How To Write To A Prospective PHD (Or Post-Doc) Supervisor The Art of Scientific Communication

The Art of Scientific Communication
Advice for university students in science and engineering by Faye Hicks, PhD, PEng
Complete List of Posts

Info
How to write to a prospective PhD (or Post-Doc) supervisor

POSTED ON JULY 30, 2012 UPDATED ON NOVEMBER 16, 2013
Ive noticed recently that a lot of people make their way to this site while searching for advice on how to
write to a potential PhD supervisor. Ive also noticed that many of the letters/emails that I personally get on
this topic are actually irrelevant to me, poorly written, or both. So, I figured it might be a good idea to put a
little bit of advice out there to help students who are trying to get into a PhD (or Masters) program. All the
same principles also apply for those seeking post-doc supervisors.
There are two categories of people writing these letters those who need financial support for their graduate
program and those who dont. If you have a big scholarship, or if youre independently wealthy, you fall into
the second category and its important to mention it right at the beginning of your letter. Believe me that
will get you noticed! The reason is that the other 99% of people are looking for a supervisor AND for financial
support, and theres just not enough money to go around. Letting a prospective supervisor know that you
are not looking for money increases the likelihood that they will read the rest of your letter and, as a result,
it improves your chances of getting admitted.
You might be wondering, Do I even need to write letters to potential supervisors? Cant I just fill out
university application forms? The fact is hundreds of people apply for each spot and if you just fill out the
application form without actually contacting any of the professors at the university in question, then youre
not likely to get noticed. Furthermore, most graduate students (especially PhDs) and Post-Docs are
admitted because a particular professor has expressed an interest in recruiting them, so if youve not been
in contact with a professor, chances are, nobody there is going to push to get you admitted.
The next obvious question is whether you have to write an actual letter, or will an email do? The answer is
both. You should do it by email, but write it in the form of a proper letter. Specifically: make the subject line
informative, use a proper salutation, write in proper paragraphs, organize your thoughts, make sure the
spelling and grammar are perfect, and end it with a proper closing. Essentially, you are applying for a job
and so, in a way, your application form is analogous to your resume and your letter to a prospective
supervisor is equivalent to the corresponding cover letter. Like those who write a good cover letter when
applying for a job, students who write good letters to potential supervisors are more likely to get noticed.
You can go ahead and read about writing an effective cover letter to get some basic advice on witting to a
potential PhD (or Post-doc, or Masters) supervisor. Here below are some more specific tips for you. (Youll
notice a bit of overlap.)
Do Your Research
Its important to write to a specific person about doing a specific type of research. I get all sorts of emails
addressed to Dear Sir (with 20 other people in the address line). They all go right in my trash folder. In the
first place, anyone who actually thinks that it is acceptable to assume that all professors are men is living
in the 19th century and is probably totally out of touch with the current literature and technology, as well. In
the second place, I assume (as does every other prof out there) that if 19 other people got the same email,
then youll be just as happy if one of them answers your email so Im not going to waste my time on it.
Furthermore, I study river ice nothing else I dont plan to do any projects on groundwater, water
resources planning and management, construction, chemical engineering or nuclear physics. Yet I get tons
of people emailing me, asking if they can come and do research with me on these (and many other
completely irrelevant) topics, and they actually expect me to pay them to do it! I delete all of these emails,
too. If youre doing this sort of thing in the blind hope that you might get lucky and hit on just one professor
whose interests intersect with yours, you are wasting your time completely. Think about it youre trying to
land a research position and you havent even bothered to do the most trivial research on the topic (i.e. surf
the web and actually find out who is doing research that matches your interests and experience). Every
professor that reads your email is going to think that you are either totally lazy or completely inept as a
researcher (probably both). Theyre definitely not going to have any interest in recruiting you.
Your best chance at getting someone enthused about recruiting you is to find someone whose interests
match your own. Therefore, as an absolute minimum, you should check out their website to see if they do
anything even remotely related to your area(s) of interest. If they dont, then youre just wasting your time
(and theirs) by writing to them. Its also important to keep in mind that all professors have well-defined
research programs and they seek out and get money to support those specific research programs. So, its
important to demonstrate an interest in their research projects, not simply to dictate your own research
interests to them.
Its true that many people dont have a specific PhD (or Masters) topic in mind and will accept almost any
project just to get an opportunity to do a PhD. Thats perfectly fine; go ahead and admit it. In fact, I
encourage you to write to prospective professors and ask them what they are working on and whether they
might have any projects for which they are seeking graduate students. Personally, I am much more inclined
to follow-up with an applicant who does this, than with one who tells me what they plan to work on, especially
when its irrelevant to me.
Demonstrate Your Relevant Merits
Here again, its important to do your research. There is no point in applying to a graduate program if you
dont have the grades to get in, yet a surprising number of people do. Most universities post their academic
requirements on their web sites check them out and keep in mind, these are minimum requirements.
Meeting these minimum requirements will not necessarily get you admitted, especially if you dont have a
specific professor asking for you. You should be aware that academic requirements may also vary by
program. For example, at most Canadian universities, you need a Masters degree to get admitted to an
engineering PhD program, whereas that might not be the case for PhD programs in science. In your letter
to the prospective supervisor, make it clear that you have checked these academic requirements and that
you exceed them all. If you have done a Masters, be sure to mention the title of your thesis and the name
of your thesis supervisor in your letter.
You also need to demonstrate that your academic background is relevant to that professors research
program. For example, as a hydrotechnical engineer who specializes in river ice, I am not likely to recruit
someone who did a Masters in environmental engineering. We may both be civil engineers, but thats not
a particularly relevant background for a PhD in hydrotechnical engineering. In fact, relevant skills can be as
specific as the type of research experience you have. In this context, you really should download and read
a few of the professors journal papers to get an idea of what types of expertise they might be seeking. For
example, if someone is doing numerical modeling and you have experience in that (even if only a single
graduate course) then be sure to mention it in your letter. Youre far more likely to spark their interest than
someone who has absolutely no experience or expertise in modeling. The research experience
expectations tend to be quite a bit less rigourous for prospective Masters students. A relevant
undergraduate degree is typically essential and any sort of research experience (e.g. a summer or co-op
research job) is an asset but often not essential.
Doing research on the professors that youll be contacting not only ensures youll be approaching the
appropriate people, it will increase your chances of attracting their interest, since its a very real
demonstration of your initiative, curiosity and resourcefulness.
Keep it Brief
Many of the letters I get from prospective PhD students are excessively long (i.e. a couple of pages or
more). If I open an email to find such a long letter, I usually close it for the moment, with the intention of
looking at it later when I have more time. However, I receive over 100 emails a day, so its usually forgotten
by the next day. Sometimes I mark them for follow-up, but Ive got about a hundred emails flagged at any
given time so it still might get lost in the shuffle. In contrast, if an email is only one or two (real) paragraphs
long, I read it right away. Im not unique in this; in fact, many professors get several hundred emails a day
and read only a few of them. Keep that in mind as you write your letter and make a concerted effort to be
brief. Aim to get your message across in two paragraphs at the most. The goal is to spark the professors
interest in order to initiate a dialog; you dont need to tell them your whole lifes story in the first contact.
Put Something Meaningful in the Subject Line
Most people who receive excessive amounts of email, like professors, prioritize what they read based on
the subject lines. If your subject line is blank, simply says c.v., or even worse says hey professor it
may be ignored indefinitely. For obvious reasons, the subject line that would catch my eye immediately is
Prospective PhD student seeking to study river ice. In my 24 years as a professor I never received a
single email with this subject line (until I wrote this post ).
Attach Supporting Material
Scan copies of your transcripts and attach them to the email along with a copy of your resume. Youll have
to send official paperwork for the application process, but it takes time for a professor to go hunt that up. If
you save them that time by providing the info for them, theyre more likely to follow-up. Remember though,
all unofficial transcripts are eventually compared against the official versions. Any discrepancies, no matter
how minor, are guaranteed to kill any chance of admission.
If you have published any journal or conference papers, include them as attachments to your email. This
not only shows evidence of your research productivity, it gives the professor a better idea of your research
background and some indication of your writing skills.
Do you need to do this to get into a Masters program?
What if youre an undergraduate seeking admission to a Masters program? Should you write letters to
prospective MSc supervisors? That depends upon whether there is a particular topic youd like to study. If
yes, then it makes sense to contact professors working in that research area to see if they are willing to
take you on.
Good luck !
Share this:
Twitter
Facebook1K+
LinkedIn
More
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Advice on Selecting a Prospective Thesis SupervisorIn "Academic Communications"
Preparing an effective job-seeking cover letterIn "Business Communications"
Writing a Winning Scholarship Proposal - Part 4 - The ClosingIn "Scholarship and Grant Applications"
This entry was posted in Academic Communications and tagged application contents, Articles, aspect of technical
writing, cover letter, Education, Engineering, graduate students, manuscript drafts, Paragraph, phd supervisor, report
components, Research, Science, Technology, Tips, Writing.
Writing a Winning Scholarship Proposal Part 4 The Closing

Creating Effective Presentations Part 1 Overview
325 thoughts on How to write to a prospective PhD (or Post-Doc) supervisor

Marialuisa Aliotta said:July 31, 2012 at 1:33 am
Hi Faye,
This is excellent advice and an excellent post. Would it be ok if I re-posted it on my blog, maybe next
week?
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:July 31, 2012 at 9:37 am
Thanks Marialuisa! Absolutely, please go ahead and repost it on your blog.

Thanks for your interest!
REPLY
Marialuisa Aliotta said:August 5, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Reblogged this on Academic Life and commented:

Todays post is from Prof Faye Hicks. Faye is a hydrotechincal (civil) engineer with 30+ years of
experience and the Author of The Art of Scientific Writing, a blog where she provides advice for
university students in Science and Engineering. I hope youll like her post as much as I did. Enjoy!
REPLY
Anthony Finkelstein (@profserious) said:August 6, 2012 at 12:54 am
Thanks for this post which is very useful . I took on this subject in an altogether less serious vein
at http://blog.prof.so/2012/02/advice-to-applicant.html which you may find useful!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:August 6, 2012 at 7:56 am
Thanks Anthony I enjoyed reading your post on this same topic.
REPLY
nikky said:June 24, 2013 at 6:02 am
God bless you immensely for this,now I know the mistakes to avoid.
Faye Hicks responded:June 29, 2013 at 8:46 am
Thanks Nikky glad to hear that you found it useful!
Applying to PhD Programs Part 2 Justin O'Hearn said:August 12, 2012 at 2:41 am
[] conclusion, mine is not the only advice on this topic by a long shot. You can also check out this
post on writing to potential supervisors by Marialuisa Aliotta, a senior lecturer at University of []
REPLY
csadangi said:August 16, 2012 at 7:40 am
excellent tips Thanks a lot
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:August 16, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Thank-you! And thanks for visiting and commenting!
REPLY
Applying to PhD Programs Parts 1, 2, and 3 Justin O'Hearn said:September 18, 2012 at 7:49 am
[] conclusion, mine is not the only advice on this topic by a long shot. You can also check out this
post on writing to potential supervisors by Faye Hicks (I had originally misattributed this post and I
[]
REPLY
Nan said:September 20, 2012 at 10:01 am
Professor Hicks, As a prospective Ph.D. applicant, I am thoroughly grateful to you for sharing such
an informative post with us. Your post has helped me clearly understand the material that goes into
writing an effective letter to a prospective supervisor. I cannot thank you enough for all the valuable
advice! Many thanks!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:September 20, 2012 at 12:44 pm
Thanks! Im so happy you found it useful.

Best of luck!
REPLY
Nan said:October 11, 2012 at 11:23 am
Professor Hicks, Thank you for the wishes! I have a question for you. I am in the process of
contacting prospective advisers from a number of schools. I am interested in conducting research in
topic X. I have taken one graduate level course and have written a graduate seminar paper on the
topic of interest. My seminar paper does not accurately reflect my truest potential and would hate for
it to limit my chances to work with a professor of my interest. Do you have any thoughts on whether
or not I must choose to talk about the seminar paper. ( Side note: The one graduate course and the
seminar paper are the only work relevant to my current area of research interest.)
Any thoughts you may have will be much appreciated!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:October 11, 2012 at 8:04 pm
I think its always important to be completely honest and to provide all relevant information. Its
always possible that the prospective professor might not even be interested in seeing the seminar
paper anyway its not the type of inforation I usually request myself. However, if s/he does ask
to see it, then you can always just explain that it does not accurately reflect [your] truest
potential.
Best of luck!
REPLY
Nan said:October 12, 2012 at 11:02 am
Thank you very much for your prompt response and guidance!
REPLY
Stefanie (@sKibsey) said:October 14, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Thank you for posting this, I am actually looking to write a letter to a potential supervisor for a
masters degree, but I think this info is relevant. There is one thing Im unsure about I finished my
undergrad in archaeology in 2010, spent a few months traveling abroad, come back and took
various language and graphic design courses while I worked full time (in an unrelated field, of
course!) then started a part-time graduate program in PR management, only to improve on my
communication and leadership skills while trying to decide what I really wanted to do. I finally
decided a masters in archaeology is just not for me, and realized a masters in
environment/geography is a much better fit for my interests and career goals. So im taking part time
geography courses in human environment right now. Should I mention all that stuff in my letter, like
starting the graduate program in PR, or does that just make me sound flakey?
REPLY
I think that its better to provide complete information rather than just leaving mysterious gaps in
your c.v. Keep in mind that a lot of people try different things until they figure out what they want
to do. Its not as unusual as you might think. Besides, your supervisor will come to know this info
eventually. You will have the best experience with a supervisor who you can be completely
honest with and who accepts you for who you are, not who you think they want you to be.
Good luck!
REPLY
Stefanie (@sKibsey) said:October 15, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Thank you very much for the advice!
REPLY
Florian Edmachis said:October 17, 2012 at 9:51 am
thanks alot professor Hicks for your good post to help us (students). im a graduate with bachellor
degree in public administration and management. i was very glad when i met your post above
because i want to appeal for masters degree schollarships.
i hope this post will help me together with other posts from you as you are still posting.
my God be with yu alays.
Florian Edmachius
REPLY
Thanks for your nice comments I am so glad you found this useful! Good luck with the
scholarships!
REPLY
Eva said:October 21, 2012 at 5:18 pm
Very useful tips. Thanks a lot
REPLY
Thanks Eva I am so glad you found them helpful!
REPLY
Pyali said:October 25, 2012 at 1:44 am
Thank you Mam these articles are really helpful to me and I believe for many others also
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:October 25, 2012 at 11:59 am
Thank-you! I am so glad you found them useful!
REPLY
dharani said:October 31, 2012 at 12:20 am
Very well organized information for a prospective student. Thank you
REPLY
Thanks! So glad you found it useful.
REPLY
Also need an advise..Im keen at applying for a phd, I do have relevent research experience, but my
cv has few gaps which include my self employed tutoring. Should I include this in my email?
REPLY
I think that its better to provide complete information rather than just leaving mysterious gaps in
your c.v. Good luck!
REPLY
thank you for the quick reply

