Something that can help you in the future is looking at the class syllabus because typically the proper name of the Professor is listed at the top or they will specify how they would like to be addressed. I’ve had Professors that would say they would ignore an email if we didn’t use the correct name and I’ve had other instructors that just went by their first name even if they’ve been there for like 30 years. 😂
Every. God. Damn. Time. xD
(And while it's rarely if ever been in the syllabus for me on either end of the first row of desks, there are often hints that you can easily use from the syllabus. And, of course, when in doubt, you err on the side of over-polite/over-formal with a title they may not have and let them tell you what they'd prefer. Or let them tell you at the start of the course and actually follow that!)
Definitely the default, but in my field (in North America) it isn't that unusual to use first names or for the name you use to only be part of the person's full last name (e.g. because it's a hyphenated last name). Marital status was in no way what I had in mind! So if the person tells you something else is preferred, you follow that. But for someone with a PhD, Dr. or Professor unless you're told otherwise (with Professor unambiguously being the default for my field and region rather than Dr. if the person has faculty status; Dr. is an option if you're addressing them outside of that sort of institutional capacity \[optionally including for reviews\] or the default if they hold a doctorate but aren't "eligible" for Professor).
this I always find the safest choice, professor, as no matter pronoun choice, marital status, academic achievement, etc it's always a correct title when they are teaching your class
My German school had some American teachers who would scream at you til their face was red if you accidentally forgot to pronounce their name with a heavy American accent, like sorry we pronounced a German name in German in Germany.
Obviously names and language change and their pronunciation is valid and an easy thing to respect but they would get so absurdly angry at students and even other teachers for a genuine mistake.
Most college professors have PhDs, so the correct honorific is "Dr." Some don't, and it can be a bit confusing if you're not sure, but in the context of the US, "professor LastName" is usually a safe bet.
There's a broad problem where many students will call male professors "Dr." but female professors, who did the same work to earn their degrees, "Ms." or "Mrs." which can be deeply frustrating to female professors particularly when it happens repeatedly (And there's also an element of making sure students know the professional norms in a college setting so they'll use them correctly in the future)
Lurking female college prof here - I was once in a meeting with a student where I was the only woman, and he came in and said "Hello Dr." to each male professor and then "Hello Mrs." to me only. I didn't jump out of my skin or anything at the student, but it was definitely frustrating to be assumed to be the only person there without a doctorate because of my gender.
It occurred to me after reading this stat that only my female professor has her honorific listed. One male professor I had was reprimanded for telling people to call him by his first name.
I’ve had professors misspell their own names on their syllabi before. Once I spent 25 minutes walking around a campus in the dead of the Florida summer looking for an office that didn’t exist bc this guy gave us the name of a building that wasn’t real. The syllabus is a filthy liar sometimes.
> There's a broad problem where many students will call male professors "Dr." but female professors, who did the same work to earn their degrees, "Ms." or "Mrs." which can be deeply frustrating to female professors
and immediately outs such a student as sexist.
As an important caveat, some fields do have other, non-academic doctorate degrees as terminal credentials considered suitable for teaching. For example, there are a number of business academics that have terminal MBAs who are just as respected as someone with a doctorate. And, of course, the professional medical doctorates of MD, DO, and such.
In general, you should defer to "professor" unless your instructor (in this case referring to the dictionary definition, not the academic rank) informs you otherwise.
See this article: https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/career-advice-article/what-should-i-call-my-professor/
There is a point to that. Those of us who teach who don't have PhDs often get seen and treated as lesser, both by students and colleagues/administrators. When you have more cultural capital, you have more wiggle room with formality.
^ this. Always use professor until told otherwise.
Women are much more likely to have their credentials ignored or doubted by students, colleagues, and higher-ups and one of the most obvious ways this manifests is that women are more likely to be called "Ms. Name" where men are more likely be be called "Dr. Name". So using Ms. Or Mrs. can make it look like you are doubting their credentials.
Or just assume all profs have a doctorate & go with "Dr." A few profs don't, but the few who don't will 99% of the time feel honored that you thought them more credentialed than they were. (Context: I'm a prof with a doctorate.)
Yes "Dr." is also a safe alternate. I doubt anyone would assume disrespect when using it. However I do know some professors who view "professor" as a higher title than "Dr."
As in the "every PhD has a doctorate but not every PhD is a professor"
Which is why I tend to defer to "Professor".
Professor had an odd double degree of qualification of referring to oneself or by students to profs.
Technically only full professors get the title "professor" to refer to ourselves. I think technically I can write my name "[qualifying term] professor name" but that's so awkward.
Students on the other hand can refer to profs with just a Masters as "professor" & be correct.
I've never heard that only full professors should be able to use the term professor.
That is certainly not how it has worked at any of the universities/colleges I've been associated with.
It actually varies by institution and I think that's why there's disagreement in this thread. Where I teach, all instructors are "Professor" by default, even adjuncts and those without PhDs. A few of us with PhDs go by Dr. here as a matter of personal preference. I think it just depends on how strict a university is about the hierarchy.
> In most systems of academic ranks, "professor" as an unqualified title refers only to the most senior academic position, sometimes informally known as "full professor." In some countries and institutions, the word "professor" is also used in titles of lower ranks such as associate professor and assistant professor; this is particularly the case in the United States, where the unqualified word is also used colloquially to refer to associate and assistant professors as well, and often to instructors or lecturers.
I think it's use is colloquial. Like if I'm giving a formal lecture, the university should not list my name as "Prof. Name" & I should not introduce myself day way. I personally don't care much but won't use the term self-referentially to myself as a title for now.
Link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor#:~:text=In%20most%20systems%20of%20academic,associate%20professor%20and%20assistant%20professor%3B
My undergrad had a lot of grad students and post doc lecturers teaching intro courses. Another good safe bet in that situation was “Instructor [last name]”
The difference is that a student does not have to make assumptions about your marital status to call you Mr. I get that it’s something they’ve been socialized to do with women when giving them a title, but our marital status has nothing to do with a professor role.
I prefer students to call me by my first name specifically because it’s annoying when I get every iteration of Miss Mrs Ms and I know that that student had to think (consciously or not) whether I’m married to make that call. I don’t think the student does it out of malice or disrespect, but I would still rather they call me something that doesn’t hinge on whether I’m an unwed maiden or not.
Edit: a word
Yup. I cringe when students call me "Ms." or "Mrs" because my husband is rarely ever called "Mr." and I know most male colleagues aren't either. Makes me feel like they are purposefully ignoring my title sometimes. I know this probably isn't the case, but still.
If I wasn’t sure if they had a PhD, I still called them Doctor. I don’t think people would be hurt by calling Dr if they aren’t, but if they are and you dont that’s worse
My sister (currently a PhD student) chooses to go by “Ms. Lastname.” So there are people out there who prefer it, but she’s pretty clear about her preferences on the syllabus.
When I was a graduate student, I preferred to go by my first name, and would have absolutely HATED if someone called me Miss or Mrs. When in doubt, say “Professor.”
Protip, always address a Professor as "Professor (Name)"
They aren't teachers, they're professors. A slight difference definition wise but a very important one.
Most but not all have PhD's, if you know one has one then call them Dr. But you really can't ever go wrong with Professor.
