Welcome to the 2013-2014 Cycle

[IRToni]

Q: I sent the info on my scholarship to various professors/assistants (depending on whether I had been in touch with them before etc.). Several of the professors wrote back using my first name, and then signing Luke or sth. like that (name obscured to keep their anonymity). If I was to send them another email (e.g. when they inform me of their decision to admit me and I'm replying to explain how insanely happy I am, and how I was weeping all over my keyboard, which is why my spelling sucks...), should I address them by their first name or stick to professor?

[boazczoine]

Q: I sent the info on my scholarship to various professors/assistants (depending on whether I had been in touch with them before etc.). Several of the professors wrote back using my first name, and then signing Luke or sth. like that (name obscured to keep their anonymity). If I was to send them another email (e.g. when they inform me of their decision to admit me and I'm replying to explain how insanely happy I am, and how I was weeping all over my keyboard, which is why my spelling sucks...), should I address them by their first name or stick to professor?

 

Professor.

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Q: I sent the info on my scholarship to various professors/assistants (depending on whether I had been in touch with them before etc.). Several of the professors wrote back using my first name, and then signing Luke or sth. like that (name obscured to keep their anonymity). If I was to send them another email (e.g. when they inform me of their decision to admit me and I'm replying to explain how insanely happy I am, and how I was weeping all over my keyboard, which is why my spelling sucks...), should I address them by their first name or stick to professor?

 

If they have only signed their first name in that letter, go ahead. Otherwise, start formal and let them break the barrier.

 

All the best,

 

Luke

 

Luke Brady

Professor of International Buttkicking

UC, Hollywood

"Come at me bro - and please consider the environment before printing this e-mail."

 

To this, I'd respond: "Luke,

 

Hi..."

[boazczoine]

If they have only signed their first name in that letter, go ahead. Otherwise, start formal and let them break the barrier.

 

All the best,

 

Luke

 

Luke Brady

Professor of International Buttkicking

UC, Hollywood

"Come at me bro - and please consider the environment before printing this e-mail."

 

To this, I'd respond: "Luke,

 

Hi..."

 

Gosh, I would not. Most of my professors in law school signed their names informally but I wouldn't have dreamed of calling them by the first name until they told me--which was always after graduation. Going with professor risks nothing, going with a first name risks offense.

[chaetzli]

Q: I sent the info on my scholarship to various professors/assistants (depending on whether I had been in touch with them before etc.). Several of the professors wrote back using my first name, and then signing Luke or sth. like that (name obscured to keep their anonymity). If I was to send them another email (e.g. when they inform me of their decision to admit me and I'm replying to explain how insanely happy I am, and how I was weeping all over my keyboard, which is why my spelling sucks...), should I address them by their first name or stick to professor?

If the person only wrote "Luke": Luke

If the person wrote "Luke Fancypants": Prof. Fancypants

If neither applies and it is a senior scholar: Prof. Fancypants -> at my school some senior people demand that even the assistant profs call them Prof. Fancypants

 

Edited February 5, 2014 by chaetzli

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Gosh, I would not. Most of my professors in law school signed their names informally but I wouldn't have dreamed of calling them by the first name until they told me--which was always after graduation. Going with professor risks nothing, going with a first name risks offense.

 

Signing with your first name is an invitation for the recipient to use your first name.

 

Unless you're in Germany, apparently. I sign with my first name and receive "Lieber Herr CoffeeBlack." 

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

at my school some senior people demand that even the assistant profs call them Prof. Fancypants

 

On the one hand, sure, they've earned. On the other hand... Snobs.

[boazczoine]

Signing with your first name is an invitation for the recipient to use your first name.

 

Unless you're in Germany, apparently. I sign with my first name and receive "Lieber Herr CoffeeBlack." 

 

Strongly, strongly disagree with the invitation notion from experience in and outside of academia, but if an individual is going to get that uptight about titles anyways maybe its good to mess with them. Unless you are really hoping to get on that person's good side.

[IRToni]

Signing with your first name is an invitation for the recipient to use your first name.

 

Unless you're in Germany, apparently. I sign with my first name and receive "Lieber Herr CoffeeBlack." 

 

In Germany, you need a very specific invitation before saying "du", and it needs to come from a specific person, according to certain rules. Drives me nuts, especially as in most work environments, you'll have some people using first names, and some people using last names (and maybe even some people using first names and "Sie"), which makes communication awkward!

[anxious2151]

Gosh, I would not. Most of my professors in law school signed their names informally but I wouldn't have dreamed of calling them by the first name until they told me--which was always after graduation. Going with professor risks nothing, going with a first name risks offense.

 

I'd agree with this, better safe than sorry. No one's going to feel offended that you address them by professor. Profs have addressed pretty strongly at my undergrad institution.

.

at my school some senior people demand that even the assistant profs call them Prof. Fancypants

 

Now that's just going to far...

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

In Germany, you need a very specific invitation before saying "du", and it needs to come from a specific person, according to certain rules. Drives me nuts, especially as in most work environments, you'll have some people using first names, and some people using last names (and maybe even some people using first names and "Sie"), which makes communication awkward!

 

This drives me nuts. And in the political science department I'm currently in, they're very informal outside of the classroom. "Sie" in class, "du" in the office.

Edited February 6, 2014 by TakeMyCoffeeBlack

[tinkerbell]

Hey!

 

I've been following this thread for some days now so I figured I'd just join.

