教授 vs 先生 when adressing a university professor


I will soon be visiting research laboratories in Japan and meeting with the
professors in charge.

The english website clearly lists their position as "professor" and not
"teacher".

Of course, the direct translation of professor is 教授, but I am uncertain
whether 先生 would be a better (more natural) term to use when talking to them.
As in X-先生 or X-教授 where X is the professor's last name.




When talking directly to your teachers, you can almost always stick to ～先生 and
be safe, regardless of their positions (教授, 講師, 助教, ...). In general, ～教授 is
used only when referring to them in the third person. This is in contrast to
private companies, where 部長 can be called (X-)部長, etc.

But depending on the university you visit, there may be rare local rules. For
example, in Keio University, [all the teachers seem to be addressed using
～君](http://www.keio.ac.jp/ja/contents/mamehyakka/18.html) at least in formal
ceremonies and official documents.




When talking directly to your teachers, you can almost always stick to ～先生 and
be safe, regardless of their positions (教授, 講師, 助教, ...). In general, ～教授 is
used only when referring to them in the third person. This is in contrast to
private companies, where 部長 can be called (X-)部長, etc.

But depending on the university you visit, there may be rare local rules. For
example, in Keio University, [all the teachers seem to be addressed using
～君](http://www.keio.ac.jp/ja/contents/mamehyakka/18.html) at least in formal
ceremonies and official documents.

