Addressing professors by their first names

[guinevere29]

I am a first year student in a PhD program. I came directly out of undergrad, so I am also on the young end of things age-wise, and at the beginning of the semester I erred on the conservative side and addressed all my emails to professors as "Professor _____," though in responses my professors have generally signed with their first names. It is also fairly typical that graduate students call professors by their first names in my department, especially the older students in the department. What I'm wondering is: current grad students, do you/when did you transition into calling professors by their first names? Can I generally assume it's fine to address them by their first names in the future?

[Monochrome Spring]

Even as an undergraduate, I address my research advisors by their first names as soon as I feel like we have an open line of communication for projects, and as long as there are no hostilities. You can also see what other students in your program or cohort address the professor as. I say that yes, it's fine to address the professor by his/her first name in the future.

[fuzzylogician]

I've always addressed all of my professors by their first names, as does everybody else in my program. The only weirdness arises when speaking in non-English languages that distinguish familiar and formal pronouns (and corresponding verbal agreement), where I would use the professor's title+last name in the other language, but their first name in English. We quickly established that the familiar forms could be used, but honestly without this context it would be very odd. Basically my suggestion is to either follow what others are doing; if you're unsure, just ask. 

[ion_exchanger]

I am still getting used to this trend, and it still makes me a bit uneasy. I generally call them Dr/Professor X until they say to address them by their first names.

[Lisa44201]

In undergrad, my professors would often refer to each other by their first names when in conversation with me; I took this as an okay to do the same, but I would not address professors directly by their first names. Even now as a PhD student, when I e-mail my undergrad profs, I still address them directly as Dr. _____________. I believe I have the option of addressing my mentor at my Master's program by his first name, but I would only do that if we met in a social situation (i.e., the local pub) - in a University setting, I address him as Dr. _______.

[Eigen]

I usually vary it depending on the situation. 

 

If we're sitting around chatting and drinking coffee/beer? First names or nicknames. 

 

If I'm dropping by their office to ask for a favor? If they're close, first names, if not, Dr X. 

 

I figure erring on the side of formality when asking for a favor/letting them know an undergrad broke one of their instruments can't hurt. 

[danieleWrites]

Emily Post roolz. The general etiquette when it comes to addressing someone is to use the last name until invited to do so otherwise either directly or indirectly. If a person introduces themselves or is introduced by their first name, that's an invitation. I have one professor who said grad students use her first name because we're colleagues. I have another who is Dr. ____ only to students, and first name to other faculty.

 

It's best to err on the side of etiquette in a new situation.

Edited November 18, 2013 by danieleWrites

[biotechie]

My professors got fed up with me calling them Dr. ________ within the first few days of me working for them as an undergrad and wouldn't let me call them anything but their first names. At my new PhD school, I'm finding that some professors like to be called Dr. and others prefer their first names. I'm playing the "wait and see what they tell me their preference is" game right now.

Edited November 20, 2013 by biotechie

[TakeruK]

I have always called profs by their first name, even during undergrad. After about my second year of undergrad, my profs almost always introduced themselves as "First Name Last Name" or sometimes just "First Name" on the first day of class. Very rarely does a prof in my field introduce themselves as "Prof. X" or "Dr. X", except for during the super large first year classes.

 

I would use Prof. X. when talking to a prof for the very first time and usually they would let me know what they prefer to be called. I would also use "Prof X." when talking to another prof (Prof Y) even if I was on first name basis with Prof X, unless I know both Prof X and Prof Y pretty well that Prof Y would know I am also on first name basis with Prof X. I might also use "Prof X" when referring to the professor of the course for which I am TAing and I'm talking to students in that course (and if that prof has not established first name basis with our students). 

[juilletmercredi]

In undergrad, I called my professors by their first name.  In both of my current departments all of the doctoral students call all of the professors by their first names, and vice versa.  It operates on that logic - the professors consider us to be junior colleagues, and they call each other by their first names, so why not us?

 

The undergrads all call them Professor ____, which leads to some interesting situations over email and in personal communications with undergrads (at this point, I always forget to call people by their last name, and I sometimes even blank on what their last names are).  The master's students vary, depending on whether they work as RAs or just take classes.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

This is kinda off topic from the rest of the replies, but I think signing an email with a first name is common. For example, I'd send emails to grad schools I was interested in just to ask basic questions about the application and they would almost all reply with their first name. That doesn't mean I would dare call them by their first name. I don't even know them. 

