Should You Email a Professor Before You Apply?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and the answer depends on the program, not just the field.

Of the programs we checked that state a policy, 26 encourage contact before you apply, 4 require you to find a faculty sponsor or supervisor, 23 say it makes no difference, and 15 ask you not to. Economics leans hard toward no: 7 of the 12 economics programs we checked ask applicants not to contact faculty about admission.

Where contact helps, it's usually because a professor admits students into a funded lab. That's common in engineering and in mentor-model psychology programs. Biomedical programs with lab rotations usually don't need it.

If you do write, keep it short: who you are, one specific paper or project of theirs you've read, the research you've done, and a clear question, usually whether they're taking students. Write each email yourself, to one professor at a time. Faculty notice identical messages, and they say so publicly.

Our faculty finder shows each program's stated policy beside its faculty, and our email builder walks you through the parts of a good inquiry. You write every word.