What’s in a Name? Cross Country Differences in Preferred Ways of Address for University Teachers

Using a scenario-based study amongst MBA students in 22 countries, we find that students in Northern Europe tend to address their lecturers informally with their given name, whereas academic titles such as Dr. or Professor are more common in other countries, including the USA. Gender-based options such as Madam/Sir and Mrs/Mr followed by the family name are popular in France, the Netherlands, Greece and Turkey. Finally, students – and male students in particular – are more likely to see a male teacher as a professor and are more inclined to use a given name for female teachers.