[CageFree]

I wonder if it's dependent upon department culture. Profs in my department always sign emails to individual students with their first names (or even nicknames). I would only address a professor in my department as Dr./Prof. _____ if it were someone I don't normally talk to and thus isn't someone who would know who I am.

[cultsoc]

I think it definitely depends on the department culture. In my MA program, we addressed the professors as "Dr.______". In my current program, everybody is on first-name basis. My current program is also a zillion times better and friendlier than my previous one, so I think a lot of it has to do with departmental culture and how friendly the environment is.

[Tall Chai Latte]

Haha, OP reminds me of how I was back in undergrad. When I was doing research in my ex-PI's lab as a junior/senior, I was never sure how to address my PI. Do I call him Dr. So-and-so? Professor So-and-so? Or… His first name (that was a little too intimate… hmm…)? I ended up going as "um…" and my PI knew I had something to tell him. Haha. 

 

After I started grad school (also came straight out of undergrad), everyone around me addresses the faculty by their first name, and they introduced themselves to the new students by their first name. That was when I switched over to first-name basis. But still, when I meet my old boss, I still go "um…" 

Edited December 1, 2013 by Tall Chai Latte

[MsDarjeeling]

I don't like addressing professors informally.  I prefer Dr. Last Name or Professor Last Name because its respectful and a professional environment.  When in undergrad that was the standard and it worked for me, but in my Master's program its ok to use first names.  Grudgingly I'll go with Dr. First Name or Professor First Name, but I'd rather not.

[TakeruK]

I don't like addressing professors informally.  I prefer Dr. Last Name or Professor Last Name because its respectful and a professional environment.  When in undergrad that was the standard and it worked for me, but in my Master's program its ok to use first names.  Grudgingly I'll go with Dr. First Name or Professor First Name, but I'd rather not.

 

I would argue that using Dr. Last Name or Professor Last Name does not create an environment that is mutually respectful and professional. I feel that academia relies on independent thought and value of ideas, not position or rank. That is, if the idea is correct or interesting, it shouldn't matter if it came from the department head, a newly hired professor, a graduate student, or even an undergraduate student. However, there is already a very steep inherent hierarchy between professors and graduate students and I feel that the practice of calling profs by "Prof X" or "Dr X" while students are addressed by first names would reinforce the hierarchy and hinder intellectual discussions. Unless you are proposing that you would prefer it if everyone was addressed by their last name (i.e. Prof X, or Ms. X or Mr. X etc") then I would suppose that is equal enough. But I would argue that this is equivalent to calling everyone by their first names -- it's just a different "culture".

[rising_star]

I would argue that using Dr. Last Name or Professor Last Name does not create an environment that is mutually respectful and professional. I feel that academia relies on independent thought and value of ideas, not position or rank. That is, if the idea is correct or interesting, it shouldn't matter if it came from the department head, a newly hired professor, a graduate student, or even an undergraduate student. However, there is already a very steep inherent hierarchy between professors and graduate students and I feel that the practice of calling profs by "Prof X" or "Dr X" while students are addressed by first names would reinforce the hierarchy and hinder intellectual discussions. Unless you are proposing that you would prefer it if everyone was addressed by their last name (i.e. Prof X, or Ms. X or Mr. X etc") then I would suppose that is equal enough. But I would argue that this is equivalent to calling everyone by their first names -- it's just a different "culture".

TakeruK, this is an interesting perspective. I think that it does matter whether ideas come from the department head or a grad student since there are very different understandings of not only what has been done but how institutions, like universities, work given their vastly different experiences. And, to be quite honest, graduate students are not and never will be on the same level as tenure-track faculty. Graduate students are in training.

 

Also, what do you think should happen with undergraduates? Should we have them call all of their instructors, whether tenured faculty or first year PhD student, either by their first name or by Dr X? I get your broader point about not wanting there to be a hierarchy but I don't think that's realistic at all given how academia works.

[Sigaba]

I would argue that using Dr. Last Name or Professor Last Name does not create an environment that is mutually respectful and professional. I feel that academia relies on independent thought and value of ideas, not position or rank. That is, if the idea is correct or interesting, it shouldn't matter if it came from the department head, a newly hired professor, a graduate student, or even an undergraduate student. However, there is already a very steep inherent hierarchy between professors and graduate students and I feel that the practice of calling profs by "Prof X" or "Dr X" while students are addressed by first names would reinforce the hierarchy and hinder intellectual discussions. Unless you are proposing that you would prefer it if everyone was addressed by their last name (i.e. Prof X, or Ms. X or Mr. X etc") then I would suppose that is equal enough. But I would argue that this is equivalent to calling everyone by their first names -- it's just a different "culture".

