how do you get to know your professor?

[skazyjae]

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I just wondered. what techniques do you guys use?

 

[SilverCat]

Just go to their office hours and ask some well-chosen questions about lectures, readings, etc. You'll be surprised at how few people go, and most professors love seeing students at office hours.

Or you can do research in their lab.

 

[pv515]

I just wondered. what techniques do you guys use?

My humble advice is to go to their office hours, but not necessarily for a "business" purpose. Maybe ask a question or two about the class, but quickly shift from that into regular conversation.

Treat your professors like people, not textbooks 🙂

 

[SDME321]

If you have the opportunity, serve as a TA for them

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

If you have the opportunity, serve as a TA for them

This. I never had class with (from?) one of the profs I TA'ed for, and we're total bros now.

 

[ceasefire]

Go to office hours, happy hour, their birthday party, etcetera. You'll get to know them well!

More seriously, I took many courses with the same professors (If I took 101 with Dr. X, I tried to take 102, 201, and 202 with them), sought out extracurricular opportunities where they were the coordinator/faculty mentor, and scheduled meetings where I talked about my career goals and asked for their input.

 

[Irish Football]

My humble advice is to go to their office hours, but not necessarily for a "business" purpose. Maybe ask a question or two about the class, but quickly shift from that into regular conversation.

Treat your professors like people, not textbooks 🙂

Definitely this. I guess it really depends on the professor, but from my experiences most professors are normal people (and usually much more laid back in their office as opposed to class) and like to just talk about normal things.

 

[kpcrew]

I would talk to them as if they were a human being with similar interests and desires.

 

[911 Turbo]

I usually go to their office and take a few shots with them before the semester starts.

 

[mehc012]

Go to a small school.

I'm kidding, since you clearly can't switch UGs just for professor contact, but you can at least try to take small upper level courses or something.
All of my profs knew every student in the class by name (excluding Psych because that dept. was terrible), which was largely due to the classes being small. I met all of the prof's kids, they knew what sport I played and which other chem majors I hung out with, etc...they really made an effort to get to know students who seemed really interested in their subjects. If it's a small enough class, you can bring up interesting research that's going on in that area, or just hang out for a few minutes after class and talk with the prof. Besides, as I said, they like students who seem interested in their subject, and therefore pay more attention once you start taking upper-levels.

 

[Praefectus]

My humble advice is to go to their office hours, but not necessarily for a "business" purpose. Maybe ask a question or two about the class, but quickly shift from that into regular conversation.

Treat your professors like people, not textbooks 🙂

👍 That's perfect. Go in with questions about the class, but stick around for a little bit of conversation to make the relationship personal. That's how people get promoted in the real world - schmoozing with their bosses.

 

[Bangersandmash]

Beyond going to office hours and asking questions and striking up casual conversation, work in things related to their research and what they find interesting. I noticed a patent certificate in my physics professors office one time and he was happy to discuss his research with me. I even knew a little bit about what he was doing and was able to discuss some other innovations in his field and he was impressed. Professors also enjoy when you ask about the real world applications of their classes. Many include some BS slides in their lectures about why what you are learning is important in the real world. They seem more friendly talking about that than they do helping you with **** that is in the textbook.

 

[circulus vitios]

15) Q: I want all of my LOR's to be TOTALLY AWESOME! How can I get to really know all of my professors?
A: Unless you're an incredibly hot female and your would-be LOR author is a single male, your professor has absolutely no interest in getting to know you. Unless, of course, you have something meaningful to contribute to his field or life, such as a productive research assistant.
16) Q: Can't I just go to his office hours to get to know him?
A: Sure, go this person you don't know and try to start up a conversation about something that would interest him. I'm sure someone 20-30 years older than you would love to postpone his busy schedule of writing exams, failing premed students, research activities, grant writing, or going home, to entertain whatever irrelevant bull**** someone half his age has to converse about. Your inorganic chemistry professor doesn't care about getting to know you, he just wants you to get the hell out of his office so he can work or go home, or get to know the incredibly-hot-yet-stupid premed peer of yours.

.

 

[Ashley1989]

At my school we have guest speakers come in and lecture and are required to go to a certain number of lectures to graduate. The first one I went to I sat in the front and was the only one to ask questions after the speaker finished lecturing and even went up and started talking to them about their work afterwards. Well the professors who went invited me to lunch with them and the speaker, and although I couldn't go because I had lab it helped me first get introduced to them. Then when the time came to take their classes I went to their office hours to ask a few questions and chat, and they not only remembered me but mentioned how pleased they were with me asking thoughtful questions and being genuinely interested. Apparently it made a huge impression, so in addition to what people have mentioned here I would look into seeing if your department has guest speakers and show interest when you go. The atmosphere could be great for meeting professors and see if they have a lunch or refreshments after.

Also, talking to them like they're a genuine person and not someone you have to be nervous around is a huge plus. I've met a couple of professors who are really popular and I get kind of "professor shock" when I meet them for the first time and get really shy or very formal which inhibits any genuineness. Just relax around them, be yourself, show interest in their work, and also don't be afraid to tell them about yourself as well. I noticed that carefully chosen snippets about yourself added into the conversation can lead them to remembering things about you later on. Just a few observations.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Slip them a Benjamin.

 

[asecondtolife]

Stalk them over the internet to find their interests and script the conversations you'll have with them during office hours.

Lol. Just take a lot of classes with them, take smaller classes, and they'll eventually know your face. Go to office hours and ask questions, both related and not related to the class. It really is socializing, nothing more and nothing less. I sucked at it as a freshmen because I was shy but professors really are just some chum you'd pass in a shopping mall (literally, in my case).

 

[TxResident]

Office hours are good to go to, especially if you have a inquisitive mind that goes beyond the class material. Feel free to ask that at office hours (though some may see you as a pretentious brown noser, but hey, "Inquiring minds just gotta know!") unless its FILLED up. I know some of the office hours for my profs were filled and we were even in an auditorium. If you see that you don't have time, feel free to email them about any questions that are not answered by your textbook (if he uses one). I know for one of my biology classes I started asking the prof. questions about some bacteria and what characteristics they had and the reasoning behind it and we hit it off then and he eventually wrote me a letter.