Table of Contents

0. Check the recipient’s website.

Before emailing anyone, check their online profile to see if they have instructions for emailing them and make sure to follow them. Breaking these guidelines is a good way to get yourself ignored (or worse…).

1. Greet them with their name.

Figuring out what to call someone you have never met can be tricky, especially across cultures. For US-based PhD students, using their first name is acceptable. You do not have to call them “sir” or “ma’am,” either. I was always amused when anyone (prematurely, at the time) addressed me as “Dr. Hwang” in an email. When in doubt, be more formal and pay attention to how they sign off on their response. If they explicitly sign off as something more specific than their initials or full name, you can assume that is how they prefer to be addressed.

2. Keep your email short.

I remember feeling so nervous about emailing new people that I would send feature-length sagas because I thought that was the polite thing to do. Fear not! Being concise is not necessarily the same as being curt, short, or terse. Aim for three sentences: (1) say who you are, (2) explain how you found them, and (3) make your request. Add a “Hi their name” at the beginning and a “Thank you, your name” at the end and you are good to go.

Of course, include more details when necessary. If you find yourself needing more than a three short paragraphs (three sentences each), consider asking/offering a meeting instead. Also keep in mind that lots of people check email on their phones these days, so you should try to avoid overwhelming them with huge blocks of text.

3. Make your emails visually easy to read.

Take advantage of paragraph structures, bullet points, hyperlinks, and other formatting tools to help you deliver your message more effectively. Bullet points are especially great if you have multiple (brief) questions or requests. You can also put requests/questions on their own lines to make sure the recipient does not miss them. Effective formatting also helps you include more information in less space.

4. Assume business hours by default.

I know they are called PhD students, but working hours are quite different at this stage, especially after the second year, because PhD students no longer have a heavy courseload (or any at all). This means that asking to meet at 8 PM during the week or any time at all during the weekend is not a good idea.

If you are trying to schedule a meeting with a PhD student, you will probably have the most success between 11 AM and 5 PM, even more if you are open to virtual. Try to offer multiple options at least a week in advance. If your schedule is packed and you need a meeting at a less convenient time, just say so. We understand! In that case, make sure your request is very important or consider reaching out at a less busy time.

5. Wait at least a week before following up.

Maybe even two, depending on how urgent your email is. PhD workloads can be extremely heavy at nonobvious times because of paper deadlines, conference travel, or other important milestones. Many conferences involve at least a week of international travel, during which attention to email can become very sporadic. PhD programs also have a lot of individually set deadlines for oral exams that are not as predictable like midterms or final exam season. They might even be away at an internship, which is more likely during the summer but can be true during the fall or spring.

If you want to get involved in research…

You should know that a PhD student’s research is critical to their success. We conduct long, multifaceted projects that will hopefully be published and maybe end up in the dissertation. We report our progress at least weekly to various supervisors and need to keep on track. I have heard stories of research mentees disappearing partway through the semester, leaving PhD mentors scrambling to adjust their plans. Research is significant work (at least 10 hours a week), so be sure to think carefully before committing. If you become overwhelmed during the semester, please do not ghost us. Let your mentor know so they can plan around you (and because they care!).

Sample emails that I would be perfectly happy to receive

Hi Alyssa,

My name is Nick and I am sophomore in CS. I am interested in learning more about HCI and saw your website online. Do you have time to answer some questions in the next couple of weeks? In general, Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays from 3 to 7 PM work best for me, but I can suggest other times if needed.

Thank you,

Nick Miller

Dear Alyssa,

My senior capstone group is looking for a mentor and I was wondering if you would be interested. Professor X recommended that we ask you because our interests might align. Our project is about building voice assistants for cars, which is related to your past work on cooking.

If you are able to mentor us, it would be great if you could meet online once a week for about 30 minutes. I have attached some slides and the syllabus in case that is helpful. Please let me know if I can provide any other info!

Best,

Winston Bishop

Hi Alyssa,

I am starting my senior year majoring in CS and minoring in psychology. I am very interested in getting some research experience as an assistant or an independent study. Are you open to mentoring a project?

Some more information about me:

  • I have taken intro to HCI, statistics, and a seminar in product design.
  • I am experienced with Python, including Matplotlib, OpenAI API, and data analysis.
  • Some topics I am interested in: perception of AI writing, interfaces for explainability, coding tools.

If you are not available, can you introduce me to someone who might be interested? Thank you!

Jessica Day