REPLY
Barry said:November 2, 2012 at 11:00 am
very useful and helpful , thanks
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:November 2, 2012 at 11:27 am
Thanks Barry!
Im really glad it was helpful.
REPLY
bk said:November 3, 2012 at 8:12 pm
Thanks for the great post. Im looking at PhD programs in Geography and I have two questions: first,
Im writing to a professor that a friend from my undergraduate days currently works with. My friend
told the professor Id be writing. However, I dont think this professor would actually be the best fit as
an advisor. But the other faculty members are quite famous and (Ive heard) a bit inaccessible, and
Im not sure who my advisor would be, so I figure its best to make contact with someone whos
expecting a message from me. Should I still write to this professor, and should I mention that Im
unsure about who a potential advisor could be?
Second, Im wondering what a few other people above were wondering: should I include in this
introductory letter of just a few paragraphs my entire recent history? How much do they want to
know? Im already in the middle of a project and just describing that takes way too much space,
around 350 words. Thanks for your advice!
REPLY
Thanks for the comment Im glad you found it useful.

Regarding your questions, Im sure you can appreciate that its difficult to provide advice on such
specific issues. It can depend on many things particularly how graduate students are assigned
to supervisors (i.e. before or after they start the program). Perhaps the person who is expecting
to hear from you can give you some advice on this you could make your first communciation
about that. My personal opinion is that it is best to choose a PhD supervisor based on topic rather
than degree of fame (assuming you have a specific topic in mind). Many famous professors have
so many graduate students that each one does not get a lot of contact time. Younger/newer
professors generally have fewer students and so have much more time to spend with each one.
In addition, many are incredibly good and are just not famous yet. I was my MSc supervisors
very first graduate student and I hit the jackpot. I stayed to do my PhD with him he was, and still
is, the most amazing supervisor anyone could ever hope to have. Of course he is now famous,
as well. The truth is, there are superb and terrible supervisors in both groups, and many other
factors other than fame to consider in choosing a PhD supervisor.
Regarding how much info to present in your first communication again, its hard to give specific
advice I really cant add much beyond what I said above. You could always include the project
description as an attachment and just make reference to it in the letter telling him/her the topic
and inviting them to read the attachment if they are interested in more detail.
REPLY
rs said:November 10, 2012 at 3:05 am
Hi Prof! Thanks for the post. It is very helpful since I am planning to apply to a phd program this fall
in physical chemistryI would like to ask you three questions! Firstly, how important is the GRE
general score as an international applicant? My gre verbal score is 53 percentile and my math score
is 77 percentile. Is this score too low? I know many universities say that they dont have a cut-off
score for GRE but will this scoreof mine hamper my chances. Should I retake the general gre test?
My second question is that I have sent a few emails to profs without their replys back. Should I still
go ahead and apply to that university or is my chances of getting admitted there is virtually nil since
the professor hasnt replied back. Lastly, when a professor does reply back and encourage me to
apply does this mean I have a very good chance to get in?!! Thanks a lot !!!
REPLY
Thanks for the comment Im really happy you found the post useful.
Regarding your first question, Im sorry, I cannot comment since we dont use GRE test results to
assess applicants for our programs.
In response to your second question, if you send an email to a prof and get no reply, the most
likely reason is that they are not interested. However, there can be exceptions. Most professors
are constantly inundated with email; occasionally it happens that they intended to answer and just
forgot. So you could try and send one follow-up email, especially if you can improve it
substantially based on what you learned above. As to whether you should apply to the university
if you didnt get a response when you emailed a professor, this depends on the university. For our
programs, we have a preliminary screening application which serves a similar purpose as the
introductory email. I would say that about half of our applicants contact professors directly, and
the other half attract the professors interest by way of this preliminary application. So, if there is
no fee for applying to the program, you might want to give it a try.
Regarding your last question, if a professor does respond then I would say that s/he is definitely
interested and that is certainly very promising. However, there are many steps after that before
actual admission. In particular, there will have to be close scrutiny of your academic record and
reference letters. Also, if you are seeking funding, then your application package will have to be
considered in comparison to other applicants, both in terms of academic record and how well
your research interests fit with the professors interests. Thus, getting a positive response to your
email is generally just the first step, but definitely a very positive one.
Good luck!
REPLY
rs said:November 10, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Thanks for the post !!! It has certainly answered some of the questions troubling me over the
last few weeks. Once again, thanks
Viera Semanekov (@adelle207) said:November 12, 2012 at 6:48 am
Thanks a lot for this post. Fortunately I have found it right before sending an email to prospective
supervisor So now I can rework the text again to make it better.
REPLY
Thats great! Good luck!
REPLY
SPO said:November 14, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Many thanks for the post, its really helpful.
I am also a prospective student seeking to study PhD and I would like to ask you a question. When
contacting the prospective supervisor for the first time, do I have to attach My Proposal (Maybe a
Draft) in the EMail? Or should I just make an Introduction of my research topic and area without
attaching the proposal?
Thanks a lot!!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:November 14, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Thanks Im glad you found it useful.

Regarding your question I can only give you an answer from my own personal perspective. If a
student wants funding support during their graduate program, then I need them to work on a
project for which I already have funding. In that case, their research proposal is completely
irrelevant. If the student has a scholarship, then I can afford to be a bit more flexible; however,
there are many costs for doing research in addition to paying graduate students, so again, I need
them to at least be working on something complementary to my existing projects. Therefore, in
terms of first contact, the last thing I want to see from a prospective student is their proposal.
Although, this may not be the case for all prospective supervisors, Im willing to bet a lot of them
would say exactly the same thing for exactly the same reasons.
REPLY
SPO said:November 16, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Thanks for your post professor. Its really supportive.
Unigwe Obinna said:November 19, 2012 at 12:29 am

Thank you professor for your very informative piece. It is just the right information I need at this time.
I am a BSc graduate of Electrical Engineering and I just got a full scholarship to study to PhD level. I
have been asked by my government, the scholarship provider, to apply directly for the PhD program.
But my problem is that I am not sure if I have enough background research experience that the
schools or professors may be needing. Academically I dont think I am lacking which is why I won the
scholarship in the first place. But in truth, apart from my final year project, I have not worked on any
research topic before. Please prof, how do you advice I go about this. It really worries me a lot
because I do not have persons to advice me on issues such as this. To me right now, you are God-
sent. Please help me.
REPLY
Sorry I really cant advise you on that. In our civil engineering PhD programs (at my university)
we generally require people to do a Masters first, and I think thats pretty typical at least for
Canada. However, I dont know how easy or hard it will be for you to find an electrical engineering
PhD program that accepts BSc grads directly (i.e. without doing a Masters first); I suspect it may
not be all that common. Youll definitely need to do some research to check on it. I agree it
would be a challenge to do a PhD without any research experience, but people in science do it all
the time. If the PhD program is designed for it then it probably works out fine. I wish you the
best of luck with it.
REPLY
Namta said:November 19, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Thanks for the post Professor, just got through it at the right time.
REPLY
Thanks!
REPLY
Gloria Appiah said:November 21, 2012 at 3:03 am
Thanks Professor for the wealth of advice. Please, what if one is required to write a cover letter to a
department in application for PhD? In this instance, there is no specific potential supervisor to write
to so how specific can I make my interest known to the department (not sure who will be reading the
letter) ?
Thank you
REPLY
This application process depends on that particular program but that doesnt change the fact that
it is worthwhile to try to connect with a potential PhD supervisor before applying. The advice Ive
offered in this blog is to help you make that first contact with a potential PhD supervisor. The
formal application (and cover letter) would typically follow. If you havent got a professor there
interested in you yet, then there is no point applying (in my opinion). If you have got a professor
interested, then s/he can advise you on what they are looking for in the letter.
If the university discourages people from contacting specific professors directly and instead uses
these cover letters as the primary point of contact then I would say you still need to do your
research and find out which professor(s) would be a good match for you and make that case in
the cover letter.
REPLY
rs said:November 24, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Hello prof ! I have posted in this blog before where you answered few of my questions. I have tried
writing emails to potential supervisors according to your suggestions here, and it really works since I
am now getting a high percentage of replys. So, I thought to let you know and thanks again !!
REPLY
Thats great to hear! Thanks for letting me know.
REPLY
jagadish prasad said:November 27, 2012 at 4:31 am
Really awesome post worth reading.But i even have a doubt that if a professor is interested in
admitting me,will the gre scores and other criteria of mine should be really good enough when
compared to other students?.Or with the help of the professors word will i be able to get admit into
the university having the same research interest?,despite having the low gre score..?
REPLY
Thanks I m glad you found it useful.

Sorry, I cant really comment on the GRE score we dont use it for our admissions. However
generally, if you meet the minimum academic requirements for a particular program, then it is
always possible to get admitted providing there is a professor who wants you. Thats the idea of
writing directly to the professors to find one who might be willing to take you on. Its true, the
better your marks, the more likely professors are to be interested in you. But one thing you know
for sure, if you dont try, youll never know.
REPLY
Tasneem said:December 3, 2012 at 5:32 am
Very useful tips!!! I was a bit amazed too realizing what all disastrous mails i have written so far
.. Thanks a lot.
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:December 3, 2012 at 8:15 am
Thanks Im so glad you found it useful.
REPLY
Esther Ekeledo said:December 4, 2012 at 1:15 am
Hi Faye, thanks for a beautiful write up. You really helped me to refocus my writing skills. Thanks a
lot.
Esther
REPLY
Thanks Esther Im glad you found it useful!
REPLY
Kibrom Negash said:December 9, 2012 at 6:07 am
Hi Faye ! how are you? my name is Kibrom Negash and I want to apply masters scholar ship in
archaeology in Jordan, it is for my first time to apply for scholarship and I do not have experience of
writing motivation letter. Could you help me something how I write it?
Best Regard,
Kibrom Negash ( Addis Ababa , Ethiopia )
REPLY
Hi Kibrom thanks for visiting this blog. Youll find advice on preparing scholarship applications
and cover letters in the archives. Click on the link at the top (or click here) to see the complete list
of posts to find those. Good luck!
REPLY
Vivien Wang said:December 9, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Dear Professor Hicks thank you so much for this insightful blog, had loads of very useful
information and was also quite funny, had me chuckling on several counts! Im planning on writing
letters to several prospective supervisors recently and your article is a godsend. I also think its
lovely how you responded to every comment here! I wish I was researching river ice since you would
be an amazing person to work with.
All the best!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:December 9, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Thats great, Vivien Im so glad youve found it useful! Thanks too for all your nice comments!
REPLY
Udhara said:December 12, 2012 at 1:08 am
Thank you so much Prof. Hicks Actually your advice and the way you have replied to all is really
great.Your thoughts are very interesting and that implies that you got a very clear mind with a good
problem solving ability . Your writing skills are superb , so thankful to you for sharing your talents
with others.
REPLY
Thanks for the nice comments they are much appreciated!
REPLY
Chloe Mcintyre said:December 13, 2012 at 7:19 am
Dear Prof. Hicks,

That was definitely a very helpful blog. Thanks a ton for this! I am currently contacting supervisors
for PhD opportunities in their lab. From your replies to earlier comments/questions, I gather that you
suggest the applicants should be frank and open about themselves. This is where my question
comes. I have been doing a PhD since 4 months and unfortunately things havent been working out
for me. Some recent incidents have especially made me decide that I need to switch to a better
place. Now, when I contact professors w.r.t PhD openings in their lab I cant understand how frank
should I be about the current situation in the first email. I assume this information could act against
me (unless I am able to explain them the whole situation) but I definitely dont want it to!
REPLY
Thanks Chloe Im glad you found it useful. Regarding your question, I can offer you two things
to think about. First, keep in mind that your new PhD supervisor would have to find out about this
eventually and if you arent forthcoming right from the beginning, you could risk losing their trust.
Absolute honesty in all things is one of the cornerstones of academia, because credibility is
essential to our reputation and value as academics. Thus we must demonstrate honesty in our
every action; if we cause others to doubt our integrity as individuals, how can we then expect
them trust our research results? Thus one of the worst things that can happen is for your PhD
supervisor to lose trust in you. Along those same lines, probably the biggest issue for the new
PhD supervisor upon finding this out (assuming you do it up front), is likely going to be concern
for you original PhD supervisor. It would be totally unethical for one professor to steal a
graduate student from another, thus your prospective new supervisor would need to know that
you have respectfully terminated your relationship with the current PhD supervisor before taking
you on, but how can they know this if they are not even aware of your situation? In fact, by not
telling them at the outset, you could potentially compromise their reputation, as well. Just imagine
how awful that would be for everyone concerned.
Second, this sort of thing happens more often that you might expect and is not necessarily that
big a deal. If its no big deal to the new PhD supervisor you seek, then theres no big deal in
telling them about it up front. If it is going to be a big deal for them, then its just all the more
important to tell them up front. In truth, they will naturally wonder (and need to know) why you are
leaving your current position/program/supervisor but you dont need to tell them all the gory
details. (Believe me they probably dont want to hear them.) They just need to know the facts of
the matter: you started a program elsewhere; why it didnt work out in one sentence (e.g.
because things just didnt jive between you and your PhD supervisor, because the project funding
was lost, because the project didnt turn out to be interesting/what you expected/what you were
promised; because you are uncomfortable in your current situation due to conflicts among your
colleagues or whatever the reason); that you have respectfully terminated your relationship
with that PhD supervisor; and that you are now seeking a new PhD supervisor.
Best of luck!
REPLY
Subi said:December 15, 2012 at 9:31 am
Thank you very much for sharing your ideas with us dear prof. Faye Hicks,, This will be very useful
for me. I just started to write professors for my PHD. Im a research officer and my interest area is
International trade. Could you please let me know is it necessary to attach a research proposal or
synopsis with the email.
REPLY
Thanks Im glad you found it useful.

