Emailing Potential Advisors

[alyssa33]

I've been reading around these forums quite a bit, and have noticed one HUGE thing that everyone suggests you should do: Email potential advisors.

Except... What are you supposed to say? Beyond the "Hi, Im x, y, and z. I'm very interested in program a, and especially your work with b." How do you keep up the conversation??

[Bukharan]

This is THE question.

One of my Professors recommended not to e-mail anyone unless you actually have valid questions. Others think differently.

I would suggest that you put some kind of a question in the e-mail (rather than just generally introduce yourself) because you ideally expect an answer.

[alyssa33]

This is THE question.

One of my Professors recommended not to e-mail anyone unless you actually have valid questions. Others think differently.

I would suggest that you put some kind of a question in the e-mail (rather than just generally introduce yourself) because you ideally expect an answer.

I completely agree that there should be some sort of well thought out question... nothing that would be easy to find just anywhere on the website. You want to leave a good impression of course. What that question is though... This might take a while.

[JonathanEdwards]

Contact them and ask if they'd be willing to supervise your proposed research question which falls under their area of expertise.

[Bukharan]

I agree.

You could also try to mask that question/ ask it very subtly. You don't want to be too upfront.

[LateAntique]

It's certainly wise to contact people at the potential schools. You should have valid questions - if not, don't apply.

I typically say something like this

Hello Professor X,

My name is Lateantique and I'm a graduate student at Awesome U working on my (degree) in (field). I'm strongly considering applying to your program for (degree) work. My interests are____________. Based on this short (and I do mean short) sketch, do you think that your program is a place where I could work? What sorts of qualities do your best students possess? What sort of preparation makes for the best candidate? etc etc.

Sincerely,

Lateantique

This is not word-for-word, but it's sort of close to the typical template I follow in my head when contacting potential schools.

[Ardea]

One of my Professors recommended not to e-mail anyone unless you actually have valid questions. Others think differently.

I think it's definitely worth contacting the department(s) you're considering. You can found out important information that way.

You could learn that some professors you want to work with will be retiring/going on sabbatical/switching universities, that they may not be accepting applicants in your track since they enrolled too many the year before, etc.

Edited October 31, 2010 by kemet

[natsteel]

I think it's definitely worth contacting the department(s) you're considering. You can found out important information that way.

You could learn that some professors you want to work with will be retiring/going on sabbatical/switching universities, that they may not be accepting applicants in your track since they enrolled too many the year before, etc.

I'm in History, but I say, "I'm considering applying to your program and wanted to inquire whether you are currently accepting new students." This gives you a reason for contacting and a reason for them to contact you back. It is also crucial information since my list of schools changed significantly after finding out some of my potential advisors were retiring or going on leave.

[JonathanEdwards]

I hate to sound dogmatic, but I’ll expand on what I said before: You should consider it mandatory to contact them and ask if they’d be willing to supervise your specific research proposal. Looking back at this thread, I realized that in my previous post I left out the why - it improves your chances at universities you’re a good fit for, and it excludes schools you’re not a good fit for.

If a professor is interested in your proposal, they can wave their magic wand over your application and say, “I want this one.” I read many people here obsessing over their application package - GRE’s, grades, prestigious undergrad program, etc. Those things aren’t unimportant, but it doesn’t matter if there are other applicants with incrementally better packages if those applicants want to study things that don’t interest a member of faculty. For example, the admissions wheels were grinding slowly at the (unnamed) university I am a candidate at now, but once I contacted the scholar I wanted to study under and shared my research ideas in some detail, she not only jump-started the admissions process, but also arranged for (very beneficial) joint supervision with another department.

This may also save you time and anxiety by cutting out those schools that appear good on the surface but wouldn’t work. For example, I was going to apply at a particular university, but when I emailed the scholar that I wanted to study under, he let me know he was actually retiring shortly. The school hadn’t made that clear publicly, because he was still going to be teaching part-time as an emeritus professor, but he wouldn’t be able to supervise research. Since his replacement had different research interests, I struck that (very fine) university from my list. The same kind of benefit would come from finding out that a scholar in that field isn’t interested in that particular question/area, or that they have a two-year sabbatical planned during the time you’d need supervision.

The worst that can happen is that a professor might think you’re overeager. Talking to peers and profs now that I'm on the inside, my understanding is that in the Commonwealth nations, it’s actually considered proper form to contact a potential supervisor and ask if they'd welcome such-and-such research proposal.

Best wishes,

Westcott

Edited November 23, 2010 by Westcott