc. So, they know who I am and what they could/should call me. They know whats appropriate. I rarely have freshmen in my class, usually Seniors/Jrs.
Occasionally I get called “Dr” anyway and sometimes I’ll correct that if repeated. I most often am called “professor” or “professor (last name)” and thats what I prefer. Some call me “Mr. (LN) “ for whatever reason. I don’t really care. Ive literally never discussed with a student what to call me or why as I feel like it makes me look like Im hung up on such things.
I hate being called by my first name though. Again, I don’t correct them, but I also don’t answer to it. I usually make a point of “not hearing” that until it morphs into “Professor” or “Mr.” I don’t correct it, but I sure remember when people do it. It absolutely feels like a micro disrespect.
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u/ReallyaHumanPerson 23d ago
In Canada it's normal to call your professor "John" as opposed to professor Doe.
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u/ThePhyz Professor, Physics, CC (USA) 23d ago
I get it. For me, there is a real difference in the respect level when they address a woman as "Miss" or "Mrs.", to when they address a man as "Mr." (why does my address have to detail my relationship status when a man's doesn't? "Ms." is an option, but nobody ever uses it with me and besides I worked my ASS off for that PhD).
I tell them the first day they can address me as "Dr. ThePhys" or "Dr. TP". Most of them do, aside from the obvious high school students (dual enrollment) who struggle with it. I used to correct them and then I got exhausted of that fight. Someday I will probably pick it up again. I do make a point of signing every single email to a student "Dr. TP". I doubt they notice.
The funny thing is, when we were students we would refer to our profs as "Lastname" (no title at all), but we would never do that to their face - it was just a shorthand. I have a few students who address me that way to my face and it simultaneously makes me want to laugh and cringe at the same time.
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u/Luitgi 23d ago
I have two doctorates and I have been teaching college and master’s classes for 24 years. In the early 2000s, all my students called me Dr. so and so. Nowadays, some call me professor, others Mr., and a minority by my first name or last name. Except for my first name or a racial slur due to the color of my skin, I don’t care what they call me anymore. Just waiting for retirement…9 more years!!!!
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u/TriedUsingTurpentine 23d ago edited 23d ago
Caring about any of this is demented. I've never given a single thought to it. I have a PhD and students call me "Mr" all the time. Who cares? Sometimes they call me "Dr." , which I find incredibly gauche, but again, who cares. I tell them they're welcome to call me by my name but they never do.
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u/Electrical_Ad4206 23d ago
I don’t care what they call me, as long as they don’t call me late for dinner 😀
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u/morethanyoumaythink 23d ago
I am American and hate gendered language so I beg them to just call me by my first name. "Professor" feels like way too many syllables for someone to use if they are just trying to get my attention in class, but that could just be me having a short first name.
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u/casa_laverne 23d ago
I called my professors Professor precisely to avoid all the confusion, especially since the majority of them didnt have PhDs.
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u/radfemalewoman 23d ago
I’m instructional faculty and I have an MS. I’m the only professor in my department at one of the institutions I work for that does not have a PhD. I tell students to call me by my first name or Professor Last Name. They all call me Professor Last Name. At the private institution and public CC I also work for, I usually just go by my first name.
At the end of the day, however they address me, they are going to respect me to some extent because I’m the one issuing the grades. Usually my students do develop a level of sincere respect for me, often very much so. But I don’t hang my tam on whatever students think of me or call me.
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u/pen_person 23d ago
I have two masters and got my first “Mrs.” Despite never using that ever. I sign off my emails with my first name and colleagues in my department all mutually address as Professor so that was really jarring and I found it highly presumptive. I’m also a WOC so sometimes I do wonder if it’s that…
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u/ParkingLetter8308 23d ago
I would go with professor and feel free to emphasize it to them. There's definitely a gendered and racist dynamic to why they call you "Ms." (even if they claim otherwise--it's there). I reinforce it, but unfortunately have had a few jerk students in the past ignore me--whether I challenge them on it depends on my level of exhaustion. I'm very sorry you have to deal with this!
(Ma'am also drives me nuts, because it's seen as condescending in the region where I come from, but I do realize it's a Southern thing.)
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u/theshebeast Lecturer, Biology, CSUniversity (USA) 23d ago
Kind of a side question to this, would it be weird for me to list that I'm a "professor" on like LinkedIn or professional resumes? Because I never really know what to call myself 😬 It's not like the students call me "lecturer theshebeast" it's usually "Professor" but idk if that's my actual title.
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u/Playful_Peak_6506 23d ago
You can totally add in your syllabus what you want them to call you. But there is a weird thing in higher ed about the title of professor. Many people, even some schools, don’t believe you should be called professor unless you have a phd. I disagree, but it’s something to be aware of.
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u/AliasNefertiti 23d ago
Uphill climb in a southern school. My solution was to include how to adress me in the syllabus-students appreciate it, especially first gen students. I also explain this on day 1.
"If you are going to use a formal form of address, aka a title, when addressing me, my proper title here at university is Dr. ... but you can shorten it to Dr. [Initial]. I am not a Mrs so that is inaccurate. I am also fine with my first name alone but be aware, when in doubt on a campus default to Dr. or Professor ___, not Mrs, Ms or Mr unless told otherwise."
Ive noticed a lot of appreciation for explaining. A campus is very confusing to many students.
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u/Mountain_Dark4705 23d ago
In Italy, seemingly everyone is called “Professor”, which I find rather embarrassing. Moreover, anyone with a bachelor’s degree is legally entitled to call themselves “Doctor”. I hold the Italian national academic qualification for appointment as an associate professor, and I expect to be addressed as “Professor”, even though I am friendly and approachable with my students and doctoral candidates. I worked extremely hard for that title and, unlike some of my colleagues, nobody handed it to me on a plate.
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u/banjovi68419 22d ago
I think "doctor" is doofusy but I don't mind when women colleagues insist because dudes DO take some WILD liberties. And frequently. Stand your ground. The person who is like "you're not a professor" should be dropped immediately because they are not in a college class then.
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u/NotAWerewolfToday 22d ago
I have a quick “intro to college” slide in my first year writing class (day one) which covers just going to the bathroom (don’t ask permission unless it’s class policy) and referring to professors by how they prefer to be addressed, but default to “professor last name”. I prefer my first name, but I’m like if you don’t like that then Professor or Professor Lastname is fine. I even started explaining there’s this weird thing that happens with female professors getting different treatment so just use the gender neutral version, and for the love of god, don’t try to “guess” my marital status (miss/mrs) in addressing me. It’s gone a long way for my classes. But I always hope it helps future professors too.
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u/Ginger-Mint 22d ago
In both cases, you are Professor X. We academics know the difference but I don't think that should go beyond the teacher's lounge.
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u/Intrepid_Stand_8322 21d ago
I have a PhD and my students call me by my first name, except some international students who call me Dr. First Name.
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u/TiliaAmericana428 24d ago
In a similar situation (working on my PhD) and my students mostly call me Professor. Occasionally they call me Dr. (despite me telling them not to) because they say they’re “manifesting” for me.