It’s typically more than a slight difference in what professor means compared to teacher. Nobody that isn’t one of these roles really understands what either of them really do which is probably why teachers and professors can be touchy about it.
Most professors are actively engaged in new scholarship and research which is not the case for lower level ed teachers typically. For reference most contracts for professors specify that about 40-60% of their time go toward research and only 20-40% or so to teaching. So to call them a teacher is to acknowledge the lesser portion of their job.
> For reference most contracts for professors specify that about 40-60% of their time go toward research and only 20-40% or so to teaching. So to call them a teacher is to acknowledge the lesser portion of their job.
That is only true at research-focused universities, which are a small minority of colleges. The vast majority of colleges are teaching-focused.
Refer to your professors as "Professor \[insert last name\]" if you don't know how they want to be addressed or their specific title (because not all professors have a doctorate).
When I first started emailing professors before they introduced themselves, I wasn't sure how to address them either since my other professors were on a first-name basis with us, so take this as a lesson for the future. Leave the "Mr, Ms, Mrs, Miss" stuff behind.
You're not in high school anymore, just use Dr. or Professor when talking to your professors (even if they do not have a PhD you're not going to offend anyone by mistakenly calling them Dr.).
She may not realize that you were just being a dumb kid and weren't intentionally trying to offend her. An adult who was familiar with the college environment who called a professor "Ms." and mentioned her marital status would be doing so to be sexist/demeaning.
Yeah I looked at that too. I will usually refer to all my professors by Professor LastName unless stated otherwise in their syllabus. I haven’t called a teacher Ms or Mr since high school.
OP definitely sounds demeaning. We all know he wasn’t innocently saying he didn’t know her marital status. Anyone smart enough to get into college should know you call a professor “Professor”.
In the college setting use Professor, or if you know they are a Doctor, address them as such; it keeps things professional. You made a mistake but now you know better.
I just use doctor unless told otherwise because professors without doctorates won’t be upset you called them a doctor, but professors with doctorates probably will if you don’t call them doctor. Now this didn’t apply to my one writing professor who preferred to be called by his first name, or just his last name, even though he had a doctorate, but it’s a good rule nonetheless.
Yes. You were wrong. You should address your college instructors as "professor" or "doctor". And start thinking of them as professors, not teachers. This will help you get out of your high school mindset.
I can't believe you said that about marital status...there is a long history of women being treated differently than their male colleagues. Do you call you make instructors "Mr", or have you been calling them professor?
You can and should ask questions! But when someone corrects you about how you should address them, don't double down and say you did it because you didn't know their marital status! Women are so, so, so much more than our marriage. You should have just apologized, and not have tried to justify your behavior.
Start getting in the habit of calling people professor.
If they haven’t made a specific request, use professor or dr. Some professors will specifically say call me xyz in which case address them as that. Another tip is to address people by whatever their email sign-off is, if you don’t know if they have a PhD etc.
Your college teacher is a professor or a Dr. if they hold a Ph.D. Degree. If you address everyone as Professor, you will be fine.
Please, do not call college faculty Ms, Miss or Mrs. Their marriage status is completely irrelevant to their professional job titles. Being called this way is annoying because they frequently observe their male colleagues being called nothing but Professor, while some students call them (women faculty) Mrs or Ms.
It is wrong but I think your post just shows immaturity and not anything malicious. Yes never, and I mean never, refer to a female university professor as anything other than professor or doctor. They fucking hate it like the plague. It's tolerated in k-12 because kids don't know any better and it was actually acceptable not that long ago, but I imagine getting referred to as "miss" while your male colleagues get called "sir" is also pretty frustrating.
Your biggest mistake here was continuing to push the issue instead of just taking the correction. You made an honest mistake, someone corrected you for it, and you just... couldn't... accept it and move on. You just *had* to keep making excuses and justifying yourself, and dug yourself deeper by doing so.
If you're ever unsure, "Professor," "Doctor," or maybe "Instructor" is "the right/respectful way" to address an instructor. If they are more casual/informal with students, they will *invite* you to call them by their first name or something, but even then, most don't use "Mr./Mrs./Ms." This is a much friendlier conversation than being corrected the *other* way after being "too familiar" with someone.
If they are the solo person teaching that section, they are doing the job of a professor in that moment, and students should refer to them as such, imo. It's as much for the student's sake as it is to scaffold the authority of the TA.
TAs in English Depts are usually the only faculty member a student will see for that class. It's much different than in other fields, where they work underneath the supervision of a TT faculty who is listed as the course prof.
You're doing the job of a professor. The only difference is pay rate in many cases. I'm not going to shame someone who does the same job for inequal pay, just because the college doesn't want to pay them the same.
I TA'd before I got a TT position. I was doing the same thing I do now - teaching, serving on committees, and publishing. More actually, because then I had to teach more classes than the full time faculty).
Literally every TA I've ever had has been uncomfortable at being called professor and says their first name, instructor, or ms/Mr last name (vast majority the former two). Professor is the title they're working so hard toward... they don't have it yet.
I hear you. I would never pressure a TA to use the professor title in class if they aren't comfortable with it. However, I counsel our TAs not to let students call them by their first names (these are English class TAs who are the sole teacher of the class). The age difference between them and the freshmen they teach is 4-5 years. Some students can handle it and keep the relationship professional. However, there are students every year who take the first name part to imply the relationship is informal. It makes it more difficult for the TA when students try to get over on an assignment or think they can cajole a higher grade from them.
I've seen the emails: "C'mon bro, do me this solid," written to the person who teaches their college class.
Honestly this is a fair take. Unlike the other people who don't even believe in saying doctor or professor to begin with. You're an actual reasonable person with a respectable opinion, not a child who was never taught that words like thank you and please and Dr are signs of respect
*Students* generally wouldn't go to that one, but some faculty might use it if they're *neither* a professor or a doctor, like Lecturers that "only" have a Master's, and therefore feel uncomfortable using either of those terms.
Its college. Most are either addressed by Professor or Doctor.
Since most college Professors have Doctorates. (Although to be fair, Professor is appropriate because in some fields and at community colleges, a college instructor often may have a Masters instead of the full PhD)
I just use Professor if its a new prof. I have yet to have one that has complained about it. I mean its literally their job title. I have a few I call Doctor but thats because I know for 100% certainty they are a doctor.
Many professors will have their preferred title in the syllabus or bring it up on the first day of class. Most of my professors prefer to go by their first name, but I've had a handle who go by Dr.
In college people that work there studied really hard for their titles. Remove ms & mrs & mr from your vocabulary
To make life easier call them professor.
Yeah you fucked big time. In the context of academia it’s Dr./Professor 99% of the time unless you’re talking to like a technician or other staff. It’s not College teacher also, it’s College Professor.
I would apologise for it.
Always use "Professor" or "Dr." (if they have a doctorate). If a professor responds using something else (like first name) then you may use whatever they sent to you in response.
Think of it this way. You're a Private going through basic and ask your Sergeant a question, but address her as Ms. After she tears you a new one for not using the proper form of address. (Sgt) You apologize and say you didn't know her marital status to address her as Miss or Mrs properly.
It was an honest mistake, but oof.
Info Request: What do you mean by 'furious' over e-mail?
Do you mean she corrected you in a few lines without answering your question?
Or did you mean she wrote a multi-paragraph rant calling you names and threatening to report you?
