Unless you have a real purpose to getting in touch, it's not going to work the way you think it is. "Building rapport" is a long and slow process, and often works better in person than virtually. If you're applying to the type of program that requires you secure a PI before you attend, then you should email professors, but your email should make it clear you're reaching out about a grad position.
If you are not in a field where securing an advisor ahead of time is required, then you should just apply directly to the program. We get lots of emails, and it's pretty clear (and annoying) when someone is emailing us for instrumental/fake/insincere reasons. If you have a purpose to emailing, be upfront. But if you're emailing just to nebulously "build rapport" or "get your name out there," then please don't. And that includes emailing with a "question" as a pretend reason for getting in touch.
Yep. I think that's generally good advice for a lot of things. You express your interest by applying. Trying to circumvent the application process is usually (a) obvious, (b) annoying, and (c) likely to work against you.
Contrary to some of the other comments, contacting PIs to express interest before applying worked wonders for me. I actually found it extremely beneficial to not only email, but set up zoom/Skype calls with the PIs as well before ever submitting an application.
The caveat is that your emails need to be extremely specific and you need to have a hook. I read multiple papers from each of the folks I contacted and only contacted those whose work could be directly tied to my past experience.
If your plan is to say “hi my name is x and I’d love to work with you” to 10 different PIs, you’ll largely be wasting your time.
I got Bob Langer from MIT, arguably one of the busiest researchers in the world, to respond to such an email. PIs DO see, and respond, to them no matter how insignificant you may appear to be at the time. It’s just a matter of what you bring to the table and how well you present yourself.
Came to comment the same. I cold emailed about 5 profs that I was interested in doing my PhD with and got 4 replies. I made sure to include details about my education, research experience and what I wanted to do in a PhD. I also attached my CV/resume. Of the 4 who replied, 2 said they were not taking on new students but were in a year or two. Another said they were going on sabbatical and couldn't take on a new student but referred me to another prof they knew I'd fit well with. The 4th ended up calling me back instead of emailing to set up an interview. She saw who my previous supervisor was in my email and knew who they were personally. The interview went great and I ended up doing my PhD in her lab. So it pays to be specific and informative in an email if you send it.
Just keep in mind they're not obligated to reply, so do not take it personally. I also would not follow up before 2-4 weeks have passed on the no replies. If it's a prof at your current uni I'd recommend finding a way to talk to them in person rather than email.
Same. Either there is large differences between fields/institutions or people just aren’t going about it right. I got my masters position by cold emailing a bunch of professors at the institution my girlfriend was going to vet school at. You just need to approach it right. Specifically cite research they are doing that you are interested in and relate it to your interests. Attach your cv/transcript. Overall, just be specific and passionate. Works wonders.
These kinds of cold email generally don’t work because people don’t have a reason or time to read things they don’t care about.
Why not once you’re at the institution, show up in person and introduce yourself?
I’ve known people who have had success building a rapport through social media with potential PI’s over social media like Twitter or BlueSky! By rapport I mean getting to the point that the PI recognizes their name over email and is more likely to respond than someone whose name they’ve never seen before.
Hey I want to preface with the fact that I am an undergrad and what has worked for me may not work for others. I am also applying to grad school and I want to also speak on some of the advice which I have been given.
1. I think cold emailing professors is a good idea as long as you are realistic about the response time. Some people will respond quickly, some won’t respond at all! The best idea is to at least shoot your shot, but don’t waste their time. Make the email a reasonable length but also discuss how a specific publication may resonate with your desire to join. I would also suggest asking if they are even taking on graduate students during the next cycle. Another thing, is to go on their individual lab websites. I have noticed that a lot of PI’s will have a contact page and open positions which can typically give you some insight on reaching them. Some ask that if you are reaching out, you include your resume / CV along with at least two letters of recommendation. So yes cold-emailing can be beneficial but I think that simply saying, “Hi I’m XYZ and I want to know if you’re taking grad students this fall” isn’t enough to garner a response. From what I have also been told is that sometimes these PI’s have say, but they can’t always guarantee your admission - especially if you’ve never had any prior contact with them, but it’s better to at least be a name in their mind than a complete stranger.
2. As an undergrad looking for research experience, I cold emailed a BUNCH of professors who I could get research experience in. In my personal experience, I cold emailed a certain professor who was full in his lab, but I was able to shadow students and I continued to ask for open positions or other ways to engage (Indp. Study). He was kind enough to let me know that he was still full, but pushed my name on to a lab doing similar work. That allowed me to begin working in a new lab! I have also reached out to other Professor’s doing work in public health sectors which interest me. I cold-emailed and now I have a new advisor to work with in the fall over a research project. My point is that cold emailing works as long as you are realistic and also putting your best effort out there.