It's my first time applying for grad school programs and I've never thought anxiety would be this hard to handle.

Reading you all makes me feel a little bit better as I realize I'm not the only one struggling with the suspense, so thanks for sharing!

[veritaserum]

For anyone still wondering about Duke, I emailed the Graduate Coordinator there and this is her out of office message:

 

"If you are inquiring about the status of your PhD application, the admissions committee members have made their decisions. Those applicants offered admission have been notified. MA applications are currently under review."

 

Edit: I also reached out to UCLA, will update if I get a response.

Any news yet? Just noticed that another post went up on the Results page, via e-mail from the graduate school. *dare we hope?*

 

Edit: Welcome to the conversation, tinkerbell! Nice choice on the username

Edited February 6, 2014 by veritaserum

[boazczoine]

Hey!

 

I've been following this thread for some days now so I figured I'd just join.

It's my first time applying for grad school programs and I've never thought anxiety would be this hard to handle.

Reading you all makes me feel a little bit better as I realize I'm not the only one struggling with the suspense, so thanks for sharing!

 

Hello! I know what you mean...I didn't think I would be this neurotic at all.

[xuejia]

Agreed. Continue to be formal until you are explicitly implored to do otherwise (e.g. "You know, you can call me Luke instead of Prof. Fancypants." "Okay, thank you Luke").

Ditto. Err on the side of decorum.

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

Y'all are sticks in the mud.

 

On a related note: this is a very important topic, actually. And one that I struggle with every time a professor writes me. Worth asking: what will you expect of students when you're in the professor shoes? Perhaps more importantly, what type of shoes are professor shoes?

[boazczoine]

Y'all are sticks in the mud.

 

On a related note: this is a very important topic, actually. And one that I struggle with every time a professor writes me. Worth asking: what will you expect of students when you're in the professor shoes? Perhaps more importantly, what type of shoes are professor shoes?

 

Well, we've already established that their pants are of the fancy variety.

[strangepeace]

Any news yet? Just noticed that another post went up on the Results page, via e-mail from the graduate school. *dare we hope?*

 

Edit: Welcome to the conversation, tinkerbell! Nice choice on the username

 

Unfortunately I haven't heard back from the grad advisor I emailed UCLA yet. I'm not totally confident that the contact information on their website is up to date, so that might be why... :/

[veritaserum]

Y'all are sticks in the mud.

 

On a related note: this is a very important topic, actually. And one that I struggle with every time a professor writes me. Worth asking: what will you expect of students when you're in the professor shoes? Perhaps more importantly, what type of shoes are professor shoes?

 

Boat shoes? Or maybe Birkenstocks during the summer... Or flats?

 

Unfortunately I haven't heard back from the grad advisor I emailed UCLA yet. I'm not totally confident that the contact information on their website is up to date, so that might be why... :/

 

Oh dear! lol. Maybe they've just been hit with a high volume of e-mails though.

[boazczoine]

UIUC up.

[TorrentOfArdentPathos]

Y'all are sticks in the mud.

 

On a related note: this is a very important topic, actually. And one that I struggle with every time a professor writes me. Worth asking: what will you expect of students when you're in the professor shoes? Perhaps more importantly, what type of shoes are professor shoes?

 

I am of the "casual, first-name basis" perspective once a professor has signed an email with their first name, but I strongly value a casual, open relationship with an advisor.  I may be doing it more to signal the kind of a relationship I want than because I think its the social convention.  

 

When the "professor shoes" on are the other foot, they won't be:  I'll be so casual with my students that I won't even be wearing shoes!

[lonestarflag]

Meh. Most in my department view it as, "If you're doing research with us, we're all on the same level." That being said, my research advisor told me over coffee once while we were discussing my graduate school plan that if I didn't start calling him by his first name very soon, he was going to lose his shit and just cuss me out one day until I called him by his first name. Of course, he also hates how everyone here (he says it's a southern thing) calls him "sir". But I digress. 

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

I am of the "casual, first-name basis" perspective once a professor has signed an email with their first name, but I strongly value a casual, open relationship with an advisor.  I may be doing it more to signal the kind of a relationship I want than because I think its the social convention.  

 

When the "professor shoes" on are the other foot, they won't be:  I'll be so casual with my students that I won't even be wearing shoes!

 

A very popular professor, very accomplished scholar, and just so happened to be my Fulbright Program Adviser at my undergraduate program was of this sort. He insisted his students refer to him by his first name, and I'm sure he walked around without shoes from time to time. The first time I went to him for advisement during the Fulbright process, I approached his office - with a see-through meditating, life size figure in the doorway - and sat in what looked like a street curb la-z-boy (it was incredibly comfortable). He offered me coffee before putting his sandaled feet up on the desk and going through my statements.

[Orlien]

I've always erred on the side of formality in terms of referring to my professors. I'm at that weird place where if I'm talking to current grad students about a prof, I use the professor's first name, but when I talk to the professor it's always "Professor _".

 

I don't know - I think the calculus for professors is different based on their level of perceived authority. I was reading a gender studies paper that talked about some of the difficulties of being a female prof, and one of the things that stood out was that students tended to be much more informal/disrespectful towards female profs (I'm wondering if that is also the case for profs of color).

Edited February 6, 2014 by Orlien

[Poli92]

Perhaps more importantly, what type of shoes are professor shoes?

 

Oxfords. 

 

...Ba-dum-tiss!