bachelor thesis supervisor e mail

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Email contact with your dissertation supervisor

Published on October 13, 2015 by Sarah Vinz . Revised on August 24, 2018.

How to best approach your dissertation supervisor via email can vary by supervisor. For example, some supervisors are fine with being addressed by their first name, while others would prefer that you only use their title and surname.

Table of contents

The style and tone of your message, addressing your supervisor, keep it short and sweet, no response from your supervisor, formal or informal, receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting.

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See an example

Checklist: Formal email contact

Use an appropriate salutation. Example:  Dear Dr. X,

Explain the purpose of your email. Example: I am writing in follow-up to our meeting on Monday.

Be brief and clear about exactly what you want to say or ask. Example:  I have made the changes that we agreed on. Could you please check and confirm them?

Express your appreciation in advance. Example:  Thanks in advance for your help.

Use an appropriate closing. Example: Sincerely,

Your email looks appropriately formal.

In your first email contact with your dissertation supervisor, it is wise to address him or her quite formally (such as “Dear Dr. X” or “Dear Prof. Y”). You do not know what your supervisor will be comfortable with, so it is best to play it safe.

If your initial contact is too informal, your supervisor may get the wrong impression and start to question your professionalism and attitude.

If your supervisor’s response to your email closes with only his or her first name (such as “Sincerely, Ken”), you can assume that it is okay to address him or her by first name in your next message. To be extra safe, you can also wait until you have received a few more messages where he or she has closed in this way.

Examples of salutations and closings

Email signature

It is generally not necessary to use an email signature when corresponding with your supervisor. However, if your program requires that you do so or if it is your personal preference, you can use the following model:

• Name (first and surname)
• Educational institution
• Phone number
• Email address

Flawless writing

What is important in all cases is that your message is error-free. Make sure you use proper English (or whichever language is appropriate) and that you do not make any grammatical or spelling errors. Before you send a message to your supervisor, you are strongly advised to re-read the text carefully or even to have someone else read it, too.

A neat and accurate message shows your supervisor that you are both professional and serious about your project.

Dissertation supervisors are often busy people who are involved in many things at the same time. It is therefore important to be as clear and specific as possible in your messages, so they can quickly see what your problem is and then react.

Tips for writing clear and maintaining smooth contact

• Make sure you stick to only things that are relevant to your dissertation. For example, do not share stories from your personal life with your supervisor (unless they are important with regard to your results).
• Formulate your questions as clearly and concisely as possible , so that your supervisor understands what you want and can respond quickly.
• Do not ask long or complicated questions in an email; saving these queries for times when you have more personal contact will make things easier for both of you. You will spare your supervisor the time that he or she would need to reply in writing. On your side, asking such questions face-to-face allows you to get more comprehensive answers and to ask follow-up questions if you do not understand something.
• Give your supervisor enough time to respond. For example, don’t send questions the night before you have to submit something; do it a few days in advance instead.
• Always respond as quickly as possible to messages from your supervisor (when relevant). This includes confirming any appointments your supervisor proposes, answering all of his or her questions, indicating things you don’t understand and providing any information that he or she requests.
• The responsibility for writing the dissertation is yours. Instead of waiting for your supervisor to make contact, take the initiative to make an appointment. This is also better for your supervisor, because it shows him or her that you are serious about your project.

Confirming appointments via email

If you arrange something about an appointment with your supervisor verbally, it is smart to still confirm it via email. You then have something in writing to fall back on if any issues arise.

Similarly, it is also a good idea to summarize what you have agreed on, such as deadlines and matters relating to substantive issues. Ask your supervisor to check and confirm your notes, so that you are both 100% clear on where you stand.

See some sample emails

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Supervisors will generally always respond to your messages, but some are faster than others. If you do not get a reply, first think about whether there could be an obvious reason for the delay, such as that it is already late in the evening, it’s the weekend, or it’s a holiday.

Also note that not all supervisors are available five days a week. You can often find out what days your supervisor is available through your school. Before taking any action, consider how fast you need an answer. You don’t want to appear too impatient to your supervisor.

If you really cannot wait any longer or you haven’t heard anything from your supervisor in several days, send a polite reminder email. You can either briefly restate your question or refer to your previous message.

If you still do not get a response, try contacting your program or university. A department secretary can often connect you with your supervisor.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Vinz, S. (2018, August 24). Email contact with your dissertation supervisor. Scribbr. Retrieved September 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/tips/e-mail-contact-with-your-dissertation-supervisor/

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Sarah's academic background includes a Master of Arts in English, a Master of International Affairs degree, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She loves the challenge of finding the perfect formulation or wording and derives much satisfaction from helping students take their academic writing up a notch.

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How to Write an Email to a Potential Supervisor (With examples)

• December 15, 2021
• GRADUATE ADMISSIONS

Writing to a potential supervisor can exponentially increase your chances of securing a position as a graduate student. However, you will be walking in a thin line between setting up a great first impression or a pretty bad one.

The good news is that leaving a great impression is much simpler than you would think; it simply comes down to how you structure your first email.

When I was applying for my graduate program, I sent 130 emails to different professors in different universities in both USA and Canada. For those 130 emails I sent, I got 53 replies, with nearly 40% conversion rate. From those 53 replies, 22 professors were interested in offering me a position in their lab and encouraged me to apply formally through the university’s graduate office.

In this blog post, you will find some helpful information that I figured out during my application process about writing an email to a potential supervisor. 

How appropriate would it be to write an email to a potential supervisor?

Reach out and write an email to a potential supervisor before applying is definitely one of those topics where you want to find out about the norms in your discipline. 

Reaching out to potential advisors ahead of time is fine, helpful but not necessarily required for most people. 

In some fields, it might be strange or unexpected or something that people don’t usually do, and in some other fields, it might almost feel like a requirement.

This might be different in different fields because, in some disciplines, advisor fit is much more important than others.  

Suppose you are in a discipline like humanities where you’re not working very closely with an advisor. In that case, it might be that students are accepted into the department generally, and that advisor fit doesn’t really matter.

