How do I address my professor in my email?

Question

I wrote an email to my professor, addressing him as "Dear Professor Full Name Here, "

In his response, he addressed me as "Hi Myfirstname" and he signed off with only his first name. The email itself was not very formal at all, and he is very young for a professor.

I need to reply to his email, do I continue addressing him with " Dear Professor Full Name Here" or can I just say "Hi Hisfirstname"?

I don't want to offend him, but I feel like I may be too formal and awkward. Plus, I kinda want to have a more personal relationship with him (not in an illegal way! nothing like that!).

Whats the etiquette in this case?

Answer 1

Continue to call him Professor Suchandsuch until he asks you to call him by his first name. It is a sign of respect.

Answer 2

Everyone goes through this, it's okay. There is no one size fits all answer, every prof is different. The idea is to keep it fast and professional though. One thing you don't want to do is call someone "assistant lecturer (name)". Two standbys that will save you a lot of time and effort are "Dr" if they have a PHD, or "Mr" if they don't. Takes all the guesswork out of it. But by far the best way I've found, and the rule I use, is to just try something polite with the first e-mail, and then pay attention to how they sign off when they send you an e-mail. Then turn around and use that. Long formal sig, long formal name. Full name, full name. First name, first name. Last: if you are asking a professor for help with a problem: office hours, not e-mail. Every student makes that mistake exactly once if they weren't explicitly told.

Answer 3

I always e-mail my professor's as:



Prof. ____,



I figure it never hurts to be respectful of their position. I think using 'Dear' at the beginning isn't right for the person you're e-mailing. Plus, I know many professor's wish that their students would be more professional-sounding in their e-mails to them. I've had professor's mention it in the syllabus that they won't respond to e-mail using slang, improper grammar, etc, and that student's should e-mail them as if they are e-mailing their boss.



If you want to develop more of a close relationship with your professor, then you should stop by more often during his office hours and ask him questions--allow him to put a name to the face.



Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I know what you mean. In high school, you are expected to address your teachers formally: Mr. or Mrs. In college, some profs allow first names to be used, others prefer Professor or Dr. (if they have a PhD).



The rule of thumb is to ALWAYS address your Professor as Professor or Dr. until he or she has said EXPLICITYLY to call him or her by his or her first name.



So, for your situation, continue to call him Professor or Dr. until he allows you to call him otherwise.

Answer 5

If he answered using his first name I think it's perfectly fine to refer to him that way also. Obviously still remain respected and polite in the email, but he wouldn't have called you by your first name and only signed his first name if he weren't comfortable referring to eachother in that way.

Answer 6

Use what you used first. Don't use his first name only until he says (if he dose) "By the way, just call me ___"