Emailing Professors

When emailing professors keep these in mind:

• They are busy

• They get a lot of emails from students

• They will have a first impression of your application and your fit to their research

Therefore for your email:

• Be very brief! They don't have time to read long emails. A long email is more likely to sit in the inbox.

• Be informative! For every sentence ask yourself: Is this necessary or essential? Is it telling them something about you that they have to know?

  • • For example "I am interested in your research" is not informative and does not help you stand out. Of course you are! You would not have emailed them if not! Instead you can say: I am interested in the role of dopamine in Parkinson's disease as well as its interaction with other neurotransmitters. I have done some research on this in the past and would like to continue my work in your lab.

• Be specific and clear! Don't send an email that could be sent to any professor. Make it clear that you know their research, their lab, and what you are talking about! Don't write vague and general sentences.

  • • Example:

In creating the content of this page we have consulted the following link from Columbia University school of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology.