Dear OP,
I am glad you started this thread. Like you, I would typically start the first email with the more formal greeting, but then drop it on replies. I was looking through syllabi posted at a college that my D is considering and saw that a professor specifically stated that they were to be addresses formally/professionally in every email, including replies. My first reaction was that this was somewhat off-putting. But the responses here make it seem more just appropriate business etiquette. It makes sense to be more formal and then follow the professor’s lead on follow-up emails.
I do think this has something to do with proper business correspondence format, but I wonder it it might also have something to do with how someone views email. If you view it as ongoing correspondence, the formal format makes sense. If, like me, you tend to view an ongoing email (replies back and forth) as a conversation, then the greetings seem awkward, since you would certainly not use them if you were speaking face to face.
Again, I would absolutely respect the wishes of the professor and take the time to do whatever s/he wanted. It’s just not something that I’ve personally encountered.
Perhaps it has something to do with my field and the institutions that I study at. Where I study/work, collaboration between researchers is valued above most else and there is very little in the way of hierarchy between students, researchers, and professors. We use first names and, to be honest, I rarely know the academic level of researchers that I’m on a team with until I see their credentials in print- (ie- professor, post-doc, grad student, etc).
We are all just products of our individual bubbles I suppose
Hmm… I usually drop the “Dear Professor” (or most usually “Hi Professor” or "Bonjour Professor) after a couple replies, as does the professor. So it looks like:
Bonjour Professor,
I’m going to be applying for a study abroad scholarship. Could you please write me a letter of rec?
Merci,
harvestmoon
Bonjour harvestmoon,
Absolutely. When is it due?
Madame Professor
Bonjour Madame,
It’s due in 3 weeks and here are the forms.
Thanks so much!
harvestmoon
Merci, harvestmoon! I’ll get it done within the week.
Madame Professor
There’s just a sort of natural drop that happens. I will say that I usually err on the side of formal and wait for them to become less formal, but still, for me it isn’t a matter of taking too much effort to write “Bonjour Madame” every email as it is too formal. A French friend of mine said she avoids using “vous” unless she absolutely has to because she thinks formality creates unnecessary distance between people, and I kind of feel the same way here with salutations.
I guess all of this does depend on your relationship with the professor, though. I have some where I can be like “hey first name, write me a rec please! :)”
I think professors that make this request/requirement are usually trying to help prepare their undergrads for life after college. So many students don’t understand proper email etiquette and write atrocious or unprofessional emails, so this professor might be taking a blanket approach to trying to fix that.
It’s not so much about the type of address (“dear” vs. “hello”, although “dear” is more formal if you don’t know someone) but about remembering to attach a salutation period, especially if it’s a professor that you aren’t close to. I worked with my PhD advisor closely for 6 years and when I email him I still begin with “Hello/Hi John!”