In that case, you should still talk about specific faculty in your statement of purpose because that is a good reason why you’re applying to that program. 

It shows that you’ve done your research.

But you probably don’t need to do fact-finding on the capacity of individual faculty members before you submit your application.

But if you are in one of those disciplines where advisor fit can be essential for admission, writing an email to a potential supervisor is very important.

Overall, reaching out to potential advisors isn’t something you have to do, but it’s really more of a fact-finding mission.

It can be beneficial for you to get some helpful information.

Find out if they have the resources to recruit you.

Sometimes there’s one perfect potential advisor for you in a department, and that person cannot take on new advisees for some reason.

Maybe the funding capacity limit is already reached when you email the professor.

If that’s the case, they often are upfront about that and might even suggest other people that you should consider talking to or writing about in your application materials.

If you get one of these responses from a professor who says,” I’m unlikely to take on new PhD advisees”, that does not mean that you should not apply for that program.

Also, do not forget to follow up because sometimes the funding capacity can change at the last moment.

This is one of the advantages of writing an email to a potential supervisor because they might let you know if something like that happens.

But it’s good for you to know that you should look into other options as well. Even if you are highly interested in that particular program, putting all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea.

The other important thing that you could find out from reaching out to a prospective advisor is their current research direction.

For example, if you look at someone’s recent publications, think about when the professor did that research.

If a paper is published recently, this paper went through peer review. 

Roughly add the revision time and paper writing time.

They might have done that research two years ago.

Are they still doing that kind of research?

You can, of course, find out a fair amount of research work and their timelines by going to a faculty member’s website or by looking at current grant funding.

Especially, grand funding tells you what that person will be doing for the next few years.

People’s trajectories can change a lot. 

Have I ever made a mistake like this? I have. Big time! See the below email I received when I was writing to a professor!

So, you want to make sure you have an idea of what they’re doing now because you could mention them in your statement of purpose letter .

When should you reach out to a potential supervisor?

Typically graduate applications are due late fall / early winter.

You should check and make sure that you have a sense of this timeline.

It wouldn’t necessarily hurt to reach out earlier. 

But, I would recommend reaching out one to two months before the deadline because that’s when supervisors know if they can offer new graduate student positions.

Sometimes funding decisions come in over the summer, so they might undoubtedly know whether they’re taking on new graduate students when the deadlines are closer.

Another reason not to email professors early is, some professors aren’t working as much over the summer.

Also, they might be heads down and writing a book or doing research and not responding to emails quite as readily as they might during the academic year.

A template for writing an email to a potential supervisor

Here’s an example email that I used when applying for graduate programs. This is the email I wrote to the professor I’m currently working with.

Make sure to adjust this email to be compatible with your field of study.

This will give you a sense of the information you might want to mention in your email.

Title: Inquiry from a prospective graduate student Dear Professor [name], I am a (Your major) graduand from the (Your university). I’m interested in a graduate study opportunity under your supervision in your research group. I am considering applying to your department’s graduate program, one reason being that I am very interested in the work you are doing on Hydrophobic surfaces. Given that your research takes both experimental and theoretical approaches for surface analysis and development, it further encourages me to apply since it is a perfect confluence of my research interests. I particularly enjoyed your paper “(Paper that you’re interested in)” and possibly see myself doing that kind of work. My own research interests relate to surface and interface science, computational materials science, thin films and coatings, and electrochemistry. I graduated with a (Your overall GPA) and a (CGPA) in the last two years of undergraduate study and am currently working as a researcher for eight months at [institute], a world-leading manufacturer of weight measurement technologies. At [institute]’s research lab, I am implementing studies on the micro throwing power of watt’s type baths by electrochemical simulations (COMSOL Multiphysics), ideally targeting to enhance Ni20Cr thin films’ surface wettability. I have just submitted an article on my current research findings, which was accepted by Materials Today: Proceedings. I have attached our recent publication and other relevant documents with more details. I am wondering if you will be considering taking on new PhD advisees for September intake or if you have suggestions for other faculty I should reach out to. I would be happy to answer any questions or have an online interview if more information would be helpful. ( Your signature )

You will find more tips of writing the perfect email to a potential supervisor here .

First and foremost, do not forget to do your homework before writing an email to a potential supervisor.

Do not send the same email to every professor that you choose.

Although it seems like a lot of work, do your research first and write a specific email for each supervisor. You can always use similar phrases here and there but never use the same template because a professor who receives many such emails can easily understand what you are doing.

And, that is not a good first impression.

If you want to have a robust application, you need to research what faculty are doing.

Also, note that my email word count is nearly 250. Not including many things in your email is also essential when writing an email to a potential supervisor.

Professors are always busy. They do not have to spend more than 1 or 2 minutes on an email. So you must know to impress the professor within that time frame, or your email will go straight to the junk folder.

Note that I also mentioned a paper that I was interested in. This is optional. But if you decide to mention a paper, make sure that you understand the basic concepts of that paper. Because, if this email leads to a quick interview, they might ask some questions from the paper. If that happens, you don’t want to embarrass yourself.

But just mentioning the general research area is more than enough for the first email because it shows that you’ve done your homework.

Also, it’s very important to mention that your research interests and the supervisor’s current area of research are similar.

It doesn’t have to be exactly the same.

But it should be in the same domain. In this example, my prospective supervisor (When I was writing this email) was working on a combination of physical chemistry and computational modelling. The interests I mentioned align with what he was interested in. But they are not precisely the same.

Maintain an effective email management system

At the time I was writing to potential supervisors, I was working full-time in a research lab. My work schedule was 10 hours a day. So, it took me a while to begin writing to potential supervisors.

In fact, it was too late to start writing, and I was told by friends to wait until next year to apply. They have already contacted supervisors and secured graduate positions at this point.

This is when I snapped out of my procrastination bubble and began thinking about how to secure a graduate position. Moreover, I had very specific research interests, so getting into a graduate program has already been challenging in the first place.