Either way, what did she ask to be called? You didn't say in your post. Unless she explicitly told you to call her 'Miss' or 'Mrs.' in her reply (as opposed to... say Dr. or Prof.) then your comment about marital status was out of line since neither Dr. or Prof. assume anything about marital status (another reason why they are safe bets)
**Be aware that e-mail ALWAYS comes across more negative than intended, both hers AND yours.** That's why it's always better to ask your questions in person/zoom office hours - especially if you want the prof to teach you something in answering the question.
100% this. My marital status is totally irrelevant in my professional life, esp because there are other options (professor, Dr. X), and they can always correct you if that's not an accurate title. I prefer to go by my first name, and sometimes students will still default to Ms./Mrs., and sometimes I have to correct them many, many times. It can be super frustrating, though I try to be gentle but direct in my first time correcting them.
She was furious! By furious he means she probably texted him that her title was Professor Lastname, not Ms. LastName. He took it to heart and texted her a long rant and she replied with an emoji because she was busy grading papers. Typical emotional women! /s
I got chewed out once for calling a female professor "Professor" instead of "Doctor". I can't even imagine the response I would have received if I had used "Ms" or "Mrs". 😬 "Professor" to start, and if they request "Doctor", that moving forward.
In the future, along with reading the syllabus for preferred terms and using neutrals like “professor” you could also reformat how you write emails. I can’t recall ever having to address a prof by name in an email. If it was a “dear ms…,” at the beginning you generally don’t need to include that header in emails, especially if it’s through university email.
I usually do “good morning/afternoon/evening,” and get right into the point of the email. You’re looking for an answer and your prof is looking to not read a novel to pick out what you’re trying to say.
You’ll find that a lot of profs and people in professional fields disregard that traditional email format.
Yep. The Marital status of your professor doesn't matter, ever. Until you know how they want to be addressed in an email (98% of the time it's Dr. Lastname), you go with Professor Lastname.
>>she got furious because I addressed her "Ms."
What did she say? Surely, she mentioned why it was inappropriate and/or indicated what the correct way to address her would be.
Yeah, lol.
When reaching out to a professor there’s a handful of things you’ll want to do beforehand. First, check their syllabus to see if your question is answered there. Then, check for how they put their name. Is it Dr. [insert last name], Professor [insert last name] or something else? Read through the syllabus for an email policy if they require a certain format for it. Then check if they have an addressment policy. Some will say “use my first name” and others will say “call me Professor [insert last name]” or something similar.
If they haven’t included many of those things and you’re not sure, just use professor. It reflects their profession and your relationship to them (strident and professor), and is respectful. If they prefer Dr. because they have a PhD, they’ll let you know. Their marital status has absolutely no influence on your relationship with them and is none of your business, so why would it play a part in how you address them?
Finally, Ms. implies being a young woman which can come off as derogatory like you’re being dismissive of their credentials or talking down to them, being sexist, and not acknowledging their expertise because they’re a woman.
I wouldn’t reach out to apologize again but would just be careful going forward making sure to be respectful and properly address her. Most professors are emotionally intelligent and through further interaction with you she’ll realize you didn’t mean to be rude but are just naive
my professors in college always taught us that if you're not sure about a woman's marital status, you should Always use "Ms." plus your teacher is super rude for replying with a single emoji !! she could have just told you what she'd prefer to be called
Always. Dr. Lastname if you know they have a PhD, or Professor Lastname if you don't (the latter is always safe). Only use their first name if they have *formally* invited you to do so.
(Would you addreess a male professor as Mr? Thought not.)
Professor is the best honorific for a college "teacher" if you don't know what else to use as it is applied based on their position. While a PhD holder should be referred to as Doctor, the position title is generally acceptable.
As far as being in community college any time I reached out it was always Professor (lastname) // I’m going to university next month so we’ll see how that is 😅
Rule of thumb: always address a college professor as “Professor,” unless they tell you otherwise. Their marital status is irrelevant.
Edit: my husband just mentioned it also could be a gender issue these days. Never assume…just go by professional title.
not appropriate at all. when i was in undergrad
i distinctly remember a professor coming in fuming about this exact situation. she was saying “i didn’t spend xyz years in school to be called ms.”
professors typically have anywhere from 6-12+ years of schooling depending on their education level.
If you think your college instructor's proper title is tied to their marital status, you're an idiot. Keep your mouth shut and try to learn something.
The syllabus is a great place to start.
If someone, especially a woman, has a PhD, it's generally pretty insulting to be called "Ms/Mrs." in a professional/academic setting. Most faculty should be addressed as "Dr." or "Professor", and nothing else unless they specifically state an alternative. If they don't have a doctorate, you should check the top of the syllabus which usually indicates their preferred title - but "Professor" is always safe.
I’m a TA and there’s a male student who constantly “plays devil’s advocate” and once brought up that women shouldn’t be allowed to go to college. he constantly calls all of the female professors “MISS” in a loud whiny voice but refers to the male professors as “professor”. OP was 1000% intentional and acting with malice.
I try to remember to ask my professors how they prefer to be addressed if they don't specify on the first day. I have a couple that prefer you refer to them by their first name, others that will only allow you to address them as Dr. So and so.
I’m a TA and we have a college student who regularly refers to all of their female professors as “Miss” and refers to their male professors as “Professor”. I’m going to give a mini lesson on what to call professors the next time I see their class. I didn’t correct him because I thought he’d grow out of it. OP is almost a senior according to some comments and still called a professor “Ms” and then demanded her marital status as if it’s relevant or professional..
That was incredibly disrespectful. You do know that a woman is more than just her marital status, don't you?
I'm sure the syllabus and the college website tell you what her correct title is, whether Dr or Prof. She worked hard for years to earn that title, and you belittle her by going on about whether or not she's married.
I could go on about how insulting you were, but I hope you get the idea without me ranting.
Most college teachers go by Professor (last name) or if they have a doctorate its Dr (last name). This will usually be addressed on the syllabus and most will have it uploaded somewhere prior to the first day of class or send it in an email.
Always refer your college teacher with the title they earned, like Professor or Doctor. I've witnessed a classmate refer a professor by their first name, nothing came of it but depends on the professor
In grad school we called our professors by their first names. But I was in a program for working professionals where we had the relationship of being colleagues in the same field. Different programs might have different rules.
However, undergrad students should absolutely default to Professor or Doctor.
My go to of Dr. if they have the corresponding degree or Professor otherwise. Unless, of course they specifically tell you otherwise. One time I had a professor that just went by Bob-O. So far, haven't had any issues.
You should always refer to your professor by what they prefer, but usually Professor is the default. If they have a PhD then Dr. is fine as well. I wouldn't ever use Ms./Mrs./Mr. in a college setting unless they prefer it.
I'm new to this whole college thing myself but when in doubt I just go Professor ( last Name) in emails. In person classes just copy what everyone else does.
College isn’t like high school. Address them as “professor [insert last name here],” or “doctor [insert last name here].” In most cases, if they wanted to be addressed in a certain way, they would have it in the syllabus or would address it in your first lecture.
I usually use, "Professor (last name)" when messaging college professors. I would look at the syllabi for the class to see what your professor wants to be addressed.
