Is it now the norm for college students to call professors by their first names?

[Anonymous]

I went to a specialized kind of crunchy program at a mid-size state university in the 1980s. All the professors in my program were called by their first names, but those in larger university were called by title and last name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid at Oberlin calls many of his professors by their first name. It’s the community standard— not something he just started doing. Seems strange to me, but it’s part of the schools non-hierarchical/collaborative ethos.

And before the resident Oberlin hater chimes in, do you want to know one college without encampments, protest zones, a police presence, arrests, or significant issues between Muslim and Jewish students right now? Where students are discussing the issues and not causing chaos? If you guessed Oberlin, you’d be right.
Instead, the students are doing things like this:



https://www.ideastream.org/race-gender-identity/2024-04-22/as-the-israel-hamas-war-rages-can-oberlin-college-students-revive-a-kosher-halal-dining-co-op

Collaborative. Rational discussion. As I said, I don’t always “gret” it, but I’d rather my kid be at Oberlin right now than most other US colleges.

Wow, a tiny school in a small city isn't having large protests? Shocking.

But also this:

https://www.adl.org/campus-antisemitism-report-card/oberlin-college

Professor preaching Hamas and a walkout.

Academic freedom means professors get to do this. Students do not have to take their classes.

And walkout * to meet with the trustees to discuss concerns and divertment* is a bit different than a walkout to have a mass protest and build and encampment.

[Anonymous]

When I went to grad school 8 years ago I called my professors by their first names. They called me by my first name. You call me by my first name, I call you by yours. In law school I called my professors "Professor Larloss" because they called me "Ms. Larlosson." At both law school and grad school what I was doing was what most all of the students were doing. I remember hearing a peer ask my fave professor and mentor a question and prefacing it with "Dr Larloss" and it sounded weird to me. So some students still used title and last name. But the vast majority of us didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At my institution it varies by discipline, but we professors tend to be "Dr. Lastname" for those who have PhDs, "Prof. Lastname" for those who do not. TAs are "Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss/Mx. Lastname" or "Firstname" according to their own preference.

There's a wonderful little ritual upon the conferral of the PhD where the former student shakes hands with their advisor for the first time and the advisor says, "Congratulations, and please call me 'Firstname' now. Welcome to the profession," or something similar. It's a joyful moment for all concerned.

I think this is dumb.

DP. Welp, you probably have nooooo idea about what's involved in writing a dissertation/finishing a doctorate. It's a huge deal.

I do, and I also think it is dumb. DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prof here. Most UGs never call me (or any prof I know) by their first names. Everyone once in a while, someone calls me Professor Firstname or Dr. Firstname, and I don't stop them. (Often an international students and I wonder if they got it mixed up.)

Grad students often call me by first name, though I don't encourage it. (In fact, I don't put my first name on the syllabus.)

BUT... if your kid is at a school with a lot of PhD students teaching classes, this would be common. You can't call them Dr. So-and-so and it's sort of inappropriate (though often done) to still call them Professor (you can technically be a Professor without a PhD so it's okay but awkward). So PhD students often go by first names.

Only with a terminal degree. Otherwise, the title would just be instructor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from a SLAC in 1995 and called most professors by their first names, at their request. My kid is at a large university and calls all professors “Professor” or “Dr.”. I think it’s a campus by campus characteristic, not so much a factor of now vs. then.

This is the correct answer.

[Anonymous]

I was at a large university about 15 years ago — most people called the professors by their first name. I never could manage it to their faces (even my advisor after I started my masters lol) but most people did. I think it must be really school/discipline dependent.

[Anonymous]

No, it's not "the norm."

My college kids call their profs "Dr LastName," or occasionally "Prof LastName."

[Anonymous]

It varies from campus to campus. At the SLAC where I teach, a lot of students just call us Professor, no last name even. There are a few, mostly male professors who go by their first name. I dislike that personally because it makes them seem ‘cool’, and women don’t get the same treatment. When corresponding with other faculty, administrators or other staff and a student is copied, we refer to each other as Professor Last Name

[Anonymous]

Each school has a culture that establishes the way professors are addressed. When you are hired there, you go along with that culture. If the student body is accustomed to calling professors ‘Professor X’ then that’s what they use to address you. Most professors don’t stream into a classroom and demand any specific name or title.