How to Email a Professor About PhD Openings

Most professors receive dozens of inquiry emails each week. The ones that get answered are short, specific, and show you have read their recent work.

Start with one sentence on who you are, your degree and your GPA or ranking. Then write two or three sentences connecting one of their recent papers to your own project or thesis.

Close by asking a single clear question: whether they expect to take a funded student for the coming intake. Attach your CV as a PDF and keep the whole email under 200 words.

If you get no reply in two weeks, send one polite follow-up. Then move on: silence is common and is rarely personal.