Episode 2: Towards the dream of becoming a researcher and a scientist!

Ever since the young days, my ambition was to become a scientist. This budding dream was so planted in my head and by the time I was doing my A/Ls, it had developed into a career aspiration of becoming an academic professional. Having completed the A/Ls with AAB in the Biology stream, my choice was to enter the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo; undoubtfully one of the best decisions taken in my life.

Being a science undergraduate, I was exposed to a world of “quality science”, and was able to enjoy my journey of developing a keen passion and an investigative mindset towards science. Currently, as a recent graduate specialized in the fields of Immunology and Molecular Biology, I have started the journey of stepping towards my next destination, the graduate studies.

Thanks to my mentor, Dr. Iromi Wanigasuriya, I was able to improve and develop my academic portfolio. I learnt a lot about the effective ways to express my academic achievements and strengthen my profile as a prospective graduate student. Dr. Iromi Wanigasuriya is currently a post doctoral researcher at Elizabeth Hinde laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Melbourne.

Let me share my experience and the things I learnt from her about succeeding in securing a postgraduate position. I will start off with the process of contacting potential supervisors and would definitely continue to share more in future articles. Hope my writings would be useful and be of some motivation to anyone out there dreaming of pursuing graduate studies.

Contacting Potential Ph.D. Supervisors

Approaching a potential supervisor is one of the most popular and effective ways that often becomes helpful as the first step in the process of applying for graduate studies. The first stage is to identify your potential supervisor. You can focus on a research subject or an area that interests you the most. This could be similar to your field of undergraduate research where you can elaborate more when writing to a potential supervisor working in a similar research area. Simultaneously, you can also pay attention to any specific country, institution or a particular lab group that you are actually interested in, which will be helpful to narrow down your choices.

Never miss to consider and research well about the potential supervisor. The relationship between the supervisor and the student is one of the most important aspects for the success of the postgraduate degree. If I share Dr. Iromi’s words; Ph.D is a long journey so it’s important to make sure that you are 100% happy with the choice you make.

Using these considerations, you can build up a list of potential supervisors and postgraduate projects.

First Email — make sure to implant a good first impression!

Writing a formal email is the first interaction that you will be making with the potential supervisor. Similar to writing formal emails, make sure to adhere to common email etiquettes such as being polite, respectful while conveying your message clearly and concisely.

Include a brief and a clear subject title — the first email should not go to spam folders. Title should explain your purpose clearly yet concisely.

Start by addressing the supervisor with the correct title accompanied with his/her name (eg: Dear Professor XXX). Customizing the letter properly would be a good indication that you have genuinely referred the online profile and research work of the respective supervisor rather than just forwarding a common letter.

Make sure to avoid grammatical errors and follow a consistent and a reader friendly format. Be specific and develop the email body in such a way that the reader would grasp the content more effectively. You can start by introducing yourself with one or two sentences followed by your academic background in the opening section of the email.

In the main body of the email, you can continue to explain your intention with further details, simultaneously expressing your interests, why and how you discovered the particular supervisor. The main body of the email would represent a cover letter explaining your research interests, experiences and any outstanding achievements and thus ultimately conveying how you would be a good match to the relevant supervisor.

It is usually recommended to attach a concise CV or any other document that would demonstrate your qualifications and experience for graduate studies. Finally, you can add a brief conclusion summarizing your suitability as a prospective student to work under the supervisor of your interest. You may also include a polite invitation for subsequent communication.

Getting selected to a Ph.D. position would not be a smooth journey for everyone. It is a combination of effectively expressing your qualifications and credentials followed by many more aspects including; successfully facing formal interviews (interesting!), strong personal statements, and a successful online application. So, in my next blog I look forward to share more on these topics.

Last but not least, I would like to add a few words; Fall in love with your journey and enjoy the process! Be consistent with the process of moving towards your dreams!