From personal experience, I can say right off that I know forming connections with professors can feel intimidating, stressful, and sometimes downright awkward, especially in your first year. It’s a huge adjustment coming out of high school, where you were maybe one of twenty students in a class with a great relationship with your teacher, to starting university and feeling anonymous in a class of up to 200. It can be super scary and harder to get to know the professors in this context. However, making good connections with your professors is one of the most important parts of your university career and it will be a huge help in the long run. 

 Personally, I decided to write about this because I’m currently in the midst of post grad applications, which means references references references! The tips I’m going to talk about below are what helped me gain the connections with my professors and led me to being able to go to them and use them as references, get their advice on my post grad plans, and generally have a helping hand when I need it. So this is extra important as application season approaches for upper year students, but for younger students it is never ever too early to start making these connections!  

Office hours are your best friend

You will probably hear this 1000 times throughout your university career, but I’m here to say it again: Office Hours are an incredible tool, and you really should use them! They are such a great opportunity to ask questions, get to know course material, and generally connect with your professor! Though they may seem less enticing now when presented in a virtual format, they are actually that much more important in today’s world. Even if you aren’t sure you have specific questions, dropping into a virtual office hour just to introduce yourself, chat about the course a bit and ask whatever questions come to mind is an incredible tool, and it will likely lead to you and your prof being able to talk about other things. If office hours don’t work for your schedule, don’t be afraid to do reach out for an appointment with your prof, and do the same thing!  

Engage with their interests

For the most part, in addition to teaching, professors have a specific area of research. This is another key tool to use for engaging with them! If you are attending office hours or having a meeting with a professor, asking them about their research interests, their current projects, etc is a great way to get to know more about them, and learn something new along the way! Not only will they feel excited to discuss it with you, but this will be a huge help for you if you are considering adding any sort of research to your degree, such as an honours or an independent study. This will ensure that your professors feel that there is a connection, and will be apt to be an engaging and memorable conversation if it surrounds their area of interest!  

Participate in class

This is my last point, and though it may seem like the most obvious, it may actually be the most important. It is key to remain engaged and participatory in classes, especially when they are online! It’s a good way to get your name out there and have the professor remember you. Even if there are no “participation marks”, profs often keep track of who participates and asks questions and they’ll remember that down the road. Of course, participating can be pretty intimidating, but nowadays it doesn’t always mean speaking up in front of the whole class! Utilize the chat function in your online classes to ask questions or share your opinions, or use the forums on moodle to do the same if you have some classes that aren’t live! A professor will see your name on there and the more you engage, they’re more likely to note that and remember you down the line!  

Whether you’re just starting out and looking to feel more comfortable and engaged with your courses, an upper year student looking to find an area of research for potential projects, or a graduating student wanting advice and references to take down the line for post grad opportunities, use these few pieces of advice to overcome the fear and start making those connections!