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How Do You Write an Email or Letter to a Professor?

By Karen Kelsky | June 30, 2011

***Please note that I no longer respond to comments/questions to this post!  For additional help, see a list of individualized services to help you in your path to graduate school, and the Guidance Package, both offered below the post***

One of the most common points of confusion among undergraduates and new graduate students is how to contact professors to serve as potential faculty advisors.  This can be a minefield.   I have been on the receiving end of many emails from hapless students who clearly had no guidance, and whose communication with me ended up appearing flippant and rude.

Here is that sort of email:

“Dear Professor Kelsky, I am a student at XXX College and I’m thinking about graduate school/doing research on xxx and I’m getting in touch to ask if you can give me any advice or direction about that. Sincerely, student X”

This is an instant-delete email.

Here is what an email to a professor should look like:

“Dear Professor XXX,

I am a student at XXX College with a major in xxx.  I am a junior and will be graduating next May.  I have a 4.0 GPA and experience in our college’s summer program in xxx.

I am planning to attend graduate school in xxx, with a focus on xxx.  In one of my classes, “xxx,” which was taught by Professor XXX, I had the chance to read your article, “xxxx.”  I really enjoyed it, and it gave me many ideas for my future research.  I have been exploring graduate programs where I can work on this topic.

I hope you don’t mind my getting in touch, but I’d like to inquire whether you are currently accepting graduate students.  And if you are, if you’d be willing to talk to me a bit more, by email or on the phone, or in person if I can arrange a campus visit, about my graduate school plans.  I have explored your department’s graduate school website in detail, and it seems like an excellent fit for me because of its emphasis on xx and xx,  but I still have a few specific questions about xx and xxx that I’d like to talk to you about.

I know you’re very busy so I appreciate any time you can give me.  Thanks very much,

Sincerely,

XX XXX

Why is this email good?  Because it shows that you are serious and well qualified.  It shows that you have done thorough research and utilized all the freely available information on the website.  It shows that you have specific plans which have yielded specific questions.  It shows that you are familiar with the professor’s work.  It shows that you respect the professor’s time.

All of these attributes will make your email and your name stand out, and exponentially increase your chances of getting a timely, thorough, and friendly response, and potentially building the kind of relationship that leads to a strong mentoring relationship.

If the professor doesn’t respond in a week or so, send a follow up email gently reminding them of your initial email, and asking again for their response.  If they ignore you again, best to probably give up.  But professors are busy and distracted, and it may take a little extra effort to get through.

Good luck!

***Please note that I no longer respond to comments/questions to this post!  For additional help, see a list of individualized services to help you in your path to graduate school, and the Guidance Package, below***

~~~

HOW TO CONTACT A PROSPECTIVE PHD ADVISOR

GUIDANCE PACKAGE

$24.99

Add to Cart

View Cart

Encapsulates all of the advice that we provide in our graduate school advising services, including:

1. General instructions and overview of the function and “best practices” of an initial query email to someone you hope to work with

2. A template for what an email like that should look like

3. A sample email to a business school prospective advisor

4. A sample email to a comparative literature prospective advisor

5. A sample email to a computer science prospective advisor.

AND FOR HANDS-ON INDIVIDUAL HELP WITH ALL ASPECTS OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION, WE OFFER THESE SERVICES:

  • EMAIL CONSULTATIONS
  • SKYPE CONSULTATIONS
  • EDITING YOUR STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
  • INTERVIEW PREPARATION

SEE MORE HERE AND EMAIL AT GETTENURE@GMAIL.COM TO LEARN MORE AND GET ON THE SCHEDULE.

~~~

Similar Posts:

  • How Do You Write an Email or Letter to a Professor?
  • How to Write an Email to a Potential Ph.D. Advisor/Professor
  • How To Ask A (Famous) Professor to be Your Dissertation Chair
  • What Should Graduate Students Ask Candidates? A Special Request Post
  • How Not To Invite The Professor To Your Campus

Filed Under: Advising Advice, Graduate Student Concerns, Strategizing Your Success in Academia Tagged With: How to deal with professors, How to get into graduate school, How to write a letter to a professor, How to write an email to a professor

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eli Lee says

    August 1, 2012 at 10:17 pm

    How to write an e-mail to professor confused me for a week. However, after googling it and reading your kindly and specific post about it, I feel more relaxed now! It really helps me a lot. Thank you, and hope you have a great day though it’s very hot.^^

    Reply
  2. Fan Yi says

    November 16, 2012 at 3:12 am

    Karen, Thank you a lot!
    It is really helpful! Have a good day~

    Reply
  3. munna says

    December 4, 2012 at 4:38 am

    karen,

    really a good stuff, i have completed my law but rather than degree i am getting a diploma, as i have not cleared in all the subjects, can u please help me in writing a letter to my professor is there any way of getting my degree certificate by asking any tips or to send my diploma certificate.

    Thanks
    munna

    Reply
  4. sanjoy says

    December 16, 2012 at 9:54 am

    thnx a lot karen…awesome stuff..:)

    Reply
  5. chamil perera says

    May 28, 2013 at 11:58 pm

    It helped me a lot. I wish it would be better to have some details on what information that a professor might look at of a postgraduate student. It will be complete if it is there.