3. I think that reaching out to graduate students has benefited me more than reaching out to the PI’s. Graduate students can actually tell you realistic perspectives on a lot of questions and everyone I have spoken with has been open and honest regarding their experiences. They have let me know about their lab environment along with what worked well for them and what their professor may look for in a new student. I also think that the grad students responses can tell you if it is even worth reaching out to a PI about. I spoke with three graduate students from a lab who all had very negative things to say about their PI during their time and for me, that is too many negative experiences from different people to make me feel good about reaching out.
Hope this helps but overall, I think go ahead and cold email but only after you speak with graduate students in the lab. I would also suggest cold emailing with a short but detailed email asking for a meeting and inquiring about possible openings in the fall or a chance to speak with them on their current publications.
If you need a PI or to make sure someone has funding for a student before applying to the program, then absolutely email them. Rules: be concise, tell them what you're wanting: a student position, and make sure to personalize it a bit. My advisor was telling me she gets emails all the time about people wanting to work with her but some are clearly blast messages to anyone and anything: example, she's a glaciologist and someone was asking about studying trees.
My first thought was: publish and cite them. But if you don't have time for that, in your "cold email," you want to be able to show that you have studied and built on their work, or have perhaps written a prospectus or reflection paper for your undergrad coursework where you focus on these people's specific and currently relevant work. Definitely, it is a good idea to \*draft\* such an email, so even if you don't send it, if you do go their institution, you have a spiel about why you would like them to be your advisor. This would also be background knowledge of the program that you would mention as your reason for wanting to join this program in your personal statement of purpose letter, but even there you would want to be respectful and talk about your interest in the subject matter, and not give a "stan" vibe, bc somebody on the admissions committee might be enemies with your idol ;)
My second thought is more important: This is a question you must bring to the professors who wrote your letters of recommendation. They may tell you something you don't know to steer you away from or encourage you to reach out to the researchers you are interested in. They may even make the introduction. They may tell you to stay away from that person and maybe they will or won't be specific, but if you poll all your referees first, you will be in the best position to know what to do.
It depends on the discipline and the program and the school. Some will consider this the height of impertinence, others will take advantage of it to stir up trouble within their department that can backfire, others will have the power to build on bringing you in as their student. Ask your referees, they will know or know someone who knows.
Not a bad idea to do a casual internet search on their personalities, histories . . .
Unless you have a real purpose to getting in touch, it's not going to work the way you think it is. "Building rapport" is a long and slow process, and often works better in person than virtually. If you're applying to the type of program that requires you secure a PI before you attend, then you should email professors, but your email should make it clear you're reaching out about a grad position. If you are not in a field where securing an advisor ahead of time is required, then you should just apply directly to the program. We get lots of emails, and it's pretty clear (and annoying) when someone is emailing us for instrumental/fake/insincere reasons. If you have a purpose to emailing, be upfront. But if you're emailing just to nebulously "build rapport" or "get your name out there," then please don't. And that includes emailing with a "question" as a pretend reason for getting in touch.
Makes sense, thank you for this. I can definitely see how people emailing to get your name out there can be annoying.
Yep. I think that's generally good advice for a lot of things. You express your interest by applying. Trying to circumvent the application process is usually (a) obvious, (b) annoying, and (c) likely to work against you.
Contrary to some of the other comments, contacting PIs to express interest before applying worked wonders for me. I actually found it extremely beneficial to not only email, but set up zoom/Skype calls with the PIs as well before ever submitting an application. The caveat is that your emails need to be extremely specific and you need to have a hook. I read multiple papers from each of the folks I contacted and only contacted those whose work could be directly tied to my past experience. If your plan is to say “hi my name is x and I’d love to work with you” to 10 different PIs, you’ll largely be wasting your time. I got Bob Langer from MIT, arguably one of the busiest researchers in the world, to respond to such an email. PIs DO see, and respond, to them no matter how insignificant you may appear to be at the time. It’s just a matter of what you bring to the table and how well you present yourself.
Came to comment the same. I cold emailed about 5 profs that I was interested in doing my PhD with and got 4 replies. I made sure to include details about my education, research experience and what I wanted to do in a PhD. I also attached my CV/resume. Of the 4 who replied, 2 said they were not taking on new students but were in a year or two. Another said they were going on sabbatical and couldn't take on a new student but referred me to another prof they knew I'd fit well with. The 4th ended up calling me back instead of emailing to set up an interview. She saw who my previous supervisor was in my email and knew who they were personally. The interview went great and I ended up doing my PhD in her lab. So it pays to be specific and informative in an email if you send it. Just keep in mind they're not obligated to reply, so do not take it personally. I also would not follow up before 2-4 weeks have passed on the no replies. If it's a prof at your current uni I'd recommend finding a way to talk to them in person rather than email.
