In spoken English, titles are generally not used, with the exception of Mr, Mrs, Ms, professor and doctor. When listing names in writing, other academic titles are included, such as BA, MA, PhD – all of which come after the surname.
Example: Ms N. Jones MA
In 'prof.' a full stop is used, unlike in any of the other titles (see above and below). Please note: when used as a title, it should start with a capital.
Example: Professor Shaw / Prof. Shaw
PhD: when addressing a PhD in a letter, use 'Dr'.
Example: Dear Dr Doe.
On the envelope, use PhD.
Example: To Jane Doe PhD ('Mr' or 'Mrs' is omitted).
In English, unlike in Dutch, only the highest academic title is used.
If Dutch titles are retained, they are italicized in order to indicate the title is foreign.
Example: rector magnificus.
International titles such as 'Prof.' and 'Dr' are the exception to this rule. Please note that all abbreviations of Dutch titles are written with a full stop (in Dutch Dr gets a full stop too: dr.).
Use of Dutch titles in English texts:
| Prof. | Professor |
| Dr | |
| Drs. | |
| Mr. | Dutch 'mr.' (meaning 'Master of Laws'/'meester in de rechten') may be mistaken for English 'Mr' (mister), or vice versa. This can be avoided by using LLM instead. |
| Ing. | |
| Ir. |
Job titles
Use lower case letters when used generically, except at the beginning of a sentence.
Example: 'All the personal managers of the region were present.' 'A head of department is responsible for ….'
Use capitals when referring to a specific person with this title.
Example: 'She became Head of Department at the council.' 'As the Personnel Manager of EUR, he feels responsible for this.'