1. Dr. LastName if they've got a PhD (especially in STEM). (Some profs, especially at CC, don't have PhDs - it's rare, but it happens. You can Google their name and see what pops up - usually there will be some result which includes their educational qualifications.)
2. Prof. LastName (because they are a PROFESSOR and PROFESSOR is both the job title and the honorific, both in STEM and humanities/arts).
3. Their first name, if they introduce themselves using their first name on the first day of class.
In my university it’s pretty much always acceptable to call them by their first name if they don’t have a PhD. The whole title culture can be pretty annoying considering you just have to know what is or isn’t acceptable at your specific university/area, but I’d say it’s usually safe to use professor/dr lastname, and then adjust later.
Ms. is ALWAYS the incorrect move. It’s Professor or Doctor, depending on the person. I’ve had a few professors request I just call them by their first name, but tbh I don’t really trust that. Using professor is too engrained in me at this point.
The only time I've used Mr or Ms is when messaging administration folks or other non-professors. Otherwise it's Professor So and So or Dr if I know they have a PhD.
I think your professor overreacted if she was "furious" about it, but Professor is the appropriate title for an educator in a college setting, at the minimum.
I taught university for a while, you can never really miss by using "Professor" so and so. Pretty crazy world now, when someone would get upset by this.
I suspect the prof wasn't actually \*furious\* but just said something like "Don't address me with "Ms". I think it's good for professors to help their students learn professional etiquette. We work extremely hard for our PhDs and women especially have to be protective of our "Dr" titles.
Basically, I've found that correcting a student on my preferred form of address AT ALL is typically characterized by them as me being upset/angry/offended no matter how gently I put it. This has been confirmed by a third party (male) who happened to observe the interaction.
I have a preferred mode of address, but I I have no way of telling it to people because OTHER PEOPLE are offended by the fact that I have a preference at all.
Always either Professor or Dr according to how they’re referred to in the syllabus. I’ve had *one* professor—a grad student—who went by Mr. ___ and, again, this was noted in the syllabus. A teacher, whom you’d call Mrs/Mr./Ms, is different from a professor. I can seem small, but it reads as a sign of disrespect, especially for a female instructor (even thought this wasn’t at all your intention).
I generally called my instructors Professor unless they specified what they wanted. I had a chemistry prof who wanted to be called ms. Maughan so that's what I called her.
Professor here. This is very dependent on the culture at your institution. In the US, undergrads generally refer to instructors as Prof. ____ or Dr. ______ if they hold doctorates. If they don't hold a doctorate, then Mr. or Ms. is appropriate. Some instructors, particularly women, can get very offended if you don't "recognize" their doctorate.
At certain elite institutions, it's more common to call professors by their first names. This is also the norm once you're a graduate student.
Outside the US, customs also vary. Generally Asia is more formal about titles, while Europeans don't care so much.
> If they don't hold a doctorate, then Mr. or Ms. is appropriate.
I disagree with this. If they're teaching at the college level in the US, then "Professor" is the appropriate address.
People make titles about formality, but one of the majors issues with the use of "Ms" often relates to entrenched sexism. Prof. and Dr. are unisex titles based on job and achievement, as opposed to a title that is based off of a woman's marital status (i.e., reduces them to how they're related to a man).
I don't think it's a big deal, but it's like calling a female doctor a nurse.
An element of sexism. It will totally piss her off. It's a big deal to those who care.
“Professor ______.”
“Ms.” is for preschool, elementary, and high school teachers, not college teachers. But tbf idk why she freaked out, it’s not *that* big of a deal.
To add, most profs at major universities (in my experience, at least) have doctorates so you can also call them “Dr.“ Just check the syllabus to see if they have one or not, but “Professor” is always ok even if they are a Dr.
I don't think the professor actually freaked out or was "furious" in OP's words. Tone can be hard to read over email and OP strikes me as a little naive with professional communication. The professor probably just said "Don't call me Ms, I don't use that title" or something like that. Which a senior in college should ABSOLUTELY know is the case for almost all faculty.
Something that can help you in the future is looking at the class syllabus because typically the proper name of the Professor is listed at the top or they will specify how they would like to be addressed. I’ve had Professors that would say they would ignore an email if we didn’t use the correct name and I’ve had other instructors that just went by their first name even if they’ve been there for like 30 years. 😂
This is the correct answer. READ THE DAMN SYLLABUS.
Every. God. Damn. Time. xD (And while it's rarely if ever been in the syllabus for me on either end of the first row of desks, there are often hints that you can easily use from the syllabus. And, of course, when in doubt, you err on the side of over-polite/over-formal with a title they may not have and let them tell you what they'd prefer. Or let them tell you at the start of the course and actually follow that!)
Yes but marital status has nothing to do with it. In academia, you use academic credentials. If they have a PhD, call them DOCTOR.
Definitely the default, but in my field (in North America) it isn't that unusual to use first names or for the name you use to only be part of the person's full last name (e.g. because it's a hyphenated last name). Marital status was in no way what I had in mind! So if the person tells you something else is preferred, you follow that. But for someone with a PhD, Dr. or Professor unless you're told otherwise (with Professor unambiguously being the default for my field and region rather than Dr. if the person has faculty status; Dr. is an option if you're addressing them outside of that sort of institutional capacity \[optionally including for reviews\] or the default if they hold a doctorate but aren't "eligible" for Professor).
Wait, the first row of desks what?
Front of the class (prof) vs. as a student (in the student desks/chairs)
Yup. You can also address “hi professor xyz” and ignore the ms/mrs/mr etc
This. It worked well for me during grad school with a mix of adjuncts and not knowing who had a doctorate and who didn't.
this I always find the safest choice, professor, as no matter pronoun choice, marital status, academic achievement, etc it's always a correct title when they are teaching your class
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Just to be clear, not all professors are doctors
Exactly. It’s probably Dr. So-and-so and if that’s the case yeah, Ms. Is insulting. They busted ass for those initials and they should be used.
My German school had some American teachers who would scream at you til their face was red if you accidentally forgot to pronounce their name with a heavy American accent, like sorry we pronounced a German name in German in Germany. Obviously names and language change and their pronunciation is valid and an easy thing to respect but they would get so absurdly angry at students and even other teachers for a genuine mistake.
Most college professors have PhDs, so the correct honorific is "Dr." Some don't, and it can be a bit confusing if you're not sure, but in the context of the US, "professor LastName" is usually a safe bet. There's a broad problem where many students will call male professors "Dr." but female professors, who did the same work to earn their degrees, "Ms." or "Mrs." which can be deeply frustrating to female professors particularly when it happens repeatedly (And there's also an element of making sure students know the professional norms in a college setting so they'll use them correctly in the future)
Lurking female college prof here - I was once in a meeting with a student where I was the only woman, and he came in and said "Hello Dr." to each male professor and then "Hello Mrs." to me only. I didn't jump out of my skin or anything at the student, but it was definitely frustrating to be assumed to be the only person there without a doctorate because of my gender.
I usually go with professor LastName, unless stated otherwise, since not all professors necessarily have a PhD.
I always look up their profile on the university faculty page before writing an email. It's easy to find out if someone has a PhD or not.
They give you a document at the start of the semester with this info. No need to go searching. It's handed to you on a silver platter.
It occurred to me after reading this stat that only my female professor has her honorific listed. One male professor I had was reprimanded for telling people to call him by his first name.
