When should I contact professors I'm interested in working with?

[ResilientDreams]

I will be applying to PhD programs for Fall 2019 and have a list of professors that I would be interested in working with. When should I contact them? Should I do it over the summer or wait for the fall semester to start? 

[PsyDuck90]

I would wait until the fall, maybe around October. Most faculty probably wouldn't be able to tell you if they have the capability and funding to take on students for the next cycle until around then. 

[jk616]

I second the above! I sent my first round of emails in September and kept a log of when I sent the emails and when/if I heard back. If I didn't hear back from them within a few weeks, I emailed them again in October. That seemed to work pretty well for me, there were a decent amount of professors who didn't get back to me on the first try but did after the second (which is understandable bc they get tons of emails every day). 

 

[Eanertodt]

I agree with what everyone has said above. What I did specifically was look at their schools academic calendars to make sure i wasn’t emailing during midterms. Which was a little extra, but I think it helped get my email in the perfect window during the semester! I emailed like a week and a half (almost two weeks) before midterms 

[kitcassidance]

I'd echo what's already been said and just add that you should double check all websites to make sure you do not ask for repeat information. (ie. have something more interesting to discuss than "are you accepting a student next year?" when the website clearly states that they are.)  I also don't think there is any harm in e-mailing in early September if you're hoping to get a head start on it; most professors know by then if they'll be taking a student the following year.  

[t_ruth]

I've already had students contact me. The early bird gets the worm, you know? I can get invested in a student if we start talking early on...

Yes, I know there are dangers to emailing faculty over the summer, but I think most would be fine with an email that said something along the lines of: I know it is summer and you may not be answering emails regularly, but I am very excited about your program and wanted to reach out sooner rather than later. If I don't hear from you, I'll follow up in the fall.

[ResilientDreams]

@t_ruth Thank you for your input! There is one professor in particular that I'd really like to email because her research interests line up more or less perfectly with mine and I'm citing her a lot in the honors thesis I'm working on. Should I tell her a little bit about my project in my email, or is it best to keep it more general?

[Jason2018]

5 hours ago, ResilientDreams said:

@t_ruth Thank you for your input! There is one professor in particular that I'd really like to email because her research interests line up more or less perfectly with mine and I'm citing her a lot in the honors thesis I'm working on. Should I tell her a little bit about my project in my email, or is it best to keep it more general?

The last thing you want to do is to keep it general, as professors get tons of emails every day, and many of them are from prospective students. But I would keep the email more concise and straight to the point. Professors usually don't have the time to read and respond to a long email. but do make sure she knows that you have read her papers, cited them in your thesis, are interested in her research, and want to work with her. Hope this helps. 

[ResilientDreams]

Thanks everyone. This has been really helpful. I have another question. If I'm interested in more than one professor at a particular school, should I tell them that I also contacted their colleague? 

[t_ruth]

19 hours ago, ResilientDreams said:

Thanks everyone. This has been really helpful. I have another question. If I'm interested in more than one professor at a particular school, should I tell them that I also contacted their colleague? 

That's a tough one. I'd maybe start with the prof you are most interested. Then, if you have a conversation, you could ask about collaborative opportunities and note that you think X school is especially perfect because not only are you enamored with this PI's work, but you also really like what PI2 and PI3 are doing.

In your application research statement it's a good idea to mention multiple people (while focusing on one).

[ResilientDreams]

1 hour ago, t_ruth said:

That's a tough one. I'd maybe start with the prof you are most interested. Then, if you have a conversation, you could ask about collaborative opportunities and note that you think X school is especially perfect because not only are you enamored with this PI's work, but you also really like what PI2 and PI3 are doing.

In your application research statement it's a good idea to mention multiple people (while focusing on one).

Thank you! Everyone always says to apply to schools where you're interested in more than one professor, which is good advice, but it makes emailing a bit tricky. 

[brainlass]

On 7/1/2018 at 7:13 PM, t_ruth said:

That's a tough one. I'd maybe start with the prof you are most interested. Then, if you have a conversation, you could ask about collaborative opportunities and note that you think X school is especially perfect because not only are you enamored with this PI's work, but you also really like what PI2 and PI3 are doing.

In your application research statement it's a good idea to mention multiple people (while focusing on one).

For several universities, I emailed multiple profs with whom I was interested in working. I didn't mention that I'd also contacted their colleagues, and it never became an awkward situation. They know that you're exploring a number of options! In fact, often the profs would suggest that I also speak with somebody else in the department (in many cases, a prof I'd already contacted). 

[H1ppocampus]

Just saw this thread, but I would advise applicants to send initial feeler emails NOW, especially if you have any kind of common connection (eg. through a current mentor or if you will be attending/presenting a poster at any conferences in the fall that said POI’s may also be going to). You may get a lot of automated “I’m on vacation until ___” responses, but it’s certainly worth trying and you may be pleasantly surprised. Email again to touch base in the fall. Especially for research-oriented clinical programs, the competition is unfortunately so fierce that you need to do all that you can to jog a faculty member’s memory later on when they’re reviewing applications. 

[ResilientDreams]

@H1ppocampus Thanks for the advice! I sent one email and the response wasn't the most encouraging, so I've been delaying sending out more, but I feel like I should get on it.