Should I put Dr. before prof names in a personal statement?

[InquilineKea]

Or does it not matter much?

[che psyra psyra]

I did, I think it shows more respect.

[1Q84]

But... which one is preferable? Dr. X or Prof. X?

[TakeruK]

In my opinion, Prof. X is preferable because, in my opinion:

1. Prof. is a harder title to get than Dr. -- the latter "only" requires a PhD. In general, all professors have PhDs but not all PhDs are professors. (Although Prof. is not a protected title so technically, any school can grant that title to anyone it wants).

2. Most professors don't like being called Doctor and reserve that title for people with MDs.

However, I know in some countries, such as Germany, the "Dr" title is very respected!

For SOP purposes, I think it would be wise to use some sort of title. But I don't think any application will be decided on whether you used "Dr." or "Prof."

[1Q84]

1. Prof. is a harder title to get than Dr. -- the latter "only" requires a PhD. In general, all professors have PhDs but not all PhDs are professors. (Although Prof. is not a protected title so technically, any school can grant that title to anyone it wants).

Oh, you are wise. I didn't even think of that. Thanks!

[wildviolet]

I used Professor in my statement of purpose. Most professors I know do not like to be called Doctor. My advisor doesn't even have PhD after his name in his email signature! He is a very modest person, though. Others I know may put PhD after their name but not "Dr. X."

When my 10-year-old neighbor asked me why I was moving, I said that I was going back to school to get my "doctorate" degree. She replied: "Oh, that's so cool, you're going to save lives!" Um, I guess in a way...

[Dal PhDer]

This is a really interesting thread....

Back in undergrad about .....8 years ago...a professor - who did not have his PhD- told my class that he should be addressed as Prof. rather than Dr., and that in the future students should address all PhDs as Dr. and all teaching non-PhD's as Prof's.

I've gone by this advice in most cases...but reading TakeruK's post, I have to rethink this...I always assumed Dr. was more 'uppity/respectful'(?) than Prof...but I think I may be completely wrong about that!

[Chasely]

I agree with TakeruK. There are farm more PhDs (Drs.) than there are Professors. I think calling a professor Professor is a subconscious nod to all the hard work that they had to do during and after their PhD in order to get a TT job.

Of course then there are the real Drs. I doubt anyone outside of academia worries about this too much

[Dal PhDer]

Of course then there are the real Drs. I doubt anyone outside of academia worries about this too much

I chuckled at this!

My best friend is starting med school in 2 weeks....we already have joking banter about how will be the real doctor between us!!

[TakeruK]

Back in undergrad about .....8 years ago...a professor - who did not have his PhD- told my class that he should be addressed as Prof. rather than Dr., and that in the future students should address all PhDs as Dr. and all teaching non-PhD's as Prof's.

I think, in general, most people think of Profs as a higher rank than Dr.; but your example perfectly fits what I was trying to say about "professor" being an unprotected title, so schools can give that title to anyone, and colloquially, it's often used for any instructor at the college level.