Before contacting professors, I also reviewed their profiles at hundreds of universities to find relevant labs.

Therefore, I needed a robust and efficient system for emailing potential supervisors. After a few tweaks, I created an effective yet simple system for managing graduate applications.

I use the notion app to build my graduate application management system.

It only took me two weeks to find professors whose research interests were similar to mine. And I have secured a graduate position in a lab conducting the exact research I was interested in.

You can grab the template by clicking the link below.

Do not directly ask for a meeting

Something else that you might have noticed that the email was ended with :

” I would be happy to answer any questions or have an online interview if more information would be helpful.”

There are lots of different ways that you could do mention this.

However, you may want to leave the option open without directly demanding a meeting.

Because if that prospective professor is not taking new advisees for the term, it would not be a great use of either of your time to have a meeting.

If the professor wants to talk more to you, they might be the one to suggest a meeting.

Or wait until you get a reply from them to decide to ask for a meeting, depending on their response.

They also might offer in their reply to answer questions, in which case you can ask questions in an email, or you can say,

“I do have some questions. Would you prefer email, or would it be easier for you to talk on the phone or video conference call?”

Why would you not get a reply?

But, sometimes, you might not get a reply at all.

It’s very important not to take it personally if they do not respond to your email.

My email conversion rate was 40%, which means that I haven’t heard anything 60% of the time.

Believe it or not, professors receive more than 100 emails per day when the deadlines are closer. So, there is a bigger chance that the professor hasn’t even seen your email.

Maybe your research background does not properly align with what they are looking for from a graduate student to join their lab. Here’s a reply I received from a professor mentioning this issue.

There are other reasons to why you haven’t heard when you write an email to a potential supervisor.

• The applicant has no clear idea about their research interests.
• There are no vacancies in their labs to accommodate new students.
• Your email is poorly drafted, and you have not specifically addressed that particular professor.
• You copy many professors in a single email.
• There’s no subject on the email.

Types of responses you might get

If you don’t hear back from a professor, do not assume that that means you shouldn’t apply to that program, or you shouldn’t mention them in your statement of purpose.

You can’t assume that a non-response means that they have no interest in your application.

It’s possible that when you reach out to someone, they might be excited to talk to you.

Many of the kinds of conversations you might have in a pre-application discussion with a faculty member might be pretty similar to the type of conversation you would have after you’ve applied.

So, it’s helpful to have a meeting/interview with a professor this way.

Also, if a professor suggested looking for other faculty members, you should email them. 

Because those suggested professors might work in a research area that you might be interested in. It might also be a signal for people who have funding or actively recruiting new students.

So, research them and consider reaching out to them if they mention someone specific.

You might also get a very vague reply such as :

“Thank you for reaching out. I look forward to seeing your application.”

You do not have to take that as a bad sign; it just means that they’re looking forward to seeing your application.

They chose to reply to you even though they have the freedom to ignore your email. That means something. Do not lose hope.

Make sure to mention the faculty members who replied to you so that they will recognize your application in the application evaluation process.

Final words

Writing an email to a potential supervisor is an essential step in your graduate application process.

Having a clear idea about who you are writing to and why you are writing to that person is important to get a reply.

If you have gone through the same process and found some important aspects about writing an email to a potential supervisor, let us know in the comment section.

As always, be proactive, be kind and try to help one another!

Images courtesy : Mail vector created by stories – www.freepik.com , Business photo created by creativeart – www.freepik.com , phdcomics , Image by Freepik

Aruna Kumarasiri

Founder at Proactive Grad, Materials Engineer, Researcher, and turned author. In 2019, he started his professional carrier as a materials engineer with the continuation of his research studies. His exposure to both academic and industrial worlds has provided many opportunities for him to give back to young professionals.

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Very useful article. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. I want to know about followup emails. How long we have to wait ?

I’m glad this article was helpful to you, Poornima!

Professors sometimes do not respond to emails for the following reasons: (1) They are genuinely busy. (2) They do not have funding to support your education and (3) Their inboxes are flooded with emails every day, and responding to them all can be a challenge.

Although the time to write a follow-up email depends on your own circumstances, give them a reasonable amount of time to respond. It is a good idea to wait at least one week before sending a follow-up email.

You can read our other blog posts to learn more about writing follow-up emails .

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How to ask a professor to supervise my undergraduate thesis research?

I am second year CompSci student in Europe and in a short while I'll have to start my undergraduate thesis research. The domain I want to research is cloud computing. One of my lecture professors suggested that I contact a master's professor regarding my undergraduate research, saying that he'll be alright with supervising my thesis research. My only problem is, how do I ask a professor I do not know to supervise my undergraduate thesis research?

• computer-science
• undergraduate
• research-undergraduate
• supervision

• 2 academia.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4109/… –  user9646 Commented Apr 28, 2018 at 8:50

Just talk to them as if they were a human being. Give them the info you just gave us, ask if they are interested, keep the email short and to the point. Here is an example email, adapt as needed.

Dear Prof. XXX,

(or whatever is the appropriate salutation where you live)

I am a second year student in [field] at [university]. I am interested in [domain]. Soon I will start my undergraduate thesis research. Professor YYY, who teaches us [course], recommended that I contact you, and I would be interested in having you supervise my thesis. Would you be interested in supervising my undergraduate thesis research? I am at your disposal if you need more information and/or would like to meet me. Thank you for your time. Best regards, ZZZ

(or whatever closing formula is appropriate where you live.)

I don't know if this is perfect (English isn't my native language), but you get the idea.

• I am at your disposal - does not it seem too low? –  Coder Commented Apr 28, 2018 at 9:52
• @Coder What do you mean? –  user9646 Commented Apr 28, 2018 at 10:23

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E-post To Dissertation Supervisor – How To Approach It

How do you like this article cancel reply.

