# Email a potential PhD supervisor or research advisor

A short, specific inquiry email that shows fit with the supervisor's work and gets a reply.

- Topic: Email & Workplace Communication
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Email, Research, Write, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/email-a-potential-phd-supervisor-or-research-advisor

## Prompt

```text
Write an email to a potential PhD supervisor or research advisor.

**Supervisor and institution:** [NAME, department]
**Their work I have actually read:** [1-2 specific papers or projects and what interested me]
**My background:** [degree, relevant research experience, methods skills, publications if any]
**My research interest and how it connects to theirs:** [2-3 sentences]
**What I am asking:** [e.g. "are you taking students for fall entry?", "would you supervise a funding application?"]
**Funding situation:** [self-funded / applying for scholarship / looking for funded positions]
**Attachments:** [CV, transcript, short proposal]

Requirements:
- Under 200 words. Busy academics skim.
- Subject line that is specific (e.g. "Prospective PhD student: [topic], fall [year]").
- First two sentences: who I am and why them specifically. Reference their work accurately and concretely; no generic praise.
- One clear, easy-to-answer question.
- Professional but warm. No long life story.

Return 3 subject lines, the email, and a brief, polite follow-up to send after 2 weeks without a reply. Do not describe their papers beyond what I tell you.
```

## What to fill in

- NAME, department
- CV, transcript, short proposal
- topic
- year

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.