    Thanks
    Regards

    Reply
  6. Masoud says

    July 13, 2013 at 6:11 am

    Your sample letter was great. Actually this kind of perfect examples are able to give undergraduate or even graduate and postgraduate students – specially non-English – really good ideas of how to write a proper academic letter.
    Best Regards

    Reply
  7. Alejandra says

    April 23, 2014 at 1:37 pm

    Thank you so much for this article. It helped me a lot because english is not my native language and I was having a hard time writing an email for an english speaker researcher.

    Reply
  8. ema says

    January 13, 2016 at 2:52 am

    I was told to write an essay about myself in an research agency where I submited my c.v, please I need your assistance

    Reply
  9. vlatkozelka says

    March 24, 2016 at 2:26 am

    So basically you would like to read a wall of pointless text rather than a straight to the point email? I thought professors would be a bit more down to earth considering the amount of knowledge they are supposed to have .

    I agree that the example email is a bit short , but it’s in no way rude. You see that graduate student is more likely to surpass you at some point than you probably think. There is no need for whoever is emailing you to kiss up to you in order for you to just speak to him.

    Reply
    • Ray says

      February 18, 2017 at 8:05 am

      Well said, Vlatkozelka. Especially, “Professors would be a bit more down to earth considering the amount of knowledge they are supposed to have”. I find this this professor (author) demanding and rude.

      Reply
  10. Mochamad Slamet says

    May 11, 2016 at 12:16 am

    Thank you so much. It helps me to improve my writing skill. From Indonesia 🙂

    Reply
  11. jose says

    June 2, 2016 at 7:57 am

    Great info, just one question., what about the subject for the e-mail? I’m guessing it plays an important part on whether they read it or not.

    Reply
  12. Filimon says

    August 10, 2016 at 1:41 am

    Dear Karen,
    This was very helpful.
    Thank you so much.

    Reply
  13. Keith says

    August 25, 2016 at 7:47 pm

    I loved the sample letter. But I would highly suggest students actually condense it. Condense the letter and have it remain informative of who you are, what your research interests are, and if possible leave space for asking for feedback on a specific question or inquire into a specific project or program they may be working on.

    It should only be one paragraph. Professors like any working professional do not have the time to read a long letter from a student. If you don’t hear back from them, follow up with them. Simple as that.

    Reply
  14. Neda says

    September 15, 2016 at 1:28 am

    Dear Karen, Hi

    I am writing a letter of job-recommendation request to my supervisor. would it be right that I mention the email address of job application in the email to my supervisor, or it would be better in a second email after my supervisor reply to my first email?

    thank you so much

    Neda

    Reply
  15. Ahlam says

    July 20, 2017 at 8:52 am

    Thank you

    Reply
  16. Ellaine Loveless says

    October 2, 2017 at 5:54 pm

    Hi,
    I need to write to my professor. I have a learning disability and I am taking my exam outside my class and in the assisted program on campus. My professor gave us a test guidelines which allowed us to bring a note card. However, I did not use the test guideline and I brought three note cards in my test. The test accommodation center collected my exam and all my notes away and did not let me finish the exam. I went to my professor right away and she called the accommodation center. She said she will think about what action she would take for as my consequences. She said she would email me, but I told her not to use my campus email because I am no longer using that anymore. She said she will email me and use the one in the campus record. I did not argue anymore, and just told her that I will update my e-mail. When I was about to leave the room, she said to email her what email address do I want to use. So, I am about to write her an email, but I do not know what to say. Please help me how to better approach her about my situation.

    Reply
  17. Lisa Hammer says

    April 4, 2018 at 11:07 am

    How do I address a letter to an Assistant Professor who doesn’t have a Ph.D.? We’re told not to call them Dr.’s if they don’t have a Ph.D. and she doesn’t have a Ph.D. She is a lawyer with a J.D. But lawyers insist on not calling themselves Dr.’s. They go by Ms. or Mr. But calling her Ms. would disrespect her academic accomplishments as an assistant professor of the school. Moreover, I can’t call her “Assistant Professor XXXX” because we’ve been told not to use “Assistant Professor” (or shortened) as a title, and not to call them “Professor” (or shortened), if they are not a full-professor. Well, she’s not a full-professor. She’s just an assistant professor with a J.D. So what do I call her?

    Reply
  18. Sherly says

    April 21, 2018 at 2:02 am

    do you have another tips to Write an Email or Letter to a Professor?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 21, 2018 at 12:10 pm

      Yes, coming soon.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to send an email to your college professor - CengageBrainiac says:
    April 17, 2015 at 9:25 am

    […] flippant and rude,” said a teacher on TheProfessorIsIn.com website in the advice article, “How Do You Write an Email or Letter to a Professor?,” posted June 30, […]

    Reply
  2. How to Take Ownership of Your Communication says:
    April 29, 2015 at 6:40 am

    […] working with them in a professional environment. The Professor Is In gives a great example of how to contact professors to serve as potential faculty advisors. Her main point is that a student should thoroughly research a potential advisor’s […]

    Reply

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