Regarding your question I can only give you an answer from my own personal perspective. If a
student wants funding support during their graduate program, then I need them to work on a
project for which I already have funding. In that case, their research proposal is completely
irrelevant to me. If the student has a scholarship, then I can afford to be a bit more flexible;
however, there are many costs for doing research in addition to paying graduate students, so
again, I need them to at least be working on something complementary to my existing projects.
Therefore, in terms of first contact, the last thing I want to see from a prospective student is their
proposal. Although, this may not be the case for all prospective supervisors, Im willing to bet a lot
of them would say exactly the same thing for exactly the same reasons.
REPLY
Subi said:December 15, 2012 at 11:34 pm
Thanks a lot Prof. Hicks. Could you please further let me know is it ethical to write few professors in
same department saying that I m interesting for their research.
REPLY
Its hard to say I can only speak for myself. I am only interested in recruiting students who are
specifically interested in working with me in my specific area of expertise. If Im just one in a list of
recipients and/or if the applicant is contacting other professors in my group I leave it to the other
professors to respond.
REPLY
Gustavo said:December 20, 2012 at 3:07 am
Thank you very much for the post. I was just wondering how brief should my letter be? 200, 300 or
400 words approx?
REPLY
Youre welcome I hope you found it useful. In terms of the length of email for first contact, I
would say around 300 to 400 words is a reasonable upper limit to aim for at least that is what I
prefer to see. Good luck!
REPLY
sathish said:December 23, 2012 at 3:17 am
Thanks a lot Dear Faye. The information you provided is very genuine, Its very useful for every
prospective student. I have a small query, I dont have a particular research proposal to work on but I
need to a admission for PhD. Can u suggest me how to write a request letter for a supervisor.
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:January 3, 2013 at 8:18 am
Thanks for the nice comments. For advice on wrting to a propsective supervisor just read the blog
above thats exactly what its aimed at providing. You can get some additional general advice
from one of my other posts the one on writing an effective cover letter.
REPLY
kidane desta said:December 31, 2012 at 1:15 am
Many thanks for your post professor!! I will apply your advice soon!!
REPLY
kidane desta said:December 31, 2012 at 1:16 am
Have a very happy new year!!
REPLY
Thanks! Happy new year to you, too!

Thanks good luck!
REPLY
Elvis said:January 3, 2013 at 1:21 pm
Many thanks to you Faye. I have learnt a lot reading blog. I am applying for M.Eng program in
Environmental Engineering. I am aware that I will need to contact a prospective supervisor for M.Sc
programs, but since I am applying for the course based program (M.Eng), is it imperative I contact a
supervisor? Thank you so much and happy new year!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:January 3, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Thanks Im glad youve found it useful.

Regarding your question I doubt that it would be needed in your case, although it might depend
on the particular university.
REPLY
May said:January 4, 2013 at 1:57 am
Thank u very much, Madam

Your tips and advices really help me
Thanks again
Happy new year
REPLY
Thanks May I am glad you found them useful!
REPLY
Nauman said:January 15, 2013 at 8:27 am
Hi Faye,
I read blogs for suggestions but never ever replied to anybody. These are some excellent tips you
have shared. I am in process of applying for a PhD. Hope these suggestions will help me fulfill my
ambitions
Thanks again .
REPLY
Thanks hope it helps you out!

Thanks for visiting my blog!
REPLY
http://tinyurl.com/wintlydia08734 said:January 16, 2013 at 9:18 pm
How to write to a prospective PhD supervisor The Art of

Scientific Communication genuinely got me addicted on ur web site!
I actuallywill be returning way more frequently. Thanks a lot
,Susie
REPLY
Thanks! So happy you find it useful!
REPLY
Sina said:January 17, 2013 at 7:05 pm
Thank You for your hugely helpful post.
REPLY
Thanks glad it was helpful!
REPLY
Kamlesh said:January 18, 2013 at 6:55 pm
Thank you Prof. Hicks for taking so much of care and pain. I am taking guidelines from all of your
blogs for my PhD application. Thank you once again.
REPLY
Youre welcome! Glad you find it useful!
REPLY
http://tinyurl.com/aretvales18750 said:January 22, 2013 at 11:14 pm
U constructed quite a few remarkable ideas with your blog post, How to write
to a prospective PhD supervisor The Art of Scientific
Communication. Ill become coming back again to ur web page soon. Thx ,Manie
REPLY
Thanks for the kind comments!
REPLY
Tilak Raj said:January 23, 2013 at 12:40 am
Thank you Professor Faye,
Really useful information.
Regards
REPLY
Thanks Im glad it was useful for you!
REPLY
Aladdin said:January 30, 2013 at 2:08 am
Thanks Prof. for sharing your experience with us
REPLY
Youre welcome! Thanks for visiting and commenting!
REPLY
Swaib said:February 4, 2013 at 9:54 am
This post is very good and helpful to me as i look out for a potential PHD supervisor. I am going to
follow your advise. I have always wondered how to get a supervisor. i thought supervisors pick on
potential student they know personal or those introduced by their colleagues or friends.
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:February 4, 2013 at 3:14 pm
Im glad to hear that you found it useful good luck!
REPLY
Luna said:February 4, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Dear Professor Hicks,
Thank you for the wonderful tips! Its heart-warming to be able to see things from an academics
point of view.
I have contacted about five professors from different universities with PhD supervision requests. Two
have responded positively and stated their willingness to support my application. Ive submitted my
applications to these two universities now and Im waiting for the result. If I receive offers from both
universities, I will have to decline one of them. My concern is that it might seem impolite of me to
decline an offer and the professor who has agreed to support my application might be offended.
Please let me know what you think!
Yours,
Luna
REPLY
Hi Luna thanks for the nice comments Im glad you found the information useful.
Regarding your question, I can only speak from my own perspective, but I am always expecting
that applicants are applying to more than one university and that they may end up accepting
another offer. The important thing is to let them know as soon as you make your decision. That
way another applicant can be accepted in your place. So many times people dont bother to let us
know that they wont be coming and that hurts the professor as well as the applicants on the
waiting list.
Best wishes for a sucessful PhD!
REPLY
Abhishek said:February 14, 2013 at 11:49 pm
This post is excellent and very helpful. Each and every question I had is addressed. Thanks a lot
Prof.Hicks. Actually, I am looking for a PhD supervisor in the field of cancer research and Im luck to
find this post.Remarkable:)
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:February 15, 2013 at 8:09 am
Thanks for the nice comments I am so glad you found this post useful.
Good luck with your applications!
REPLY
newenglandpastor said:February 25, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Thank you very much for your advice. My question is this: when would be the best time to contact a
potential supervisor? I am not applying until next December, for Fall 2014 matriculation. Is it too
early to contact potential supervisors now? I know that many have just gone through the process of
selecting PhD students for this fall, so they may be burned out by the whole topic right now.
Then again, is it ever too early? Id like to try to build a rapport with these individuals sooner rather
than later so that if need be, I will have plenty of time to develop the relationship. Your feedback will
be much appreciated!
REPLY
I can only speak from my own perspective, but we typically like people to get in touch starting a
year or more ahead it takes time to get all the documents in hand, and there are competitive
reviews, recruitment scholarships, etc. to think about. Most people leave it far too late. I dont
think you need to worry that theyre tired of looking at applications.
Good luck!
REPLY
Hanan said:March 9, 2013 at 5:28 am
I think your article is very helpful! Thank you!
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:March 10, 2013 at 5:08 pm
Thanks Hanan! Good to hear!
REPLY
Sophia said:March 9, 2013 at 6:08 am
Thanks a lot Prof. Faye for your blogs.

Grateful for your advice in my situation. I am prospective PhD candidate with interests in Human
Resource and Industrial Relations. Particularly seeking research in the application of IT Technology
to identify Talents and skills in multinational organizations. My challenge is that my first degree is
computer science and I worked for 12 years as IT professional before moving to HR in the last 1 and
half year(2011 to date). I have an MBA in Technology, Marketing and Business strategy and now
seeking to do the PhD to progress my new career as a HR Practitioner. Im not sure if I stand a
chance especially I have no research background apart from my BSc and MBA final projects.
Financially I intend to sponsor myself. Thank you. Sophia
REPLY
Hi Sophia your area is quite different than mine, so I really cant comment on how easy it will be
for you to find a PhD supervisor. However, it should help a lot that you are self-funded. Good
luck!
REPLY
Joseph said:March 10, 2013 at 8:37 pm
Hi Dr. Hicks,
Do you have any advice on reporting GRE scores to a potential faculty mentor as part of the initial
contact letter? The reason I ask is because the program I am considering has a recommended
minimum of 70th and 50th %iles for the quantitative and verbal sections, respectively. Although I had
met these requirements, since changing formats, ETS is now displaying my percentile scores as
being noticeably lower than they were originally (with the quantitative section now dipping below the
recommended minimum of 70%).
Although I would hope my interest as expressed in the email itself, combined with my resume and
transcripts would provide the faculty with a solid idea of my credentials, I do not want to spring any
surprises come time to actually submitting the application. Any advice you would have would mean a
lot.
Best,
Joseph
REPLY
Hi Joseph I really cant comment on how important it would be as we dont even consider GRE
scores in my field. However, as there is a recommended minimum, I would say that it would make
sense to discuss this relatively early in your contact with the prospective professor(s). Perhaps it
is getting too detailed for the first email I really dont know but it definitely sounds like
something you should address by the second email. That way neither of you will waste much of
your time if it turns out ot be critical.
REPLY
Maryam said:March 17, 2013 at 2:50 am
First of all THAAAAAAAAAAANK YOU Dr. Hicks I followed your advice and I had a reply from my
potential supervisor for an interview, I am so excited. Thanks a lot
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:March 17, 2013 at 7:06 am
Wow that is terrific news, Maryam! Congratulations!
REPLY
Imali said:March 18, 2013 at 11:30 pm
Thank you Prof. Faye for your usefull ideas.Im seeking for a PhD in marine sciences and I got a
reply from a prof. asking how Im going to fund my study.I said Im looking for a placement as a
research student first and then I can apply for a scholarship.But he said he needs verifications of
funding first and then consider of supervising my project. Im from a developing country and I cannot
afford it all by myself.To apply for a Phd scholarship,It requires a placement. If the situation is like
this,how can I get a supervisors offer without already assigned funding? Can you express your
ideas on this matter?Thank you.
REPLY
Hi Imali I think you need to check with some other potential supervisors. It sounds like that
particular supervisor is only looking for self-funded students. Good luck!
REPLY
Lily said:March 23, 2013 at 6:14 am
Thank you so much for this posting. Its really useful for me. Im interested in applying PhD (Coastal
Management) and I have contacted a prof. from a university. He replied my email, he said that my
topic sounds interesting and in line with his work. Then he asked me my CV. I sent him my CV as his
consideration. But after that I havent got any reply, I have been waiting for his reply until now (it has
been three weeks). Do you think I need to send him an email again and ask about it? Im worried
because I need to obtain a confirmation admission letter from the university before I submit my
scholarship application (he knew that I want to apply a scholarship for my PhD, I told him in my first
email), and for applying a PhD at the university I need an agreement from potential supervisor for my
proposed research. Or maybe he thinks that Im not eligible for doing research in his institution?
Thank you for your advice.
REPLY
Thanks Lily I think you could write a follow-up email to the professor explaining the situation. Its
possible he just got busy and needs a reminder. Most professors would not mind getting a
reminder in that situation. Good luck!
REPLY
niyanuday said:April 1, 2013 at 8:31 am
Thank you madam for sharing a very informative knowledge on the Art of Scientific Communication.
I wish to know something from your experience that what is the difference between a Letter of
Motivation and Cover Letter. I have prepared a letter of motivation but I am confused what should I
write in the cover letters should I copy paste the letter of motivation in that or is there something
which I should know. I would be grateful if I can be enriched on this situation.
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:April 3, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Thanks for your kind commnets. Sorry I have no idea what you mean by a Letter of Motivation.
If it is a specific requirement of a particular university, perhaps you could contact them for more
information?
REPLY
I-am-going-to-turn-into-jello...soon said:April 3, 2013 at 11:30 pm
Dear Prof. Hicks,

Thank you for this informative post. It was helpful even though I dont study river ice and/or
engineering. I came across it quite by accident.
I am in the midst of the I-am-going-to-turn-into-jellosoon state of researching prospective
graduate supervisors, programs, and funding sources. I have been told (could be wrong) I have
fantastic research background and experiences as I have a published paper and several
conferences and I only have a bachelors. But the world still feels extremely big right now. And
intimidating.
THANK YOU!
REPLY
Thanks and good luck!!
REPLY
Shahadat Hossan said:April 17, 2013 at 4:57 am
Dear Faye Hicks,

Thank you very much for your post. It is really helpful for me as I am looking to contact with
prospective PhD supervisor. Is it a good idea if I send my CV with the letter?
Thank you very much.
REPLY
Thanks glad you found it useful.

