Use initial capitals for the titles of academics and professionals

The full titles of academics and professionals always have an initial capital letter. Use lower case for the names of positions when using them in a generic way.

Titles for chancellors, vice-chancellors and professors

Address chancellors, vice-chancellors and professors with their title, name and position.

A chancellor, vice-chancellor or professor who is knighted

Use ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’ after the official title for a knighted:

• chancellor
• vice-chancellor
• professor.

Emails and letters to chancellors, vice-chancellors and professors

Keep the initial capital for the title in correspondence when you’re writing to a specific person.

In formal correspondence:

• Open with ‘Chancellor’ (or ‘Vice-Chancellor’ or ‘Professor’).
• Conclude with ‘Yours faithfully’.

In less formal correspondence:

• Open with Dear ‘Chancellor’ (or ‘Vice-Chancellor’ or ‘Professor’).
• Conclude with ‘Yours sincerely’.

Don’t include post-nominals (letters after the name) to show master and bachelor degrees in official or academic correspondence to a chancellor, vice-chancellor or professor.

People with doctorates

Address people who hold a doctorate as ‘Doctor’ in formal communication. You can also use the shortened form ‘Dr’ without a full stop.

When writing ‘Dear’ without the person’s name in emails and letters, write the title ‘Doctor’ in full.

A holder of a doctorate who is knighted

If the holder of a doctorate is knighted, don’t address them as ‘Doctor’.

Instead, address the person by ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’. Write the post-nominals for the knighthood after the name, followed by any other post-nominals. Don’t insert commas before or between the post-nominals.

Medical practitioners, dental surgeons and veterinarians

Use ‘Doctor’ or ‘Dr’ for medical practitioners, dental surgeons and veterinarians, whether or not they hold a doctorate.

Surgeons are traditionally called ‘Mr’, ‘Ms’ or their preferred gender-appropriate honorific.

Write abbreviations of academic and professional qualifications after the name

Use post-nominals that stand for tertiary and professional qualifications: 

• for correspondence within the academic community
• to show relevant expertise.

Don’t include both ‘Dr’ and ‘PhD’ for the one name. Use the one that is most relevant for the content.