This year I finally made the decision to attempt to get into a PhD program (evolutionary biology/ecology, with a focus on marine invertebrates)...I wrote to a few profs asking if they were taking students in the coming year and I have gotten only one reply, from a person who is retiring :p. I spoke with a former advisor about my intro letter and she said to keep it short and succinct, but then reading a potential prof's prospective student's page I am reading that they want to see a more involved purposeful email explaining why you want to be there, give a research proposal, etc.

Now I'm just confused on how to write my letter and I'm starting to get really anxious and depressed about this whole process. I am sending emails off into space with no reply which I expected would happen, but I am starting to worry I will never hear from anyone.

Does anyone have any tips on writing an intro letter to a potential lab/advisor and how to follow up if you get no reply at first? I don't want to constantly spam someone until they reply but I know persistence will pay off in the end.

Hi Lithops00,

I am a humanities bod, not a scientist so I am unsure that my advice on introductory emails will be apt, but here goes.

I established potential supervisors for my research proposal, and prior to making a formal PhD application, emailed the each potential supervisor (or the administrator (who became the middle man/woman!) for their department if that was the preferred method) introducing myself in a short paragraph. I then briefly included their relevant research which directly related to my proposal and asked if they would be prepared to read my research proposal prior to me making a formal application. Once they had read it, they let me know whether they would be prepared to supervise it or not, and a couple entered into an informal dialogue about the potential direction of the research etc, - if all was well, I made a formal application to the uni. The initial email was no more than a couple of short paragraphs: first about me and second about their research and my research proposal.

But, as I said - I am unsure if it is the same process for a biologist. Do you have a research proposal or are you applying to principal investigators for their existing/new research projects?

Lizzie

Hi Lizzie,

I don't have a solid research proposal yet, but I have narrowed down the general area I want to study. I have been browsing different university faculty lists and making note of those who have research interests that are aligned with my own...i.e. they study invertebrates, marine biology, benthic ecology, etc. I'm not just limiting myself to this area since there are several other people who have caught my eye that fall outside of this area of interest that I plan on contacting.

I worry about sending such a detailed message since many professors are extremely busy and get bombarded by tons of prospective students asking about their work, and I'm afraid they will just cast my email aside if it's too long. I have been trying to read up on each person, looking up their publications, etc. and skimming them so I have a sense of what they do. In my longer letter I introduced myself and gave a bit of background, said what appealed to me about their lab and work, and then asked if they were taking student applications for the following year, and in a shorter one I cut out most of my background info and just said what interested me about their lab and then asked if they were taking students. Not all of these people have a prospective student page so I feel like I'm stabbing in the dark...those who do have pages have all kinds of conflicting desires about how to introduce yourself...some people want a detailed email with an attached CV, others say not to bother sending a CV since they see it as presumptuous and they don't have time to read it...that's why I'm so confused here.

If I could just get a generic letter worked up that I can tailor to each person's lab and that has just the right amount of detail in it then I will probably have a better chance, but it's definitely hard to figure out that balance.

Ah, thanks for clarifying.

I am only speaking subjectively from my application experience, so again, I am unsure if the following will be that helpful or app;y to the sciences. However, when I was establishing potential supervisors, if an academic did not explicitly state on their uni biog / research pages that they welcomed enquirers from potential PhD students in x areas of research, I presumed they were not looking to supervise at PhD level. Indeed, a small number of very senior academics from my previous faculty were no longer offering PhD supervision thus did not publicly offer it.

Before I developed my research proposal, I wrote to two potential supervisors, detailing areas of research I wanted to explore, my background and my reasons for wanting to pursue research, etc - the emails were pretty long! I got a reply from one, asking me to write back when I had a research proposal and the other did not reply. I then realized I wasn't anywhere near ready to apply for a PhD, and embarked upon a Masters in research (I am not suggesting you are in the same position) however my point is that a potential supervisors needed a full proposal in order to establish whether they would be prepared to consider me as a PhD candidate. This issue was further highlighted while I was doing my Masters: I spoke to an academic in my faculty, and I thought I was going to 'talk through' PhD research options, I was sorely mistaken - the meeting was extremely short and I was advised to be clear on my proposed research and develop my research proposal before any further discussion took place. Once I had done this, I was invited to submit my draft research proposal for feedback - so again, I was expected to be very clear on my proposed research before approaching an academic with it. I found my Masters gave me all the tools I needed to develop a detailed and succinct research proposal, as well as shaping my research and giving me relevant research experience.

It took over a year from the aforementioned meeting during my Masters, and my first email to an academic asking if they would consider reading my research proposal. Happily, they provisionally agreed to supervise it and only then did I make a formal application to the university which included CV, my background, references, purpose of study statement, etc. From my experience, I get the feeling that the research is the thing ie if an academic states they welcome PhD research enquirers, the first major hurdle is to clarify that their research is compatible with your own and secondly that they are willing to supervise and that can only really be gained via a research proposal. Your prior academic experience, especially with apt research methodology etc, will be evident in your research proposal. And, if provisional supervision is indicated, then in your formal application, you can offer your full background, CV etc which will be complemented by references and a good argument in your purpose of study statement as to why that uni, supervisor, research community etc is compatible with you and your work.

But as I said, these are only my thoughts and understanding of the process based upon my experience applying for a humanities PhD and may not stand in other fields of research, especially if research in those fields are structured differently..
I wish you luck in your search!
Lizzie

Hey, I am in the exact same position - and in the same field as well! I am interested in evolutionary biology/ ecology focusing on marine fish. I have sent one email to a potential supervisor, but have not heard back yet. I am going to email him again in the next couple of days.

I'm really struggling to decide how to go about this. I have spoken with my professors and current PI (I'm in the middle of my masters just now) asking for advice and they said a short and concise email and a CV is my best bet. So I ended up writing a short email introducing myself, stating my research interests and saying what I am doing now, and finally outlining the direction I'd like to take in my future research and how that fits in with whatever they are doing. I just read the email again and now I think it was rubbish so I am going to re-write it and keep spamming that one PI and probably a few other ones too.

What country are you applying for the PhD in, as I think this may vary depending on the country, too? This is so soul wrenching it is unreal and I can assure you you're not alone getting all anxious and depressed about this. I've spent weeks doing my background research and have really read carefully about the research my preferred group does and have put a lot of time and effort to make my CV look good and write the email (which wasn't that good in the end but I'll keep working on it) and then hearing nothing back is just heart breaking.

Do you think we'd need a research proposal at this stage?

Good luck!