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Letter To A Professor

This document provides guidance on how to properly email a professor to inquire about a research position. It recommends including a clear subject line indicating the purpose, greeting the professor formally by title and name, introducing yourself and relevant background, connecting your interests and experience to the professor's research, and politely requesting to join their research group while attaching your CV. Common mistakes to avoid include grammatical errors, irrelevant content, sounding desperate, and being annoying or demanding. Proper email etiquette and following the professor's preferred contact format increases the chances of a positive response.

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Saad
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24 views11 pages

Letter To A Professor

This document provides guidance on how to properly email a professor to inquire about a research position. It recommends including a clear subject line indicating the purpose, greeting the professor formally by title and name, introducing yourself and relevant background, connecting your interests and experience to the professor's research, and politely requesting to join their research group while attaching your CV. Common mistakes to avoid include grammatical errors, irrelevant content, sounding desperate, and being annoying or demanding. Proper email etiquette and following the professor's preferred contact format increases the chances of a positive response.

Uploaded by

Saad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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https://medium.

com/@iamaxad/how-to-email-a-professor-for-research-position-from-subject-
line-to-signature-53d41f799b1e
1. Suitable subject line
Request for research supervision Fall 2020
Request for PhD supervision
Request for MS supervision
Prospective PhD Student

2. Greeting/Saluation:

Dear Professor [Name of the Professor] (Malysians like it)


Dear Dr. [Name of the Professor]
Dear Sir (India, Bangladesh okay. In general avoid it, as it seems a copy)
Dear Sensei ( Japanese)
Warning! — never ever use words Ms. or Mr.
In the first email, always avoid these informal greetings like “Hi”, “Hello”,
and “Hei”.
3. How to introduce yourself
In general, there are no hard-and-fast rules about how to introduce
yourself in an email.

My name is [YOUR NAME], and I have completed [YOUR DEGREE


TITLE] from [YOUR UNIVERSITY NAME] with [YOUR CGPA]. At
the moment, I am working as a Trainee, Communications at [COMPANY
NAME], [CITY].

NOTE: don’t only use abbreviation for degree title and university
name]
NOTE: don’t mention CGPA if it’s low

EXTRA TIPS: As an option, you can write about your big achievements
such as Gold Medal and Dean certificates, if you have any.
4. Build connection
During my [UNDERGRADUATE/MASTER], I have
worked on some projects to actualize and implement the
theoretical knowledge of [Internet-of-Things, DSSC, or
Organic Solar Cells] into practical work. I read your
research work and really fascinated by your recent paper
[PAPER TITLE].

NOTE: In this paragraph, connect the dots between


your previous and current work experience,
internships, online courses and projects with the
professor’s area of interest. If you have any research
publication, then you can mention in this paragraph.
5. Closing
I visited [MENTION THE NAME OF PROFESSOR’S LAB OR RESEARCH
GROUP] website and found that you have research interests in [Wireless
Communications, 5G, Internet-of-Things, etc]. Your ongoing projects seem very
interesting. If possible, I would love to join your research group and pursue
[MS/PhD] under your supervision.
I have attached my CV with this email. If there’s anything I can do to facilitate the
connection further, please let me know.
Thanks for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Best Regards/Regards/Sincerely, [Pick one of them]


Your name,
Affiliation (if any)
Mistakes to Avoid When Emailing a
Professor for Scholarship
1. Avoid Grammatical mistakes
Use Grammarly to avoid spelling and grammatical mistakes.
2. Check local time
We suggest you to email between 9-12 am the local time of that country.
Weekdays are preferable.
3. Don’t send multiple emails
At a time, never send emails to multiple professors of the same
university.
4. Keep it relevant
Don’t email to a professor, if your research interests and expertise doesn’t
match with his research area.
5. Don’t be scared of low CGPA
If you have low CGPA then try to contact professors of universities with
ranking 100+. In this way, you will have more chances of getting
acceptance.

Link: https://www.studycatch.com/2019/06/mistakes-emailing-professor/
Mistakes to Avoid When Emailing a
Professor for Scholarship……..
6. Avoid too many attachments
Only attach CV in your first email. Attaching more files can direct your
email into spam box.
7. Professor can be extremely busy
After two weeks, you can send a reminder email if you don’t receive any
response from the professor.
8. Use email tracker
We recommend you to use email tracker. It will notify you whenever the
professor will read your email.
9. Handle the rejection
Maybe some professors will reply to you with ‘sorry’ because they don’t
have funds. You should also send them a reply email (thank you for your
response etc.) at least they replied you.
10. Give chance to others
If you will get multiple acceptance at the same time then please accept one
offer and inform the other professor as soon as possible so he/she can offer
that position to another deserving student.
5. Complete name of research group
1. Missing a formal salutation 6. Specify university name
2. Personal pronoun mistakes 7. Mistakes in mentioning work experience
3. Requesting in first sentence 8. Don’t sound desperate
4. Unclear research interests 9. Avoid being annoying
In the end, you can politely request for supervision but don’t sound like you are
begging.
Ref: https://www.studycatch.com/2019/06/mistakes-emailing-professor/
Common Mistakes from the students
Email to class teacher
1st example

Md.Shamimu sir,
I am a student of EEE department "7th" semester
section "B".sir you could told me that you would suggest
same assignment related topic. If you kindly give me that
i will be grateful for that
2nd example
Dear Shamimul,

Hope you are fine.I am a Prospective Masters (Research) Student to


apply for International Graduate program for Global Engineers (IGPGE) in
……..
Our departmental head (Mr.Atahar Uddin) told me to contact with you.
I contacted with the academic advisor (Professor XXX, Department of
Electrical & Electronic Engineering). He told me to apply.The deadline is
given as 13 th January,2017. But it is possible to send the hard copies of
the required documents to International Students Affairs Office
within this period. would you say me please that What I have to do
now.

In addition is there any chance to extend the deadline to consider this


circumstances.

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