“Please what should be the subject of the mail?” was a question from my previous post on sending first email to potential supervisors. Since people still do judge a book by its cover, the email subject line should be treated as the cover of your email. Before we get into guidelines for the subject line, let’s first establish why a good one is important.
Why is a good subject line important
1. So that your email doesn’t end up as SPAM
This is perhaps the most compelling reason of them all. Faculty members have lots of emails to deal with daily. Some are admissions, journal updates, events, internal comms, and of course the real spam. Hence, some have filters set on their email accounts to delete or send emails—from unverified sources, with vague subject lines and with popular signs of malware—to the spam folder.
2. So that your email does not escape being read
Even if the email escapes the junk/spam folder, there is a high chance that it may not be read if it doesn’t give the reader enough information to expect its content. A nicely crafted and well researched content with a poor subject line may still not motivate the professor to open it. What a precious effort and time wasted!.
3. To make a good first impression
The first impression does not start from the salutation of the email but on the subject line. If the academic still opens the email even with a poorly written subject line, you are making them put in more effort to understand what the email is all about and that may likely count against you.
What should a subject line contain?
There is no one way to write a subject line. These are all guidelines to help you think of how to frame your own subject line.
1. Who you are: e.g. “Prospective PhD student”, “Graduate in Computer Science interested in doctoral study in Computer Vision”
This includes information about what your current position is which gives a clue about what your intentions are. By saying you are a prospective PhD student, it gives an idea that you would be interested in PhD opportunities.
2. What topics/problems you are interested in: e.g “Student interested in XYZ problem”
This is a very specific subject line which gives the professor immediate impression that you have done your background work to know about his interests and aligned it to yours.
3. What you’re enquiring about: e.g. “Enquiry about potential PhD opportunities”, “Request for PhD supervision”, “Seeking for a PhD position”
The subject line can take the form of a statement saying what your general intentions and enquiry is about.
4. Question form: e.g. “Are you taking new graduate students this Fall 2020?”, “Is AI for Social Good studentship still open?”
This works as well especially when there is a pressing question that would stand out to the professor. For example, if the professor said on his website that he wasn’t taking students in Fall 2019 but there is no recent update about the following academic session.
How specific should the subject line be?
Ideally, there should be no such thing as a generic email to a professor, even though the subject line may range from generic e.g. “Prospective PhD student” to specific e.g. “Student interested in XYZ problem”. What is important is that it is precise enough to get them to open and read the email. Specific email subject lines usually leave a stronger impression and motivation to read. However, they can work against you if you include details that are an immediate turnoff or evoke disinterest of the reader. For instance, if you state that you are interested in XYZ research area where XYZ is obviously not an area that the professor is interested in.
Other specific details you may include in the subject line is:
1. Reference code or short extract of advertised project e.g. “Enquiries about AI for Future Societies (Ref: 1234567)”
It is good practice to include the Reference code or short extract of the title of a particular advertised project if you’re making enquiries about it. This gives the professor an immediate idea that the email is not a cold call but rather a response to a vacancy.
2. When you want to apply for admission e.g. “PhD Studentship Info needed: September 2020″
Specifically, if the professor had stated that they were not available to take on students in the current year, including this information could indicate that you are well informed.
3. Name of Professor’s research lab, institution: e.g. “Seeking PhD opportunity in ABC research lab”.
In cases where the professor has dual commitments, say a full professor at XYZ university but a visiting professor at ABC university, it may be useful to clarify where you are interested in working.
Additional tips
1. Short and concise
Keep email subject short and concise: ideally not more than 50-60 characters.
2. Don’t ask lazy questions
Don’t ask the professors questions that you can easily find on their website. An example is when professor has said that he’s not taking on any new students in Fall 2020 and you still email with the same enquiry. You waste their time and yours too. Always do your research first and save the golden opportunity to make a really good first impression. Also, ask yourself whether they are the best person to direct your email to or it’s more suited to another person or department e.g the admissions office, their personal assistant, the group head.
3. Arrange to start with more important words and phrases
Rather than say “Fall 2020 Prospective student: Research Info needed”, I would arrange it as “Prospective student: Research Info needed (Fall 2020)” as in this instance ‘prospective’ is a keyword and more important than ‘Fall’. Remember that some email boxes are arranged to limit the subject line. Thus, leaving the keywords to the end may not allow them to be seen on a quick glance.
4. Check if there’s a specific subject guideline
Some academics would state on their websites that email subject line should include a particular clause or sentence. Failure to do so is to risk your email being marked as SPAM. That’s why research is always key.
5. Be careful of spam content
Some universities implement spam filters to scan emails. Your genuine, nicely composed email may be sent to the junk folder if its content (also the subject line) contains suspicious details. Some examples to avoid in the subject are:
- Use of ‘Urgent ‘ e.g. “PhD Studentship Info needed, URGENT!”
- Excessive exclamation points!!!!!!!!!
- USE OF ALL CAPS
What subject lines have you found effective for first email to faculty members and why do you think it works? Please share your thoughts below.
The post was insightful, thanks so much for what you do.
I’m glad you found it useful, Joseph.