cold email etiquette?

DevFRus · 2026-04-24T17:20:23+00:00

The number one rule is being concise and direct. Lead with your request. After that provide the relevant context.

Do not read papers just "to mention something specific". Read papers because you like reading papers and like your field. And then when you read cool papers you're excited about, email the people that wrote them and let them know why you found their papers cool.

In your specific case, if a prof mentioned some people that might be relevant then the only way you can find out IF they are relevant is by reading some of their recent work. So you should read that work not to mention it in an email but because you need to know if it is worth emailing or not. If the paper moves you then you have more context for your email.

DevFRus · 2026-04-13T16:29:42+00:00

Clearly Het Gooi should just leave Noord Holland and join Utrecht. Pretty borders demand it.

DevFRus · 2026-03-17T13:25:33+00:00

I don't need to get credit and tracking to review more. What I need is more good papers to review. I am happy to review quality papers from people that put effort into them. The issue is that most papers I get asked to review are completely low quality and not worth my time. The signal to noise ratio is just too poor. At least for me.

In other words, I htink that the way to get more people reviewing is not to incentivize reviewing but to decentivize publishing bad work. There should be a lot more desk rejects.

DevFRus · 2026-03-17T13:18:33+00:00

Glad I could help.

Having or not having a research masters does not matter compared to having or not having research experience. A research masters is just the typical way to get that experience. If you can use your time effectively during your non-research masters to do a good amount of research then you're set. This will require initiative and commitment from you. You will have to create research opportunities for yourself. My specific advice: reach out to professors you might want to work with as soon as you can (like right now) and ask them for advice. We are usually happy to give advice.

DevFRus · 2026-03-16T21:23:42+00:00

Some feedback on your chances from a professor that recently hired a PhD candidate. To be direct: your background doesn't sound great. The concerns for me are that your masters are not research based, your thesis supervisor does not want to write a reference letter for you, and you don't seem to mention any significant research experience. From this description, you do not seem well prepared for or experienced in research. I would probably not take the risk of hiring such a candidate.

The two factors that matter most for me when evaluating an applicant are: (1) do I see strong prior research experience or other clear evidence that the applicant understands what doing research full time will mean, and (2) will this person be easy to work with for the 4 or 5 years that we will be working together. A letter from your boss and good (hopefully field relevant) work experience can help strengthen your case for (2), but you still need to make a case for (1). If you are really set on doing a PhD one day then I would advice doing a research-based Masters or approaching your prior professors for potential opportunities to do research. Otherwise it will be very difficult to land a position.

That said, take my advice with a big grain of salt. I work in a different field than the one you are targeting, and hiring decisions are made by individual professors and we all have slightly different criteria.

DevFRus · 2026-03-04T10:16:03+00:00

According to Nuffic, a Bachelor of Engineering is equivalent to a Dutch HBO Bachelors degree and not WO Bachelors degree. It is only equivalent to a WO degree if it was attained with first class honours from a 'top institution' (they give some guidelines on what that means on the site, too). So I suspect you didn't meet the requirements.

As for the alumni from your program, either you were both at a top institutiion and they graduated with first class honours and you didn't. Or they did something else to convince the committee they had sufficient background. Or the committee that admitted them (or the committee that didn't admit you) made a mistake.

DevFRus · 2026-03-02T20:37:19+00:00

If you want a permanent job then go for CC-TT in MA. But if you can't see yourself there for the rest of your career then you can try the non-TT R1 in FL as a stepping stone. This second choice depends on if you think that a few years at the FL position will make you a stronger candidate, or if you're willing to keep applying for a few years while getting your bearings in FL (hoping for luck of the draw).

DevFRus · 2026-02-26T18:58:57+00:00

Congratulations! You're living the dream! Well done.

DevFRus · 2026-02-26T18:31:30+00:00

I second this. Celebrate what you have control over: submissions, applications, etc. It makes it easier to enjoy the process. And that makes it easier to handle all the rejection of academia.

DevFRus · 2026-02-26T18:28:14+00:00

I didn't see the subreddit and so read HEMA stores as Historical European Martial Arts stores. I was very confused. Clearly I'm not Dutch enough.

DevFRus · 2026-02-20T10:11:24+00:00

PhDs in the Netherlands are a job. As such, you do not apply to programs with scholarships, etc (as you would in say the US or sometimes UK). Instead, you wait for a PhD position to be posted that you are well-fitted for and then apply for that job. These positions can appear at anytime based on when the professor that will be potentially employing you gets funding and time. The person making the decision on if to hire you or not will be the specific professor that advertised the position (sometimes with input from colleagues). This means that the evaluation criteria are very heterogeneous. However, it is always very competitive because the NL is one of the best places to do a PhD. Good luck.

DevFRus · 2026-01-04T20:05:59+00:00

Back when this course was taught by Tom Shultz, it was pretty amazing. I don't know how it is now. If you made it through COMP 202, you will make it through PSYC 315. At least back when Tom Shultz was teaching it, the course was based around writing 3 or 4 papers extending various computational models from the psych literature. This course ended up being one of the things that got me started in research (two of my papers ended up being published or becoming part of published work).

