Contacting the professors before applying

[dxvforte]

Hello all, 

 

I'm an international student who's going to apply to material science and engineering PhD programs this December, and I was wondering how I should contact professors at the schools that I want to apply to.

 

I'm thinking about formatting my e-mails like the following:

 

 

Dear Prof. _____

 

Hello, my name is _______. I'm studying material science in (insert school name), and I'm going to apply to your department this December.
 

I've been reading some of your published papers and I want to pursue my PhD in your field.

 

The reason I'm interested in this field is because (blah blah blah)

 

Upon reading about your research I'm thinking about investigating the matter this way (my ideas about future research projects).

 

I've attached my CV to this e-mail.

 

Thank you for reading,

 

(my name)

 

 

1. Is there anything I should include in the e-mail?

 

2. Would it be okay if my ideas about future research is not ingenious? (I'm still an undergrad, and there's a limit to how much I can understand just by reading papers.)

 

3. Please offer opinions/suggestions on contacting the faculty. Has anyone had any success?