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Writing an e-post to your dissertation supervisor can feel daunting. The process is often marked with anxiety, especially when one is uncertain about the nuances of professional communication or the specific expectations of their supervisor. Efficient communication with your academic advisor is a vital factor in your process towards completing a dissertation . This guide provides practical tips on how to draught an e-post to your dissertation supervisor.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• 1 E-post to Dissertation Supervisor – In a Nutshell
• 2 Definition: E-post to dissertation supervisor
• 3 E-post to dissertation supervisor: Style and tone
• 4 E-post to dissertation supervisor: Tips
• 5 E-post to dissertation supervisor: No reply

E-post to Dissertation Supervisor – In a Nutshell

• The first e-post to dissertation supervisor should have a clear subject title, a formal salutation, and error-free language.
• Keep your e-post to dissertation supervisor short, relevant and with a clear call to action.
• If you do not receive a response to your e-post in, say, a week, you can send a polite follow-up epost.

Definition: E-post to dissertation supervisor

There are several instances where you would need to send an e-post to dissertation supervisor, as highlighted in the list below:

• Arranging an appointment for an initial appointment of a follow-up meeting.
• Asking questions about a problem you encounter and getting clarification.
• Confirming agreements for matters you discussed.

It is a good idea to make a summary of what you and your supervisor agree on regarding issues such as deadlines and steps forward. Request your supervisor to verify your notes to ensure you agree and are completely clear on the way forward.

E-post to dissertation supervisor: Style and tone

Write your e-post to dissertation supervisor formally and use your school epost address to come across as professional (in place of your account). The guide below gives tips on writing the e-post to dissertation supervisor, the style to use and what to avoid.

Addressing your supervisor

It is best to address your supervisor formally in your first epost. Since you do not know how they would prefer to be addressed, it is better to err on the side of caution. An initial informal e-post to dissertation supervisor may send the wrong message and cast doubt your attitude and professionalism.

If your supervisor responds to your epost with their first name in the closing, e.g., (‘Sincerely Gabriel’), it may be okay to address them by their first name in the following epost. However, we recommend waiting until you have exchanged a few more eposts where they have closed informally to be extra safe.

The table below gives examples of closings and salutations you can use in your e-post to dissertation supervisor on formal and informal occasions.

Epost signature

Using an epost signature is at your discretion, although it is not necessary. However, you can model it as below if you do choose to use it or if your programme requires it:

• First name and surname
• Study programme
• Institution of study
• Telephone number
• Epost address

The e-post to dissertation supervisor must be well-written with good grammar and correct English (or any appropriate language). We strongly recommend that you proofread your e-post to dissertation supervisor carefully for any mistakes before sending it or ask another person to read it to get a fresh set of eyes on it.

A concise e-post to dissertation supervisor will display your professionalism and seriousness about your project.

E-post to dissertation supervisor: Tips

Below are some valuable tips for writing an e-post to dissertation supervisor.

Concise subject line :

The purpose of a subject line is to summarize the epost and get the reader interested. Use a short, clear summary to reinforce your call to action.

Connections :

Make sure you mention any connection you may have with the supervisor. Did you hear the professor speak at an event, or were you referred to them by a former student or their colleague?

Keep it relevant :

Dissertation supervisors are usually engaged, so stick to what is pertinent to the dissertation. For instance, do not add personal anecdotes to your e-post to dissertation supervisor unless they are essential to the application.

Do not ask long, complex questions in the e-post to dissertation supervisor :

Save any complicated questions for when you can speak to your supervisor more personally. This will allow you to get detailed answers and follow up where you are dissatisfied with a response. You will also save your supervisor the time and effort needed to write replies to your questions.

Have a clear CTA (Call to Action):

Your e-post to dissertation supervisor should be very clear and leave no doubt about what you want from them. Ask your questions as clearly as possible. You are more likely to get a faster response if your supervisor is clear on what you want.

Introduce yourself :

After requesting to work with them, introduce yourself briefly. Include your institution of study, research interests and why you are interested in working with them. We also recommend attaching your resume to the epost.

Respond as quickly as you can:

Confirm any appointments your supervisor makes, provide any information they request, answer their questions and request clarification on what you don’t understand. Taking the initiative to contact your supervisor shows that you are serious and driven. Contact your supervisor to arrange an appointment instead of waiting for them to set it.

E-post to dissertation supervisor: No reply

Supervisors will usually always respond to your eposts; however, the reply rate may vary. Do not take it personally if they do not respond to your epost immediately. Researchers also teach research and travel, and may even supervise other students.

If you don’t receive a reply in about a week, you can follow up politely. However, be careful not to look too impatient by not allowing your supervisor sufficient time to reply.

If your supervisor still does not respond after your follow-up e-post, you can contact your programme or the department secretary, who can contact you with your supervisor.

How should you approach a dissertation supervisor?

Your first e-post to dissertation supervisor should clearly state who you are and what you would like from them. It is beneficial also to mention how you heard of them, whether by attending their lectures, by recommendation, or another way.

When can I address my dissertation supervisor informally?

In your first e-post to dissertation supervisor, address them formally by their title to avoid giving the impression of unprofessionalism. If your supervisor responds with an informal closing severally, you may assume that it is alright to address them as so.

Can I contact other potential supervisors?

Yes, you can. However, when sending an e-post to dissertation supervisor, you should make it clear from the beginning that you are also contacting other potential supervisors.

This transparency will help you avoid any misunderstandings in the future.

What should I do if I don't get a reply to my e-post to dissertation supervisor?

The response speed will vary among supervisors, as most are often engaged with other commitments. Wait for about a week, then send a polite follow-up e-post to dissertation supervisor.

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Tips for contacting a thesis supervisor

When you are emailing a potential thesis supervisor it’s important that your communications are professional – first impressions matter! Your email should be formal, in many ways similar to a job application letter. Below are some tips to help you get off to a good start.