Yes, I think its okay to send a c.v. but keep in mind that many people are not keen to open
attachments from people they dont know, so they might not open it.
REPLY
Joseph said:April 20, 2013 at 5:49 pm
Hi Dr. Hicks,
I was glad to see you suggested being honest about not having a specific research topic in mind, as
I am currently in this boat. However, I am concerned about striking the right tone. On the one hand, I
want to be honest about my willingness to take pretty much any project available within my field. But
on the other hand, I dont want to come across as being immature or uncommitted by not having
well-articulated research interests of my own. Would you have any advice on the matter?
Thanks again,
Joseph
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:April 21, 2013 at 9:49 am
Hi Joseph keep in mind that I can only speak for myself I personally dont find it that relevant
or appealing for potential PhD students to have their own research plans. If a student wants
funding support during their graduate program, then I need them to work on a project for which I
already have funding. In that case, their research proposal is completely irrelevant. If the student
has a scholarship, then I can afford to be a bit more flexible; however, there are many costs for
doing research in addition to paying graduate students, so again, I need them to at least be
working on something complementary to my existing projects. Therefore, in terms of first contact,
the last thing I want to see from a prospective student is their proposal. Although, this may not
be the case for all prospective supervisors, Im willing to bet a lot of them would say exactly the
same thing for exactly the same reasons.
I do think it is vital for you to have an idea of the specific area(s) you want to do research in, so
that you are approaching the right people.
Best wishes!
REPLY
Abdullah Alghamdi said:April 26, 2013 at 9:47 am
I really like what you have wrote

Many thanks
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:May 1, 2013 at 6:53 am
Thanks Abdullah glad you found it useful!
REPLY
Aakanksha said:May 2, 2013 at 8:15 am
Prof Hicks
Thank you so much for the blog. I work for Sage publications (India) and planning to apply for PhD
soon. Your blog is really helpful for contacting prospective supervisors
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:May 2, 2013 at 2:24 pm
Thanks Aakanksha great to hear that it was useful!
REPLY
eainmobiliat said:May 6, 2013 at 1:26 am
Loved the advice im just in that process. greetings
REPLY
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
REPLY
Muhammad Shafiq said:May 7, 2013 at 9:34 am
Dear Prof. Hicks

Thank you very much for sharing this beneficial information and providing guidance.
I wish to have your guidance regarding my PhD studies.
I am searching for a potential PhD supervisor and once a professor will be agree to supervise my
PhD studies, I would be able to submit my application to the scholarship agencies.
Although I have published five papers and my research interests matches with several professors,
only a limited number of them reply.
With best regards
Shafiq, Pakistan
REPLY
Hi Muhammad sorry, I really dont know why many havent responded. Likely its simply
because, at this lofty level, the competition gets extremely tough. There are just so many
excellent poeple looking to get into a PhD program and such limited space. Most professors get
hundreds of requests per year, many from superb applicants, yet they likely take on only 1 or 2
new PhD students each year.
Good luck!
REPLY
sanjay said:May 17, 2013 at 2:27 am
Hi Faye.
Last year, I applied to one of the reputed universities in Australia for a PhD. Deadline was
approaching and my prospective supervisor was not responding me although we exchanged some
emails before. I was hurried not to miss the opportunity to put my application. I then contacted
another professor from the same university who responded me quickly and agreed to supervise me
on the proposed topic and asked me to put my application before deadline (3 days to go). She
suggested the co-supervisor as well. Suddenly, the previously proposed supervisor also responded
and advised me to put the application. Then I was tensed and in dilemma. I decided to write an email
to the professor whom I contacted later and explained everything. I wrote her my situation. But she
was very angry. Later I told her that I will not be putting the application that time because of the
sense of guilt. But she advised me to go forward with my decision and put the application. I applied
for the university scholarship round and my application was unsuccessful.
After all these happened, I think I have a very bad image over there. But still I want to apply there.
So, could you please advise me how to improve my image ? After all this happened do you think that
they may accept me as their future student? Should I write the second professor ?
Please let me know what you think about the situation.
Thank you very much.
Sanjay.
REPLY
Hi Sanjay sorry, but I really cant advise you on such a specific situation. I will say though the
bond of trust, so essential in the student-professor relationship, can be very difficult to repair after
something like this. You could try writing to both professors and apologizing, but the outcome
really depends on many more specifics including the personalities of, and relationships between,
all of the individuals concerned. Despite the unfortunate situation, I think that it is unlikely that any
of this had anything to do with you not getting the scholarship there most often those are
decided in academic competitions, not decided upon by individual professors.
REPLY
mohammad said:May 18, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Hi Dear Faye Hicks,

First of all, I like to thank you for your helpful post in this web page. It might help a lot of students to
achieve their goal.
Honestly, we are a couple with the same educational major and experience. We are extremely
interested to continue our education in PhD level at the same department and program. Plus that we
have almost the same C.V. and work experience. So we are really in a big dilemma to corresponding
with faculties to find supervisor.
It would be appreciable, if you can guide us how we can organize our letter? If we want to contact
separately we are competitor with the same qualification, otherwise, if we write a common letter, how
we can catch their interest?
Sincerely,
Mohammad
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:June 6, 2013 at 7:38 pm
Hi Mohammad sorry for the delay responding. This is a difficult question but I dont think you
have much choice I imagine that most (likely all) universities will require you to apply
separately. You best bet is to try contacting professors first mentioning you are both in the
same field and both wanting to do a PhD. Weve had a lot of couples come to do PhDs in our
research group its not as uncommon as you may think.
Sometimes one gets admitted only, but once they are both here, we get to meet the other and
become keen to admit them, too.
Best of luck!
REPLY
mohammad said:June 6, 2013 at 7:46 pm
Dear Faye,
Thank you for your time and attention.
Regards,
Mohammad
Aga said:May 23, 2013 at 10:51 am
Thank you very much for this wonderful and useful website. Would you have any advice on how to
talk about the supervisor in the PhD research proposal? The university Im applying to requires a
section on Why you feel your project fits with a potential supervisors research and the strengths of
the proposed department are there any dos and donts in terms of wording? Is it OK to say that
the supervisor has excellent expertise and significant contributions in the field or do I need to be
more specific? Is it OK to accolade the supervisor (who will be one of the people reading the final
proposal) or should I keep it neutral? The supervisor in question has already accepted my proposed
research, but the formal decision will be made by a panel, so I would like the administrative
sections of the proposal sound as good as possible (although Im not sure how important these non-
research related parts really are). I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Kind regards,
Aga
REPLY
Hi Aga sorry for the delay responding. It sounds like they are wanting to ensure a good fit in
terms of research topic. In order for you to address this question, you need to know which
professors work in what areas it sounds like they are expecting you to check that and make a
case for how your research interests fit with the supervisor you are applying to work with.
Best of luck!
REPLY
siruna said:May 30, 2013 at 12:26 am
Dear Prof. Hicks,
Thank you so much for all the information and guidance you are providing. I want to apply for PhD in
Biomolecular Engineering. I have also contacted a potential supervisor. He has replied to me stating
that he doesnt have funding to support me although I was not asking him for studentship. He also
replied that he would be happy to consider my application after is has been processed. I want to
apply for scholarship granted through university and for that I have to lodge an admission application
form.
I am bit confused because without letter of support from supervisor,I cannot apply then what does he
mean by saying that he would consider me after my application has been processed. I think it would
be rude to ask him that. Can you please tell me what should I do?
REPLY
Hi Siruna Im not sure what they mean; it sounds a bit confusing to me, as well. I dont think its
rude to write to ask for clarification of the process. If they get upset over something like that, likely
it wouldnt be all that pleasant a place to do a PhD anyway.
Best of luck!
REPLY
YS said:June 3, 2013 at 6:11 am
Ive sent you an email with the same content a few days ago but Im not sure whether it reached you,
so forgive me for posting a similar copy here.
First of all, thank you so much for writing so many useful articles. This article is a terrific guide.
However, because of my situation, I need further advice on the subject.
Im from Malaysia and Ive just recently graduated with an upper second-class honours in a Bachelor
of Psychology (Hons) programme. When I was in the second year of the programme, I took the
Biopsychology module and developed an interest in the neurosciences. Ive thought about this
seriously and I intend to pursue a Masters degree in the neurosciences because Id love to
contribute to brain research.
However, most of the Masters in Neuroscience programmes offered here have a strong emphasis
on neurogenomics and require a basic degree in biology (or other relevant subjects). As a
psychology major, I failed to meet the prerequisites. This, I believe, means that my chances of
getting into my desired programme are slim to none. The closest experience that I have is the
Biopsychology module I took, for which I obtained an A grade despite it being reputed as the module
with the highest failing rate.
Therefore, Im wondering if you could advice me on how I should email my prospective supervisors
who are looking for students with a biology/genetics background, given my situation. Im a diligent
individual and my undergraduate thesis supervisor has commented that Im a good student because
I persevere. I would like to have my prospective supervisors understand that if they are willing to
accept me, Ill be more than willing to learn everything they need me to know from scratch.
I apologise that this is so lengthy, and I understand that you have a busy schedule. I truly appreciate
your kindness and time. Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
YS
REPLY
Hi there sorry for the delay responding. I understand you situation it can be difficult. Generally
it can be hard to get admitted to some programs without the corresponding undergraduate
degree. Its sometimes possible but you usually do have to do a lot of hunting to find a program
that will consider you. You might try taking some of those preparatory courses on your own to
strengthen your credentials before applying. You might start by writing to prospective supervisors
asking them what courses they would recommend/require before considering someone of your
background. That way there would be less chance of wasting time and money.
Good luck!
REPLY
YS said:June 11, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Thank you for your reply!
munaz said:June 6, 2013 at 10:11 am
Dear professor Faye Hicks,

I finished my research based Masters in Electrical Engineering. I have 5 publications including 2 SCI
journals. I want to apply for PhD in Australia/Canada. But my professor from S.Korea wants me to do
the PhD from his lab. I told him what I want but it seems he doesnt want to give me the
recommendation.
He also have name as a corresponding author in all of my published papers. Now I am worried
about this situation. I talked with my 2 other thesis supervisor and they said to give their
recommendation. I also have contacted with my bachelor thesis supervisor and I can take
recommendation from him as well.
If I do so (I believe I have to), could this effects to manage the funding or getting acceptance in the
university for persuading the PhD?
Thank you so much for your guidance.
Munaz
REPLY
I would suggest you just apply with the references you have and explain the situation to the
professors you are contacting. Since you normally contact the professor before applying it
shouldnt be a problem.
REPLY
Munaz said:June 16, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Dear professor Faye Hicks,

