How to Build Strong Relationships With Your Professors as an International Student

Your professors are among the most underused professional resources available to you as a student. They have deep expertise, professional networks, and the ability to write references that carry genuine weight with graduate employers and postgraduate programs. Yet most students - and international students in particular - interact with their professors only through lectures, assignments, and the occasional emailed question.

The students who build the most valuable professional foundations during their degrees are the ones who develop genuine relationships with their academics. This guide explains how.

Understand Australian Academic Culture

In Australian universities, the relationship between students and academics is considerably less formal than in many other educational systems. Professors are addressed by first name in most departments. Office hours are held specifically to invite student engagement. Academics are generally enthusiastic about student curiosity - questions, challenges, and independent thinking are welcomed rather than seen as impertinent.

If you come from a culture where questioning a teacher is seen as disrespectful, this informality may take adjustment. But the adjustment is worth making - the open, collegial relationship between students and academics in Australia is one of the genuine strengths of the Australian university system.

Show Up and Engage

The foundation of any relationship with an academic is consistent, genuine engagement. Attend classes. Read the material before lectures. Ask questions during seminars - not to perform intelligence, but to genuinely probe ideas you find interesting or unclear. Participate in class discussions. These behaviours signal to your professor that you are a serious, engaged student - and they create the conditions in which genuine intellectual relationships develop.

Many academics can recall their best students years after graduation, precisely because those students were distinctively present and engaged. Be one of them.

Use Office Hours

Office hours are among the most underused resources in any university. They are specifically designed for one-on-one engagement with academic staff - to clarify concepts, discuss research interests, seek feedback on work in progress, and develop the kind of individual relationship that is impossible in a lecture theatre.

Come to office hours with specific questions or a specific purpose. "I wanted to talk about your comment on my essay" or "I am thinking about writing my thesis on X and wanted to know if that is viable in your department" is a much more productive starting point than a vague request for help. Respect the academic's time by being prepared and specific.

Engage Beyond Your Coursework

The academics who most strongly advocate for their students are those who see them as more than a student number in a subject. Express genuine interest in a professor's research area. Attend a public lecture they give. Ask about their current projects. These expressions of genuine intellectual curiosity signal that you value the person's expertise, not just their ability to award grades.

Many research opportunities, reference letters, and professional introductions begin with a student asking genuine questions about an academic's research during office hours.

Ask for Feedback and Act on It

Most Australian academics provide written feedback on assessments. Reading that feedback carefully and incorporating it into subsequent work is both an academic improvement strategy and a relationship signal - it tells the academic that you take their expertise seriously. Following up with a brief email or office hours visit to confirm that you understood the feedback and acted on it creates a positive impression and opens a dialogue.