Email etiquette

• Start with a proper salutation such as “Dear” (not “Hey”)
• Use the academic’s first name or title and surname (e.g., Lauren or A/Prof. Kark)
• Conclude your email with a formal sign-off such as “Kind regards” or “Sincerely”

Introduce yourself

• Provide the academic with an overview about yourself – what you are studying, the research area or topic you are interested in and when you hope to start your thesis
• Provide a brief statement about why you’re interested in the topic or area and what you think you might bring to the project
• Remember to show your eligibility and enthusiasm!
• In your email suggest a meeting to further discuss the project
• Thank the academic for their time and consideration
• Be patient if you don’t hear from the academic immediately. If there is no reply after a week or two, it may be worth sending a polite follow-up email

UG Thesis FAQs

Visit this section for general information about the Undergraduate Thesis.

How to build a relationship with your supervisor before the thesis work begins

Starting the lines of communication early will lighten your emotional load by having someone already in your corner once the writing starts.

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The most important relationship you’ll have throughout your graduate school career is with your thesis supervisor. Your supervisor is the person who shepherds you through your thesis project, checks in on your progress and gives you advice on the direction of your research. However, it is important to start developing a relationship with your supervisor early on – before your thesis work even begins. You will be facing a lot of new hurdles as you begin your graduate career that are difficult to tackle alone. While other students can, and should, be a strong support network, your supervisor is the one who can support you in all areas of your program.

Determine what you need from the relationship

Before you meet with your supervisor, and before your studies begin, it is useful to determine what you need from your supervisor-supervisee relationship. This will vary depending on your field, program and thesis project type. If your work is in a natural scientific field and is lab-based, you will likely be working closely with your supervisor from the beginning. However, if you are in a humanities program that begins with courses (and thesis research starting later), then you may not need to be in frequent communication with your supervisor for a while.

However, a supervisor can still help you with more than just your final project. Ideally, your supervisor can also guide you through all aspects of the graduate experience. For example, some supervisors will advise their students on what elective classes to choose to best complement the research they will be doing for their thesis. Your supervisor will know the research being done by their colleagues within the department and can recommend courses so that you have the most stimulating classwork possible.

The next potential step of your academic process you will need to discuss with your supervisor is grant applications. If you are applying for a federal or provincial grant such as SSHRC or FRQSC , you will likely require your supervisor’s guidance to put together a well-written proposal. As these grants require an explanation of your research project, it is important to keep your supervisor up to date on your thesis plans. Even if the initial proposal in the grant application is subject to change (as many of these grants allow) your supervisor can help determine what information needs to be included. Further, since these grants require reference letters, your supervisor may want to sign off on what you are proposing, putting them in a better position to write a more robust letter for you.

Plan the initial meeting

Next, when planning the initial meeting, you’ll want to determine whether you would like a face-to-face meeting or a Zoom call. A Zoom call may be best if your supervisor is stretched between many responsibilities such as field research, running a lab, instructing, etc. However, you may not get as strong of a sense of their communication style and the conversation may be a bit more stilted. If this is a concern for you, you can instead try to request an in-person meeting. While this will may be harder to organize before the semester starts, having your initial meeting face-to-face can help you feel more comfortable around your supervisor if you are nervous about starting this relationship.

Discuss your communication style

The next step is to figure out what your academic communication style is. While understanding this will help you in all manner of academic and professional settings, it is especially important to make sure the expectations of your relationship with your supervisor are clear to both of you, which will help avoid any problematic miscommunications down the road.

Would you like a more sporadic email relationship? Longer monthly meetings? Determining this will help you and your supervisor know the best ways to contact one another. For some, a more informal email chain is useful for quick questions, but it can also feel overwhelmingly constant. Others like scheduled meetings to debrief, as it can help you feel more productive to reflect on the work of an entire month. However, this may also be too infrequent at certain points of the graduate process. Discuss what will work best for both of you.

Plan a tentative timeline for your thesis

Even though you have just started your program, it can still be helpful to discuss, in broad strokes, what you want the next few years to look like. In this conversation, you can talk about when you would ideally like to have major milestones of your project done (i.e. proposal defense, data collection, final defense). Even though nothing is set in stone, and research tends to take longer than you imagine, your supervisor can help set healthy expectations for how your process will look. Knowing your ideal schedule will help both of you orient where your work efforts should go. Further, in this conversation, make sure your supervisor knows your weekly schedule so you can coordinate with each other over the entirety of your degree.

It is important to start building a strong supervisor relationship early, when you are less bogged down by thesis work, so once that time comes, they know how to support you. Starting this line of communication early will lighten your emotional load by having someone already in your corner once the thesis writing starts.

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November 16, 2022

How to write an to thesis supervisor email with an email template

How to reply to an to thesis supervisor email with an email template, how to write email to thesis supervisor using our email template.

Learn how to write better to thesis supervisor emails with our tips and templates.

Learn how to reply to to thesis supervisor emails with our tips and templates.

Learn how to write email to thesis supervisor using our tips and template

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Enrichment Programs

Individualized & Interdisciplinary Studies Program

Guide for thesis supervisors.

Thank you for supervising an individualized major senior thesis project. Your expertise is critical in guiding the student’s project and setting the criteria for its evaluation. The guidelines below outline some considerations particular to individualized major students. They are most appropriate for traditional research projects but may also be relevant to less traditional final projects.

All individualized majors complete a capstone, which provides them an opportunity to integrate knowledge they have acquired during the course of their majors. About 40-45 percent of individualized majors do so by completing a thesis. (The rest complete our capstone course or an approved alternative.)

Thesis projects usually take the form of a traditional research study, but other formats, such as a photo essay, film, website, or piece of creative writing are also possible. Thesis projects, whatever their form, should contribute to the development of knowledge or practice in new ways, involve significant background research, and require sustained attention in the implementation of the project. If the final product takes a less traditional form, it should include a piece of writing that describes the student’s learning process.

Thesis Courses

Some thesis projects will comprise six credits completed over the course of two semesters. This is mandatory for students completing Honors Scholar requirements in their individualized major. Non-honors students may complete a one-semester, three-credit thesis project. Students intending to complete a thesis project must submit a thesis proposal  which they have discussed with their thesis supervisor no later than the last day of classes of the semester before they begin their thesis.