Thank you so much for your suggestion and time.
Muhammad Bashir Saidu said:June 15, 2013 at 8:27 am
Thank you Prof. Hicks for this informative and useful post. As a PhD prospective student, ive never
found a post as helpful as yours. And thank your very much, not only for the post but also having for
replying every comment.
REPLY
Thanks Muhammad I am glad you found it useful!
REPLY
Dana said:June 19, 2013 at 10:08 am
Thank you Prof. Hicks your comments are so helpful. Please i am thinking of applying for a phd ,i
have good grades in my first degree major project and masters course work level except with the
masters dissertation were my supervisor and i had a conflict of interest through out the dissertation
and the final thesis grades does not reflect my performance and abilities in research. I have been
advised by my other professor to let go of academic appeal or a grade review and go ahead with
applying for phd, but how will this aid my phd application as i understand that the masters
dissertation grade is very useful. Should i go ahead with contacting a supervisor in my fiels of
interest and explaining my situation as my professor have promised a stellar recommendation letter
and i have also prepared a research proposal and personal statement to apply to phd programmes.
Or should i let go of getting a phd even though my thesis grade does not reflect my true research
abilities. Thank you.
REPLY
Hi Dana I am not sure it will be a huge problem many programs do not even assign a grade to
the dissertation. The bigger issue is probably the difficulty you would have in getting a good
reference from you masters theses supervisor. However, the situation you describe is actually not
particularly rare. So I would say that if you really want to do a PhD go ahead and contact some
potential supervisors. After all, if you dont even try you wont get to do it so why not try (if its
what you really want)? If/when it gets to the stage of providing reference letters, just explain the
situation honestly. If the fit is good your other (excellent) references will carry the weight and
youll be fine. Good luck!
REPLY
Arti said:June 20, 2013 at 7:01 am
Professor Hicks, As a prospective Ph.D. applicant, I am very grateful to you for sharing such an
informative post . Your post has helped me clearly understand the material that goes into writing an
effective letter to a prospective supervisor.I am very glad and would like to thanks you for your
precious advice! Many many thanks
REPLY
Thanks Arti so glad you found them useful!
REPLY
Jyoti said:June 26, 2013 at 7:27 pm
Prof. Hicks, thanks for sharing this handful of information. Since I am looking for a doctoral program
in Canada and through this post you have really helped me with selling my expertise through an
effective email. Thanks a ton. I was really looking for such posts for a long time.
Bingo!!!
REPLY
Thanks Jyoti thats great to hear! Good luck!
REPLY
Alin said:June 27, 2013 at 9:17 am
Dear Professor Hicks, thank you for such a useful information. Could you give me some advice with
my situation? Ive sent lots of improper letters to professors, Having read your article I realized that I
had made lots of mistakes, namely I wasnt very specific about my future research and the sphere of
my research wasnt fit with the professors interests. Should I sent my proper e-mail once again or
what?Thank you in advance!
REPLY
Hi Alin I wouldnt bother sending any additional emails to the profs with irrelevant interests.
However, if you now have a much improved letter to send to profs that do have similar interests
to you, then yes I would suggest you go ahead and send them the new one. The truth is, if they
didnt respond to your first letter, they probably wont remember you specifically anyway. So it will
just look like a new contact.
Good luck!
REPLY
Dana said:June 30, 2013 at 10:51 am
Thank you Professor Hicks, your advise is very helpful, i will move forward with the phd because its
really what i want to do considering that i want to be a lecturer myself , and i have recently talked to
my Msc supervisor and we have decided to move past our conflicts. I hope it all works out. Thanks
again Prof and good luck with everything.
REPLY
That is all great news, Dana best of luck with going forward with it!
REPLY
Nariman said:July 2, 2013 at 12:28 am
Thank you professor Hicks, tell you the truth, I sent an request email for you yesterday, today,
suddenly I taught, there is a mistake in my request that I cant receive any response and I tried to
search how to request for phd supervision in Google.
By chance, I found your advises here, describing my faults.
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:July 2, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Hi Nariman it was a holiday here yesterday. I am just wading through all the emails now.
REPLY
Md Nurul Islam said:July 6, 2013 at 1:46 pm
I am currently looking for a PhD position. Thanks for your valuable suggestions in such an important
topic. I will be grateful if you kindly mention that if there is any harm, if I use multiple small
paragraphs highlighting individual aspects. For example, I make a brief intro that what I am (what I
am doing now) and what I am planning to do, and also what I have written in teh next of the email. In
the next paragraph, I briefly mention what I am doing for my Masters thesis and what I did in the
Bachelor thesis. In the 3rd paragraph, I give a list of practical and theoretical courses those are
relevant to the Professors research theme. I also mention software skills those I think are useful in
his/her field. In the last paragraph, I briefly welcome the opportunity for an interview in any of his/her
current and future projects with explicitly saying funded PhD position. Do you think that its a good
approach?
REPLY
Hi there you could try it and see if it works. To be honest it sounds like a bit more information
that Id want to see myself in a first contact (particularly the third paragraph), but these things are
very subjective and thats only my opinion. It might be perfectly suited to someone else.
Good luck!
REPLY
Md Nurul Islam said:July 6, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Thanks for your response!
REPLY
Akinade Samuel said:July 7, 2013 at 2:45 am
Prof Faye, I find this information very useful and contains important facts thats prospective PhD
students show less attention to. Currently am facing difficulty getting a PhD supervisor to work with
in my area of research interest since there are few Professors working in that area (Financial
Mathematics), should I consider diverting to other area of research and make it my second option.
REPLY
Hi Akinade sorry, Im not familiar with that specialty so its pretty hard to advise you. Id
suggest talking to some of your previous professors they might be able to advise you.
Good luck!
REPLY
lisai9093 said:July 12, 2013 at 1:47 pm
Useful ideas for a prospective master student!! Thank you!
REPLY
Thanks!
REPLY
Sidd said:July 13, 2013 at 10:28 pm
Respected Mam i liked the way you guide for writing letter! Can you please help me in getting some
samples of letter to Msc supervisors as I am an undergraduate student seeking admission in some
of the Canadian Universities
REPLY
Sorry I dont have any example letters. I hope the advice above gets you started at least. Good
luck!
REPLY
Aseil Khalid said:July 16, 2013 at 3:19 pm
You are really amazing dear professor

thanks alot
your information is really helpful
Aseil from Iraq
REPLY
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!
REPLY
Karla Rivera said:July 19, 2013 at 9:47 am
Greetings Prof. Faye Hicks,
Thank you a lot for your post! making the first contact can be difficult and stressful if you dont know
exactly what they want to hear. Yesterday I wrote to my first professor and I think I did a good job
and followed your advice. Anyway I am worried that I might be to late to contact them since its
already July and I know people start to do this earlier. But I really didnt want to write to professors
just to write to them, I really wanted to write to someone that shared my interest. I just want to hear
your opinion, Do you think I should started this earlier?
Thanks for your time,
Karla from Puerto Rico

REPLY
Hi there the academic terms starts at different times in different countries so you never know.
If you are too late for this year, then you are plenty early for next year, at least. Generally, if a
professor is interested, the will consider you for the first available upcoming term.
Good luck!
REPLY
Shiva said:July 22, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Prof hicks..i contacted a professor who responded positively within an hour..he said i would be
happy to have you in my research group where we do research in x, y, and z. all the best with your
application. How should I respond back? Can I ask for more details about his latest research
projects and whether any openings are there in the same? Also is it polite to send his mail to the
graduate admissions mailbox so as to push my case for the application?
REPLY
Sure, i think it would be okay go ahead and respond to the professor with your questions in such
a case. As for using his/her name in contacting the admissions office I cant see a case where
that would help and it might just annoy somebody at least that would be the culture here in
Canada. It might be different elsewhere
Good luck!
REPLY
Bhuvaneswari said:July 23, 2013 at 1:05 am
thank you so much very useful
REPLY
Great glad it was helpful!
REPLY
Bafana said:July 24, 2013 at 4:55 am
Thank you so much Proff Hicks, I was finding it difficult to write proper emails when I want to apply
for masters but this page has detailed everything that must be done. Thank you a lott
REPLY
Thanks for the kind word glad you found it useful!

REPLY
Tadesse Alemayehu Belie said:July 28, 2013 at 5:29 am
Hi Prof.Hicks,
Many thanks for all these useful tips and guides!
One question:
I have just recieved a positive reply from a professor to be my potential PhD supervisor. He already
has been awarded a grant for his project and advised me to start the application to the Graduate
School if my interests align with his projects but didnt mention anything about writing a research
proposal. I am just wondering if I should ask him again about it during my second email. Or shall I
start the application process listing him as a potential supervisor? By the way, I am planning to apply
to a Canadian University. Thanks again
REPLY
Youre welcome!
Regarding your question it really depends on the situation. Personally I never need, or want,
proposals from prospective students. (This is because, in our program, students dont actually
write their thesis proposal until they have finished both their coursework and their literature
review. However, this is not necessarily the case in all programs or universities.) My advice is
that, if you have any questions, email the professor and ask for clarification. Its best not to make
any assumptions its always better to have the correct facts.
Good luck!
REPLY
Tadesse Alemayehu Belie said:July 29, 2013 at 4:04 am
Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it.
Youre welcome good luck!
Zia said:August 2, 2013 at 11:15 am
Hello FAYE! Thanks a lot for this trouble shooting manual for prospective research students. Here i
would like to add that professors should not check letters from research students so critically. In my
opinion a student writing poor context in such letters might have best analytical capabilities in
research. If I would be a professor I only prefer the research hypothesis the prospective student
have. The information you provided is really good and i learn much more about scientific
communication. Last i would like to ask that How much i expend (in number of words) the mutual
interest of PhD research project in letter to a professor?
REGARDS
REPLY
Good luck with it Id keep it brief for the first letter.
REPLY
Ashraf Zia said:August 3, 2013 at 11:05 pm
Experience is earned from mistakes and mistakes are avoided through Experience, thus creating a
guideline for the younger one to avoid them.
Thanks Professor for sharing with us your Experience. I really appreciate your post.
REPLY
Glad you found it useful thanks for commenting!
REPLY
Mostafa said:August 5, 2013 at 8:26 pm
Thanks a lot Professor,

I have followed the guidelines and got a fast reply from the professor asking me for the transcript
and a draft research proposal, but i didnt prepare one because i dont have research experience in
his field, my research experience is in another (yet related) but not the same and i wanted tostart
working on the professor field in my phd.
Should i tell him i dont have a project in my mind? Or should i write a draft for any project and
change it after that? Or what should i do?
thanks again,
REPLY
Personally, I would write to the professor and explain the situation honestly, and ask him/her this
same question you have asked me here.
However, that is just what I would do in your situation and not necessarily the best course of
action it really depends on the particular professor. Good luck!
REPLY
Dhaarsan said:August 8, 2013 at 3:43 am
Thank you Professor Faye Hicks.

I found it very helpful. youve given a really good guidance.
Thanks again for the great piece of work.
REPLY
Thanks! Im glad you found it useful! Good luck!
REPLY
Evangelina said:August 15, 2013 at 4:39 pm
Greetings Professor Hicks. I would like to thank you for all the information you share with us. I am a
Greek graduate of Music Composition, and after following your advice I contacted the supervisor of
my choice, wrote a research proposal and got accepted for a PhD at the University of Birmingham,
UK. Your guidance has been the most helpful, so thank you again so much.
REPLY
Thanks Evangelina that is terrific to hear. Congratulations!
REPLY
Daniella said:August 22, 2013 at 10:32 am
Professor Hicks, I am a Mexican science student in the process of getting admitted to a MSc
program in the UK, this is extremely helpful and exactly what I needed to know right now! Thank you!
REPLY
Thanks Daniella Im happy you found it useful!
REPLY
Muradul Islam said:August 26, 2013 at 3:15 am
Wonderful post!
I read many tips from various other higher study abroad websites on this topic. [Also I already sent 5
test emails to professors though my undergraduate is not completed yet . Most probably they
are currently on any spam folder } But this one is special because it is directly from a professor.
Some points I know very well now:
1. Before emailing professors check university requirements and professors research interest. Do a
primary research on them first.
2. Write briefly but not so long.
3. Attach your Academic details.
Btw, I will follow your instructions at the time of emailing professors.
And of course I will write Prospective Msc student seeking to study river ice if I email to you.LOL
Thank you.
REPLY
Glad you liked it!
REPLY
Bharath said:August 31, 2013 at 11:35 am
Thank you very much for the post, Professor Hicks. What would a prospective supervisor be keen in
a prospective students masters thesis? Would they be interested with just the relevance of the
research topic? Or do they gauge the experience gained out of independent research conducted? I
ask this because my masters thesis and my current research interest for PhD are two different fields
of study under the same umbrella. Thank you!
REPLY
I think that depends on the professor and the academic area youre in. In my field, people often
do something different for their PhD vs. MSc for example experimental for one and numerical
for the other. Or they work on something in a slightly different subject area. Most of us consider
the MSc as just learning to do research the specific topic is not that important as long as its
relevant (i.e. under the same umbrella). To be honest, the question of more relevant interest to
me is always, Was it published? not what the specific topic was.
Every area is different though so this may not apply to your case.
REPLY
Bharath said:September 4, 2013 at 12:15 pm
I belong to environmental studies and your reply clears my cloud of doubt over the choice I
can make. Thank you very much for your sincere assistance, Professor Hicks. Much
appreciated.
Faye Hicks responded:September 8, 2013 at 9:31 am
Thanks Bharath!
jla said:September 4, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Hello Faye, Thank you for this excellent advice-I will soon be embarking on this stage of the process
and your post has made me somewhat less intimidated by it!
I am especially intrigued that youve said to mention scholarship funding, this never would have
crossed my mind. I am a minority student and will have at least partial funding through diversity
scholarships and grants. Do you suggest I mention this partial funding? Thank you again!
REPLY
Thanks Jla glad you found the post useful. I would go ahead and mention any funding that you
have in hand. It doesnt hurt to mention scholarships you may get as well, but the ones that will
matter most at this stage are the ones you have already secured. Best of luck!
REPLY
Thank you, Dr. Hicks!
Radhika Yadav said:September 9, 2013 at 7:59 am
Hello Faye,
This post is really helpful for prospective students. I have one more question in my mind, as how to
address a supervisor?
Should I write Dear Dr. XY Z(Full Name) Or Dear Dr. Z.(Only last name).
Waiting for your valuable comment.
Thanks!
REPLY
Hi there this might vary depending upon what part of the world you are in, but in North America
(and Europe too, I think) Dear Dr. Z (i.e. last name only) is the proper convention.
REPLY
Ayesha Shakoor (@aszrazvi) said:September 16, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Hi Faye
This was very informative and useful!
One question though: Supposing one does not have funding available, what should one mention first
to attract and retain attention of the potential supervisor?
Regards
Ayesha
REPLY
Hi there The types of things that I would suggest would catch their attention include:
1. high GPA especially ranking first (or close to it) in undergrad and/or grad class
2. Masters degree from one of the top 2 or 3 universities in your country, for your field
3. mainstream journal publications from your Masters thesis
4. conference publications/presentations from your Masters thesis
5. scholarships you might be eligible for, or have applied for
REPLY
Ahsan said:September 19, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Dear Dr. Faye,
Your blog is very helpful for me. Thanks for writing such a nice blog.
With a Bachelors degree, I did Masters (M.Eng) as well. Now I am doing my 2nd Masters (M.Eng). I
dont need funding. I want to convert my (M.Eng) into (M.Sc), but I am hesitating to write email to
any professor as my first semester grades are just fulfilling minimum requirements of the university. I
hope I will score much better in the next semester. Even If I dont need an funding and with my
grades just okay, will I be eligible to to convert my (M.Eng to M.Sc)?
Thanks
REPLY
Hi Ahsan -thanks for commenting Im glad you find this blog useful.
Regarding your question sorry, I really dont know the answer to this. Its something that
depends on the polices of your university, as well as the department and professor(s) involved. I
encourage you to go talk to the professor you hope to do this MSc with and ask him/her what
your chances would be, and how to go about it. You can mention at that time that you are self-
funded and Im sure youll get the opportunity to tell him/her that you expect to earn better grades
in the next semester. I do suggest you make an appointment rather than just dropping in for this
chat though that way you can be sure youll have time to have a proper discussion. Good luck!
REPLY
Divya Shiroor said:September 24, 2013 at 9:00 am
Dear Dr. Hicks,