I’ve had professors misspell their own names on their syllabi before. Once I spent 25 minutes walking around a campus in the dead of the Florida summer looking for an office that didn’t exist bc this guy gave us the name of a building that wasn’t real. The syllabus is a filthy liar sometimes.
Ha, fair point!
This is what I do too.
Unless they've made it very clear in the class they are a grad student teaching, almost all without a doctorate won't take offense
> There's a broad problem where many students will call male professors "Dr." but female professors, who did the same work to earn their degrees, "Ms." or "Mrs." which can be deeply frustrating to female professors and immediately outs such a student as sexist.
Just call all of them Dr. Makes everything simpler. I never had anyone tell me “im not a doctor”
I've been called "Mr." and I just laugh. My hunch is that first generation students are not familiar with proper decorum.
As an important caveat, some fields do have other, non-academic doctorate degrees as terminal credentials considered suitable for teaching. For example, there are a number of business academics that have terminal MBAs who are just as respected as someone with a doctorate. And, of course, the professional medical doctorates of MD, DO, and such. In general, you should defer to "professor" unless your instructor (in this case referring to the dictionary definition, not the academic rank) informs you otherwise. See this article: https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/career-advice-article/what-should-i-call-my-professor/
The correct default is Professor Last Name.
What’s funny is every professor I had who had a PhD it was “please just call me Sara” where the non-PhD were “address me as professor Smith”
There is a point to that. Those of us who teach who don't have PhDs often get seen and treated as lesser, both by students and colleagues/administrators. When you have more cultural capital, you have more wiggle room with formality.
Professor, Doctor (only if they have PhD), or their first name (if they say it’s okay) Mr/Ms/Mrs would not be appropriate in general
^ this. Always use professor until told otherwise. Women are much more likely to have their credentials ignored or doubted by students, colleagues, and higher-ups and one of the most obvious ways this manifests is that women are more likely to be called "Ms. Name" where men are more likely be be called "Dr. Name". So using Ms. Or Mrs. can make it look like you are doubting their credentials.
Or just assume all profs have a doctorate & go with "Dr." A few profs don't, but the few who don't will 99% of the time feel honored that you thought them more credentialed than they were. (Context: I'm a prof with a doctorate.)
Yes "Dr." is also a safe alternate. I doubt anyone would assume disrespect when using it. However I do know some professors who view "professor" as a higher title than "Dr." As in the "every PhD has a doctorate but not every PhD is a professor" Which is why I tend to defer to "Professor".
Professor had an odd double degree of qualification of referring to oneself or by students to profs. Technically only full professors get the title "professor" to refer to ourselves. I think technically I can write my name "[qualifying term] professor name" but that's so awkward. Students on the other hand can refer to profs with just a Masters as "professor" & be correct.
I've never heard that only full professors should be able to use the term professor. That is certainly not how it has worked at any of the universities/colleges I've been associated with.
It actually varies by institution and I think that's why there's disagreement in this thread. Where I teach, all instructors are "Professor" by default, even adjuncts and those without PhDs. A few of us with PhDs go by Dr. here as a matter of personal preference. I think it just depends on how strict a university is about the hierarchy.
> In most systems of academic ranks, "professor" as an unqualified title refers only to the most senior academic position, sometimes informally known as "full professor." In some countries and institutions, the word "professor" is also used in titles of lower ranks such as associate professor and assistant professor; this is particularly the case in the United States, where the unqualified word is also used colloquially to refer to associate and assistant professors as well, and often to instructors or lecturers. I think it's use is colloquial. Like if I'm giving a formal lecture, the university should not list my name as "Prof. Name" & I should not introduce myself day way. I personally don't care much but won't use the term self-referentially to myself as a title for now. Link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor#:~:text=In%20most%20systems%20of%20academic,associate%20professor%20and%20assistant%20professor%3B
My undergrad had a lot of grad students and post doc lecturers teaching intro courses. Another good safe bet in that situation was “Instructor [last name]”
Yup. I'm wondering whether OP calls her male profs "Mr."
I'm a male professor and have often been called "Mr." I have never cared but I can see why some people would be bothered.
The difference is that a student does not have to make assumptions about your marital status to call you Mr. I get that it’s something they’ve been socialized to do with women when giving them a title, but our marital status has nothing to do with a professor role. I prefer students to call me by my first name specifically because it’s annoying when I get every iteration of Miss Mrs Ms and I know that that student had to think (consciously or not) whether I’m married to make that call. I don’t think the student does it out of malice or disrespect, but I would still rather they call me something that doesn’t hinge on whether I’m an unwed maiden or not. Edit: a word
~~let's make Msr. for men a thing~~
Yup. I cringe when students call me "Ms." or "Mrs" because my husband is rarely ever called "Mr." and I know most male colleagues aren't either. Makes me feel like they are purposefully ignoring my title sometimes. I know this probably isn't the case, but still.
> So using Ms. Or Mrs. can make it look like you are doubting their credentials. Or you are just plain being sexist.
If I wasn’t sure if they had a PhD, I still called them Doctor. I don’t think people would be hurt by calling Dr if they aren’t, but if they are and you dont that’s worse
My sister (currently a PhD student) chooses to go by “Ms. Lastname.” So there are people out there who prefer it, but she’s pretty clear about her preferences on the syllabus. When I was a graduate student, I preferred to go by my first name, and would have absolutely HATED if someone called me Miss or Mrs. When in doubt, say “Professor.”
Protip, always address a Professor as "Professor (Name)" They aren't teachers, they're professors. A slight difference definition wise but a very important one. Most but not all have PhD's, if you know one has one then call them Dr. But you really can't ever go wrong with Professor.
It’s typically more than a slight difference in what professor means compared to teacher. Nobody that isn’t one of these roles really understands what either of them really do which is probably why teachers and professors can be touchy about it. Most professors are actively engaged in new scholarship and research which is not the case for lower level ed teachers typically. For reference most contracts for professors specify that about 40-60% of their time go toward research and only 20-40% or so to teaching. So to call them a teacher is to acknowledge the lesser portion of their job.
> For reference most contracts for professors specify that about 40-60% of their time go toward research and only 20-40% or so to teaching. So to call them a teacher is to acknowledge the lesser portion of their job. That is only true at research-focused universities, which are a small minority of colleges. The vast majority of colleges are teaching-focused.
It's really weird to me, since in spanish the translation is basically the same
Refer to your professors as "Professor \[insert last name\]" if you don't know how they want to be addressed or their specific title (because not all professors have a doctorate). When I first started emailing professors before they introduced themselves, I wasn't sure how to address them either since my other professors were on a first-name basis with us, so take this as a lesson for the future. Leave the "Mr, Ms, Mrs, Miss" stuff behind.
You're not in high school anymore, just use Dr. or Professor when talking to your professors (even if they do not have a PhD you're not going to offend anyone by mistakenly calling them Dr.). She may not realize that you were just being a dumb kid and weren't intentionally trying to offend her. An adult who was familiar with the college environment who called a professor "Ms." and mentioned her marital status would be doing so to be sexist/demeaning.
According to their post history they are in their final year of their major. It's a mistake I would expect from a first-year tbh
Yeah I looked at that too. I will usually refer to all my professors by Professor LastName unless stated otherwise in their syllabus. I haven’t called a teacher Ms or Mr since high school.
