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As an online student, you are going to have to learn how to email your professor. This is not difficult, but emailing your professor is not the same as emailing a friend. Being unprofessional can start you off on the wrong foot. You can follow a few easy steps to make sure your emails to your professor are professional and effective.
Email your professor from your school email address. Be polite and professional by avoiding texting language, having a greeting and closing, and keeping the email concise. Include a subject line and your course number, introduce yourself, and provide all the necessary information.
Let’s review some tips for emailing your professor and all the necessary parts of the email.
Does it matter how you email your professor?
Yes, it does matter how you email your professor.
Your professor has a lot of power over your grade and academic career. You want to make sure that you address them politely. Plus, you are more likely to get the response you want (for your email to be effective) if it is professional and well-written.
It may seem trivial, but emailing is a form of communication, and communication skills are valuable! It is worth taking the time to learn how to send a professional email.
Before you write the email to your professor
How to find your professor’s email?
First things first, you have to find your professor’s email address. This should always be on your syllabus, but if it isn’t, see if you have a “Meet your professor” page or check out the school’s directory.
See if you can find the answer elsewhere before you email your professor
Before you email your professor with a million questions, see if you can find the answer somewhere else. If the information is listed in the instructions, included in the syllabus, or a quick Google search would give the answer, don’t bother your Professor.
Professors especially hate getting emails with questions that are covered in the syllabus (sometimes they literally state this in the syllabus), so check your syllabus!
If it isn’t too time-sensitive or of a personal nature, you can also try asking other students (most online courses have a “Community Forum” discussion post where students can ask each other questions).
Make sure that you check the syllabus, instructions, and ask other students before you email your professor to avoid wasting both of your time.
General tips when emailing your professor:
Make sure that you use your school email address (that ends in .edu)!
Using your school email address helps you avoid ending up in the spam folder.
Plus, many professors won’t respond/look at an email from a random email address. You have to use your campus email.
Use standard formatting in your email
This means:
- No texting language
- Avoid slang
- Spell out all the words
- Avoid spelling and grammar errors
- Use complete sentences
- Don’t use crazy colors or fonts
- Break long chunks of text into paragraphs
Try to think about if your formatting is appropriate in an academic setting before you send your email.
Use a professional tone in your email
You can make sure that you are professional by following these suggestions.
- Don’t talk to your professor like you would your friend. Keep the email on point and avoid giving unnecessary details about your personal life.
- Be respectful. This means that you should make requests, not demands!
- Be polite. Say please and thank you.
- Don’t complain to them.
- Accept responsibility instead of making excuses.
Keep the email short and sweet
Your professors are busy and get a lot of emails. Make your email short and to the point. Clearly ask your question and provide all the necessary information so that you don’t have to email back and forth for clarification.
Necessary parts of the email
Now you are ready to write your email. Here are the necessary parts to include in every email.
Subject line
Your emails need to have a clear subject line so that your professor can quickly see what the email is about. Having a subject line also helps ensure that your email doesn’t end up in the spam folder.
Make this short and clear. Include your class and section # and what your message is about, such as “COM 304-Question on the argumentative essay”.
Greeting: How to address your instructor in an email?
Believe it or not, the email greeting is the most contentious part.
To know how you should address your professor, check how your professor refers to themself in the syllabus. If they refer to themself as Dr., address them as Dr. ________. If they don’t specify, then the safest bet is to address them as Professor______. This is my go-to.
This way, you can avoid the Ms./Mrs. can of worms, and you should not be informal enough to call them by their first name (even if they are the “cool” professor who says that you can).
Start with “Dear” or “Hello” if you want to be more informal. Don’t start with Hey or Hi. This is too informal for an academic setting.
Also, make sure you write out their entire last name and spell it right!
Email body
Introduction: How to introduce yourself in an email to a professor
Always start by introducing yourself.
In your introduction, include your full name and course and section number. Give them any necessary background information or identifying information so that they can place who you are. If there is anything distinctive about you or any previous interactions that you had with them, mention that here.
Since a lot of professors may teach the same course both in-person and online, it can be helpful to mention that you are in their online course in addition to the course number and section. This will help avoid any confusion.
Pleasantries
Set a pleasant tone by offering quick well-wishes such as “I hope you had a nice weekend!”, sharing something you thought they might find interesting, referencing something you previously talked about, etc…
Take a brief opportunity to be friendly and help build your relationship.
From there, get to your point.
Purpose of your email
Ask your question or request politely and concisely. Include all the relevant information they need to understand what you are asking, but don’t give excessive details and avoid excuses.