In the social sciences and humanities : In the Fall semester of the senior year, students will typically begin their research by enrolling in a thesis-related research seminar, graduate course, or independent study in their thesis supervisor’s department. During the Spring semester, students will enroll in UNIV 4697W Senior Thesis (for which the thesis supervisor serves as instructor) in which they will complete the research and write the thesis. During this process, the student meets regularly with the thesis supervisor for feedback on data collection, evidence gathering, analysis, and writing.

In the sciences , students may follow a more extended sequence, perhaps two to three semesters of data collection and laboratory work (independent studies or research courses) followed by thesis writing (UNIV 4697W) in the final semester.

Learning Outcomes

Individual faculty will differ in expectations regarding research methodology, theoretical approaches, and presentation of findings. Nonetheless, there are some general criteria and intended learning outcomes for all individualized major thesis projects.

• The student’s research, analysis, and writing on the thesis project should be relevant to their individualized major and represent an opportunity for them to integrate and deepen at least several aspects of study in the major.
• A thesis should do more than summarize the existing literature on a particular topic. It should make an original contribution to the field of study, present new findings in the form of new data, or new, critical interpretations of existing material. It should reflect a good command of the research methodologies in the relevant discipline(s).

Upon completion of the thesis project the student should be able to:

• Define a research question and design a substantial research project.
• Select a methodological approach to address the research question.
• Identify appropriate sources and collect relevant and reliable data that addresses the research question.
• Analyze the strengths and limitations of different scholarly approaches to the question, and recognize the resulting interpretative conflicts.
• Develop an argument that is sustained by the available evidence
• Present that argument in a clear, well-organized manner.

Requirements for Honors Students

As noted above, all Honors students are expected to complete at least six credits of thesis-relevant coursework. In addition, all Honors students are expected to have a second reader and make a public presentation of their thesis project.

Public Presentation

Honors students are required to make a public presentation of their thesis research in a format negotiated with the thesis supervisor. Existing departmental exhibitions or “Frontiers in Undergraduate Research” make excellent venues for student presentations. If a student cannot find a venue for his or her presentation, please consult with IISP and we will help to coordinate one.

Note: Although non-Honors students who are completing a thesis are not required to have a second reader or make a public presentation, we would certainly welcome them to do so.

Honors Advising

An IISP staff member serves as Honors Advisor to each individualized major following an Honors Scholar plan of study. The staff member’s role as an Honors advisor is to coordinate and facilitate students’ plans for completing Honors Scholar requirements, including the thesis, and to monitor progress toward completion.

Thesis Course Registration

Specific instructions for registering for UNIV 4697W are available on the Capstone page .

We very much appreciate your willingness to supervise an individualized major’s senior thesis. If you have any questions about the Individualized Major Program or about supervising an individualized major thesis, please contact IISP staff .

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Getting the most out of thesis supervision meetings

Chances are that postgraduate students meet their thesis supervisor/s only every few weeks, and for a limited amount of time. Therefore, it is extremely important to take full advantage of supervision meetings. The following tips help bachelor’s, master’s and PhD students to make the most of thesis supervision meetings.

What can you expect from a thesis supervisor?

A thesis supervisor supports and guides you through writing your thesis. However, ultimately you are responsible for your work.

What this role division means in practice is that students cannot expect their thesis supervisor/s to tell them exactly what to do. And the thesis supervisor/s will not simply provide students with solutions to their challenges on a silver platter.

Taking charge of thesis supervision meetings

Considering that students are ultimately responsible for their thesis, they do benefit from taking charge of supervision meetings.

Pre-meeting updates, a meeting agenda and strategy for note-taking, as well as post-meeting action points, help students to get the most out of thesis supervision meetings.

Each of these points will be explained in more detail below. Combined, they offer concrete and repeatable structure to prepare, take part in, and summarise thesis supervision meetings.

Pre-meeting progress updates before thesis supervision meetings

Both master’s and PhD thesis supervisors tend to supervise many students at the same time. They might lose track of the progress of individual students. Progress updates before a meeting help to bring everyone up to date.

And of course, if you have written text for review, make sure to give your supervisor/s enough time to review it. Supervisors have busy agendas. So don’t hand in the written text an hour or a day before the meeting.

Agendas and note-taking strategies during thesis supervision meetings

In addition to the agenda, explain what your key objectives are for the meeting. Then, ask if your supervisor/s would like to add points to the agenda. Edit the agenda on the spot so that all points and objectives are reflected.

Either take your time to take proper notes by hand or ask all parties present whether it is okay to record the meeting. You will thank yourself later.

Post-meeting action points after thesis supervision meetings

Why? Because there is a chance that you misunderstood each other. Asking your supervisors for brief feedback on your action points provides an extra layer of security. It shows whether you are on the same page and whether you are moving in the right direction.

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5 Mistakes Your Thesis Supervisor May Never Forgive

June 8, 2015 by Dora Farkas, PhD 4 Comments

Your Thesis Supervisor May Not Appreciate Your Work Experience

Sam thought that graduate school would be a piece of cake. He already had six years of industry experience and he believed that he could finish his thesis sooner than his peers who came to the program right after college.

His first two years went smooth as he aced his courses, passed his qualifiers and designed a realistic project with his thesis supervisor that could be completed in 4 years. In his third year Sam decided to take his project in a different direction than what he had agreed upon with his thesis supervisor , because he thought it would be more likely to lead to a publication in a prestigious journal.

Feeling confident in himself after having been in industry for so long, Sam worked on his project solo, without giving updates to her supervisor.  Sam’s thesis supervisor was an assistant professor with limited funding, and when he realized that the project was going in a different direction he gave Sam a warning to go back to their original plan.

Sam did return to the original project, but also worked on his own idea on the side using up his supervisor’s lab supplies. Sam wanted to collect enough preliminary data to convince his supervisor that his idea was “dynamite, ” and he exchanged several emotional emails with his supervisor to get his support.

At their next meeting Sam’s supervisor gave him an ultimatum: unless he returned to their original plan and met their milestones (which were quite ambitious) he would be let go from their group.

