Contacting potential supervisors

For research masters and PhDs where a supervisor must accept you, a short, specific supervisor email helps. Write to a few people whose work you have read, not hundreds. Say who you are in one line.

Name a specific recent paper and what interested you. Connect it to your own project or question, which shows supervisor fit. Attach your CV and ask one clear question, such as whether they take students for the next intake.

Check the group page first. Some ask you not to email and to apply through the programme instead, and many US PhD programmes admit by committee. Follow up once after two weeks, then move on.