3 minute read

Written by Addie Baker (they/them) Updated

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Approaching a supervisor - is it necessary?

DEpending on which route you plan on taking into a PhD it may be neccesary.

  • CDT not usually required. CDT programmes will have you meet supervisors throughout the training phase, and you will usually select a potential supervisor in the later half of this phase.
  • Individual studentship funded or otherwise, absolutely yes! In the UK, most admissions for individual studentships are handles by the supervisor directly. Without establishing any initial contact, applications will almost always be rejected.

Where to find a supervisor

Once you’ve decided what you want to do, it’s important to find supervisors who are willing to work in this field with you. Here are our favourite places to look:

  • FindAPhD/FindAPostDoc. Both websites regularly list new projects which can be filtered by subject, institution, and funding - they advertise both CDT and individal studentship oppoertunties.
  • Personal/ Departmental Profile Pages. Most academics will have a page displaying their publications and research interests, some will even advertise whether they are open to new students there too.
  • University tutors. Speaking to your current university tutors or supervisors about pursuing research may lead to their recommendations based on theirknowledge of you and the field.

If you are apporaching supervisors make sure you have a clear idea of hat you want to research before hunting for supervisors!

Do your Homework

Before you write anything, research the supervisor in question.

You can’t shotgun blindly and hope for the best, you need to properly research your supervisor to ensure they actually work on the things you hope they do! Academics can tell when they receive generic emails.

Checklist:

  1. Do they actively research the topic you’re interested in, or were they just coauthor on one paper? Check their publishing outputs for consistent and recent work in your field.
  2. Do they have any current students? They may already be overwhelmed by students and not accept new ones. You can also reach out to their students to inquire about them!
  3. Do they have any active research grants? Check their university research portal to see what funding they have for new students.

Email Structure

Time to bite the bullet and start writing

To: Future_Supervisor@university.ac.uk
Subject: Prospective PhD Student in TOPIC XYZ

Para 1: Introduce yourself and your background
Para 2: State what specifically interests you about their work, with reference to a specific paper or presentation.
Para 3: Brief pitch of what you’d like to research with them
Para 4: Small ask - would they be open to talking about this.

Make sure you keep you email short (<400 words), attach your CV, and sign off politely.

Common Mistakes

Things to AVOID in your initial email..

As individuals who receive a lot of emails each day, here are some small details that supervisors may pick up on!

  • Saying something vague like “I’m interested in your work” without specifically referencing a paper or presentation is unhelpful. Instead, reference somewhere you have seen their work and give a specific example of why it interests you.
  • Sending a lengthy email (>400 words) with a full research proposal can be overwhelming for the first approach of a busy academic. Keep things concise and open so that there is opportunity for a follow-up where you can discuss your interests further.
  • Referring to them by the wrong title (Dr vs Professor) or sending generic copy-pasted emails shows a lack of attention to detail. Research your potential supervisor appropriately, and tailor each email to the supervisor in question - avoid shotgun applications with undifferentiated content.

If they don’t reply

Wait for a response.

Waiting can be difficult, and sometimes you’ll be waiting forever. No response doesn’t always mean a rejection, sometimes the email has just been missed! Here’s how to handle this:

It may be helpful to send a polite reminder after ~2 weeks. Keep this short, simply referencing your email.

Avoid repeated follow-ups, if they do not reply after 1 reminder, they likely wont reply at all. This isn’t a reflection on you, so don’t be disheartened.

Also, be aware that some supervisors may not reply during some particularly busy times in their academic calendar such as holidays or exam seasons.

It is completely okay to contact multiple supervisors, most will understand that they are NOT the only candidate for you!