contacting faculty
How to use email communication to gather information and refine your program list
It’s almost that time of the year – time to start emailing potential PIs!
For many of us, this can feel like the first major undertaking of the application process. I know I have been twiddling my thumbs the last month or so – I had my final list of potential programs completed and I knew which faculty members I wanted to contact mid-July, and no other to-do items on my graduate admissions timeline (found here) are due until September. There are various approaches applicants can take when reaching out to faculty – I personally think late August/early September is the perfect time to send emails. Faculty might have breaks or vacation scheduled, and may not be checking email as frequently during the summer months. Sometimes faculty aren’t even sure how their funding situation will look for the following year, and the extra time gives me a few more weeks to refine my interests further. Use your best judgement. Plenty of applicants have success communicating with faculty as early as June, so there isn’t really a “one size fits all” approach to use here.
Staring at a blank email message can feel daunting, and the pressure can quickly compound with each program and mentor added to your potential list of universities. I’ve made some glaring mistakes in my attempts to reach out to faculty, but have since been coached and guided, and really polished my emails last cycle. I plan to refine my emails even further this time around. I’m here to share what I’ve learned over the past two years about effective ways to communicate with faculty during this process.
One important note: the general consensus among faculty is that sending or not sending an email has no impact on your admissions chances. Rather than approaching this as a way to win favor or make an impression, I would instead think of it as an opportunity to learn as much as you can about current projects and research interests in order to sort through your program options. Think about what information would help you make the decision to apply to a particular lab – for instance, you may want to know if a faculty member has any interest in extending their work to a new population, or exploring a variable they haven’t researched yet. Perhaps a faculty member used to do extensive research in one area, but has recently shifted their focus, and you are curious if they still conduct active research in their previous area of interest. Or, you might just have some clarifying questions about certain lab projects or activities, and would like to know more about how they are executing those projects. These are all valid and important questions to ask.
One of the mistakes I made my first cycle was using faculty emails to ask only about their intent to accept a student. This is a mistake for two reasons – 1) Often this information is available elsewhere on the program website or there are more appropriate point persons to ask first such as the program coordinator or current grad students, and 2) I did not learn any extra information about their interests or projects. Be intentional about reaching out to faculty and any other program contacts.
There are a handful of ways to format an email, and I’ll provide some examples below based on feedback I’ve gotten from mentors and other resources. It’s important to keep the email as brief as possible; faculty are very busy people, and depending on applicant interest they likely field an enormous amount of emails before applications are due. Generally, you want to include:
· A brief introduction and bio of yourself
· A quick summary of why you are interested in their work
· Thoughtful questions about their work that demonstrate you’ve done your homework before reaching out
· You may want to ask how the program or the lab has adjusted to the pandemic, especially if lab activities and data collection were in-person before
· A request to meet over the phone or Skype if they are available (Note: I’ve not had much luck with pre-application faculty meetings, and some programs have strict guidelines that prohibit faculty from meeting with interested applicants, BUT it never hurts to ask)
· A professional signature line that indicates current research projects, if any
Additionally, make sure you are using a professional email account. This may be a university or research institution email that you can check frequently, or whatever email you plan to use for applications. If you don’t have particular questions about a faculty member’s research, or you know they don’t meet with applicants, don’t feel pressure to write an email! Again, sending an email is not going to make or break your admissions chances. Listen to your gut and act accordingly depending on the information available to you.
Here is a sample email I sent last year, with some minor edits to reflect the changes I’ll be making this year:
Dear Dr. Faculty,
I am a master’s level clinician and clinical research assistant currently working at Research Center with Dr. Supervisor, studying the effectiveness of telehealth-provided Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Relationships (STAIR) with women who have experienced military sexual trauma. I’m currently preparing for Fall 2021 clinical psychology applications, and came across your work at University.
The Lab is of particular interest to me, given your focus on understanding the unique challenges faced by children and parents experiencing early life stress and adversity, and how to encourage resilience between parents and children. I am drawn to the lab’s focus on behavioral correlates of biological and physiological responses. I am mainly interested in mutual regulation between mothers and their children, and how stress responses in one impact the other. I’m particularly interested in parenting after trauma or extreme stress. Would this be an appropriate direction to take in your lab? Even if you are not a trauma researcher per se, I do believe that beginning to understand parent-child relationships in the context of adversity would teach me the skills necessary to explore trauma in the future.