Sam was already at the end of his 3rd year and he didn’t want to start from scratch with another professor, so he abandoned his “pet project” and returned to his original thesis.

Ironically,  Sam was the last to finish in her class (after a total of 7 years) despite his extensive industry experience, because he lost so much time on his side-project.

How to Avoid Five Mistakes That Could Cost You Your PhD

Mistake #1: openly disrespecting your supervisor.

Sam’s industry experience gave him false self-confidence, and he thought he knew things better than his thesis supervisor who was a junior faculty member. Instead of listening to his supervisor about the importance of staying with his current project,  Sam “talked down” to his supervisor during meetings, and tried to prove why his project was better.

Not only did this mistake damage their relationship, but it also delayed his supervisor’s publications and jeopardized his funding.

What you can do :

While disrespecting your supervisor will surely damage your professional relationship, disagreeing politely can actually help you gain more respect . In graduate school you are expected to learn how to become an independent researcher, and questioning the standard way of doing things is a sign that you are an original thinker.

If you disagree with your supervisor’s idea (or anyone else’s for that matter), first listen to their point of view before speaking up.  There are researchers (we all know who they are), who just want to be heard and they speak up at every meeting.  It is not necessary to force yourself to say things just for the sake of speaking up.

You are much more likely to gain other people’s respect if you hear them out completely before expressing your own thoughts, whether you agree with them or not.

How do you draw the line between disagreeing and disrespecting?

If you become emotional or defensive during a meeting , you are heading in the direction of disrespect. No matter what others say you.  can always stay, cool, calm and collected (the 3C’s) and focus on solving the problem.

Mistake #2: Keeping your supervisor in the dark about changes or progress on your work

One of the most frequent sources of miscommunication is that students do not have a good understanding of what their supervisor’s expectations are – how often should they report progress and when should they ask for help?

Some supervisors are hands-on and like to be updated frequently on your progress, while others trust you to reach out to them when you need help. There is not right style of management, you just need to make sure that your supervisor’s personality is the right fit for you.

Sam’s first mistake was that he kept his supervisor in the dark about his progress, because he did not realize that his research was crucial to his supervisor’s funding.  Had he communicated more openly about his progress, Sam could have avoided a potentially disastrous situation.

What you can do:

If you already have a supervisor and you realize that their expectations do not meet your work style (e.g. he expects updates frequently, and you would like more independence), you need to have a meeting to clarify when he would like to updated on your progress, and respect his expectations.

It is always better to err on the side of sending updates more frequently to avoid miscommunication that could delay your publications or graduation date.

Mistake #3: Working on a side project without your supervisor’s approval

While you are expected to take leadership of your thesis, if you are using your thesis supervisor’s funding and resources, they still “own” the project. In addition, they are responsible for the research in their group, and they need to make sure that it is ethical and in alignment with their funding sources.

Some supervisors, particularly the ones with plenty of funding, allow their students to pursue side projects, as long the main project is still on track. In Sam’s case, his side project took up most of his time, and it also depleted his groups’ resources.

Going off in a research direction that you think is interesting (while neglecting your actual thesis topic) is a type of “shiny object syndrome.” Perhaps you come across a paper or a new technique, and you want to try it on your own. As an independent researcher, you don’t always need to consult with your supervisor before you try something new.

The problem occurs when this new “side project” becomes a significant time and resource sink, and you fall behind on your milestones (not to mention that you will upset your supervisor too).

If you come across a novel idea that you think could become part of your thesis, run it by your advisor before spending a significant amount of time (or money) on it. Don’t assume that just because you think this research is interesting, your supervisor will, too. (Perhaps he or she has tried it in the past and chose not to pursue it for good reason.)

Mistake #4: Sending emotional emails

This is probably the most common mistake, because people (especially professors) are so tough to reach in person or by phone, that students have to resort to communication by e-mail.

When you send an emotional email, where you describe why you are angry or frustrated, it can upset your supervisor because he or she cannot sense your tone of voice. There is no way to tell how angry you really are, and you may leave out important details that could help your supervisor solve your problem.

Sam was so focused on getting his project to work that he used email as his primary source of communication with his supervisor instead of meeting with him in person. Since Sam was experienced and his side-project was promising, it is likely that they could have come to an agreement if they had a live conversation.

However, since they communicated mostly by email, Sam’s thesis supervisor assumed that Sam had no interest in doing his original thesis project. His impression was that Sam focused solely on his side-project, used up his resources, and he was very close to letting Sam go from the group.

What you can do: 

I usually recommend that you use emails for “neutral” topics, such as sending documents or setting up a time to meet.  While professors are busy, what I found interesting, is that when students become more assertive and ask for a time to meet over email (instead of discussing the issues over email), most supervisors find at least 15 minutes either in person or over the phone.

What surprised students even more was that once they met with their supervisors in person, it was easier to reach an agreement than communicating back and forth via email. Nobody likes conflict, or direct confrontation, and when you meet with them in person they are more likely to come to an agreement, than if you had communicated over email.

  Mistake #5: Plagiarizing or not giving credit where it is due

Sam did not make this mistake, but I did know other students who came close to being let go from their program because they (intentionally or unintentionally) copied information from another paper, or presented someone else’s data as their own. When you review 50-100 papers for a literature search, it is tough to keep all your references straight.

As you begin writing, the text in your literature review might sound very close to some of the papers you read. In fact, your sentences and word choice might be so close that your thesis supervisor might question whether you “lifted” off some paragraphs, or worse, he or she may accuse you of plagiarism (one of the worst offenses in an academic environment). 

Whether it was intentional or not, if your paper is too close to someone else’s, it will reflect very poorly on your performance and could ruin your reputation for years.

Keep all the information from your references organized electronically. Since most of your references will be in electronic format such as pdf’s, you can highlight or box the information within the pdf itself. You can then group your references by category in different folders. This way, whenever you come across a new reference you can highlight the necessary information in the pdf, and then save it right away in the appropriate folder.

