This page is dedicated to students who are interested in working with me in various occasions, such as academic advising, requesting letters, or simply exchanging emails. Also, anyone who wants to email me may find part of it helpful.
(Updated July 2026)
Academic Advising
I am not recently accepting PhD students.
If you are interested in our MA program at Georgetown, welcome to take my courses! While you do not need to reach out before applying, I am delighted to answer questions about the graduate program after your admission.
For History majors at Georgetown, if you are interested in developing your senior thesis with me, I expect that you have taken a research seminar (3000 or above) with me. It is not a requirement, though. -- Note for AY 2026-27: I am on research leave and do not supervise student thesis.
I do tailor my course offering -- at graduate and undergraduate levels -- to student interests and needs, so please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with me.
This information is primarily for students, but anyone who wants to email me may find it helpful.
(1) I receive more emails than you think, and my ability to skim and read between the lines is worse than you think. So if you want to contact me, especially if you want me to do something for you, this guide may help you.
(2) Academia has lots of implicit norms that you are expected to know, but people rarely think to explicitly teach it, unless they have personally experienced the bewilderment of arriving at a new community and not understanding many of the strange customs (read more about the so-called "hidden curriculum" in academia here). Having lived in many countries and navigated many spaces, it is my service to the community to at least explicitly communicate what I expect from an email to me.
-- I share the above two points with Professor Jingyi Wu at London School of Economics, so I borrow her guide (with minor adjustments)
If you are writing an email to ask me to do something for you, you might want to include the following in your email:
(a) Dear Professor Wang or Dr. Wang (or some appropriate way to address me);
Wang (not You) is my family name. Do not address me as Ms./Miss/Mrs./Mr. or any other kind of gendered addresses--you will not get a response. Also, you cannot imagine how many times I was addressed as Mr. Wang or, in Chinese, 王兄.
(b) Some pleasantries (optional);
(c) Who you are and where we (may) have met (if you suspect I may not know you well or at all), or any good news or pleasant things you've encountered (if you suspect I know you well, optional);
(d) The nature of your request (new paragraph, if possible);
(e) When do you need the task to be done from me (bold the date, if possible);
(f) When do you need an email response from me informing you whether I can do the task (if your tasks is urgent, or if the task you request need longer to complete, and you'd like to know whether I can do it earlier; bold the date, if possible);
(h) Your sign-off.
If you are not in a rush, unless you are truly fine with me taking my time, please do not just say "take your time". I take words at face value. You can say things like "I'm not in a rush, but I expect to get around to revising this in 2 months."
If you are writing on behalf of an academic institution with resources, I would appreciate it if you compensate me for my labor, especially if you are inviting me for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related activities, or if you are inviting me because there are not that many people in academia who look like me (read more on the so-called "minority tax"). Also, as a U.S. Resident Alien in H1B status, I cannot receive honoraria outside of my approved employment Georgetown University.
I might say no, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
If you are writing an email to tell me how awesome I am, please just send it in whatever form you like! It is always a delight to receive such an email. I may not respond though (due to the sheer number of emails), but please know that I love receiving those emails.
Please also note that I write in an assertive and direct way. If you are startled to receive such an email from me, but not from a Chinese/white man, you may want to take the implicit bias test.
Email Etiquette
How much turnaround time should be expected for your requests?
(Adopted from the guide of Professor Jingyi Wu)
Sign a form: 2 business days.
Meet with me other than office hours: 1 week. (Please provide a few slots that work for you.)
Answer some classificatory/admin questions from you/do some admin tasks for you: 3 business days.
Answer some contentful/research questions from you: 1 week (I may ask to meet with you to go over if an email is too complicated).
Read a draft paper: 3 weeks.
Write a reference letter (more details below).
Even for urgent tasks, do not ever expect a response from me within 1 business day. -- I sometimes respond quickly, but that should not be the expectation.
Typically requesting a response within 2-3 business days is fine. I will try my best to respond within the requested time. Note that I do not work on weekends, nor on Fridays during winter. I do not have my work email installed on my phone.
If you have sent an email to me written according to this guide, but you have not heard from me within the requested time, please kindly send me a reminder.
Note for AY 2026-27: As I am on research leave and mostly in China, I may not be able to access my Georgetown email regularly; please expect significant delays in my response.
Q: When's the best time to send that email so you have enough notice?
A: 1 month for the first time. I require sufficient time to review your academic performance and thoughtfully highlight your strengths; I also need time to schedule the letter writing.
1 week for letter submission without revision. I also encourage you to use Interfolio for grad school applications.
Q: Will you write a strong letter for me?
A: I will write an honest letter based on your performance. I am open to discussing my assessment; if you are concerned about the letter's impact, just ask this question directly.
Q: What information shall I provide when I request a letter?
A: Your course assignments, ideally with my comments (if you took courses with me more than a year ago). Even if you took courses with me recently, your course paper with my (handwritten) comments will be very helpful for me to recall details of your performance.
Other than your CV/resume, you do not need to provide other application materials (such as personal statement, and cover letter) while asking for a letter, but please send me ASAP once you have a decent draft and at least two weeks before the deadline.
Reference Letters Q&A