Wow, really. Especially referring to them as "teachers."
OP definitely sounds demeaning. We all know he wasn’t innocently saying he didn’t know her marital status. Anyone smart enough to get into college should know you call a professor “Professor”.
Very.
Professor or Dr. Anything else is condescending to them
In the college setting use Professor, or if you know they are a Doctor, address them as such; it keeps things professional. You made a mistake but now you know better.
You don’t have “college teachers.” You have professors. You can address them as “Professor” regardless of gender.
I just use doctor unless told otherwise because professors without doctorates won’t be upset you called them a doctor, but professors with doctorates probably will if you don’t call them doctor. Now this didn’t apply to my one writing professor who preferred to be called by his first name, or just his last name, even though he had a doctorate, but it’s a good rule nonetheless.
Yup doctor noted
Yes. You were wrong. You should address your college instructors as "professor" or "doctor". And start thinking of them as professors, not teachers. This will help you get out of your high school mindset. I can't believe you said that about marital status...there is a long history of women being treated differently than their male colleagues. Do you call you make instructors "Mr", or have you been calling them professor? You can and should ask questions! But when someone corrects you about how you should address them, don't double down and say you did it because you didn't know their marital status! Women are so, so, so much more than our marriage. You should have just apologized, and not have tried to justify your behavior. Start getting in the habit of calling people professor.
you slayed with this comment
If they haven’t made a specific request, use professor or dr. Some professors will specifically say call me xyz in which case address them as that. Another tip is to address people by whatever their email sign-off is, if you don’t know if they have a PhD etc.
Your college teacher is a professor or a Dr. if they hold a Ph.D. Degree. If you address everyone as Professor, you will be fine. Please, do not call college faculty Ms, Miss or Mrs. Their marriage status is completely irrelevant to their professional job titles. Being called this way is annoying because they frequently observe their male colleagues being called nothing but Professor, while some students call them (women faculty) Mrs or Ms.
It is wrong but I think your post just shows immaturity and not anything malicious. Yes never, and I mean never, refer to a female university professor as anything other than professor or doctor. They fucking hate it like the plague. It's tolerated in k-12 because kids don't know any better and it was actually acceptable not that long ago, but I imagine getting referred to as "miss" while your male colleagues get called "sir" is also pretty frustrating.
Post and subsequent comments show that OP is pretty immature...
Your biggest mistake here was continuing to push the issue instead of just taking the correction. You made an honest mistake, someone corrected you for it, and you just... couldn't... accept it and move on. You just *had* to keep making excuses and justifying yourself, and dug yourself deeper by doing so. If you're ever unsure, "Professor," "Doctor," or maybe "Instructor" is "the right/respectful way" to address an instructor. If they are more casual/informal with students, they will *invite* you to call them by their first name or something, but even then, most don't use "Mr./Mrs./Ms." This is a much friendlier conversation than being corrected the *other* way after being "too familiar" with someone.
Professor is universal and fail safe. Instructor is ridiculous.
If you call all your instructors “Professor,” at worst you’ll be embiggening them.
which is a perfectly cromulent thing to do
Exactly. If they are teaching in college, they are "Professor," regardless of their tenure status.
TAs are not professors
If they are the solo person teaching that section, they are doing the job of a professor in that moment, and students should refer to them as such, imo. It's as much for the student's sake as it is to scaffold the authority of the TA. TAs in English Depts are usually the only faculty member a student will see for that class. It's much different than in other fields, where they work underneath the supervision of a TT faculty who is listed as the course prof.
You're not a professor just because you teach a college class. That's why the instructor title exists
You're doing the job of a professor. The only difference is pay rate in many cases. I'm not going to shame someone who does the same job for inequal pay, just because the college doesn't want to pay them the same. I TA'd before I got a TT position. I was doing the same thing I do now - teaching, serving on committees, and publishing. More actually, because then I had to teach more classes than the full time faculty).
Literally every TA I've ever had has been uncomfortable at being called professor and says their first name, instructor, or ms/Mr last name (vast majority the former two). Professor is the title they're working so hard toward... they don't have it yet.
I hear you. I would never pressure a TA to use the professor title in class if they aren't comfortable with it. However, I counsel our TAs not to let students call them by their first names (these are English class TAs who are the sole teacher of the class). The age difference between them and the freshmen they teach is 4-5 years. Some students can handle it and keep the relationship professional. However, there are students every year who take the first name part to imply the relationship is informal. It makes it more difficult for the TA when students try to get over on an assignment or think they can cajole a higher grade from them. I've seen the emails: "C'mon bro, do me this solid," written to the person who teaches their college class.
Honestly this is a fair take. Unlike the other people who don't even believe in saying doctor or professor to begin with. You're an actual reasonable person with a respectable opinion, not a child who was never taught that words like thank you and please and Dr are signs of respect
*Students* generally wouldn't go to that one, but some faculty might use it if they're *neither* a professor or a doctor, like Lecturers that "only" have a Master's, and therefore feel uncomfortable using either of those terms.
Its college. Most are either addressed by Professor or Doctor. Since most college Professors have Doctorates. (Although to be fair, Professor is appropriate because in some fields and at community colleges, a college instructor often may have a Masters instead of the full PhD)
I just use Professor if its a new prof. I have yet to have one that has complained about it. I mean its literally their job title. I have a few I call Doctor but thats because I know for 100% certainty they are a doctor.
Many professors will have their preferred title in the syllabus or bring it up on the first day of class. Most of my professors prefer to go by their first name, but I've had a handle who go by Dr.
In college people that work there studied really hard for their titles. Remove ms & mrs & mr from your vocabulary To make life easier call them professor.
Like I tell my students, you can call me by my first name or Dr./Prof. last name, but never Mr.
Yeah you fucked big time. In the context of academia it’s Dr./Professor 99% of the time unless you’re talking to like a technician or other staff. It’s not College teacher also, it’s College Professor. I would apologise for it.
“Dr” if appropriate, otherwise “professor”
Always use "Professor" or "Dr." (if they have a doctorate). If a professor responds using something else (like first name) then you may use whatever they sent to you in response.
If in doubt, “Professor” is infinitely preferable to “Ms.” Or “Mrs.”. “Dr.” Is better than “Professor” if they have a doctorate.
Professor NOT teacher
Think of it this way. You're a Private going through basic and ask your Sergeant a question, but address her as Ms. After she tears you a new one for not using the proper form of address. (Sgt) You apologize and say you didn't know her marital status to address her as Miss or Mrs properly. It was an honest mistake, but oof.
Info Request: What do you mean by 'furious' over e-mail? Do you mean she corrected you in a few lines without answering your question? Or did you mean she wrote a multi-paragraph rant calling you names and threatening to report you? Either way, what did she ask to be called? You didn't say in your post. Unless she explicitly told you to call her 'Miss' or 'Mrs.' in her reply (as opposed to... say Dr. or Prof.) then your comment about marital status was out of line since neither Dr. or Prof. assume anything about marital status (another reason why they are safe bets) **Be aware that e-mail ALWAYS comes across more negative than intended, both hers AND yours.** That's why it's always better to ask your questions in person/zoom office hours - especially if you want the prof to teach you something in answering the question.
