How to Email a Professor for a Research Internship (with Templates)
Most professors receive far more internship requests than they can answer. The emails that get replies are short, specific and show that you have actually read their work. This guide shows you how to write one.
1. Choose the right professors first
Sending one generic email to 200 people rarely works. Pick 10 to 15 professors whose current research genuinely matches your interests and skills.
- Look at the faculty pages of departments you are interested in and note their research areas.
- Open their Google Scholar profile and sort by year. Read the abstracts of two or three recent papers.
- Check whether their lab page mentions openings for interns or a preferred way to apply. If it does, follow it.
- On ResearchSwipe, filter by field and Offering internships to find lab heads who are actively looking for interns.
2. What a good email contains
- A clear subject line that says what you want, for example: Summer research internship: undergraduate interested in medical image segmentation.
- Who you are in one sentence: year, degree, institution.
- Why this professor: mention a specific recent paper or project and what interested you about it.
- What you can contribute: relevant courses, projects, tools or a small result. Link to GitHub or a short report if you have one.
- A specific request: the period you are available and the kind of work you are hoping to do.
- Attachments: a one-page CV as a PDF with a clear file name, such as Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf.
3. Template: research internship
Subject: Research internship (May–July): [your year and degree] interested in [topic]
Dear Prof. [Last name],
I am a [third-year B.Tech Computer Science] student at [institution]. I recently read your paper [paper title], and your approach to [one specific idea from the paper] matches the work I have been doing on [your related project].
In [project or course], I [what you built or found, with one concrete detail]. I am comfortable with [2–3 relevant tools or skills], and my code is at [GitHub link].
I would be grateful for the opportunity to work as a research intern in your group from [start] to [end], and I would be happy to contribute to [a specific direction you saw in their work]. I have attached my CV for your reference.
Thank you for your time.
Warm regards,
[Full name]
[Degree, institution] · [phone] · [LinkedIn or portfolio]
4. Template: follow-up after 7 to 10 days
Subject: Re: Research internship (May–July): [your year and degree] interested in [topic]
Dear Prof. [Last name],
I wanted to briefly follow up on my email below about a research internship in your group. I remain very interested in [topic], and I would be glad to share more about my work or complete a small task if that would help.
Thank you again for your time.
Warm regards,
[Full name]
5. Mistakes that get emails ignored
- Starting with "Dear Sir/Madam" or copying the same message to many professors in one email.
- Long paragraphs about your life story instead of your relevant skills.
- Praising a professor's work without naming anything specific.
- Asking only about a stipend or a certificate in the first email.
- Sending more than one follow-up. If there is no reply after one follow-up, move on politely.
6. Improve your chances before you write
- Build one small project connected to the professor's area. It gives you something concrete to talk about.
- Keep your CV to one page and put research-relevant projects first.
- Create a research profile listing your interests, projects and links, so a professor can check your background in a minute.