 

If one stipulates that the "correct" or "interesting" idea is what matters, then one can turn your POV on its head. That is, if a graduate student calls professors "Professor" or "Sir" or "Ma'am," those conventions don't matter if the graduate student presents ideas that are "correct" or "interesting." Which, as it happens, describes my approach to addressing professors and presenting ideas. (Welllllll, the "interesting" part [sometimes]   , if not always the "correct" part.  )

[TakeruK]

TakeruK, this is an interesting perspective. I think that it does matter whether ideas come from the department head or a grad student since there are very different understandings of not only what has been done but how institutions, like universities, work given their vastly different experiences. And, to be quite honest, graduate students are not and never will be on the same level as tenure-track faculty. Graduate students are in training.

 

Also, what do you think should happen with undergraduates? Should we have them call all of their instructors, whether tenured faculty or first year PhD student, either by their first name or by Dr X? I get your broader point about not wanting there to be a hierarchy but I don't think that's realistic at all given how academia works.

 

This is true and I agree that I was being a bit idealistic to say that ideas should be considered without any thought to who presented the idea. Even if we wished to proceed this way, I think we all have inherent biases that would be tough to overcome (e.g. a radical idea from an established professor will probably gain more attention than the same from an unknown grad student). 

 

But maybe I was not as clear as I wanted to be about grad students and tenured faculty on the same level. What I meant was that ideas should be treated with the amount of respect warranted given the past experience an academic may have had with that presenter's work. That is, it's reasonable to be more initially interested in the ideas coming from the superstar in the field than an unknown new person. But, it's also important to recognize when ideas are correct and interesting and if so, then it should not matter who came up with the idea. If the idea is wrong or flawed, it would eventually be demonstrated to be so with further investigation -- this is how research works, I think. 

 

Maybe an example is better. Let's say my department has a tenured prof giving a departmental talk about their latest research. But a graduate student in the room realises there is potentially a flaw in the prof's described methods/theories because of what the student has tried in the past, or read about etc. In the ideal case, the student should be able to discuss this with the professor and they shouldn't feel like "oh well, the prof must know what he/she is talking about because they're a prof and I'm just a graduate student". So, depending on the talk style, the student should be feel comfortable interrupting the talk to ask a question (if that's the style of the talk) or bring it up in the question period after the talk. 

 

But, if there is a strong hierarchy and a pattern of always calling professors by Dr., Prof., Sir/Ma'am etc. (respectable titles!) while profs just call students by their first name, this, in my opinion, would reinforce the "Professors are always smarter and better than I am. I am wrong. They are right. I should be quiet." mentality. It's true that professors are going to be right more often than students -- like you said, they have all this training, experience, and wisdom from making it this far. In the above example though, if the student does not feel comfortable speaking up, it's a lose-lose situation for everyone. If the student was right, then there is a missed opportunity to move the research in the right direction. If the student was wrong, then this is a missed opportunity for the student to learn why he/she was wrong. Also, in either case, it's a missed opportunity for someone else in the audience who may have thought the same thing, or if the resulting discussion might have sparked a different idea.

 

In my opinion, research thrives when there is intellectual discussion where everyone is made to feel as comfortable contributing as possible. It's my opinion that a hierarchy hinders this process and eliminating the honorifics/titles is an easy step towards reaching this state. But I do agree that it is unrealistic to completely eliminate it. And I don't think it's completely necessary to 100% eliminate this because it's true that the professors have worked and earned their benefits and qualifications.

 

Finally, for the undergraduates, I think it's okay for them to call instructors by their first name. From my very first college lecture, every single one of my professors have introduced themselves as "My name is Prof. FirstName LastName, but you should call me FirstName" or some variant of that. If a prof requests that I address them by Prof X, I would obviously respect their wishes, but my opinion is that academia a first-name basis promotes the sharing of ideas. But I would be interested to hear other opinions!  

