How to email your Professor

This, and other fun things, can be found on Steven Dougherty's website.                                                                

Students and faculty often enjoy close and personal relationships. However, students and professors alike all deserve a level of respect. As such, a basic level of professionalism is expected to be present in all of your interactions with faculty. Before emailing your professor, be sure to follow some simple guidelines:


Be professional: Your professors think very highly of you. Show them the  same respect. Many of them are highly respected scholars in their field and have published amazing original research.

Most of them hold the highest degree in their field (Ph.D., etc.) and should be  addressed "Dr." or "Professor" unless they request otherwise. When you enter the workforce, it will be very helpful for you to interact with colleagues at a base level of professionalism. It is always better to err on the side of formalism than to jump to a level of informalism.

 *Begin your email by greeting your professor by name. For example, "Hi Dr.  Jones," or "Dear Professor McScholarly, " is much more professional than "Hey" or no greeting at all.

 

Be coherent: Take the time to read through your email and ensure that it is free of spelling or grammar mistakes. Otherwise your email may seem rushed or lazily written. This will be valuable when you enter the workforce.

Most professional correspondence today is done by email and people tend to misread the tone of your message when it is poorly written.

 

Be polite: Particularly, do not be demanding. Your professors spend a great deal of time on their teaching, service and scholarly obligations outside of the classroom. Your email will likely be answered quickly if it is courteous.

 

Sign your name: Fully identify yourself. This shows that you care enough about the content of the email to put your name on it. This is especially important if your email address does not identify who you are. If your email address is OMGIluvDaGiants92@comcast.net," chances are nobody will know who your email came from unless you identify yourself. Also, if you are in a class that has multiple sections, it can be helpful if you identify the course number and section that you're in (Ex: Math 10-02).