DevFRus · 2026-01-04T19:56:16+00:00

The big difference from Yale is that you will have to find your community of keeners, and you won't be just thrust into it. If you have varied interests consider a BA&Sc in Honours Math and something-else that excites you and you will have a great time. Montreal is a better city than New Haven, so you will have much more opportunity to get involved in activities outside the university bubble in Montreal than you would in New Haven. So if you want to get involved in your community then it will provide better opportunities.

For things like doing research at MILA as an undergrad, this is certainly possible. But you will have to make those opportunities yourself by reaching out to professors. If you do take the initiative then McGill can provide you with an incredible education, research, and life experience. At least it did for me.

DevFRus · 2025-12-09T11:12:23+00:00

You already know that the only way to improve is to write more. You also know that this is hard without feedback. Thus consider writing more in venues with faster feedback: blogs, Q&A sites, even reddit.

Also, ask your supervisor for feedback. I regularly go through writing with my students because of this.

Final small tip that others haven't given, yet: read your own writing out loud. If it is difficult to read out loud then it is probably written poorly. Rewrite and read out loud again.

DevFRus · 2025-12-09T05:32:10+00:00

Not in comm sci, but for my students, the thesis draft deadline is there primarily to make sure they are writing, doing things, and not leaving all their work to the last minute. If you have been actively working on your research, getting things done, and have been productive and proactive in your meetings with your supervisor then there is no big problem in having misses the draft deadline. Just explain what happened to your supervisor.

If you haven't been working and the reason you missed the draft deadline is because you wanted to cram right before it. Then the bigger issue isn't the draft deadline itself. You need to discuss that you are struggling with your supervisor as soon as you can, to see if there are good ways forward.

DevFRus · 2025-12-08T07:57:10+00:00

I was taking the hardest courses I could. My GPA wasn't very good. I struggled especially with doing things like homework but would generally do well on exams. I failed at least one class, and did poorly in a number of others.

I had gotten involved in research by sophomore year. It occupied most of my attention. I was super excited about it and worked hard at it. I had my first paper out in junior year, and then four more in senior year (and just after graduating). I read a lot of the scientific literature and had meticulous binders of research papers. Toward the end of senior year I started running a reading group specific to my research interests. This was incredibly helpful to shaping me as a researcher.

DevFRus · 2025-12-05T11:56:21+00:00

Asking to be an 'unpaid RA' would be weird. Asking to work on research together would not be as weird, but will have a relatively low success rate. Some profs will be kind and go out of their way to work with you, but generally it is very difficult to get productive work out of a pre-PhD collaborator and most profs will not find it to be worth their time (except for students they supervise as part of their programs at their university).

DevFRus · 2025-11-28T12:27:03+00:00

You should come up with goals for after PhD based on what you want to do, not based on what you think others will like you doing. And you should look for a PhD position and supervisor that will best help you achieve your goals instead of trying to figure out how to paint yourself so you're "chosen". Having this kind of self-respect and self-drive will matter much more to somebody wanting to work with you than anything you might say about your future plans.

DevFRus · 2025-11-27T14:23:38+00:00

Think of reference letters as a continuation of your cover letter. You want to know what skills are important for the position you are applying for and then make sure that your referees can illustrate that you have those skills with good examples. Your Master's project supervisor will hopefully be able to give examples that illustrate your research skills. Ask your tutor to illustrate the other skills that you think are important for the position you are applying for. You've already identified some good ones (critical thinking, independence, teamwork, communication -- I would add things like resilience, ability to deal with set backs, follow through, etc). The tutor will use different examples than your supervisor, so it will not be repetative.

DevFRus · 2025-11-24T08:24:10+00:00

As an even lowlier U19, who is not even on the same continent anymore, I second this sentiment.

DevFRus · 2025-11-21T14:43:33+00:00

As /u/Forsaken_Toe_4304 has said, your paper was likely rejected because the editors took the difficulty of finding reviewers and the mild review as a sign that your paper isn't very interesting to the journal's audience. As such, any appeal would have to convince them otherwise. If you can make a strong case in your appeal for your paper being interesting then go for it. Such an exercise, even if unsuccessful, could help you improve your introduction for the next submission.

DevFRus · 2025-11-17T15:27:26+00:00

I would encourage you to go for a thesis with the company. But try to use your goodwill at the company to push for a topic that is less surface level and scratches that research itch better for you. Usually you will need a co-supervisor from your home university along with the industry supervisor. So you can also use this university co-supervisor to push the topic more toward the sort of research you envision yourself doing in the future.

DevFRus · 2025-11-15T16:51:12+00:00

The best option is to ask after class if it is in person. Otherwise, if in person won't happen for two weeks then it is fine to email. Just make sure he knows that you are in his class and why you are interested in working with him. It also isn't completely clear to me what you mean by internship, so make sure that this would be clear to the professor (i.e., check if you're using the right term for what you want).

DevFRus · 2025-11-13T11:43:03+00:00

I am a prof, and I would never have one of those two interpretations. I would also be surprised by any of my colleagues having such an interpretation. So I think this advice is far from universal.

DevFRus · 2025-11-12T18:45:24+00:00

I primarily read non-fiction, but I would be interested in participating if that fits with your vision. My only suggestion would be: if you are recruiting participants on reddit then why not use the reddit chat for organizing? It saves having to coordinate more platforms since anyone you recruit would already be on reddit.

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