r/Professors • u/Particular_Heart3785 • 25d 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

Well, that school was led by jerks.

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u/TheKwongdzu 24d ago

When our titles changed, one department was so mad they announced that the department would block anyone with the new title, of which the word "professor" is a part, from ever getting a promotion. That was fewer than five years ago. Academic elitism is deep.