How to Email a Professor for a Research Position and Funding

Name: How to Email a Professor for a Research Position and Funding
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How to Get Funding for a Masters and PhD | Beating Competition for Funding

Created byBabajide Ojo, PhD

Last updated 4/2021

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What you'll learn

Practical tips on beating competition for admission and funding (with a case study)
How to market yourself with a captivating email for funding and mentoring request
How to follow-up in case of a negative response or no reply
Email and academia CV templates that has worked for me and my mentees
The mindset of graduate admission and funding decision makers

Course content

4 sections • 20 lectures • 2h 10m total length

Course Outline2:41
This lecture describes the course objectives.
Introduction2:37
Learn how to email a professor or graduate coordinator to introduce yourself, understand admission and funding factors, and connect with a potential research advisor early in your master's application.
Types of Funding: Scholarships and Assistantships11:27
Learn the different types of funding available to significantly lessen your financial burden during your MS/PhD (and where you can find them).
How the Graduate Admissions Process Works4:12
Learn how the graduate admissions process works—from submitting to the graduate college to department review, and why avoiding ghost applicants by introducing yourself matters for admission fit and funding.

The Effective Cover Letter/Email4:27
You don't want to make a bad first impression. This is often the first look at your writing style. Mess it up, you may get a negative reply or no reply at all.
General Tips for an Effective Cover Letter/Email6:17
Dos and don'ts
Ingredients of an Effective Cover Letter/Email11:42
What the letter should contain, and the supporting documents.
Reflection on your achievements
Case Study: Format and Flow of an Effective Cover Letter/Email7:56
Using a real-life example and the tips/ingredients discussed in previous lectures, I will walk you through writing your own letter of funding and mentoring request in 4 captivating paragraphs. By participating in the activities, you will hopefully have a ready-to-go request letter by the end of this lecture.
Paragraph 1: A Captivating Introduction9:53
Craft a captivating paragraph that opens with your current affiliation and explains why you’re interested. Customize your message for each professor, linking your goals to their research.
Your Turn: Paragraph 1
Paragraph 2: The Main Sauce11:16
Present your significant achievements in the second paragraph with explicit research examples, including data acquisition and analysis, genotyping, and zebrafish work, and show GPA or GRE scores to demonstrate preparedness.
Your Turn: Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3: The Supporting Sauce8:30
Highlight significant accomplishments in paragraph 3, including teaching, leadership, and volunteering experiences with concrete examples. Emphasize soft skills and adaptability to new research areas to strengthen funding and mentoring prospects.
Your Turn: Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4: Conclude with Style10:00
Close a research email with style by showing enthusiasm, summarizing qualifications, and inviting review of attachments like your CV. Learn to set a follow-up plan and select a professional closing.
Your Turn: Paragraph 4
Final Thoughts8:51
Take-home messages
Vital Course Materials0:04
Attached are the collated slides and cover email samples used throughout this course. These materials may be updated with more samples in the future.

Effective Email Subject Lines2:29
Craft effective email subject lines for mentoring or funding requests by keeping them simple, including your name for recall, and following best practices even without universal rules.
How to Follow up with your Email Request10:30
This lecture discusses follow-up emails (with examples) in situations when you get no reply, negative, or positive reply.
A Standard CV Format For Academia in the USA3:04
This lecture briefly describes CV formats for academia in the USA, with 2 different samples.

Introduction: How can you stand out?3:17
Explore practical methods to stand out in grad school admissions and funding by showcasing publications, teaching and research strengths, and extra requirements that signal qualifications.
Case Study: Candidate who got admitted and funded everywhere he applied to6:21
This candidate initially failed to get admitted and funded the previous year. This time, he used a "trick" perfectly in all his application materials to get admitted and funded in all the schools he applied to. Here is his story.
Conclusion: Attempt These Things To Beat Competition4:34

Requirements

Self-confidence regardless of how little you have achieved
Readiness to prepare your own funding and mentoring request by actively participating in the course activities
Optional: An idea of the universities, field, and/or potential mentors (you are hoping to work with in the USA)

Description

Admission and funding for graduate school are always very competitive. Oftentimes, qualifying for admission does not guarantee funding. In addition, applicants are sometimes required to find a mentor before getting accepted. This course will teach you how to get that competitive edge by creating a captivating first impression using an effective request letter/email to sell your qualities. This is very important because it is usually the first look at your writing style. Using a case study, I will share tips that some of my mentees have used to beat the competition for funding; tips that resulted in receiving funding offers from all schools applied to.

This course will be taught by Dr. Babajide (Bestman) Ojo. After 6 years in graduate school, with several thousands of dollars in tuition waivers, scholarships/fellowships with monthly stipends, I will use my personal and acquired experiences to educate you on the following:

Understanding the process and mindset of Professors and other decision-makers
How to give yourself an edge in the race for funding
Types of funding to look out for and suggestions on where to find them (depending on the university)
What a "ghost applicant" is, and why you cannot afford to be one regardless of how qualified you may be
How to select the most important qualities to market to the Professors and other decision-makers
How to write, format, and arrange your request letter/email using a real-life example. For this, I'll walk you through writing your own captivating request email, paragraph-by-paragraph.
How to follow up appropriately when you get no reply or a negative reply.

Who is this course for:

Everyone seeking to further their career by getting a funded Masters's or Ph.D. Although I tend to focus on graduate education in the USA, the ideas presented in this course can be applied to any country where you are required to prove yourself and fight for a competitive funded Masters, Ph.D., or Postdoc position.
Applicants with the confidence to "sell" themselves regardless of how little they have achieved.

Who this course is for:

Anyone seeking a Masters degree
Anyone seeking a PhD
Current undergraduates seeking clarity on graduate school

How to Email a Professor for a Research Position and Funding

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction to Graduate Funding4 lectures • 21min

Making the Request for Funding and Mentoring10 lectures • 1hr 19min

Bonus Section3 lectures • 16min

Beating Competition for Admission and Funding3 lectures • 14min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: