Contacting professors?

[Cheollima]

Hello friends,

I am someone who will be starting a master's program in March in South Korea. I was wondering in the meanwhile if I should be introducing myself to my future professors through email and how to do it? Many of my friends are in engineering and sciences and they contacted their professors of interest to join their labs, but history has no such collaborative projects besides looking for advisers. I know of professors that I have similar interests with, but I don't think I should ask them to become my advisers yet. I think it would also be awkward to introduce myself without having anything else to say. I would like to know what to do.

Thank you.

[DGrayson]

While it is something that I don't think you need to do, I contacted a potential advisor before starting my advisor and framed my introduction around any suggestions she might have for books I could read over the summer to get a head start on a field I was relatively new to. You could try that.

[urbanhistorynerd]

I found that reading (or even skimming) through the writings of a professor that you're interested in working with helps out. That way by introducing yourself you'll not only be familiar with their work, but also show that you are legitimately interested and serious. 

[Kingsouth]

I've been in a similar situation to you, obtaining my MA from a foreign institution. The only advice I'd give you is to contact your POI's closer to admissions. They're likely to forget who you are otherwise as they are extremely busy and are regularly contacted out of the blue by people exactly like us.

In regards to framing your email; be polite, succinct, perhaps add a little about your current/planned project, ascertain if its viable and ask for any advice in regards to admissions to their respective universities and/or material they may suggest.

It seems like an extremely daunting exercise (especially if you're not American and not used to their system) but I had fantastic responses that has been invaluable to by applications... well.. hopefully it has been... we'll find out soon.

Good luck with your MA!

Edited January 28, 2018 by Kingsouth

[TheHessianHistorian]

I don't know if this is necessarily the best way to go about it, but what I did was to introduce myself (via email) to the POIs at each of the 15 schools I applied to about a month or two before application season. About 80% of them responded (some quicker than others), and 20% just ignored my emails. Some of the responders really engaged with me and put out a lot to converse about. Other conversations just kind of dwindled and basically just served to plug my name into their memory bank. 

After I submitted each application, I then sent one more email to each of the POIs letting them know that my application was officially submitted and reiterating that I was looking forward to working with them should I be fortunate enough to be accepted. Again, some of the POIs really engaged with me after this email, some responded with a polite acknowledgement, and a few did not respond at all (the same ones who did not respond to the very first email).

I felt like, regardless of whether this strategy helped my chances with the admissions process, it helped me get a much better idea of which POIs are the most supportive, enthusiastic, and aligned with my interests. That will help make my decision easier when it comes time to pick a program to enroll in.

[jocorac]

I think it is worth doing. Like the person above stated, its really a hit or miss situation. Having that connection before you move will hopefully make things easier for you in the long run. Keep it brief. Just let them know that you will be attending soon and would like to start a connection. I know for me, it really made a difference in my not applying to my other choice school due to their late response. Just focus mainly on building that connection and having someone in your corner. Everything else will fall in line! 

 

Good luck!