Write an Impressive E-mail to Professors for Research Internship

By Vipul Jain

09 Dec, 2024

Scholarship

Students from a research background know how hard it can be to secure a research position in a good lab under an experienced guide and it is even harder when you’re applying to foreign university professors.

Knowing how to write an impressive email will save you a lot of time and hustle while making a formal application to the university.

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Why Does It Matter So Much to Me About Email?

Now understand that it is a two-way thing, as students are looking for research positions to add value to their career, professors are also looking for excellent candidates that can help them to bring out desired results in the given time frame.

Therefore, professors get tons of emails every day from research aspirants inquiring about the position and your email MUST stand out from all of them to get selected.

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Write an Impressive E-mail to Professors

Let’s get you the blueprint that’ll help you to write an effective and impressive Email:

Note: Do your research first about who you want to write an email to and brainstorm yourself if you are a good candidate for that position and also if the field of research really interests you. If there are professors whose work you really admire, you can make a list of all of them and then get started with the further process.

Informative Subject line

The subject line is the first thing that professors see and it should be informative and should do its job of specifying the reason why this email is particularly sent to them at the first place.

For example

Subject: Application for internship/trainee position at your lab

OR

Subject: Resume – Intern - 1year – Wearable Electrochemical Nanosensors

You can observe which subject line is more informative in a concise manner. You can simply specify the position, duration, and work you are interested in. this will provide the professor with the required details to consider the email, and will be tempted to click on it and read the contents of it.

Body

• Address professor with a formal tone using: Dear Dr. last name or Dear Prof. last name Avoid using Mr. Mrs. or Ms. Or just Dr. XYZ
• This will make your professor comfortable with your tone in a formal way.
• Never use slang, abbreviations, or emoticons in your email. This will create a negative impact on the professor.
• Write about your qualifications, your interests, past research experiences or internships (if any), published research papers, and what are your expectations from this research internship.
• Be mindful of tone and try to convey everything while keeping it short.
• Termination of Body and Salutations: Write proper termination lines to end your personalized text on a happy note and mention that there is a resume or cover letter attached to the mail. For salutations, don’t forget to write your name with your contact number and LinkedIn ID.

For example

Attached to this mail is my Resume, and if there is any additional information you would like to know, I would be happy to provide it to you.

Thank you for considering my application and I'm looking forward to your response.

Warm Regards and, Thank you so much ---- Your Name Current Qualification Integrated M.Tech (8th Semester) Name of Institute Your Contact Number Linkedin ID

Note: Please don’t make spelling mistakes or grammar mistakes, professors really don’t like incorrectly phrased words. So double-check everything before sending or you can utilize online tools such as Grammarly. 

What is a Grammarly?

Grammarly is a very useful tool when it comes to writing professional pieces, and will save you a lot of time than having to check everything again and again. It will recognize far more grammar and spelling mistakes than your eyes or any typical free checker. 

If you are serious about your writing game, Grammarly Premium is definitely worth the extra expense. You can enable its extension in your browser to help in real-time while writing a mail or can download word plug-in as well to use in word files.

Why Should I use Grammarly?

It provides the following things:

1. Real-time grammar and spelling checks
2. Checks punctuations grammar, context, and sentence structure at other writing platforms too.
3. Vocabulary enhancement
4. Genre-specific writing style checks- You can tune the writing style according to your audience.
5. Customization- You can choose your favored language, turn it off on certain websites, and can also add new words to your dictionary.
6. Plagiarism detector

Samples of E-mail to Professors for Research Internship

Now that you’re done with the blueprint, let’s look at some examples:

Sample 1

You are mailing to a professor for inquiring about the paid internship at his/her lab:

Subject: Resume – Intern – 1 Year - Biosensors

Dear Prof. Gooding,

My name is Anna Walker and I am an Integrated M.tech student with a specialization in Nanotechnology and currently in the 4th year of my college. In reference to the internship opportunity posted on the website of your lab, I am delighted to share my candidature via Email.

I come from a multidisciplinary educational background and therefore, I’m comfortable working in the wet lab (Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Microbiology, etc.) as well as in the dry lab (Cognitive Neuroscience, basics of Computer programming, etc.).

I have also earned a fellowship offered by The Academy of Science on the employment of nanoparticles in food, health, and environment where I was responsible for researching the role and risks of nanoparticles in food packaging.

As one of the youngest researchers, I have published 2 papers on nano-bio sensors and have also contributed to a book chapter on challenges for clinical translation of nanomaterials. I am continuously evolving and acquiring conceptual understanding through my research and there are certain projects that I am a part of and waiting to bring out realistic results.

I have the utmost interest in the functioning of nanoparticles and utilizing their properties to develop new sensors and devices. The work being conducted in your lab on Nanosensors and electrochemical sensing devices is very fascinating and I would love to be a part of your team.

I hope that my past work and experimental skills make me eligible for carrying out research work under your guidance and I'm willing to undergo any selection process if required. Please consider this resume as an application for your internship program and would be very helpful if it is a sponsored one.

Attached to this mail is my Cover letter and resume, and if there is any additional information you would like to know, I would be happy to provide it to you.

Warm Regards and, Thank you so much

---- Anna Walker Integrated M.Tech (8th Semester) Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Brooke University +(91) 90780xxxxx, 70629xxxxxx Email: Anna_Walker@gmail.com Linkedin ID: cid.e4e7774955b61ef

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Sample 2

If you are emailing a professor about his research experience and want to schedule a meeting with him/her to personally ask for a research position.

Subject: Summer Internship Project Application

Dear Dr. Pillsbury,

My name is Roberto Sanger and I'm a third-year engineering major at Caltech University. In the practical sessions of my studies, I've developed a deep fascination for biotechnology, building innovative devices, and very interested in pursuing independent research as a budding scientist. An extensive research experience will greatly assist me to realize my career interests and my potential.

The cellular biology of tissue engineering has a profound impact on my personal interests. Recently, I read your paper about the porous scaffold design for tissue engineering and it is very intriguing that using synthetic implants and tissue grafts that employ porous scaffolds integrated with cells can regenerate tissues. If feasible, I would love to be a part of your research work starting this summer and contribute in every way possible.

Regarding this would you be able to take some time out of your busy schedule to discuss your research? I would more than be happy to undertake a project in your lab for six months and gain valuable experience under your guidance.

My resume and transcripts are attached to this mail for reference and looking forward to your positive response.

Thank you so much for your consideration, Best Regards, Roberto Sanger Department of Biotechnology Caltech. University Contact Number LinkedIn Id

You can see that personalized information and details are required in every mail, so please don’t copy-paste a mail curated for one professor and send it to everyone on your list. Do show some extra efforts and read about the professor’s work to curate a mail specifically for him/her. This is a game-changer step and you will get replies from most of the professors.

Also showing extreme enthusiasm is very important to convince professors that you are actually interested in the work.

Sending emails to highly educated professors can be very nervous and intimidating, but it’s worth trying. Even if you do not get accepted for the internship, remember that each connection is still a great chance to build a network and learn about possible internships and career paths. You never know that someone you mailed years ago might remember you down the line when another great opportunity pops up.