Before emailing me

Note: Applies only to undergrads/masters students who are interested in research.

As a PhD student (currently), I often receive emails from undergraduate and master’s students seeking to collaborate or gain research experience within our group. I truly appreciate the enthusiasm and curiosity behind these messages. I do encourage students who have interest in our work to reach out. However, I’ve noticed a recurring theme in many of these emails: they tend to be very general, offering little detail beyond a CV and a few sentences of interest in our group’s work.

To help you stand out and make a meaningful connection with a potential research mentor, I would like to offer some advice on how to write a more targeted and impactful email.

  1. Tailor Your Email to the Group’s Research:

    While expressing interest in a group’s work is a great start, it’s essential to go beyond generalities. Instead of stating that you are broadly interested in the group’s field, take the time to review specific papers or projects that the group has published. Mention particular topics or experiments that resonate with your academic background and research interests. This demonstrates that you’ve made an effort to understand the group’s work and allows the recipient to see where you might fit into ongoing projects.

    For example, if you’re intrigued by a publication on profiling Ml workloads, reference that paper in your email. And talk about what you like or even better dislike about the work. This shows genuine interest and makes it easier for us to evaluate.

  2. Clearly State Your Motivation:

    Beyond simply expressing a desire to conduct research, explain why you want to work specifically with this group. Is there a particular aspect of their research that aligns with your career goals? Perhaps you’re inspired by the methodology used in one of their studies, or you’ve identified a gap you’d like to help address. I understand it can be difficult to do so in certain cases because you might not have the requisite background to assess the work. But, I will still suggest you to push through since often times in research you might read papers that you don’t necessarily have expertise in, in which case it is crucial to get to the core of the paper’s contributions. Being clear about your motivations helps the recipient understand your commitment and clarifies how your goals align with the group’s direction.

  3. Understand Response Limitations:

    While I do my best to respond to each email, please understand that, due to the volume of requests, I may not always be able to reply promptly—especially if the message is vague or lacks specific details. A well-structured email that shows a clear interest in the group’s work increases the likelihood of receiving a timely response.

I hope to hear from and work with many of you 😊!