Addressing People in Academia

When I started college I did not know how to address professors. I was a first generation student and an international student so I was extremely confused. I went to a small liberal arts college where (most) professors were fine with being called by their first names. Culturally, I felt uncomfortable calling my elders by first name. I hope this post is useful for someone in a similar situation.

Addressing people in academia is one of the challenges of being in an academic setting. Below I provide general information with a side note that each academic has their own preference. I should also note that I am only familiar with academic life in the United States so this post may or may not be relevant for those in other countries. I share this post with my students on my syllabus or on my course website.

• If a person already informs you about how you should call them please respect that.
• Undergraduate degrees may be followed up by master’s and doctoral degrees. If a person has a doctoral degree then they can be referred as Dr. followed by their last name. Yes, just like medical doctors! It may be hard to guess whether someone has a doctoral degree. If you are, for instance, emailing someone for an opportunity, make sure to check their website before emailing them. They may list their degrees. The most common doctoral degree is abbreviated as Ph.D. but there are other doctoral degrees. Since the title Dr. is based on a degree, you can also use this title with anyone outside of academia if they have a doctoral degree.
• Even though many college professors have doctoral degrees, not all do. For instance, in the field of fine arts, master’s degrees serve as the terminal degree. In other words, a fine arts professor may not have a doctorate but they have completed all the degree requirements to become a professor. For such academics who do not have a doctorate degree, you can refer to them as Prof. followed by their last name. You can also use the Prof. title with academics who have doctoral degrees. In short, the title Prof. comes with the job.
• The titles Miss and Mrs. are used for unmarried and married women respectively. In formal settings, since you are not aware of marital status of the woman you are referring to you can use Ms.. Use this title only with women who are not Dr. or Prof.. The male title Mr. does not indicate marital status and can be used for men who are not Dr. or Prof.. Similarly the title Mx. does not indicate marital status and can be used for nonbinary people who are not Dr. or Prof. Also, Mx. can be used for people who do not find their gender relevant to how they are addressed.¹
• Some people may prefer that you call them by their first name and some actually might find this rude. Unless you have been told to use first names, use one of the aforementioned titles.

	Doctoral/Medical Degree Required	Job Specific	Gender Neutral	Based on Marital Status
Dr.
Miss
Mr.
Mrs.
Ms.
Mx.
Prof.

Footnotes

1. Thank you for the addendum Holly Beale