Addressing the academic staff

Each of us probably felt some uncertainty in our first few days of being at university in terms of what to call the academic staff. It is good to know that academic staff at university are not all called Professor, as is the norm at Czech grammar schools. It is a good idea to look up your teachers in the MU Information System to find out what their title is.

When speaking or writing to academic staff, use only the title which is considered to be the most prestigious. The title is usually written before the name (in Czech) and is usually an academic title. Individual titles are normally ordered in this way:

• Prof. (Professor), Doc. (Docent) – an academic-pedagogical title awarded under the auspices of the scientific board of a particular university. The title Professor is higher than Docent.
• MUDr. (Doctor of Medicine), MVDr. (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine), MDDr. (Doctor of Dental Medicine), PharmDr. (Doctor of Pharmacy), JUDr. (Doctor of Law), PhDr. (Doctor of Philosophy), RNDr. (Doctor of Natural Sciences), ThDr. (Doctor of Theology)
• Ph.D. (Doctor), Th.D. (Doctor of Theology) – these are written after the name
• Ing. (Engineer), Ing. arch. (Engineer Architect), Mgr. (Master), PhMr. (Master of Pharmacy), MgA. (Master of Arts)
• Bc. (Bachelor), BcA. (Bachelor of Arts) – these are not often used when addressing someone
• DiS. (Specialist with a Diploma) – this title is written after the name but is not often used when addressing someone

Bc. et Bc. or Mgr. et Mgr. means that the person has Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in 2 subjects.

You may also come across the following:

• CSc. (Candidate of Sciences), DrSc. (Doctor of Sciences) – these titles are written after the name
• Akad. Mal. (Academic Painter)