If you are available, I would be interested in setting up a phone or Skype call to further discuss your current projects, and determine if our interests are aligned.
I greatly appreciate your time, and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jessilyn
Jessilyn Froelich, MS
Clinical Research Assistant
Name of Project
Name of Research Center/University
Here is a more general template:
Dear Dr. Faculty,
Introduce yourself and your current status – undergraduate, graduate, post-bac, research assistant, etc. Mention that you are prepping for admissions and like the program or their body of research.
Mention their lab, and a brief sentence about why you are drawn to their work. Note specific parts of their current portfolio or specific projects. Ask thoughtful questions but be sure to not overload with questions – one or two.
Request a meeting.
Thank them for their time.
Be sure to use a professional sign-off (Sincerely, Take care, My best, etc).
Your name
Your signature
Remember, fit is paramount in clinical psychology admissions, especially for research-focused programs. I approach faculty emails as a chance to learn even more about their current interests, and determine how I could potentially fit with their lab and projects.
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Keep in mind there is some information that you may want to know about faculty or their lab, but that aren’t appropriate to ask them directly – mentorship style, lab duties, work-life balance, publishing expectations, and general lab culture. The reason I say it’s not appropriate to ask faculty is because this is information better obtained from current graduate students as they will have additional insights into these questions.
So, how do you reach out to a graduate student? Usually their information is found on the lab website or in the program directory. Keep in mind they are busy as well, so the same general email etiquette applies. Be sure your questions are clear and to the point. I’ve found that a bulleted list of questions is helpful for graduate students, as they can answer those questions quickly and succinctly. Here is a sample email I sent to a graduate student last cycle:
Dear Student,
I am currently prepping for the upcoming PhD application cycle and am planning to apply to Dr. Faculty’s lab. Because you are a current lab member and doctoral student, I was hoping to gather some additional information about University’s program generally and Dr. Faculty’s lab. Below are a few questions I have – if you are able to address these even briefly that would help me determine if University is indeed a good fit.
- How involved have other faculty been in your experience so far? There are a handful of other researchers conducting work that aligns with my hopeful directions and I’d hope to have input from them during my time in the program.
- How would you describe Dr. Faculty’s mentoring style?
- What upcoming projects are you most excited about?
- What responsibilities have you had so far on current projects?
I greatly appreciate any amount of time you are able to contribute to answering these questions.
Sincerely,
Jessilyn
Jessilyn Froelich, MS
Clinical Research Assistant
Name of Project
Name of Research Center/University
Again, you could substitute any relevant questions you have about a specific program, internship opportunities available, the clinical/research split, etc. Remember, use this as a chance to further narrow down your list of programs.
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Email Q & A
Q: When should I reach out to faculty or graduate students?
A: There is not a definitive answer to this question – I choose to send emails beginning in September, and have had a good response rate.
Q: What if I don’t hear back from a faculty member/graduate student?
A: Feel free to follow up in two weeks. I had decent success reminding faculty about emails I had sent, and they were happy to reply
Q: What if I never hear back from a faculty member/graduate student?
A: The chance that you will not hear back from at least one faculty member is fairly high. They are busy humans. Some might have a policy of not communicating with potential applicants. Try to use whatever available information you have to make an informed decision about whether or not the program or lab is the right fit for you.
Q: The faculty member responded, and agreed to a phone/Skype call! What do I do?
A: Don’t panic! And that is great news – just another opportunity for you to learn as much as possible about the faculty member and their research. Be sure to create an agenda before the meeting and send it to the faculty member the morning of the meeting. Organize yourself and have questions prepared for the call.
Q: The faculty member responded but I have more clarifying questions. Should I follow up?
A: Absolutely! If you have thoughtful follow-up questions, definitely ask them.
Q: It’s still unclear whether or not the faculty member is taking a student or reviewing applications. Is it okay to ask?
A: Of course. If the information is not available on the program website, and other program contacts do not provide an answer, asking faculty directly is okay. Usually, if you email a faculty member and they are not taking a student, they will let you know even if you don’t directly ask the question.
Q: I had a really positive interaction with a faculty member over email. Does this mean I have a better chance at acceptance?
A: Unfortunately, no. Faculty are likely engaging the same with most potential applicants, and the email does not factor into your chances.
If you have any other questions about faculty or graduate student emails, feel free to leave them in the comments below.