Thank you for this wonderful blog and for taking time out to patiently answer each of your viewers
questions. You have given me prompt and sound advice in the past and i was wondering if you could
help me by answering another question i had. I have written to a couple of professors, taking care to
conform to all of the above mentioned guidelines. I have approached only professors who are
researching in an area which i have a background in, addressed them personally in the form of a
short formal mail and provided necessary supporting documents with the mail. My academic and
extra curricular background has been consistently strong and i when i sent out my emails i
anticipated either a positive or a negative reply within a few days. I am still awaiting responses from
most of them and am at a loss as to what i can do. Does no response mean that the professor is not
interested? How long should i wait for a response? should i contact these professors again? I am still
debating as to whether no news is actually bad news and i also have no idea as to how long a
prospective applicant should wait. I was really hoping you could help me once again.
REPLY
Thanks Divya for the kind comments. Regarding your question I would say there are quite a few
reasons a professor might not answer. These include:
1.) Its the wrong time of year and they are not actively recruiting students, so are ignoring these
types of emails.
2.) They never consider direct inquiries from prospective students. (They expect you to go
through an admissions office.)
3.) They just get a ton of emails every day and they never even noticed your email among these.
4.) They were possibly interested and planned to answer but are really busy and just forgot.
5.) They were not sufficiently interested to bother to reply.
The average professor probably gets about a hundred emails a day many get much more. Most
get at least 2 or 3 from prospective grad students each day, some may get 10 or 20 (even more).
Each prof deals with this in different ways few will get back to you in less than a couple of
weeks unless they are super interested.
I would say that you have nothing to lose by contacting a professor a second time. If they meant
to reply and didnt you will be reminding them and theyll be glad. If they never meant to reply
what have you lost by trying a second time? They probably have forgotten your first email.
However, I would check a couple of things before emailing them again
First when does the academic year start? Dont send it then. For example, at my university the
academic terms starts in September and its an extremely busy time of year. We have all the new
students, classes, etc. to deal with the last thing I am interested in at this time of year is
recruiting next years students. Give it a couple of months and it will be different we start
thinking about next years students in November. Similarly I am not interested in recruiting after,
say, about February or March its too late. We start sending offers by March or April because
several months are typically needed to get student visas in time for September. So my advice
on timing is to send your emails to profs starting about 8 to 10 weeks after the start of their
academic school year at that institution, and no later than about 6 months before then next school
year starts. This window can vary in timing between universities, so its a good idea to do you
research often there is lots of info for prospective applicants on university web sites and it
usually includes advice on timing for applications.
Second have you actually demonstrated an interest and/or experience in the research area that
prof currently focusses on? If you dont do this specifically, then you will not stand out from the
crowd. If you think you have done this check to be sure youve got the topic right. I often get
emails from people who are looking at my papers form decades ago and are assuming I am still
interested in those topics. You should be looking at the profs most recent publications to get an
idea of what they are currently focusing on.
Finally dont just send the same email again and dont send it a week later. Give it at least 2
to 3 weeks before making a repeat contact. Then put a new subject line which includes the
word follow-up so they know you have contacted them before. Also change the content of the
email to mention at the outset that you emailed them a few weeks ago and you are just sending
this follow-up in case your previous email didnt get through for some reason.
Hope this helps! Good luck!

REPLY
Thank you, Dr. Hicks!

This answers many of my questions as well. Your blog has been extremely helpful during my
application process. More helpful then my own advisor! Thank you for always taking the time
to answer our questions.
Youre welcome!
Divya Shiroor said:September 30, 2013 at 8:44 am
Thank you so very much Dr. Hicks. i love your blog and keep re-reading your posts whenever i get
muddled. It is very reassuring and gives me a lot of clarity. Thank you for your prompt and detailed
reply to my question.
REPLY
okereke chinyere said:October 9, 2013 at 7:00 am
This is completely amazing..thank you professor.
REPLY
Thanks glad you liked it!
REPLY
Mrugank Bhatt said:October 10, 2013 at 6:21 am
Dear Dr. Hicks,
Thank you so much for the information that you have provided. I am preparing my application for the
graduate studies and your blog really helped me on how to contact my prospective supervisor.
I am currently an undergraduate and I am applying for MS+ PhD programs in US universities. Can
you help me a little with the specifics regarding how an undergraduate should write for the potential
supervisor?I understand that all the points listed above applies to me, too. In the last paragraph you
have briefly stated about undergraduate seeking the masters, but I would be grateful if you have any
further suggestions on it. In my case I would be willing to do both Masters and PhD under the same
supervisor.
REPLY
Hi Mrugank thanks for the nice comments Im glad you found the post useful. I cant think of
anything in particular to add for undergrads are there perhaps some specific questions you
would like me to address?
REPLY
Mrugank Bhatt said:October 12, 2013 at 11:55 am
I want to keep it short and to the point.. will it be appropriate if I mention my purpose and brief
overview of my research background in 2 paragraphs and for my detailed research and
academic work I give a link to my research web page?
Sounds like a reasonable plan however, I would keep those 2 paragraphs short. I suggest
that you focus on what is specifically relevant to the person you are writing to.
Sanjay said:October 11, 2013 at 11:31 am
Dear Prof.Hicks,
Thank you so much for this article.Its a great help.However,I wanted a piece of advice from you.
I will begin by briefly telling you about my background.I have a 4 years Bachelors in Mechanical
Engineering with first class distinction.I have worked independently on aerospace specific projects.I
also have a year of research experience as an intern in an internationally well-known lab in
aerospace propulsion.I tutored science & math to high school students for a year,assisted final year
engineering student in their projects using commercial CAD/CAE software.
Last year,I got into an MSc Space engineering program in a reputed university in EU with a merit
scholarship but things didnt turn out to be as accepted.The program was course-based
entirely,repetition of what I have already covered in my bachelors,contrary to what was promised
and lecture delivery was not entirely in English with no classroom participation at all.
Eventually I lost my interest.I wanted to leave the program earlier but according to the terms and
condition of the scholarship I had to stay till the end of academic year.I tried my best to develop
interest but I couldnt. So,I quit and did not earn any credits for the courses.Besides,all 5 of the
foreign students quit the program too.I feel I wasted a year.Although,I shouldnt feel it that way since
I got to travel extensively all over EU and experience different cultures.It was a great experience in a
way.
But this experience taught me that it is very essential to have a good fit between the
university/research group and the prospective student.I also realized that I want to join a research
oriented program where I select specific courses which will complement my research and give me
opportunities to hone my skills.
Now,Im hoping to apply for MS/PhD in Aerospace engineering in US.How do I explain the reasons
for quitting the program in my personal essay without sounding like someone who is too picky with
too high expectations? Does it ruin my chances of getting an admit? Im worried.When I applied to
that university I felt I had done enough research on that program but unfortunately it was not through
enough.I know I made a wrong decision and I learnt my lesson.I only wished I had known before.
What would be the right and honest thing to do? Please advice.
Regards,
Sanjay
REPLY
Hi Sanjay I think the important thing to keep in mind is that you need to be honest as this is
the most important characteristic anyone ever has to offer academically. Having said that, this
history is not something you necessarily need to get into in the first email its probably getting
too detailed. (At least it would be for me.) However, if the professor does write back expressing
interest, it would be most important to let him/her know about this right away in your second
email.
I wouldnt worry too much about it this sort of thing happens more than you might expect. It
certainly wouldnt be a deal-breaker for me.
Good luck!
REPLY
KT said:October 23, 2013 at 11:19 am
Hello,
I found your advice vey useful although I have a few more questions to ask. First of all I am a B.S.
final year student in Biotechnology and intend to apply for a PhD studentship. Luckily I came across
such an scholarship offered by a prestigious institute for a topic much relevant to my research
interest. However, I dont have any undergraduate research experience and the specific topic
belongs to an emerging field for which no undergraduate course is available but I have done a
relevant online course through Coursera. Do I still have a chance to avail this studentship?
Furthermore, they have asked for a CV and cover letter. I have written some fair assignments
relevant to this topic due to my personal interest, should I include them in the CV? Also, they have
given an email address of one of their HR personnel to forward our documents to, should I still
contact the laboratory PI?
Kindly advice me regarding the above mentioned issues.
Thank you.
REPLY
Hi there Sorry I cannot really advise you on what your chances are you really just need to
apply to find out. In terms of your related course experience, I suggest you include the course in
the CV and the details of the relevant assignments in the cover letter. (You might also want to
check out my post on writing cover letters.) As for whether you should contact the PI directly, as
well again, I really dont know it would depend on what their policy is. If they dont explicitly
say not to contact the PI then it might be a good idea to try emailing and ask these other
questions of the PI before you apply. It would serve the dual purpose of introducing you to the PI
and would also help you to submit the best possible application package. Good luck!
REPLY
Angyee said:November 5, 2013 at 6:47 am
Hi Faye, This was most useful. Thank you very much. I am interested in applying for a PhD (in social
sciences though). I have an idea of what I want to do and I have prepared a proposal. I am still open
to other researches within the same area. Is it advisable to attach my proposal in my initial
correspondence with a potential supervisor and state that I am open to research in their areas of
interest as it aligns with my interest?
Also, for the programmes I am applying for 2 supervisors are assigned. I have identified potential
supervisors whose area of interest lies where I am interested in researching.
1. Do I contact only two supervisors initially?
2. If I contact only 2 to ascertain interest, do I let each know that I have also contacted the other as a
potential supervisor as I am aware that I will be assigned 2 supervisors?
Kindly advise,
Thank you
REPLY
Hi Angyee as you probably noticed, personally I am not keen to see proposals, especially on
first contact (for all of the reasons I outlined in the post above), but it may be different in your field
of expertise. Keep in mind, you are essentially writing a cover letter to a potential employer
(especially if you are going to need financial support), so it not at all about whether they fit with
your interests, its whether you fit with theirs. If you are too specific about what you are looking to
do in your first contact, you might run the risk of putting them off because they are not interested
in what you want to do. Really you need to do some research and find out exactly what it is that
they do then write a letter to any that do fit with your interests.
In terms of your other question I am not sure really what to tell you as it depends how it works
there. For example, do these two professors have to be people who regularly collaborate? (It
seems odd that they would leave it to you to choose two professors and then make those
professors co-supervise you.) Perhaps you might start with contacting one person and asking
them what the typical procedure is? I think if you do contact more than one professor in the same
group, you do need to make that absolutely clear to both of them. However, its possible that
each will assume the other has answered and wont bother to do so themselves. (Not ideal.) So
I suggest you start early and contact one person at a time.
REPLY
Hajar said:November 7, 2013 at 3:24 am
Have you any suggestion for applying together with our spouse!! My husband and I are planning to
attend in a same school. how should we contact with the potential supervisor?? Do we have to
mention this in our first email? Do we have to send emails separately?? How can we improve our
chance to get admitted in same place???
REPLY
Hi there I would suggest you both apply to professors individually. If/when one of you finds a
professor keen to recruit you, then ask that professor if they, or a colleague, might be interested
in recruiting your spouse. You could try applying together, but that doesnt alway work as well. If
only one gets a position, you might want to take it the other has a very good chance of getting
on the following year (especially if they volunteer to work with a professor in the meantime). We
have had many couples go through our program in this manner its just easier to get in if you
are right there and your spouse is already in the program.
Good luck!
REPLY
Viswanath said:January 8, 2014 at 5:01 pm
Dear Prof. Hicks, this is a wonderful post and thanks for sharing. One of my prospective PhD advisor
has responded positively and discussed about what possible works I can perform in his laboratory,
but never assured me regarding the admission. How to ask him politely about the assurance of
admission?
REPLY
Hi there thanks for commenting Im glad you found this useful.

Regarding your question at most universities admissions are handled by an administrative
group, not directly by the professors. So, I would start by looking at the website for the
Department youve applied to, or the universitys Faculty of Graduate Studies web site. They
usually have information on procedures, as well as info on what to expect in terms of the
application/admission process. If you havent yet formally applied, then you should contact the
professor for advice on how to formally apply. If you have formally applied, you could still email
the professor and ask for information on who you might contact to get an update on the status of
your application.
Good luck!
REPLY
How To Write To A Prospective PhD Supervisor | Academic Life said:January 15, 2014 at 8:53 am
[] Reblogged from The Art of Scientific Communication: []
REPLY
Judith de Mel said:January 16, 2014 at 7:12 am
Dear Professor,
If a prospective student has not decided on exactly what he/she wants to pursue his/her degree, but
wants to explore possibilities of getting accepted, Do you think it is good to ask professors about
their work first?
Wont they find it disrespectful when a student who has passion for maybe a multiple subjects write
to them, asking for guidance? We all understand that they are busy, sometimes, personally, I
hesitate to contact professors whose work excites me, simply because I feel terrible to have
disturbed them unnecessarily. Please advice. Thank you!
REPLY
Hi Judith it depends on the professor, I guess. I suggest you first do some research on the
particular professors you plan to write to (e.g. read a few of their recent papers), so that you can
formulate some specific questions. I would expect that the less specific your questions, the less
likely they would be to respond.
Good luck!
REPLY
Abhilasha said:January 16, 2014 at 8:55 pm
I am so grateful to you for this post Professor Hicks! I had one question though. I wrote few mails to
professors during Christmas season. I am afraid, they didnt read my mails. I want to send reminder
mails now. How should a reminder mail be? I will be really thankful if you could reply
REPLY
Hi Abhilasha It is a busy time of year so its possible your emails went unnoticed. I think it
would be reasonable to follow up with a polite email; however, you might want to wait another
week or two, as things tend to be quite hectic at the start of any academic term.
Good luck!
REPLY
renuka said:January 20, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Hello Professor,
Thank you so much for this informative post. I followed your advice while contacting the professors
and most of them replied. I had some questions regarding this. Firstly, I had mailed some professors
of the same department and one faculty directly stated that she does not have funding whilt the other
said you should first apply to the graduate program to be considered. So should I apply such
universities where the faculty of same department provides different opinion. Also my second
question is that most of the replies i got from the professor were : In order to give serious
consideration to your application you should apply to the graduate program and there was no
discussion beyond this point. So should I again contact them after applying? Regards
REPLY
Hi there sorry for the delay responding. In response to your questions the situation varies
from university to university and there are usually various sources of money (e.g. research
grants, internal scholarships, etc.) so funding for students pay might come from the university
or from the professor. The university money might be gone, and one professor might still have
grant money available while another might not that would explain why you got different answers
about the funding. I would let that discourage you from applying likely there is still some money
if one professor was encouraging about that. As for applying only and not contacting professors
this too varies from university to university. In some cases the professors might not welcome
direct contact from students, if thats the case its important to stick to the formal process as
instructed. Good luck!
REPLY
Julia said:February 23, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Hi Professor Hicks,
I applied to a couple of PhD programs. One is in the UK and I spoke to a supervisor beforehand
since I needed to apply with a specific research proposal. For the program in the US, I listed a few
different research interests in my personal statement and submitted my application.
I know there are professors there that can supervise some of my interests, but I did not contact them
because I thought it was a bit early and presumptuous.
But now, I keep hearing that I should have. Is it too late to contact them after youve applied and is it
really awful not to have contacted anyone in the first place?
Thank you,
Julia
REPLY
I dont think its necessarily too late to contact them. However, it would depend upon the
particular universitys polices and procedures. I would say its worth a try and, particularly if they
expect it, not contacting anyone might mean that your application does not move forward. Good
luck!
REPLY
Sebastian said:February 23, 2014 at 1:04 pm
Hello Professor Hicks,

