Sample Email To Professor Asking For Meeting - OnlineCourseing (2024)

Professors are there to help students better prepare for life after school. So, you should be able to request a meeting with them to discuss any concerns you may have.

But if you’re not sure how to request a meeting, this article will provide some tips to help you get started as well as some templates you can modify for the purpose.

Tips For Writing To Professors

Writing an email to a professor isn’t rocket science. The general point is to be polite and not sound entitled in your email. Whether you’re contacting them about an assignment or you need a meeting with them, you should always be polite.

Let’s take a look at some of the things you should consider to help avoid simple mistakes while increasing the chances of a positive response from the professor.

Use Official Email

Every university provides students with school-issued email addresses to use in official communications. This also applies to professors and other faculty members.

Students are expected to contact their professors through these email addresses and some professors may even ignore students who contact them through their private email addresses.

Additionally, using the school-issued email address ensures that emails always land in the professor’s inbox as spam filters may block emails from private accounts.

Some professors also refrain from responding to students who send emails to their private email addresses.

This can be especially problematic if the subject to be discussed at this meeting is time sensitive. So, it’s advisable to always use your school-issued email when communicating with any faculty member.

Clear Subject Line

The subject of the email should also present the purpose of the email. The professor could simply ignore your email if it has no subject line.

Keep in mind that professors receive loads of emails daily and don’t have a lot of time to read through every single email they get.

You don’t need to write a long or complicated subject for the email. A typical example of a subject line for an email like this would be:

Meeting Request To Discuss {{topic}}

Specify Your Reasons

Simply asking them for a meeting isn’t enough. You need to make sure they know what you want to discuss with them. This will make it easy for them to determine the duration of such a meeting and the appropriate time to fit you in.

Don’t just tell them you want to meet with them without telling them what you want to meet them about. Some professors would simply ignore you and others would end up fitting the meeting at a later date.

If the issue is time sensitive, make sure you include this in the email so they know how important it is for them to fit you into their schedule at their earliest convenience.

Formal Address

They’re your professor, not your peer. Use their appropriate title when addressing them. Don’t just start with a “Hi” in your email. Find out what their official titles are and use them along with their last names.

If they aren’t yet a “professor”, use the appropriate “Dr” to address them. On the other hand, use the right title if they already have the “professor” title.

Identify Yourself

Professors teach loads of students and may not easily remember who you are. Make things easy for them by identifying yourself in the email.

No professor wants to go through their list of students to identify who you may be. Make their jobs easier by including your full name and the class in which they teach you.

You can also include this in the email signature when signing off to make things easier.

Formal Tone

It doesn’t matter how close you may be to the professor, make sure you use a formal tone when communicating with them. Avoid using emojis and other forms of slang that you’d normally use with your peers.

You’re addressing them in their official station. So, you should always try to be formal in your communications.

Correct Grammar

We all make mistakes in our writing but it’s advisable to proofread any emails to authority figures. Professors expect students at the tertiary level to possess good writing skills, especially when writing short emails.

So, you should go over your emails to identify any mistakes before you send them. You can also employ the use of tools Grammarly to help identify some obvious mistakes.

Keep in mind that these tools are never perfect but they can help identify some mistakes and even provide suggestions to rectify them.

Be Polite

It doesn’t matter how upset you may be, always ensure that your tone is polite in your emails. Maybe you want to meet the professor to discuss a problem you’re having in class.

Make sure that you maintain a respectable tone irrespective of your personal feelings or any negative impressions you may have about the professor.

End Formally

At this point, you need to show appreciation to the professor for taking the time to read up to the end of the email. Simply thank them for their time and sign off your email with “Sincerely” or “Best regards” followed by your full name.

Follow Up

Responding to your email may not be at the top of their to-do list. They may have other urgent matters to tackle and may have forgotten about your email.

You can follow up by reminding them in person after their next class. You can also send a follow-up email if you haven’t heard back from them after 24 hours.

Make sure you don’t spam them with reminders as that would simply annoy them.

How To Find A Professor’s Email

If this is the first time emailing the professor and you aren’t sure where to find their emails, you can try:

School Website

Check your school website for the faculty pages. The professor would be listed on their respective faculty pages with their email address and other official contact details.

Learning Management System

If your school uses a learning management system, you can check the course overview page. The professor’s official contact details will be listed on the overview page of the course they teach.

Course Syllabus

Look through the course syllabus to find the professor’s official contact details. Most tertiary institutions include each course’s professor’s contact email on the syllabus. This enables students to easily find their professor’s emails and contact them when necessary.

Ask Other Students

Chances are, you aren’t the first student, among your peers, to email the professor. Ask your classmates for the professor’s email address.

Your class probably has a WhatsApp, Telegram group, or even a forum for discussions. You can ask your peers on these platforms. At the very least you may receive some tips from someone, even if none of your mates knows the professor’s email.

Sample Email To Professor Asking For Meeting

Template 1 – Meeting About Selecting Research Paper

Email Subject

Meeting Request To Discuss Research Paper Selection

Body

Dear Professor {{Last name}},

My name is {{Your name}}, and I am in your {{Class name}} class. I’m in the process of selecting a topic for my research paper for my {{Semester}} and would appreciate it if you could make some time to meet and discuss one that has caught my attention.

It’s in the {{Field}} field and I believe your expertise and experience in this field would be invaluable. I would be grateful if you could make some time during your office hours, or virtually, to discuss this.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely

{{Your name}}

Template 2 – Meeting To Discuss {{Topic}}

Email Subject

Meeting Request To Discuss {{Topic}}

Body

Dear Professor {{Last name}},

My name is {{Your name}}, and I am in your {{Class name}} class. I would like to request an in-person or virtual meeting, to discuss {{Topic}}. I {{Reasons}}.

I understand that you have a busy schedule but I would be grateful if you could fit me into your schedule at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely

{{Your name}}

Template 3 – Meeting To Discuss Questions From Previous Class

Email Subject

Meeting Request To Clarify Questions On {{Topic}}

Body

Dear Professor {{Last name}},

My name is {{Your name}} and I am a {{First, second, third, or fourth}} year student in your {{Class}} class. I enjoyed your lecture on {{Topic}} {{Last week/Yesterday}} but I have a few questions concerning {{Area of concern}}.

Would it be possible to schedule a short meeting to help clarify this? I’m available at your earliest convenience for either an in-person or virtual meeting.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely

{{Your name}}

Template 4 – Meeting To Clarify Concerns About Topic

Email Subject

Meeting Request To Clarify Questions On {{Topic}}

Body

Dear Professor {{Last name}},

My name is {{Your name}}, and I am in your {{Class name}} class. I would like to request a meeting with you during your office hours to discuss {{Topic}}. I came across some information while reviewing the lecture on {{Specific area}} and would appreciate your help in clarifying it.

I understand that your schedule may already be full {{This week/Today}}, but I would be grateful if you could fit me in at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for considering my request and I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely

{{Your name}}