how to address a lecturer

shane9689

ok so ive been unsure the past while as to whether or not to address lecturers by the first or last name? it may seem a stupid question but after 10 years of having "yes sir" drilled into my head, addressing lecturers by their first name makes me feel odd after all my indoctrination

deRanged

I'd say use their title, and they'll usually say "call me ...".

ReacherCreature

Use Dr., Prof., Mr. (seldom used unless it's a tutor etc.) in emails and then they'll usually reply using their first name and you can work from that.

Other than that I've rarely used their title and name.

Eliot Rosewater

I agree with above advice. I'd never call them sir because I would think at university level people would identify that term with having a knighthood ("Sir Timothy Gowers") rather than merely being a male in authority (as in secondary school).

maglite

Might be course dependent but I've only ever used first name.

Byron85

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Use Dr., Prof., Mr. (seldom used unless it's a tutor etc.) in emails and then they'll usually reply using their first name and you can work from that.

Other than that I've rarely used their title and name.

Unless it's the history department. Only toffs study and teach there.

magicianz

People use anything other than first names? lulwut? Nothing more cringe worthy than hearing someone say 'Sir' in college

LasTime

Eliot Rosewater wrote: »

I agree with above advice. I'd never call them sir because I would think at university level people would identify that term with having a knighthood ("Sir Timothy Gowers") rather than merely being a male in authority (as in secondary school).

Absolutely not Eliot. I've only come across one prof with a fragile enough ego to caution me on calling him by his first name, most of the lecturers are cool. One should not have to submit to the profs at this stage.. were all equal

Redisle

I agree on the first name thing. Some people can't seem to get over the Sir thing from secondary school but I call all my lecturers (that I know) by first name both in emails and in person.

Solair

In UCC, it's normally by first name unless you are introducing them on stage or writing their full title in an academic paper or on an essay cover.

It would be considered fairly weird to address them by title in personal communication. Also, it would be considered fairly rude to get in a huff about not being addressed by title.

It varies from university to university, but in UCC there's usually a sense of being colleagues. It's not secondary school!

Also, if you are doing some kind of formal thing like a printed document, BE VERY CAREFUL to get it right. There's nothing worse than accidentally promoting someone to professor or something like that or leaving out their PhD.

It's always worth verifying it with them first.

Shatner

LasTime wrote: »

Absolutely not Eliot. I've only come across one prof with a fragile enough ego to caution me on calling him by his first name, most of the lecturers are cool. One should not have to submit to the profs at this stage.. were all equal

Speaking of fragile egos...

"But if I decide, at some point, to have my students address me more formally, I will not have done so because I believe that they are adolescent and I am a grown-up. I will have done so because I want them to immediately grasp that there is a knowledge gap between them and me. I want them to trust, from the start, that I and their other lecturers have refined points of view about our subject matters, and our students need to rise to certain challenges. This ain't no party; this ain't no disco. I am not just another face in the crowd."

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=421671