First of all, thank you for this blog, its absolutely amazing.
This might be a trivial question, but i was just about to send a cover letter to a prospective phd
supervisor when i started to wonder whether its more appreciated if the cover letter is within the
email itself or attached to the email (I really dont want to do anything wrong here). Typing it directly
into the email would certainly be faster for the professor to read it, but is it style-wise appropriate?
Kind regards,
Sebastian
REPLY
Hi Sebastian thanks for the nice comments Im glad you found it useful.
Regarding your question many professors do not open attachments from people they dont
know because of the risk of getting a computer virus. So I would suggest your first contact should
be in the body of an email. Good luck!
REPLY
Vivek said:March 1, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Hello Madam,
I have been working last 10 years as scientist in reputed biotech company. i have experience and
interest in molecular biology research. i am intend to do PhD in UK OR Germany. i have done my
BSc and MSc in Zoology, unfortunately my grades are not very good specially in masters. The only
plus point is my work experience. i would like you to advice me, how do i approach professor? and
what are my chances to get PhD
REPLY
Hi Vivek I really cant tell you what your chances are; however, if its something you really want,
you will never know until you try!
Id approach the professor exactly as I describe in this post, and let your enthusiasm shine
through. Hopefully they will think that the experience youve gained in between makes up for the
lower grades early on. Good luck!
REPLY
Kay said:March 11, 2014 at 3:29 am
Reblogged this on Everyday Issues and commented:

Very good advice, thank you!
REPLY
Kay said:March 11, 2014 at 3:34 am
Greetings Faye,
Just wanted to thank your for writing this nice and very insightful piece of advice. Hope it is ok to
reblog. I just couldnt help my self.
Kindest regards,
Kay
REPLY
Absolutely! Thanks Kay!!!
REPLY
Dr. Najmul Islam Sabbir said:March 14, 2014 at 12:22 pm
Hello Faye,
Glad to have your suggestion. Its really really helpful to understand specially for those who are
preparing their initial step like me. I made a demo email for Masters in Surgical Oncology in
University of British Columbia. If you dont mind, Can I show that to you for your experienced
suggestion?
Thank you
Dr. Najmul Islam Sabbir
REPLY
Hi there glad you found it useful. Sorry, I dont have time to give personal consultations for
individuals.
REPLY
Yimy Sarkis said:March 26, 2014 at 11:39 pm
You say that its important to demonstrate an interest in their (supervisor) research projects, not
simply to dictate your own research interests to them. But how do I now what is the specific project
that he is working on or wants to work with?
And what do you recommend for an international student to improve his chances to get notice in the
letter?
Hope you can help me in this query.
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
REPLY
Hi there see my answer to this where you first asked it.
REPLY
Yimy Sarkis said:March 27, 2014 at 12:21 am
I am an undergraduate International student and I can apply for an scholarship aid from my country
to pay the tuition fees of the graduate program in Canada, but first I need a letter of acceptance from
the University prior to be considered for the scholarship from my country, but this does not
necessarily assure me the scholarahip, if I write this on my email it will improve my chances of
getting admitted?
REPLY
Possibly a lot depends on your academic record and references.
REPLY
Soheil Salimi said:April 1, 2014 at 12:12 am
Dear Dr. Hicks,

Im so grateful to you for your remarkable , fabulous ideas which youve shared with rest of the world
to help all students!
As a Prospective MSc. student seeking to study Hydraulics or maybe Environmental Engineering, I
would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to you for your outstanding lessons you
taught me through this article!
Best regards,
Soheil Salimi
REPLY
Thanks Soheil!
REPLY
yesica said:April 18, 2014 at 7:56 am
Hello Faye:
Iam so grateful to you for this post Professor Faye. I am interested in applying for a PhD. I am from
mexico,and Ill obtaining my master degree in 2 months my question is do I have to mention this in
my first email?
REPLY
Hi Yesica I would mention it it is really useful information. Good luck!
REPLY
Shubham said:May 2, 2014 at 1:01 am
Hello Prof. Hicks Thank you soooooo very much for such a beautiful article. I am about to start
with the process of contacting a supervisor for MSc (Neuroscience). I have two queries:
1) I wish work with Dr. X in an university in Canada. I mean to say, she is the only person I am
willing to work under. I really liked her work and want to be a part of her research. Do you think it is
wise if I contact just her, and not any other supervisor of other university?
2) I have one publication in an average repute journal, but, the work was not at all relevant to what
Dr. X is working on (neither what I want to do in MSc). Do you think it makes good idea to attach my
published paper to the email? She is neuroscientist and my paper is on ecotoxicology. By the way, I
am the first as well as corresponding author for that paper.
Kindly guide me regarding this.
Thank you so much!
REPLY
Sorry for the delay responding. I think you really have to decide for yourself how to go about it.
However, you should ask yourself what happens if this particular professor doesnt take you on. It
might not be a bad idea to have a backup plan.
You could send along the paper just keep in mind that most people are hesitant to open
attachments from strangers. Given that the topic is not relevant, you might just offer to send it if
she would like to see it.
Good luck!
REPLY
sonia said:June 16, 2014 at 7:48 am
I am currently trying to get a supervisor and I havent gotten any positive response. I want to apply
for masters in anatomy and all the supervisiors have topics there are currently working on in there
labs is there any need for me to get a topic, because I have no topic in mind? please am really
looking forward to your responds
REPLY
Hi there sorry for the delay responding I just moved and was out of touch for a few weeks.
Its difficult to give you a definitive answer in my field we prefer that you do not already have a
topic in mind but this is not a universal situation. I would suggest you simply write a few
professors and ask them. Keep your email brief and to the point focus on getting the answer to
this specific question then you can look at further contact if you get positive responses.
REPLY
sun alliance home insurance said:June 27, 2014 at 4:38 am
Excellent post. I was checking continuously this blog and

I am impressed! Very helpful info particularly the last part I care for such info much.
I was looking for this certain information for a very long time.
Thank you and best of luck.
REPLY
Thanks! I am so glad you found it helpful!
REPLY
Beti said:July 28, 2014 at 4:47 am
Hi, thanks so much for the helpful information. I would be more grateful if you could put a sample
latter considered as a good one. Thanks!
REPLY
That is difficult to do for a few reasons. First it is very case and situation dependent. Second,
different potential supervisors might like different styles. Finally, if I make up a good letter (from
my perspective) many readers will just adapt my letter. The goal here is to find someone you
connect with so the best letter is one personalized to you. Follow the suggestions above and
keep it brief but most important, let your true self shine through. Good luck!
REPLY
Md. Shariar Siddiqui said:August 8, 2014 at 7:45 am
Hello,
I would like to thank you for this constructive article over such an important subject. I am trying to
find a supervisor for masters program. I think this article will guide me to write my prospective
supervisor. Here, you have told to keep the personal details as short as possible. I would like to
know how much should I write about my personal information. Whether I should include my previous
academic records and my job experiences. How should I start the mail? Should I introduced me first
or start with expressing my research interest? Is it worth to let the professor know about any
unfinished program like masters program that has been started but not finished.
REPLY
I would suggest you could introduce yourself briefly your academic record is the most relevant.
Job experiences are less so you could leave them for later. Id suggest including a 3 or 4
sentence summary its best to include all programs complete or not. Thats just my own opinion
though. As for research interests suffice to say youre interested in whatever the prof is working
on and has funding for. If youre not, then youre writing to the wrong person. Good luck!
REPLY
Yichuan Song said:August 11, 2014 at 8:26 pm
Hi, thanks for your article. Can you tell me what is the appropriate way to inform the professor that I
do not need the financial aid (in the beginning of the email)? I would really appreciate your help.
REPLY
I would just say first what program you are interested in, then I would suggest you say that you
have your own funding and provide a sentence or two explaining where it is from, for how long,
and how much it is. Good luck!
REPLY
Thanks!
REPLY
Ana said:September 9, 2014 at 5:39 am
Hi, Thank you for useful information. I have a question. After I received a negative answer from a
professor, is it fine if I ask him for recommendation or to introduce me another professor with related
topic?
REPLY
Hi Ana you could try but I would suspect that they would have made that suggestion already if
they could. The best way to find names is to research the web pages for the professors at various
universities and find the people who are working in your field of interest. Also, it is usually much
easier to get a positive response from a young/new professor than from an older more
established professor. These young/new professors are a great untapped resource for aspiring
PhD students they are keen, energetic and have much more time to spend per student since
they usually have fewer students.
REPLY
Harpreet said:October 1, 2014 at 10:15 am
Prof Hicks
This post was really helpful. I contacted my prospective advisor stating my research interests. I got
an instant reply. The Prof. asked me to apply to the graduate program and contact him for further
queries. He also put my email cc to the chair of graduate admissions. Should I consider this as a
positive response and continue to contact him? I didnt include my CV in the first email.
Thanks.
REPLY
Its hard to say as each university tends to handle things slightly differently. You could always
email the professor and ask. Good luck!
REPLY
Harpreet said:October 2, 2014 at 6:04 am
Prof Hicks
I have yet another question. Should I explain a bad score to the advisor in the second email. I
already got a response to the first email.
Thanks a lot
REPLY
Assuming the professor has seen your transcript and already knows about it, then you could wait
until s/he asks for an explanation. If s/he hasnt seen this bad grade yet, then you should let them
know about all of your grades (good and bad) when they are requested. Its important to provide
complete info (such as transcripts) as it is requested. Its also important not to bombard the
professor with emails. Hope that helps.
REPLY
Harpreet said:October 2, 2014 at 7:49 pm
Thanks a lot
Report Elo Boosting Lol said:October 17, 2014 at 12:49 am
This site was how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally Ive found something which helped me.
Thank you!
REPLY
Thanks glad you found it useful!
REPLY
Aysha said:October 21, 2014 at 9:40 pm
Hello Dr. Hicks,
Thank you for this extremely informative and helpful post! Im currently preparing my documents in
order to approach potential PhD. supervisors for a meeting to find out more about the work being
done in their labs. I have a few questions regarding the same.
1. Is it necessary to include research interests or a short blurb about my background and skills in my
CV?
2. You mention in the post that the email itself serves as a cover letter. Is it alright to highlight some
of my achievements/awards in the email then?
3. Should I send them a copy of posters I have presented?
4. Do I need to send them my official transcripts at this point?
Thank you!
REPLY
Hi Aysha as I mention above you dont want to get too lengthy in the first email. Also, keep in
mind my advice against including attachments in this first contact. Regarding specifying research
interests find out what their research interest are and state that you are interested in the same.
(If youre not youre approaching the wrong person). You could have a brief paragraph about
your background and awards in this first email (keeping to the size limitations that I describe
above). You could list the number of refereed journal papers, conference papers and posters, you
have published in this brief paragraph. You could close by saying that you could provide copies of
these, your cv and/or your transcripts if they are interested. Then you can let them tell you exactly
what they want.
Of course, all of this is very case specific I suggest you re-read the above post for more detail
on these suggestions. Much of this was covered above.
REPLY
Yousif Ashwal said:November 27, 2014 at 12:38 am
Reblogged this on YousifAshwal.
REPLY
Patrick Omoniyi said:January 19, 2015 at 8:20 am
Dear Prof. Hicks,
Thank you for these insights on writing prospective supervisors. I have read all the blogs above, it is
quite educative. I will apply them as I continue the process of securing PhD admission with funding
from a Canadian University. I will surely come back to this platform to share my testimony. Thanks.
REPLY
Thanks Patrick so glad you found them useful!

