Contacting Faculty

[medullate]

Hello, I plan on applying to graduate schools this fall (MS or PhD??? I am not sure as of yet. I do not have a lot of research experience). 

For reference I'm interested in microbial ecology, and pretty much anything and everything in that field interests me. Not only do I want to begin contacting potential advisors but I want to learn about the kinds of research going on at these schools.

My question is should I begin contacting faculty at schools I am interested in? What is the typical way to do this?

[an11]

Yes, it is a good idea to contact professors at the schools you are interested in, before sending in your applications. If you are totally unsure about the exact field of research that you would like to pursue, then I would suggest that you go through the recent publications of the professors you are interested in and try and segregate them, on the basis of whoever's research you find more fascinating. This way, you can avoid sending in bulk mails to a large number of different faculty members in your department (which would, in all likelihood be ignored) and rather contact only the ones you are interested in, with specific queries pertaining to research being carried out in their group. They will definitely help you out, if you can personalize your mails and show genuine interest in their research. Keep your mails crisp and  succinct and try and give a small background about yourself as well (you don't really need to send in your complete CV). You should start contacting faculty members, some time around August and September, about a month before the graduate applications start. Good luck ! 

[Monochrome Spring]

I recommend this:

- Look up respected programs in microbial ecology

- Look up professors in those programs

- Read through published papers, and make note of anything that stands out as interesting

- Focus on a few areas that you found particularly interesting

- Look up professors that fit those focus areas (preferably, you have looked at their papers now)

- Email those professors, expressing interest in their work, asking about the application process, etc.

 

I don't think it's too early to contact professors. I've contacted some already. The general response is either contact them again in August or they have no problem keeping in contact over summer.

 

The email format that I used was just a very general introduction with my GPA, when I'm graduating, and where I go to school. Then I had a short segment about my research and how that would relate to the interests of the professor's lab. Then I asked if they were accepting students for fall 2014, and if so, could they please keep an open dialogue with me about going forward with the application process at their respective programs.

 

As for your research experience, once you have started talking to these professors, you can discuss the amount of research experience that you have and how to approach that in applications. The professors should be very upfront with you about if you have enough to be competitive for their programs or not. They can also give you advice on how to make up for shortcomings like that.

[Mohammad Ayoub]

Thank You Monochrome ... you have helped me a lot!
But ... do you think that professors don't like Spring admissions ?? Is it a must to always apply for Fall semester ??

[Monochrome Spring]

Different schools have different preferences. Some schools will only allow you to apply as a fall applicant, so be careful to look for ones that do allow spring applicants.

 

Each professor is also going to be different. Some professors will not like spring admits, but others will have no problem with it. In your emails to the professors, perhaps add to the bottom section something like "I am very enthusiastic about [X] university's [X] program, and would like to ask if you are accepting students for spring 2014 admissions. If so, could we please keep an open dialogue about how I should proceed with applying to your university? If not, are you accepting students for fall 2014 admissions instead?

Thank you for your time."