If I don't know whether a staff member has a PhD, should I address her as Dr. in my emails? There have been a few circumstances where I've had to email an authority at my school and didn't know whether they had a PhD (e.g. An instructor of mine who I knew had been a PhD candidate a few years earlier, but perhaps graduated since then). In these cases, should I address the person as Dr.?
I always use Dr. ______  whenever I am e-mailing someone at a university and do not know if they have a doctorate.


If they do have a doctorate, I haven't insulted them.
If they don't, they chuckle and are pleased.