{"id":21467,"date":"2022-07-29T23:57:44","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T23:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/?p=21467"},"modified":"2023-12-20T06:26:05","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T06:26:05","slug":"how-to-email-a-professor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/how-to-email-a-professor\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Email a Professor: Cold Email Strategies, Examples, Templates"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are moments throughout your college career where you\u2019ll need to cold email a professor. If your college experience is anything like mine, most of those moments will be at two in the morning when you\u2019re in an all-out panic. And you won\u2019t have time to outline, write, edit, and re-write those emails making sure they\u2019re phrased in the perfect way.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll cover\u00a0everything you need to know about cold emailing professors<\/b>, lecturers, TAs, and other teachers and instructors.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll go over\u00a0strategies<\/b>\u00a0(we\u2019ve spoken with several students, professors, and experts to learn the best techniques) and give\u00a0examples and templates for specific types of emails to professors<\/b>.<\/p>\n

One note before we jump in. Please\u00a0adapt these templates and make them your own<\/b>. Don\u2019t use them word-for-word. Impersonal emails never work.<\/p>\n

We hope this makes your future 2:00 A.M. meltdowns go a whole lot smoother.<\/p>\n

How to Email a Professor: Table of Contents<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • 13 Strategies When You’re Cold Emailing a Professor<\/a><\/li>\n
  • Templates for Cold Emails to Professors<\/a><\/li>\n
  • How to Set Up These Personalized Cold Emails (and More) in GMass<\/a><\/li>\n
  • How to Email a Professor: Conclusion and Takeaways<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    13 Strategies When You’re Cold Emailing a Professor<\/h2>\n

    Need to cold email a professor? That means:\u00a0Emailing a professor with a request when that professor likely has no idea who you are.<\/b><\/p>\n

    We\u2019ll cover some specific examples later in this article but to give you a base, here are general tips for cold emailing a professor.<\/p>\n

    Fundamental tips for sending a cold email to a professor<\/h3>\n

    Use an informative subject line<\/h4>\n

    Your subject line should\u00a0make it clear what you\u2019re emailing about<\/b>. And if you can personalize the subject line, that\u2019s even better.<\/p>\n

    Keep it tight<\/h4>\n

    Professors don\u2019t want to read essays. (Unless they\u2019ve assigned essays for a midterm. And even then, I\u2019m not sure they\u2019re dying to read them.)<\/p>\n

    Keep your messages tight \u2014\u00a0three to four short paragraphs<\/b>\u00a0is best.<\/p>\n

    Make it highly personalized<\/h4>\n

    I can\u2019t say this loud enough:\u00a0Generic mass cold emails won\u2019t work. You need to tailor your message to the professor.<\/b><\/p>\n

    For instance, if you want to join their research group, cite their work that resonates with you, how it ties into your area of study, and the unique or valuable perspective you can bring to it.<\/p>\n

    Personalization here needs to go beyond, \u201cI read your paper on articulated robots and found it interesting.\u201d Show you\u00a0really<\/i>\u00a0dug in and found some insight from their work.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Generally, if you’re going to cold email a professor, go for something less generic than “I noticed on your website that one of your interests is Machine Learning”.<\/p>\n

    \u2014 Zachary Lipton (@zacharylipton) November 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n