Good luck!
REPLY
MEXT Step 4 : E-mailing prospective advisor | veni, vidi, vici ** said:January 20, 2015 at 2:11 pm
[] have two websites about that subject, you can link here and here. But in short I can say []
REPLY
giulia said:April 15, 2015 at 11:08 am
Dear Prof Hicks,

Thank you very much for this inspiring post. I am now approaching the end of my PhD and starting
looking for a PostDoc position. I would like to contact a prospective supervisor who is working on a
research project that fascinates me.
However, I have done some research and there are no open positions in his lab at the moment.
Moreover, the type of research he is conducting (Clinical Neuroscience) deviates considerably from
my PhD (Experimental Psychology), although it is more in line with my Master degree
(Neuroscience).
Hence, first I need to convince him that the research skills achieved during my PhD combine with my
theoretical background and strong enthusiasm, making myself an excellent candidate for working
with his team. Second I need to convince him to hire me.
Do you think this is feasible? And, in that case, do you have any specific tip in order to capture his
interest in the first (and, hopefully not-sole) email I am going to send him?
I thank you for you time.
REPLY
It really difficult to say especially since I know nothing about your science. If he truly has no
open positions, then it may not be possible. If it is a matter of funding then one possibility would
be to seek out and apply for any post-doc fellowship funding you might be eligible for. Most
academics could/would find work for a post-doc that comes with their own funding. You may even
find something out there that the two of you could apply for together even if you dont get it, the
application process might help you to get a foot on the door. Good luck!
REPLY
giulia said:April 17, 2015 at 4:18 am
thank you very much for your suggestion. Ill do my best and definitely use this post as a guide
through this tough job-search process.
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:April 17, 2015 at 4:40 am
Best of luck!
REPLY
okpalaonwuka chinelo said:May 5, 2015 at 2:53 am
thank you so much prof. i think i am good to go now.
REPLY
Great! Good luck!
REPLY
raaga said:May 13, 2015 at 6:27 am
dear mam,
recently I gave an interview for Phd. There another professor showed interest to take me as a PhD
though he didnt said directly but he was helping me in giving answers during interview. As I had
written another professors name but during interview he was showing that he is not interested. I
thought there is only one vacancy as they advertised so I didnt proceed.Result has already come of
that interview and they selected three candidates. Now when i read whole profile of the professor I
found myself intersted in her research.Should I contact that professor atleast once or should I leave
here and move ahead. Please guide me.
REPLY
please mam, I would highly appreciate yours suggestions in this perspective.

Thanking you
Raaga
REPLY
Sorry for the delay see my response posted below our original query.
Sorry your account is confusing I cannot really follow it. If you have interviewed for a position,
been offered it, and have decided to decline, the important thing is to let them know as soon as
possible. If, during that process you found another, better prospect, you could contact the new
professor to see if they are interested, but they may be reluctant if a colleague wants you. Thats
a tricky situation and its important to be open and honest with everyone involved.
REPLY
Thanks mam for your concrete suggestion. I will surely try to contact another professor and will try to
remain honest and open during this period.
Regards
raaga
REPLY
Faye Hicks responded:May 30, 2015 at 3:24 pm
Good luck!
REPLY
Zahra said:June 12, 2015 at 12:41 am
Dear Prof Hicks,
Thanks a lot for your useful post.

But I have a question. In master, it was mandatory for me to choose a subject. but now for phd I
want to select another subject. therefore my background is not relevant to what I want to do in the
future and to my interest (although its not totally irrelevant!). You mentioned that the relevance
between your background and future program is important, now what should I do?
I mean should I continue my study with the subject I dont like?
Thank you
REPLY
Lots of people change their subject area slightly between the two it helps to broaden your
knowledge. In writing about your background, you can make note of the skills and knowledge you
bring forward from that experience that will help you in the next phase of your education.
REPLY
Vin said:July 8, 2015 at 2:51 am
Dear Prof. Hicks,
I am a prospective MEng applicant to a University in Canada. I have been asked to find a supervisor
for application to go through. I have a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering and look forward
to doing my MEng in Mechanical Engineering specialize in Hydraulic Systems, Fluid Power and
Thermal.
In my past applications (which I couldnt join due to my work schedule) to Universities I never had to
seek a supervisor for the MEng program where I received straight offers of Admission. This time I
applied to a different University and they want me to find a supervisor. Im seriously at a loss here
and I do not know how do I go about getting this done. What do I have to cite when I approach a
Supervisor/Professor other than points like research interests (despite my Program of choice being
Non-research coursework). Im not looking for any funding either and Im confident that I can support
myself throughout the program financially.
Kindly advise.
REPLY
The advice posted here applies to that situation, as well. Keep it short and be sure to mention
that you dont need funding.
If you are not sure who to approach, then I would email all of the professors in that group
(individually). Good luck!
REPLY
OMOTOSO AHMAD said:August 9, 2015 at 7:14 am
ABSOLUTELY HELPFUL, HOPEFULLY ILL SECURE A SUPERVISOR WITH THESE TIPS AND
ILL COME BACK FOR TESTIMONY.
WARMEST REGARDS PROF.
REPLY
Thank-you! Im so glad you found it useful good luck!
REPLY
Nazim Uddin said:August 12, 2015 at 8:07 pm
Hi Faye, Thanks a lot for the very interesting, excellent and useful post! Recently me and one of my
professors got a funding for continuing my Post-Doctoral Research. Do I need any IELTS/TOEFL
score to get formally admission at the Canadian university? What is the common scenario in
Canada?
REPLY
Hi Nazim I cant tell you anything specific, as each university has its own protocols. However,
you typically need to demonstrate English or French (depending on the province and university)
language competency to gain admission. It is best to check each university individually most
have the specific requirement (e.g. a specific TOEFL score) posted on one of their web pages.
REPLY
Nazim Uddin said:August 26, 2015 at 8:20 pm
Thanks a lot Faye for your response and suggestion. I will check with the university.
Odetola Tony said:November 12, 2015 at 6:41 am
The article is quite insightful and inspiring. Thanks for the effort put into writing this and sharing your
personal experience. Cheers
REPLY
Thanks! I am so glad you found it useful.
REPLY
Bodeh said:December 24, 2015 at 4:25 pm
Dear Prof Kicks, I am glad to have come across this interesting and useful article. I can now see why
many professors have not been replying my emails. The impression from Africa is that most of the
professors are not interested in recruiting applicants from this continent so to say.I will go back and
follow your advise, and I will contact you again if I eventually have any difficulties. Once again,
thanks for this article!
REPLY
Glad to hear you found it useful best of luck!
REPLY
Isaac said:January 27, 2016 at 8:51 am
Thanks for the guidelines, Prof. Hicks. Im glad to have come across it.
REPLY
Thanks Isaac Im happy you found it useful!
REPLY
Nandhinni chowdary said:February 14, 2016 at 10:55 pm
Hello hicks.., I am very thankful to this useful article about research, can you please help me out how
do I start my process for phd in germany
REPLY
Sorry I am in Canada no idea about the specifics for Germany.
REPLY
antibunga said:March 6, 2016 at 3:24 pm
Reblogged this on antibunga and commented:

Superb. Nice advice to begin. Thank You..
REPLY
Thanks!
REPLY
Khairul said:March 18, 2016 at 11:26 pm
Hi Prof,
Should i write the subject line Request for PhD Supervision. or Application for PhD Supervision.
Which one is the most suitable subject line to approach the potential SV?.
Thanks
REPLY
I would suggest, Prospective PhD student interested in with being replaced with the
general research interest area of the professor (based on your research of his/her work). Of
course the research area should be of interest to you, too or youre writing to the wrong
professor.
Good luck!
REPLY
Shakti Chandra Mondal said:May 22, 2016 at 3:50 am
Hello Professor Hicks,

Is it necessary to sent research proposal to the professor during sending first email? Even academic
transcript is also a huge document (may be professor will be boring to read them) then only CV can
be sent or transcript is necessary?
REPLY
Sorry for the delay responding. As I mentioned above, I would hold off on sending big
attachments. Maybe make first contact and let them know that you have this info available to
send and wait to see if they are interested in looking at it.
Good luck!
REPLY
zia said:June 12, 2016 at 2:08 am
Hello Professor,
Its immense pleasure to let you know that I followed your guideline in 2013 and wrote to multiple
supervisors across the world including UK, Germany, South Korea, Singapore. 90% of the time I got
response and got admission in various Universities. I strongly recommend this post to every
beginner who is on admission hunt. Every time someone asks me about how to get admission I
recommend your post.
Am really grateful to you for writing this wonderful post and sharing the secrets.
Many Thanks
REPLY
That is wonderful congratulations! Im so glad that you found this helpful!
REPLY
How to Write to a Prospective PhD (or Post-Doc) Supervisor | Thesis Hub said:June 21, 2016 at
1:34 pm
[] How To Write To A Prospective PhD Supervisor How to write to a prospective PhD (or Post-
Doc) supervisor []
REPLY
Thanks!
REPLY
Ali Haider Saleem said:July 8, 2016 at 11:36 am
Reblogged this on The world around us.
REPLY
Thanks!
REPLY
Leave a Reply
Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

(required)(Address never made
public)(required)WordPress.com( Log Out / Change )( Log Out / Change )( Log Out / Change )(
Log Out / Change )
Thanks for reading!

Comments (and questions) are always welcome! If you find this info helpful, or if you have any
feedback, please let me know.
If there's a topic you'd like to see covered, please use the comment feature on any post or page to let
me know and I'll do my best to include it.
---
Faye Hicks, 2012 - 2016

Subscribe to this blog:
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. I
promise your email address will not be used, abused or shared in any way.
Join 438 other followers
Yes, please notify me of new posts!
Blog Stats
478,867 hits
My latest book
Just for laughs . . .
Ever wondered what it's like to be a professor?
For ukulele lovers. . .
...for ukulele beginners!
My first novel . . .
Time travel, tragedy, adventure - something for everyone!
The River Ice Photo Blog . . .

Help for New Profs . . .
A blog especially for early career academics...
Blog categories
Academic Communications (6)

Business Communications (3)
General Info (1)
Scholarship and Grant Applications (5)
Technical Writing Advice (13)
Faye Hicks 2012-2015

Please contact me by email if you would like to reproduce or distribute any portion of this material in any
way: theprof@fayehicks.com.
Thanks for visiting!

Click on the photo to visit my website or follow me on Twitter
@FayeHicks4
Top Posts & Pages

How to write to a prospective PhD (or Post-Doc) supervisor
How to Write your Introduction, Abstract and Summary
Preparing an effective job-seeking cover letter
Writing a Winning Scholarship Proposal - Part 1 - The Pitch
How to request an academic reference
Complete List of Posts
Rsum tips for the new (or soon to be) graduate
Writing a Winning Scholarship Proposal - Part 4 - The Closing
Effective Presentations - Part 2 - Preparing Conference Presentations
Say - what the heck is a paragraph anyway?
Archives
September 2013
July 2013
June 2013
March 2013
February 2013
November 2012
September 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Theme: Eventbrite Venue by Voce Platforms.
We teamed up with Eventbrite
Follow
Follow The Art of Scientific Communication

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.
Join 438 other followers

Sign me up
Build a website with WordPress.com
<p class="robots-nocontent"><img
src="https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=7518284&c3=&c4=&c5=&c6=&c15=&cv=2.0&cj=
1" alt="" style="display:none;" width="1" height="1" /></p> <img
src="https://pixel.wp.com/b.gif?v=noscript" style="height:0px;width:0px;overflow:hidden" alt="" />

How To Write To A Prospective PHD (Or Post-Doc) Supervisor The Art of Scientific Communication

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

How To Write To A Prospective PHD (Or Post-Doc) Supervisor The Art of Scientific Communication

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

The Art of Scientific Communication

Complete List of Posts

How to write to a prospective PhD (or Post-Doc) supervisor

Demonstrate Your Relevant Merits

Put Something Meaningful in the Subject Line

Attach Supporting Material

Do you need to do this to get into a Masters program?

Advice on Selecting a Prospective Thesis SupervisorIn "Academic Communications"

Preparing an effective job-seeking cover letterIn "Business Communications"

Writing a Winning Scholarship Proposal Part 4 The Closing

325 thoughts on How to write to a prospective PhD (or Post-Doc) supervisor

Thanks Marialuisa! Absolutely, please go ahead and repost it on your blog.

Reblogged this on Academic Life and commented:

Thanks Anthony I enjoyed reading your post on this same topic.

Faye Hicks responded:June 29, 2013 at 8:46 am

Thanks Nikky glad to hear that you found it useful!

excellent tips Thanks a lot

Thanks! Im so happy you found it useful.

Thank you very much for the advice!

Very useful tips. Thanks a lot

Thanks Eva I am so glad you found them helpful!

Thank-you! I am so glad you found them useful!

Very well organized information for a prospective student. Thank you

Thanks! So glad you found it useful.

thank you for the quick reply

very useful and helpful , thanks

Thanks for the comment Im glad you found it useful.

Viera Semanekov (@adelle207) said:November 12, 2012 at 6:48 am

Thats great! Good luck!

Many thanks for the post, its really helpful.

Thanks Im glad you found it useful.

Thanks for your post professor. Its really supportive.

Unigwe Obinna said:November 19, 2012 at 12:29 am

Thats great to hear! Thanks for letting me know.

Thanks I m glad you found it useful.

Thanks Im so glad you found it useful.

Thanks Esther Im glad you found it useful!

Thanks for the nice comments they are much appreciated!

Dear Prof. Hicks,

Thanks Im glad you found it useful.

Have a very happy new year!!

Thanks! Happy new year to you, too!

Faye Hicks responded:January 3, 2013 at 8:19 am

Thanks Im glad youve found it useful.

Thank u very much, Madam

Thanks May I am glad you found them useful!

Thanks hope it helps you out!

How to write to a prospective PhD supervisor The Art of

Thanks! So happy you find it useful!

Thank You for your hugely helpful post.

Thanks glad it was helpful!

Youre welcome! Glad you find it useful!

Thanks for the kind comments!

Thanks Im glad it was useful for you!

Thanks Prof. for sharing your experience with us

Youre welcome! Thanks for visiting and commenting!

Im glad to hear that you found it useful good luck!

Dear Professor Hicks,

I think your article is very helpful! Thank you!

Thanks Hanan! Good to hear!

Thanks a lot Prof. Faye for your blogs.

potential supervisor for an interview, I am so excited. Thanks a lot

Wow that is terrific news, Maryam! Congratulations!