Write a professional, personalised cold email to a potential supervisor for PhD, postdoc or research project positions.
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💡 Key to a good cold email: Show you have read their work specifically, be concise (under 200 words), and have a clear single ask. This tool generates that for you.
How to email a professor about research opportunities
A cold email to a professor requesting research experience is one of the most important professional communications early-career researchers write — and one of the most often done poorly. Most professors receive dozens of such emails and respond to very few. The difference between a reply and no reply is almost always specificity and evidence of genuine interest.
What to include
In four to six sentences: who you are and your current academic level; that you have read a specific recent paper from their lab (name it, say one sentence about what you found interesting); a brief statement of your relevant skills or experience; a clear, specific ask (lab visit, honours project, summer internship); and your availability. Attach your CV.
What to avoid
Generic openers ("I am interested in your research"), copying the same email to multiple professors without customisation, asking the professor to explain their research to you (you should already know from reading their papers), and emails longer than one screen. Follow up once after two weeks if you receive no reply — once only.