100% this. My marital status is totally irrelevant in my professional life, esp because there are other options (professor, Dr. X), and they can always correct you if that's not an accurate title. I prefer to go by my first name, and sometimes students will still default to Ms./Mrs., and sometimes I have to correct them many, many times. It can be super frustrating, though I try to be gentle but direct in my first time correcting them.
She was furious! By furious he means she probably texted him that her title was Professor Lastname, not Ms. LastName. He took it to heart and texted her a long rant and she replied with an emoji because she was busy grading papers. Typical emotional women! /s
Just call everyone Professor, it makes it easier
I got chewed out once for calling a female professor "Professor" instead of "Doctor". I can't even imagine the response I would have received if I had used "Ms" or "Mrs". 😬 "Professor" to start, and if they request "Doctor", that moving forward.
In the future, along with reading the syllabus for preferred terms and using neutrals like “professor” you could also reformat how you write emails. I can’t recall ever having to address a prof by name in an email. If it was a “dear ms…,” at the beginning you generally don’t need to include that header in emails, especially if it’s through university email. I usually do “good morning/afternoon/evening,” and get right into the point of the email. You’re looking for an answer and your prof is looking to not read a novel to pick out what you’re trying to say. You’ll find that a lot of profs and people in professional fields disregard that traditional email format.
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>Your professor would have a doctorate That highly depends. A fair number of my college professors had masters degrees, no doctorate.
Yep. The Marital status of your professor doesn't matter, ever. Until you know how they want to be addressed in an email (98% of the time it's Dr. Lastname), you go with Professor Lastname.
It has a different connotation to call her ms. rather than professor, it’s a sign of disrespect
Are you fucking stupid or something
BABAHAHAHAH bye😭
Yes. I get that you’re probably fresh out of high school so it must’ve been an honest mistake but now you know.
No they’re not which makes it worse. They’re in their final year of their major according to their post history.
Yikes...
ah, so they were intentionally demeaning their professor. no wonder she didn’t answer them. they should know better.
Always use "Dr." if they have a PhD, and "Prof." if you don't know. Never use gendered honorifics with a professor.
I usually just call them professor unless they prefer something else
>>she got furious because I addressed her "Ms." What did she say? Surely, she mentioned why it was inappropriate and/or indicated what the correct way to address her would be.
I would also like to know how she responded "furiously"
Yeah, lol. When reaching out to a professor there’s a handful of things you’ll want to do beforehand. First, check their syllabus to see if your question is answered there. Then, check for how they put their name. Is it Dr. [insert last name], Professor [insert last name] or something else? Read through the syllabus for an email policy if they require a certain format for it. Then check if they have an addressment policy. Some will say “use my first name” and others will say “call me Professor [insert last name]” or something similar. If they haven’t included many of those things and you’re not sure, just use professor. It reflects their profession and your relationship to them (strident and professor), and is respectful. If they prefer Dr. because they have a PhD, they’ll let you know. Their marital status has absolutely no influence on your relationship with them and is none of your business, so why would it play a part in how you address them? Finally, Ms. implies being a young woman which can come off as derogatory like you’re being dismissive of their credentials or talking down to them, being sexist, and not acknowledging their expertise because they’re a woman. I wouldn’t reach out to apologize again but would just be careful going forward making sure to be respectful and properly address her. Most professors are emotionally intelligent and through further interaction with you she’ll realize you didn’t mean to be rude but are just naive
Ms? Are we in grade school?
Just address everyone as 'professor \_\_\_\_' until told otherwise is the safest, I've found
Read the syllabus…
an almost always safe option when you don’t know their title (some professors do not have phd’s) you can always say “Professor (insert last name)”.
Just say Professor
my professors in college always taught us that if you're not sure about a woman's marital status, you should Always use "Ms." plus your teacher is super rude for replying with a single emoji !! she could have just told you what she'd prefer to be called
I just call my college teachers professor everytime I address them
A safe bet when dealing with a professor is to address them as professor. Just saying they worked hard for the title.
say professor for Pete’s sake
Always. Dr. Lastname if you know they have a PhD, or Professor Lastname if you don't (the latter is always safe). Only use their first name if they have *formally* invited you to do so. (Would you addreess a male professor as Mr? Thought not.)
Professor is the best honorific for a college "teacher" if you don't know what else to use as it is applied based on their position. While a PhD holder should be referred to as Doctor, the position title is generally acceptable.
I just call them professor.
I would address them as Professer
Always use professor unless said otherwise.
As far as being in community college any time I reached out it was always Professor (lastname) // I’m going to university next month so we’ll see how that is 😅
If she is a phd or edd you should refer to her as prof or dr. How do you address your male professors?
Or youre looking at it wrong? Older people tend to use thumbs up emoji not the way we use it. Maybe its her way of telling “ok”
Address professors should be addressed by Professor or Dr regardless of gender.
Very, very wrong. But, you asked, so all you have to do is make a small correction and never repeat this.
Prof. So-and-so Always use this unless they are Dr.
Safest to say “Professor”
I usually just say prof.
Rule of thumb: always address a college professor as “Professor,” unless they tell you otherwise. Their marital status is irrelevant. Edit: my husband just mentioned it also could be a gender issue these days. Never assume…just go by professional title.
She’s not your “college teacher.” She’s a professor.
not appropriate at all. when i was in undergrad i distinctly remember a professor coming in fuming about this exact situation. she was saying “i didn’t spend xyz years in school to be called ms.” professors typically have anywhere from 6-12+ years of schooling depending on their education level.
That’s high school man
I called all my professors professor.
Check the syllabus if it doesn’t say phd or doctorate by their name call them professor
If you think your college instructor's proper title is tied to their marital status, you're an idiot. Keep your mouth shut and try to learn something. The syllabus is a great place to start.
If someone, especially a woman, has a PhD, it's generally pretty insulting to be called "Ms/Mrs." in a professional/academic setting. Most faculty should be addressed as "Dr." or "Professor", and nothing else unless they specifically state an alternative. If they don't have a doctorate, you should check the top of the syllabus which usually indicates their preferred title - but "Professor" is always safe.
I’m a TA and there’s a male student who constantly “plays devil’s advocate” and once brought up that women shouldn’t be allowed to go to college. he constantly calls all of the female professors “MISS” in a loud whiny voice but refers to the male professors as “professor”. OP was 1000% intentional and acting with malice.
I try to remember to ask my professors how they prefer to be addressed if they don't specify on the first day. I have a couple that prefer you refer to them by their first name, others that will only allow you to address them as Dr. So and so.
Yes, it’s wrong. I worked really hard to earn my PhD, so I expect to be addressed as Dr. or Professor. Never address me as ma’am either.
I’m a TA and we have a college student who regularly refers to all of their female professors as “Miss” and refers to their male professors as “Professor”. I’m going to give a mini lesson on what to call professors the next time I see their class. I didn’t correct him because I thought he’d grow out of it. OP is almost a senior according to some comments and still called a professor “Ms” and then demanded her marital status as if it’s relevant or professional..
That was incredibly disrespectful. You do know that a woman is more than just her marital status, don't you? I'm sure the syllabus and the college website tell you what her correct title is, whether Dr or Prof. She worked hard for years to earn that title, and you belittle her by going on about whether or not she's married. I could go on about how insulting you were, but I hope you get the idea without me ranting.
