23 Best Gift Ideas for Professors

Some academic occasions are to be celebrated, such as the end of a semester, graduation, or when your favorite professor retires. To honor the occasion, you may want to purchase a gift to thank your professor for all the hours and work they’ve put into your education. Trust us, professors work hard – when they aren’t teaching you, they’re likely in meetings, working on administrative tasks or doing research. 

But what should you buy? 

To help you find the perfect gift for your professor, we have prepared a list of 23 of the best gifts for professors you can buy online.

Best Gifts for Professors

In a hurry? Check out these top 3 staff picks:

Sea Urchin Air Plant Kit

Bringing nature indoors, this exotic kit comes with 3 tillandsia air plants and 3 sea urchin shells to display them in. These unique plants can live without soil, absorbing their nutrients from the air. An attractive addition to any space, these versatile plants can be arranged in any style and will filter and cleanse the air around you. With low maintenance, and minimal watering, they will thrive anywhere.

What we like:

• Comes with a convenient instruction sheet
• Easy care
• An exotic and unusual gift 

What we don’t like:

• The shells are on the smaller side, with some plants being too large to fit in them – a different pot may be needed if this is the case.

VOBAGA Coffee Mug Warmer

Professors usually spend their days being interrupted, often leading to the bitter disappointment of a cup of coffee gone cold. The solution – a coffee mug warmer. Suitable to sit on an office desk, this compact design has three temperature settings to either keep or warm up the temperature of the beverage, meaning no more wasted trips to the staff room to reheat a drink.

What we like:

• Safe and durable with an automatic shut off after 4 hours
• Suitable for a range of mugs and materials
• Lightweight and portable

What we don’t like:

• Don’t expect drinks to become super hot – if your drink is cold when you use it, it will become warm but not piping hot. 
• Can be a little bit noisy

Related: Shop These 5 Best Planners for Law School

Tea Forte Single Steeps Organic Loose Leaf Tea Sampler

Designed to relax the mind, body, and spirit, this organic tea leaf sampler offers a selection of gourmet teas for every mood. The pack comes with five varieties of tea, 3 of each blend – Darjeeling Quince, Mountain Oolong, Lemon Lavender, Orange Jasmine, and Vanilla Pear. Coming in pre-portioned single servings, these tea leaves can either be emptied into a teapot or infusing basket, for the perfect cup of tea. 

What we like:

• A great way to sample new and different flavors of tea
• Convenient pre-portioned servings 
• Well presented box

What we don’t like:

• Some of the flavors are a bit hit and miss – down to personal preference

Coffee Table Book

When deciding on a gift for a professor, you can’t go wrong with a coffee table book that showcases your teacher’s interest. Not only is it a personalized and thoughtful gift, but you have the freedom to make it as funny, serious or practical as you want. 

What we like:

• Thoughtful
• It’s unlikely that someone else has bought the same gift
• Can play around with genre and price

What we don’t like:

• Sometimes when there is too much choice, it’s hard to make a decision! 

Thank You Card

While a gift says thank you, it’s always nice to receive a personalized note to go alongside it. Or, sometimes, just a well designed and thoughtful thank you note is enough. With gold foil letterpress combined with a solid color background, these cards offer a simple yet elegant design, perfect for both men and women for any occasion. Made with premium paper, both the card and envelope look smart and professional.

What we like:

• Suitable to give to anyone
• Elegant and quality design 
• Envelopes are self-sealing

What we don’t like:

• Limited choice of background-color

Pop Quiz Clock

A unique and creative way to keep track of time, this analog display wall clock has a different math problem for each hour. A large design made from matte black powder-coated metal with white letters and numbers means this clock will stand out in any classroom, lecture hall or office. 

What we like:

• A fun way to tell the time
• Discussion starter
• Unique gift

What we don’t like:

• Makes quite a loud ticking noise
• May be a distraction to students in the class who become focused on solving the math problems rather than the lesson at hand!

Inspirational Quote Pen

This stylish gift is an ideal choice for any professor, as they always need a pen to hand. Coming in a range of engraved designs, from Aristotle quotes to Einstein quotes and even Hemmingway, there will no doubt be an inspiring saying that your professor will love. Made from metal, with a lacquered wood-colored finish, this elegant ballpoint pen is refillable and reusable. 

What we like:

• Not too heavy or too light
• Uses the standard Parker ballpoint refill

What we don’t like:

• On the bulkier side

MOKOQI Magnetic Levitation Floating Globe

The perfect desk companion, this floating globe is a high tech gadget that everyone would enjoy, even your PhD advisor! Simple to install and set up, it’s easy to make the globe levitate. You can even make it spin in the air and watch it rotate! Your professor’s office will have never looked cooler!

What we like:

• LED light feature makes it look cool in the dark
• Great conversation piece
• A fun gift

What we don’t like:

• The magnets are powerful and can’t be close to computer devices or other electronic devices.
• Smaller than expected

G-WACK Stress Relief Desk Toy

Being a professor is a stressful and demanding job, so why not gift them with something to relieve the pressure? Therapeutic and entertaining, this desk toy releases stress as well as aids creativity. It is the ideal distraction and a productive brain break. 

What we like:

• Great desk addition
• A good way to release stress
• Novelty gift

What we don’t like:

• Balls can fly everywhere!
• A mix of magnetic and metallic balls, with less magnetic ones