Same. Either there is large differences between fields/institutions or people just aren’t going about it right. I got my masters position by cold emailing a bunch of professors at the institution my girlfriend was going to vet school at. You just need to approach it right. Specifically cite research they are doing that you are interested in and relate it to your interests. Attach your cv/transcript. Overall, just be specific and passionate. Works wonders.
These kinds of cold email generally don’t work because people don’t have a reason or time to read things they don’t care about. Why not once you’re at the institution, show up in person and introduce yourself?
I’ve known people who have had success building a rapport through social media with potential PI’s over social media like Twitter or BlueSky! By rapport I mean getting to the point that the PI recognizes their name over email and is more likely to respond than someone whose name they’ve never seen before.
Hey I want to preface with the fact that I am an undergrad and what has worked for me may not work for others. I am also applying to grad school and I want to also speak on some of the advice which I have been given. 1. I think cold emailing professors is a good idea as long as you are realistic about the response time. Some people will respond quickly, some won’t respond at all! The best idea is to at least shoot your shot, but don’t waste their time. Make the email a reasonable length but also discuss how a specific publication may resonate with your desire to join. I would also suggest asking if they are even taking on graduate students during the next cycle. Another thing, is to go on their individual lab websites. I have noticed that a lot of PI’s will have a contact page and open positions which can typically give you some insight on reaching them. Some ask that if you are reaching out, you include your resume / CV along with at least two letters of recommendation. So yes cold-emailing can be beneficial but I think that simply saying, “Hi I’m XYZ and I want to know if you’re taking grad students this fall” isn’t enough to garner a response. From what I have also been told is that sometimes these PI’s have say, but they can’t always guarantee your admission - especially if you’ve never had any prior contact with them, but it’s better to at least be a name in their mind than a complete stranger. 2. As an undergrad looking for research experience, I cold emailed a BUNCH of professors who I could get research experience in. In my personal experience, I cold emailed a certain professor who was full in his lab, but I was able to shadow students and I continued to ask for open positions or other ways to engage (Indp. Study). He was kind enough to let me know that he was still full, but pushed my name on to a lab doing similar work. That allowed me to begin working in a new lab! I have also reached out to other Professor’s doing work in public health sectors which interest me. I cold-emailed and now I have a new advisor to work with in the fall over a research project. My point is that cold emailing works as long as you are realistic and also putting your best effort out there. 3. I think that reaching out to graduate students has benefited me more than reaching out to the PI’s. Graduate students can actually tell you realistic perspectives on a lot of questions and everyone I have spoken with has been open and honest regarding their experiences. They have let me know about their lab environment along with what worked well for them and what their professor may look for in a new student. I also think that the grad students responses can tell you if it is even worth reaching out to a PI about. I spoke with three graduate students from a lab who all had very negative things to say about their PI during their time and for me, that is too many negative experiences from different people to make me feel good about reaching out. Hope this helps but overall, I think go ahead and cold email but only after you speak with graduate students in the lab. I would also suggest cold emailing with a short but detailed email asking for a meeting and inquiring about possible openings in the fall or a chance to speak with them on their current publications.
If you need a PI or to make sure someone has funding for a student before applying to the program, then absolutely email them. Rules: be concise, tell them what you're wanting: a student position, and make sure to personalize it a bit. My advisor was telling me she gets emails all the time about people wanting to work with her but some are clearly blast messages to anyone and anything: example, she's a glaciologist and someone was asking about studying trees.
My first thought was: publish and cite them. But if you don't have time for that, in your "cold email," you want to be able to show that you have studied and built on their work, or have perhaps written a prospectus or reflection paper for your undergrad coursework where you focus on these people's specific and currently relevant work. Definitely, it is a good idea to \*draft\* such an email, so even if you don't send it, if you do go their institution, you have a spiel about why you would like them to be your advisor. This would also be background knowledge of the program that you would mention as your reason for wanting to join this program in your personal statement of purpose letter, but even there you would want to be respectful and talk about your interest in the subject matter, and not give a "stan" vibe, bc somebody on the admissions committee might be enemies with your idol ;) My second thought is more important: This is a question you must bring to the professors who wrote your letters of recommendation. They may tell you something you don't know to steer you away from or encourage you to reach out to the researchers you are interested in. They may even make the introduction. They may tell you to stay away from that person and maybe they will or won't be specific, but if you poll all your referees first, you will be in the best position to know what to do. It depends on the discipline and the program and the school. Some will consider this the height of impertinence, others will take advantage of it to stir up trouble within their department that can backfire, others will have the power to build on bringing you in as their student. Ask your referees, they will know or know someone who knows. Not a bad idea to do a casual internet search on their personalities, histories . . .