contacting profs/potential advisors

[Sigsally]

I'm agonizing over writing emails to potential advisors. I have two main concerns:

1) Obviously I'm going to introduce myself, say what I'm interested in, and have one sentence about my thesis work, but how far should I go in explaining my background? Should I say that I've taken two graduate classes? (I'm applying straight from undergrad.) That seems like a little too much, but someone told me to put it in.... suggestions, please? How much is too much talking about yourself and your credentials in these first emails?

2) These are just introductory emails; just sort of like "hi, im interested! is this a good fit like i think it is?" But how should I go about asking the profs about their department? Is "could you tell me more about (my field) at (their university)?" too vague and open-ended? Have people who have sent emails with broad questions like that generally gotten answers?

I would REALLY REALLY appreciate any suggestions! Thank you!

[noojens]

Here are my thoughts:

First, do your homework on the department and the professor BEFORE you write them. Don't expect a professor to do your legwork for you. You should at a minimum read their website and the abstracts of a few of their recent papers. Bonus points for reading an entire paper and bringing specific questions on the content.

Second, keep your emails extremely brief. Professors are very busy people, especially this time of year. In the introductory email I'd state the most important 2 or 3 facts about yourself, cite a paper of theirs that interested or inspired you, and ask 2 or 3 clear and direct questions. Attach a CV or resume with your background information -- if they're really interested, they can read it there. The whole email shouldn't be more than a few sentences, IMO.

Best of luck.

[rising_star]

Here are my thoughts:

First, do your homework on the department and the professor BEFORE you write them. Don't expect a professor to do your legwork for you. You should at a minimum read their website and the abstracts of a few of their recent papers. Bonus points for reading an entire paper and bringing specific questions on the content.

Second, keep your emails extremely brief. Professors are very busy people, especially this time of year. In the introductory email I'd state the most important 2 or 3 facts about yourself, cite a paper of theirs that interested or inspired you, and ask 2 or 3 clear and direct questions. Attach a CV or resume with your background information -- if they're really interested, they can read it there. The whole email shouldn't be more than a few sentences, IMO.

Best of luck.

I'm going to respectfully disagree with some of this, with the caveat of maybe this varies by field and my discipline is more relaxed than others.

I wouldn't bother reading abstracts or entire papers and asking questions about it in an initial email. Initially your concerns are if their research is staying in a particular area or changing (and, if changing by how much, but that comes in a followup email) and if they will be taking students. Everything else can wait. No need to cite their papers specifically, just say that you're interested in their research on X because it is similar to your interest in Y or you're interested in a particular aspect of X. They know what they've written and don't need you to cite/tell them.

I also would not send any sort of attachment without getting permission first. A lot of email systems just automatically send messages like that to a spam folder so your email could go completely unseen. You can certainly tell them where you're getting a degree (or earned a degree) and in what field and give a brief sense of your interests.

[noojens]

I've never had any problems sending or receiving emails with attachments to .edu servers. Or .gov for that matter. Have you actually had problems with this?

As for your other points: agreed, maybe it varies based on field (I'm familiar with engineering and the sciences). "Introducing yourself" emails are fine, and are certainly better than not contacting faculty at all. My goal with these emails though is not simply to establish communication, but to leave the impression of competence and professionalism. Hence familiarizing myself with their work and asking specific/pertinent questions.

Your mileage may vary!