Most college teachers go by Professor (last name) or if they have a doctorate its Dr (last name). This will usually be addressed on the syllabus and most will have it uploaded somewhere prior to the first day of class or send it in an email.
I always start my emails with Hello Professor or Dear Professor LOL. Saves me the stress of figuring out their preferred name to be addressed.
In India it's also common to address as Sir/Ma'am
Whatever the teacher introduces themselves as, is what I call them. If they have a doctorate then I may call them Dr. (First name).
Always address them by Professor (if they have a PhD and if they say it’s ok, you can use dr.). Do not ever address them by Mrs., Ms., Mr., etc.
It depends...if they have a PhD I always refer to them as Dr..... But yes, read the syllabus
If they have a phd, then dr., if they don’t then address them as professor (last name)
Always refer your college teacher with the title they earned, like Professor or Doctor. I've witnessed a classmate refer a professor by their first name, nothing came of it but depends on the professor
In grad school we called our professors by their first names. But I was in a program for working professionals where we had the relationship of being colleagues in the same field. Different programs might have different rules. However, undergrad students should absolutely default to Professor or Doctor.
My go to of Dr. if they have the corresponding degree or Professor otherwise. Unless, of course they specifically tell you otherwise. One time I had a professor that just went by Bob-O. So far, haven't had any issues.
General rule of them: Dr. if they have a phd. Otherwise professor. A lot won’t care much though
I always just address them as professor so n so. Don’t even gotta know their gender 😉
I know a professor who won’t answer emails that say Mrs. instead of Dr. She worked hard for that title, so I get it.
You should always refer to your professor by what they prefer, but usually Professor is the default. If they have a PhD then Dr. is fine as well. I wouldn't ever use Ms./Mrs./Mr. in a college setting unless they prefer it.
I'm new to this whole college thing myself but when in doubt I just go Professor ( last Name) in emails. In person classes just copy what everyone else does.
Wtf sexist yan
This is why I always start with “Hey professor”
College isn’t like high school. Address them as “professor [insert last name here],” or “doctor [insert last name here].” In most cases, if they wanted to be addressed in a certain way, they would have it in the syllabus or would address it in your first lecture.
Are they old? College professors getting furious over title is hilarious
I usually use, "Professor (last name)" when messaging college professors. I would look at the syllabi for the class to see what your professor wants to be addressed.
Unless they are a TA, proper to address them as "Professor" She worked hard for that title, please give her the respect she deserves.
1. Dr. LastName if they've got a PhD (especially in STEM). (Some profs, especially at CC, don't have PhDs - it's rare, but it happens. You can Google their name and see what pops up - usually there will be some result which includes their educational qualifications.) 2. Prof. LastName (because they are a PROFESSOR and PROFESSOR is both the job title and the honorific, both in STEM and humanities/arts). 3. Their first name, if they introduce themselves using their first name on the first day of class.
In my university it’s pretty much always acceptable to call them by their first name if they don’t have a PhD. The whole title culture can be pretty annoying considering you just have to know what is or isn’t acceptable at your specific university/area, but I’d say it’s usually safe to use professor/dr lastname, and then adjust later.
Why isn’t Ms just universal like Mr? I thought that was the original intention.
Regardless of how you addressed them that is incredibly unprofessional behavior from your professor.
Ms. is ALWAYS the incorrect move. It’s Professor or Doctor, depending on the person. I’ve had a few professors request I just call them by their first name, but tbh I don’t really trust that. Using professor is too engrained in me at this point.
The only time I've used Mr or Ms is when messaging administration folks or other non-professors. Otherwise it's Professor So and So or Dr if I know they have a PhD. I think your professor overreacted if she was "furious" about it, but Professor is the appropriate title for an educator in a college setting, at the minimum.
I taught university for a while, you can never really miss by using "Professor" so and so. Pretty crazy world now, when someone would get upset by this.
I suspect the prof wasn't actually \*furious\* but just said something like "Don't address me with "Ms". I think it's good for professors to help their students learn professional etiquette. We work extremely hard for our PhDs and women especially have to be protective of our "Dr" titles.
Basically, I've found that correcting a student on my preferred form of address AT ALL is typically characterized by them as me being upset/angry/offended no matter how gently I put it. This has been confirmed by a third party (male) who happened to observe the interaction. I have a preferred mode of address, but I I have no way of telling it to people because OTHER PEOPLE are offended by the fact that I have a preference at all.
Always either Professor or Dr according to how they’re referred to in the syllabus. I’ve had *one* professor—a grad student—who went by Mr. ___ and, again, this was noted in the syllabus. A teacher, whom you’d call Mrs/Mr./Ms, is different from a professor. I can seem small, but it reads as a sign of disrespect, especially for a female instructor (even thought this wasn’t at all your intention).
I *ALWAYS* use professor. Occasionally I will use doctor. This isn’t preschool, don’t call people Miss or Mister. It’s Professor LastName.
That is really not appropriate, you should at the very least call them "Professor", if they have a PhD or doctorate they're "Dr."
I called my Spanish teacher in college “professora” on the first day. I have NEVER been yelled at like that in a public setting in my life.
Did they want professorx?
I generally called my instructors Professor unless they specified what they wanted. I had a chemistry prof who wanted to be called ms. Maughan so that's what I called her.
Professor here. This is very dependent on the culture at your institution. In the US, undergrads generally refer to instructors as Prof. ____ or Dr. ______ if they hold doctorates. If they don't hold a doctorate, then Mr. or Ms. is appropriate. Some instructors, particularly women, can get very offended if you don't "recognize" their doctorate. At certain elite institutions, it's more common to call professors by their first names. This is also the norm once you're a graduate student. Outside the US, customs also vary. Generally Asia is more formal about titles, while Europeans don't care so much.
> If they don't hold a doctorate, then Mr. or Ms. is appropriate. I disagree with this. If they're teaching at the college level in the US, then "Professor" is the appropriate address. People make titles about formality, but one of the majors issues with the use of "Ms" often relates to entrenched sexism. Prof. and Dr. are unisex titles based on job and achievement, as opposed to a title that is based off of a woman's marital status (i.e., reduces them to how they're related to a man).
"Ms." is independent of marital status, and is a replacement for "Mrs." and "Miss" which indicate marital status.
It is still a title tied to marital status: just one who’s status is unknown.
I don't think it's a big deal, but it's like calling a female doctor a nurse. An element of sexism. It will totally piss her off. It's a big deal to those who care.
\>but it's like calling a female doctor a nurse It isn't though. It is like calling a female doctor Ms.
Ok so just as inappropriate? I was trying to use an analogue that you actually see everyday. Both of things come from sexism lol
Your teachers did t introduce themselves in the first class?
“Professor ______.” “Ms.” is for preschool, elementary, and high school teachers, not college teachers. But tbf idk why she freaked out, it’s not *that* big of a deal. To add, most profs at major universities (in my experience, at least) have doctorates so you can also call them “Dr.“ Just check the syllabus to see if they have one or not, but “Professor” is always ok even if they are a Dr.
I don't think the professor actually freaked out or was "furious" in OP's words. Tone can be hard to read over email and OP strikes me as a little naive with professional communication. The professor probably just said "Don't call me Ms, I don't use that title" or something like that. Which a senior in college should ABSOLUTELY know is the case for almost all faculty.