This practice will ensure that when it is time to write your literature review, you can pull up the corresponding files right away and see what information you want to use. You can then paraphrase this information appropriately (and include the references) so that  you avoid any chances of being accused of “lifting” off or plagiarism.

Also, if you collaborate with others (inside or outside your group) keep very clear records of who generated what data. If you need to present or publish the data, you must give credit to the person who generated it, as well as their group leader.

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"Topic accepted!" - the perfect cover letter for the supervisor

The supervisor reads the email carefully from start to finish. A student wanted to write her bachelor’s thesis with him, but he was busy with many thesis projects. But somehow the email was formulated differently and drew his attention.

The student justified the topic with her experiences and how she intends to proceed. She even mentioned appropriate sources... This will be a well done thesis, he thought and clicked on the reply button. He wrote back briefly suggesting a phone call...

That's the way it has to be!  Follow this procedure and your cover letter will convince the supervisor to accept your thesis project.

What does a supervisor want?

• A current, relevant, scientific and feasible topic.
• A good text at the end.
• An efficient supervision.
• Your goal is to get the green light for the topic and thus the acceptance of your official thesis start.

Let's go through the contents of the cover letter.

1. Subject in the cover letter

The email should make a good impression immediately and the subject must be visible. So, write a clear subject. There are some good formulations but a lot of bad ones so take a look at them BEFORE contacting your supervisor.

2. Salutation in the cover letter

Be polite and make sure to use the appropriate title, even with staff members! There are fixed formulas. Professors and PhDs have worked hard for their titles, so they take this very seriously. You should do the same and it’s better not make any mistakes so familiarize yourself with the right formulations.

Tip: Write the following greeting: "Dear Professor Sample" and not “Dear Prof. Dr. Sample”

3. Starting point for the cover letter

• History is important. Refer to a previous interview and thank them for their willingness to supervise you.
• If you still haven’t received a response from them, this is more difficult, but it works.
• Give a good reason why you chose her or him.
• Think about HIS / HER point of view. Everyone likes that. The goal is to get to the heart of the motive without "sucking up". Polished formulations bring success. Some phrases should be left out, so they don’t show you in a bad light! Better avoid them.

4. Topic found for the Bachelor’s thesis or Master’s Thesis

I have found an interesting topic in your research area Alpha.

The subject is:

Effects of chocolate consumption on the motivation of students during examination phases

5. My question for the bachelor’s or master’s thesis is...

The subject alone is not enough. Concretely show that you know what you will find out in the end. Write your research question in the cover letter. That's what supervisors like to see. It shows YOUR systematic approach and thus promises on the one hand a good job, and on the other hand a manageable amount of support. No one has time to waste.

Questions also make people curious and can be a good start to your relationship :-)

6. Your motivation for the topic of the thesis

For God's sake, don't tell your life story. Don't list all your short-term jobs for the Alpha magazine... Just briefly show your relation to the topic. Two sentences are enough, but they have to have an impact.

7. Your approach

Describe very briefly HOW you want to answer the question and which methods you will use to do so.

Anything is possible, even ONE expert interview in a non-empirical literature thesis. The own results of the analyses can be discussed with the expert. The knowledge gained from this will be incorporated into the text.

8. Main chapter of the thesis

List only briefly the main chapters, i.e. the initial chapters. You should not have more than 6 main chapters.

9. Confirmation

Please confirm that this topic is ok for your bachelor’s or master’s thesis

There are different approaches here.

A) if you have already had a previous conversation about the topic

B) if you still haven’t spoken about the topic

With the right formulations for both variants, you will ensure clarity right from the first contact. You will get the green light and will not have to talk about your approach again and again.

10. Registration procedure for the Bachelor’s thesis or Master’s thesis

NEVER ask for formal information that is already on his/her site or which can be obtained from the Examination Office. Be prepared and know the formalities.

According to information from XXXX (website or examination office or assistant ...), registration can be made by February XX. I would like to apply for this appointment.

By doing this, you signal your seriousness once again.

11. The end in the cover letter

Make it clear that you only want a short answer.

If you basically agree with the proposed topic, please send me a short message. I will then ... (prepare the registration, formulate the proposal, write the introduction, come to the office etc.)

Be sure to add the following contact information. You never know. Maybe he or she will give you a quick call...

• Mobile number:

Good luck writing your text!

Silvio and the Aristolo Team

PS: Check out the Thesis-ABC and the Thesis Guide for writing a bachelor or master thesis in 31 days.

• Academic Calendar

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You are here, supervision and assessment, finding a supervisor.

• Always use the bachelor thesis matching system of "Collent" .  The information of possible supervisors in the bachelor thesis matching system is based on information provided by staff members in the planning system.  
• Tip: astonish your potential supervisor by having ready a topic and motivate your choice with a fitting research question, and, if you apply by email, by being able to apply the hints given in the handbook writing skills.
• Some staff members accept one or more students to write the bachelor thesis about an empirical research, and even if it does not pertain to a Marble project.
• If you cannot find a supervisor for your topic, you may want to opt for another topic.  Or use the matching system to find  a staff member who is open to topic suggestions by students. You can submit one thesis request at the same time via the matching system.  
• You can submit a new request for finding a supervisor after your request is expired or declined.  
• After a request submission a supervisor receives reminders on day 2 and day 4. Without a response from the supervisor, the submitted request will be cancelled automatically on day 6.
• For students who failed the bachelor thesis in a previour year, please first read the FAQ   > " I am a second year student and want to start planning or writing my thesis early...." . 

Writing your  thesis at another faculty, in the Netherlands or abroad

Students who write the thesis at another faculty either have a FPN supervisor or an external supervisor. First note that the second assessor is always from FPN. Students with an FPN supervision can scroll up in this document as the procedure for finding a supervisor remain the same. A student who plans to write the thesis under external supervision As an external supervisor is not mentioned in the matching system, the student must make contact. When supervision is a sure thing, please contact fpn-bachelorthesis@maastrichtuniversity.nl , for registration. The second assessor is an FPN staff member.

Assessment criteria