Thread by @cfiesler

Recently some people have asked me how to reach out to potential advisors when applying to PhD programs. So here is a template - remember YMMV based on your discipline so find out about norms!

Dear Dr. __ , I am considering applying to your department's PhD program, one reason

being that I am very interested in the work you are doing on __ (for example, I particularly enjoyed your paper __ and see myself possibly doing that kind of work). My own research interests relate to ___ in these ways, and I have some research experience with ___. I'm wondering

if you will be considering taking on new PhD advisees, or if you have suggestions for other faculty I should reach out to. I'd be interested to hear more about the recent work in your lab, and I'd be happy to answer any questions or to talk if more information would be helpful.

You do not want to use this template exactly, because lots of faculty are reading this tweet haha.

Important parts: (1) Be personal/specific. DO NOT send the same email to every faculty member in a department. It's useless and actively looks bad.

(2) It's (at least for me) appropriate to ask if someone thinks they will take on new students, but know that you might not always get a satisfying answer to this. I think this question is good paired with a request to be pointed to other faculty if appropriate.

(3) I think it's good to open up an obvious possibility for having a meeting, without directly asking for one. Someone who is actively recruiting students might be eager to talk.

This comes with caveats that (a) reaching out like this at all is not necessary if you don't want to; and (b) not typical in lots of fields or even individual departments. So ask about norms but also don't be surprised if you just get back "looking forward to seeing your app!"

And ICYMI I do talk about this more (e.g., why it can be useful to reach out to potential advisors) as part of this general advice on PhD applications: