In the process of applying for a PhD or any research position. The first step is to find the relevant potential supervisor and contact by email in order to discuss your research interests.
“you never get a second chance to make a first impression”
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It is important to note that a good first impression can make wonders and lasts forever. It is up to your hand to make the first impression through email as remarkable as possible. This guideline will help you, how to contact the potential supervisor for PhD or any other research position.
If you’re motivated towards postgraduate studies, you need to identify your research branch and devote some time to finding the professors associated with this field of study. Usually, professors have their own academic pages and the best way to look at their work is on the university’s official website. It is worth noting that emailing a professor just by looking at the professor’s research, will not get any response or a positive response. You will have to spend a good amount of time in finding the professor’s previous work and on which project he is currently working on.
Before taking a deep dive into email format, clarify in your mind, keep the email body as short and relevant as possible, because normally professors are very much engaged in their work and they don’t have the time to read your long stories in the email. For this, you will have a separate motivation letters which they demand later or you will require in the further application process.
There are three main parts of the email, introduction, main body, and ending.
1. Introduction: Salutation is very much important while writing an email, there are countless ways you can respectively call the professor, but it is always recommended to use “Dear Dr. David”. In the introduction part of the email, introduce yourself, describe your research interest (it may be the title of your master’s thesis), and clearly state the reason for the email.
2. Main Body: In this section, describe in detail how your research interest matches with the professor’s work and experience, it is very much important to co-relate your research interest with the project in which the professor is currently working on. In a nutshell, describe how you can be a valuable asset in the respective lab.
3. Ending: At the ending of the email, summarize your research interest, clear your future goals after PhD in one sentence, and politely ask for a reply. It is also recommended that always attach your CV in email attachments. If you want to learn more and read a perfect sample email that grantee a response from the professor then you should must read our article How to Email a Professor for PhD and MS Scholarships.
Patience is the key, wait for some time. You may also send a reminder email after some specific time interval. But, keep it in mind, it must be a reminder email. Your email to a professor is your first impression, be specific and targeted, and don’t give professor any reason to ignore you. To reduce your chances of rejections, in another article we have evaluated a bad email sample and mentioned the 9 Mistakes to Avoid When Emailing a Professor for Scholarship.
Finally, here are 10 major points to keep in mind when emailing a professor for a scholarship and get the reply you’re looking for. We wish you best of luck for achieving your desired dream scholarship. Don’t hesitate to drop a comment below and share your idea about this article. Join us on Facebook to never miss any guideline and expert advice. Good Luck!
Regards,
Team Study Catch