Contacting professors about research: if they don't respond to my emails, how long should I wait to follow up?

Question

I am starting a MS in CS program this summer. My department is small and my particular concentration is both narrow and new. Currently only 3 professors at the school are listed as having research interests in my area of interest.

I have contacted 2 of them. One is tenured and one is an assistant professor.

I know that the tenured professor has lots of published work in the field already and would probably be the better recommender come PhD application time.

I'm not eligible for assistantships yet until I finish some prerequisites I lacked from my undergrad. But I want to get in and prove what a good little research assistant I can be as soon as I can so I can beat out the other assistantship applicants when the time comes.

My question is: If they don't respond to my emails, how long should I wait to follow up with them as not to be annoying? Should I just wait until classes start and go talk to them then? I'll be taking a class from the assistant professor this summer in a subject outside my research interest. What's the best approach to get people collaborate with me?

(Sorry this sounds like lots of questions in one, but I only have a year and a half to become the best PhD applicant ever and I want to make sure I do it right!)

Answer 1

I agree with badroit's answer. I would also like to add the following:

I don't know what was in your original email, so this may not apply.

However, if your email requires some thought or effort on the part of the professor to respond to, then it will sit in his inbox until he has a chance to sit down and compose a proper response. Since you are an unknown student and he is very busy, this is low on his list of priorities and he may never get to it.

On the other hand, if you politely follow up a week or two later with an email in which you ask to meet:

Dear Professor Y,

I am going to be a student in your department next semester.

I have been reading about your paper on Y and I am very interested in talking to you about it; do you think we could schedule a time to meet next week?

This email is easy and quick to respond to ("Yes, how about Tuesday at 10?"), so you may be more likely to get a response.

(I know this doesn't make sense, since the professor would still have to expend time and effort to meet with you. But spending a half hour on a meeting on some future date seems much less of a burden than spending ten minutes right now to send an email to an unknown student.)

Answer 2

Whats the best approach to get people to let me help them?

Impress them. Demonstrate that you genuinely can help them.

The problem you face is that professors are busy. Though professors need students, any decent professor that "takes on" students (be it in an advisory, mentorship or official supervisory role) knows that it's a commitment. In as much as working with a good student can be rewarding and productive, working with a bad student can be a huge time-sink and personally draining.

And good professors often get lots of offers of "help".

So you need to demonstrate that you'll be one of the good ones. You need to surprise them, show your motivation, your interest, your enthusiasm, your skills, your ideas.

Just a couple of thoughts:

• Read a difficult paper authored by the professor in the area. Approach them to tell them you found the paper interesting and to talk about the finer details of it. Try to challenge them about weaknesses of the paper (<- depending on their character). This demonstrates your ability to read papers independently, as well as your knowledge of the area, your ability to think critically and your enthusiasm for the subject.

• Try putting together a list of elevator-style ideas for research topics in the area. Tell the professor that you are interested in doing research, why you want to do research, and try pitching some ideas to them. Try flesh out an idea or two with them: ask them questions.

Like any sort of work relationship, if you meet with them face-to-face, it's also important that you come across as someone easy-going who would be pleasant to work with.

My question is: If they don't respond to my emails within some time frame when is it no longer annoying to follow up?

Approach them in person. Emails from strange students don't last long in the harsh environs of the INBOXes of senior professors.

Answer 3

I did several internships when I was an undergrad. Here is my advice

1) Meet the professors in person.

2) Look out side of your department, the best internship I did was for NASA. CS degree is highly sought after in other colleges.

3) Talk to and buddy up with other students that are in an intern position. They will make good references and will tell you when there is a spot open.

4) Be prepared to take the first one or two for no pay. My first two were for credit.

5) Talk to all the Professors, Some of them will take you on more to do some quick task they don't want to do.

6) Don't be afraid of a few no's. It's not personal, it just they may not have the time to train you.

My internships are what set me apart for my first job, and they really will help out.