Tips from the Faculty

• In general, faculty expect students to:
  • Be interested in the work they will conduct with the faculty member
  • Be willing to work hard and give 100% of their effort while they are working with the faculty member
  • Commit to working with them for an agreed-upon number of hours per week for an agreed-upon period of time
  • Think critically, analytically and creatively
• Faculty have different expectations regarding the types of work students will perform, the kinds of products they expect students to produce, and the evaluation of student work
  • Faculty expectations may differ based on whether the student is receiving academic credit or financial compensation or volunteering, but in all cases, the student is expected to bring his/her “A” game. This is not a line on your CV; it’s a commitment to conduct a project.
• In order to ensure a meaningful experience, students should
  • Find a faculty member who is doing work that excites you
    • How do you do this? Look at the faculty member’s webpage. Read primary articles/books written by the faculty member – or at least read the article abstract or book summary.
    • You are not expected to be an expert in the subject, but you are expected to be knowledgeable about what the research group is investigating and you need to be able to talk about what it is about the topic that excites you.
  • Talk to the faculty member before committing to working with her/him
    • Ask about the faculty member’s expectations. Specifically ask about
      • The kind of work you will do
      • The products (manuscript, poster, oral presentation, etc.) you will be expected to produce
      • How your work will be evaluated
      • The time commitment that will be expected of you
      • What you can expect to learn
      • Whether you need any prior experience and/or courses

• • Be clear about your expectations upfront
    • For example, if you would like a letter of recommendation or to be coauthor on a scholarly publication, let the faculty member know that at the beginning and ask what you will need to do to achieve your goal.
    • Agree on a plan of action for the semester to achieve benchmarks towards the agreed-upon goal.

• Preparing to approach a faculty member
  • Learn about the work that the faculty member does. Review his/her website, read her/his articles/books (or at least the article abstract or book summary), attend talks the faculty member gives and/or search the internet to see if any of the faculty member’s talks are posted.
  • Think about how the faculty member’s work intersects with your interests. Think about how you will talk about this intersection when you meet the faculty member. Are there research questions that interest you that are compatible with the work the faculty member is doing?
    • Use your classes to start developing research questions that interest you. When a class topic or discussion sparks your interest, write down your questions.
• Contacting the faculty member
  • Faculty members have different preferences when it comes to how they prefer to be contacted by students who want to work with them, but, in general, your first contact should either be via email or by introducing yourself to the faculty member after s/he has given a talk that you have attended.
  • In both cases, you should address the faculty member formally and professionally, i.e., “Dear Professor Jones” or “Hello Dr. Smith.” Never use the faculty member’s first name in your initial contact.
  • If you use email
    • Use your college email address to contact the faculty member.
      • Personal email addresses (e.g., sweetiepie@yahoo.com) can send the wrong message. If you are interested in doing scholarly or creative work with a faculty member, you want to present yourself in a professional manner.
      • Spam is also less likely to originate with a college email address than with some other email providers.
      • Personalize your message so that it is clear that you’ve done your homework and you know the faculty member’s areas of interest. Indicate your specific interest in working with this particular faculty member.
      • Attach your CV and unofficial transcript or a list of the relevant courses you have taken

Example of a Flawed Email:

Example of Effective Email:

• • What should you do if the faculty member doesn’t respond to your email?
    • Be persistent. Send your email again if you haven’t received a response within two weeks.
    • If you don’t receive a response to your second email, send a third email
      • Faculty are not only busy, they can receive hundreds of emails a day, so it is possible that they just missed your first or even second email
      • In addition, persistence is usually considered a positive quality in research, scholarly and creative work.
      • When sending a second or third email, it is not a good idea to point out that the faculty member neglected to respond to your earlier email.
    • If you don’t receive a response to your third email, don’t send a fourth. Try to stop by the faculty member’s office during office hours. If that is not possible, try contacting another faculty member instead.
  • If you plan to introduce yourself to the faculty member after her/his talk, you want to convey your knowledge of the faculty member’s work, why you are interested in working with this faculty member (be specific) and your qualifications.
    • In order to be able to do this in 2 - 3 minutes (don’t plan on much longer than that), write out what you want to say ahead of time and practice, practice, practice. This is referred to as your “elevator pitch.”
• Being interviewed
  • Most faculty members will want to interview you to determine whether you are a good fit for their work. Faculty differ in terms of the specific qualifications and experience they require, but most look for evidence of curiosity and the ability to think critically, analytically and creatively about issues.
  • Be prepared to talk about
    • The reasons you want to work with the faculty member.
    • Your specific research interests.
    • Your career goals and how working with the faculty member will help you achieve those goals.
    • Your coursework and experience and how it is relevant to the work you’d like to conduct with the faculty member.

• Who should you ask?
  • Ask faculty members who know you well so that they can write a substantive letter for you.
  • Professors in your small seminar courses will typically know you better than the professor who taught your 500-student survey course. Faculty with whom you’ve worked on research, scholarly or creative projects are also good choices.
• When should you ask?
  • Start talking to potential letter writers as soon as you start considering applying to graduate school – even up to a year before you will apply. They can provide advice about how to find a good program, the application process, what to include in your personal statement, etc.
  • Ask the faculty member to write your letter at least two months before the letter is due.
    • If you don’t give the faculty member enough advance notice, s/he may not have enough time to write you the best possible letter.
    • If you plan to take a break/gap year between college and graduate school, before you graduate from college, ask the faculty member if s/he would be willing to write you a letter and then make sure you keep in touch with the faculty member during your break/gap year.
    • If you worked with the faculty member on a research, scholarly or creative project, ask the faculty member if s/he would like you to prepare a summary of the work you did. Do this before you graduate.
• What should you ask?
  • Ask the faculty member if s/he can write you a strong positive letter of support to accompany your application. If s/he says no, thank the faculty member and let him/her know that you will ask someone else. A negative, or standard letter indicating only that you were a student in the faculty member’s class and got a grade of A, will not help you.
  • Ask the faculty member if s/he has the time to write you a good letter by the submission deadline.
• What should you give the faculty member if s/he agrees to write a letter for you?
  • Provide the faculty member with:
    • A list that includes all schools/programs along with their submission deadlines, instructions and materials (e.g., link to online submission site, addressed stamped envelopes if letters need to be mailed)
    • Your CV or resume and unofficial transcript.
    • Your personal statement
    • The names of faculty with whom you’d like to work at each graduate program (this is a good idea if you are applying for doctoral programs, but isn’t typically necessary for medical, law or other professional schools)
  • Ask the faculty member if s/he would also like you to provide a draft letter or bullet points indicating how you are a good fit for each program (based on your achievements, interests and experience) and why are excited about each program