 

If one stipulates that the "correct" or "interesting" idea is what matters, then one can turn your POV on its head. That is, if a graduate student calls professors "Professor" or "Sir" or "Ma'am," those conventions don't matter if the graduate student presents ideas that are "correct" or "interesting." Which, as it happens, describes my approach to addressing professors and presenting ideas. (Welllllll, the "interesting" part [sometimes]   , if not always the "correct" part.  )

 

That is a good point too -- I am interpreting your point as since in academia, "correct/interesting ideas" is the currency we use, then titles are meaningless and it shouldn't matter if we address our profs as "Professor" (correct me if I'm wrong!). So I agree that if we all felt that we would all be equally respected as long as we have good ideas, then it doesn't matter what we call one another (within reason). However, as I explained above, I don't feel that this is actually the case. 

To expand on this point further, when I talk to students from different cultures, sometimes they tell me that in their country/culture, the professor is indeed their "master" and they would be hugely in the wrong if they ever contradicted their professor on academic matters, even in private. I don't think this is ideal for academia. In North America, our culture is clearly very different and I don't really think that moving away from a first name basis is going to lead us in that situation. However, to me, using a title that reminds the student that the person you are talking to is smarter/better/valued more than you (even if it's true) can hinder productive conversation. I know that this is not the case for everyone -- some (most?) people are not fazed by calling their professors by a title.

 

But, I think especially for those who may have grown up in a culture where titles are extremely important, using a title can add additional hesitation for these students to share their ideas. This may cause students to be quieter and then they do not get as much attention, and then when they do have good ideas, people might not pay as much attention. One could argue that "well that's the way academia works and students should adapt or else" but I think that given that academia is a very international community, we should strive to make our community as welcoming as possible to everyone, including those who may not have "grown up" in a western culture. It might be easier for students who came from a culture of not questioning your professors to adapt to one where they can feel comfortable speaking up with their ideas and thriving in the Western research world. From a personal perspective, I did grow up in North America but also in a family where one would never question one's elders and I think my experience in college (being on a first name basis with my profs) helped me develop the confidence to speak up about my ideas and take the initiative to try things on my own instead of waiting for further instructions from supervisors all the time.

[MsDarjeeling]

TakeruK, this is an interesting perspective. I think that it does matter whether ideas come from the department head or a grad student since there are very different understandings of not only what has been done but how institutions, like universities, work given their vastly different experiences. And, to be quite honest, graduate students are not and never will be on the same level as tenure-track faculty. Graduate students are in training.

 

Also, what do you think should happen with undergraduates? Should we have them call all of their instructors, whether tenured faculty or first year PhD student, either by their first name or by Dr X? I get your broader point about not wanting there to be a hierarchy but I don't think that's realistic at all given how academia works.

 

This is more what I was thinking.  We're not the same and I don't think it creates a disconnect or devaluing of ideas by addressing them as Dr. or Professor Last Name.  I do not think students should be addressed by Ms. or Mr. though.  

 

I get that some programs, including mine disagree and prefer a more informal approach.  I just don't like it.

[socialequity]

I think it definitely depends on the department culture. In my MA program, we addressed the professors as "Dr.______". In my current program, everybody is on first-name basis. My current program is also a zillion times better and friendlier than my previous one, so I think a lot of it has to do with departmental culture and how friendly the environment is.

Where are you attending cultsoc?

[LittleDarlings]

I always address them by their title. It is just a habit I'm also like that with calling people sir and ma'am and stuff

[ChocoLatte]

I ask all of them within the first few interactions (but initial contact, I assume Dr. suchandsuch is the best way to go about it), and none have ever considered it a silly question.  Answers have ranged from (not exact quotes lol) "Use my first name or I get irritated" to "Use Dr. _______ no exception right now".  Some have been conditional like "first name when around grad students/faculty, Dr. ______ when there are undergrads about".  Only thing I've noticed is that it's personal preference of the professors in question.  I'm personally comfortable using whatever the individual wants me to use.

[TakeMyCoffeeBlack]

I've always addressed all of my professors by their first names, as does everybody else in my program. The only weirdness arises when speaking in non-English languages that distinguish familiar and formal pronouns (and corresponding verbal agreement), where I would use the professor's title+last name in the other language, but their first name in English. We quickly established that the familiar forms could be used, but honestly without this context it would be very odd. Basically my suggestion is to either follow what others are doing; if you're unsure, just ask. 

 

Germany is still very formal in this regard, but I've found that whenever a course is taught in English, or you have a somewhat informal relationship with a professor and communication is in English, first names are appropriate. It's rather odd to move between Herr Dr. Prof. Gutmann to Josef or something like that.

[qualthian]

I can't imagine addressing them by their first name. Sounds so rude, guess it is a cultural difference.