When emailing a professor, it’s important to keep in mind that they receive many emails from students and colleagues every day.
Overall, emailing a professor can be an important part of a student’s academic and professional development. It can help build relationships, seek guidance, clarify assignments, network, and troubleshoot issues.
Now let’s talk about how to write an email a professor.
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1) I used Gmail. There I used Sans Serif font in Normal size. I used to justify the entire mail. By doing this, most of the emails would go to 12 lines.
2) If you have any experience related to the professor’s research, mention it. He does research on diabetes and you have experience with cancer, so you don’t seem like a suitable candidate for him. But there is one thing. If you’ve done diabetes-related work while studying cancer, doing internships or undergrad research, or working on diabetes-related topics, that is, find a link to diabetes, and focus on that. Something is better than nothing.
I have attached two emails to this post. See the first mail. My undergrad research has some overlap with the professor’s research. That’s what I focused on. And the professor’s research in the second mail was not similar to my undergrad research. Still, I took the approach because my interest coincided with his research. He saw my motivation and replied as a potential candidate. But since I have no experience of working with cells, model organisms, and animal models, after sending several emails, he gave me a nice reply saying that he could not accept me.
3) Mention any work/research of the professor that has left a mark on your mind. This will make him feel a connection with you. It’s a psychological thing. If someone tells you, “I like all your posts on Facebook,” you’ll be happier than if that person says, “Your post about emailing the professor was really great!” Then you think, the person actually read and liked this post. Then you will have a different feeling towards him.
Before writing the two emails, I looked at the work of the professors from Researchgate and Google Scholar. Then I studied the articles which matched my interest. Then I chose the work/works that I liked the most and wrote about it/them in the mail.
4) I got a suggestion from a brother not to always use an active voice in the mail. For example, instead of saying I used SPSS software, I worked on obesity, etc., using passive voice, say SPSS was used in my research, I was engaged with obesity research, etc. This brings variety.
5) Subject of mail should be short but informative. I have used two types of subjects, see.
6) I don’t think there is any need to mention your CGPA, GRE, or IELTS/TOEFL score in the body of the mail. Attach your CV with the mail, which contains these details. If the professor is impressed by your mail (if he feels interested in you), he can look at the information from your CV.
7) It is up to you whether or not to attach the transcript to the mail. I thought it would be useful for the professor. He can see my entire profile in one chance. Can decide whether my academic results are suitable for working with him.
8) The language of mail will be professional. Don’t write something emotional, like – I’m dying to work with you. Rather, write about your experience matching the professor’s research, and your interest in working with him in a few words so that he can think of you as a potential candidate on his own.
9) Create a general format of mail. For example, both my mails have the same format. There will be some words that are always the same. For example, your contact, whether it is possible to get a position in the professor’s lab, waiting for a reply from him, etc. But talking about the professor’s research, why you are interested in working with him, your experience will vary from professor to professor.
10) If you call the professor after applying, you must mention your application ID.
11) If you give knock after getting admission, you must mention that you have got admission from that university.
12) Please do not copy exactly from both my mails. Write mail from your own thoughts and thoughts. There are many plagiarism software to catch copy-paste mail, SOP. You sure don’t want to be caught by professors as a plagiarist?
Be honest from the beginning on the path to higher education.
How to write a professional CV : https://thekaacademy.com/how-to-write-a-professional-resume-cv/
Sample 1
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Subject: Prospective PhD student, seeking to study metabolic disease, obesity, physical activity
Professor R,
I am Kabir Ahmed from Bangladesh. I have completed MS in Nutrition from University of Dhaka on 2013. I intend to start my PhD from fall 2018, and my interests lay on metabolic disease, obesity, and their possible treatment and prevention by physical activity. Your works on physical exercise intrigued me to contact you, because the way you unified the research of physical activity, and postprandial lipemia and inflammation is fascinating. My undergraduate research was also on metabolic disorders in pre-diabetic subjects, where I worked on postprandial triglyceride and glucose. I had to assess the metabolic disorders and the risk factors associated with fasting glucose. From then I grew an interest to pursue my higher study on metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease risk, and their prevention and treatment by physical activity/exercise.
I have wet laboratory experience, as well as community research experience. SPSS was used in my research, and courses on biochemistry, human physiology, organic chemistry, statistics, metabolism are completed during my under graduation. As an internee, I was engaged with assessing biochemical and nutritional status of endocrine patients for six months. All these helped prepare myself for future research endeavor. Now I am determined to establish new knowledge to the arena of metabolic disease and physical activity if opportunity comes. And it would be really delightful to work with you, as your research area includes my desired topics.
I am confident to achieve essential knowledge to develop and evaluate methodologies for physical activity related research, if you select me as a graduate student for your lab. I will be eagerly waiting to have a feedback from you. My CV and academic transcripts are attached here for your kind consideration.
Best regards,
Kabir Ahmed
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Sample 2
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Subject: Looking for PhD research opportunity on nutritional epigenetics and cancer
Professor M,
I am Allen Daniel from Bangladesh. I have completed MS in Nutrition from University of Dhaka on 2013. I intend to start my PhD from fall 2018, and my interests lay on the role of nutrition on cancer prevention/treatment, epigenetics, and nutrient-gene interactions. After reading your papers on the role of HDAC Inhibitors in cancer, I am intrigued to contact you. My undergraduate research was on metabolic disorders in pre-diabetic subjects, where I intensely worked on metabolism, metabolic disorders, obesity, and insulin resistance. But I always had a desire to emphasize on nutritional epigenetics and cancer. If opportunity comes, I am determined to establish new knowledge in the arena of epigenetics, keeping the concentration on how nutrients affect regulation of genes whose expression is linked to cancer, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes.
I have laboratory experience of extraction and isolation of biomolecules from food sources, and colorimetric estimation of biomolecules. SPSS was used in my research, and courses on biochemistry, human physiology, organic chemistry, statistics, and metabolism are completed during my under graduation. As an internee, I was engaged with assessing biochemical and nutritional status of endocrine patients for six months. All these helped prepare myself for future research endeavor. And it would be really delightful to work with you, as your research area includes my desired topics.
I am confident to achieve essential knowledge to develop and evaluate methodologies for epigenetics research, if you select me as a graduate student for your lab. I will be eagerly waiting to have a feedback from you. My CV and academic transcripts are attached here for your kind consideration.
Best Regards,
Allen Daniel
Overall, emailing a professor can be an important part of a student’s academic and professional development. It can help build relationships, seek guidance, clarify assignments, network, and troubleshoot issues.