It can also be helpful to include any steps you have already taken, such as looked in the syllabus or posted on the Community Forum.
Your professors are busy and do not want to read a wall of text so remember to keep it short and sweet.
Call to action
Make it clear what action you’re asking your professor to take. If you need them to do something, such as fill out a form, make this clear. If you just want a response to your questions, add a call to action for a reply.
A simple “Please let me know.” after your question can help prompt a quick response.
Show of appreciation
To wrap up your email, show your appreciation for their time. Add a sentence where you thank them and a sign-off such as “I look forward to hearing from you”.
Closing: How to end an email to a professor
Just as you always need to start the email with a salutation (Dear), you always need to end an email with a salutation. You have more options for the ending such as “Sincerely”, “Best regards/Best/All the best” or “Thank you”. Follow this with a comma and your full name on the next row.
Ex:
Sincerely,
-Grace Newman
Edit your email
Editing an email may seem excessive, but it takes only a few minutes at most and ensures that your email makes sense, covers all the necessary points, and is free of spelling and grammar errors.
If you want to speed up the process and make sure your email is free of any mistakes, you could use Grammarly’s free browser extension. It provides spelling and grammar corrections and style insights. It is great for all types of writing.
Now you are ready to send!
Frequently asked questions
What do you do if your professor doesn’t respond to your email?
First, check what time period your professor says they will respond to emails. This is usually stated in the syllabus or a contact/”about your professor” page.
If you cannot find this listed, then a good rule of thumb is to give them 2 business days.
After their specified time (or the 2 business days), send them a follow-up email.
You can put “Following up on my previous email” in the subject line and include a sentence about how you are following up in the body of the email, but otherwise, be polite about their lack of response. They are busy; we have all been there.
If you can, send the follow-up email in the original email thread. If you do this, you can literally just say, “Following up about my previous email,” and you don’t need to rewrite the email.
Do you need to respond to your professor’s reply?
It is polite to acknowledge your professor’s reply. If you don’t have any follow-up questions, then a simple “Thank you for your help.” will be sufficient.
How to email your professor without being annoying?
To avoid annoying your professor, you should:
- Check the syllabus, instructions, and ask other students first.
- Use a professional tone and style (no texting language).
- Include a subject line and greeting and closing salutations.
- Introduce yourself.
- Use the title they use in their syllabus (such as Dr.) or “Professor”.
- Be clear and concise about why you are emailing.
Basically, use everything that you learned in this post, and you won’t annoy your professor.
Sample emails to your professor for 6 different reasons
Now that you know how to email your professor in general, check out these sample emails for different situations.
1. How to write an email to a professor about disability accommodations
Template:
Subject line: Introduction and Disability Accommodations
Hello Professor________,
My name is full name, and I am in your course and section number class for the fall/spring/summer semester. Include something about why you are interested in or excited about taking their course.
I know that the Disability Resource Center already contacted you, but I just wanted to personally “introduce” myself. A sentence or two where you mention your illness here/explain why you need the accommodations. I really want to do well in your class but may require some accommodations in order to be successful.
To help me be successful, the disability office has approved me for accommodations: ________ and ________. Establish how you will contact them about said accommodations or how to set them up (Ex: Regarding the quizzes, do you automatically set up the extended time, or should I contact you before each quiz?). Please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Looking forward to a great semester,
–full name
Example:
Subject line: Introduction and Disability Accommodations
Hello Professor Smith,
My name is Grace Newman, and I am in your COM 453-74272 class for the Fall semester. I’m majoring in Communication, and I am really excited to learn some applicable skills in this business communication course!
I know that the Disability Resource Center already contacted you, but I just wanted to personally “introduce” myself. I have a severe chronic illness that can be very unpredictable. I really want to do well in your class but may require some accommodations in order to be successful.
To help me be successful in my courses, the disability office approved me for the accommodations: double time on testing and flexible assignment deadlines. Luckily, I have not had to use the flexible assignment deadline accommodation much in the past. I will make sure to stay in contact with you if I have any particularly bad health flare-ups. Also, regarding the quizzes, do you automatically set up the extended time, or should I contact you before each quiz (it varies from course to course)? Please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Looking forward to a great semester,
–Grace Newman
2. Email to a professor asking a question
Template:
Subject: Course and section number: Question about ______
Hello Professor _____,
I hope you had a great weekend!
I am a student in your course and section number (specify if it is an online class).
I was hoping you could clarify something for me. Ask your question and list what steps you have already taken to find the answer (such as looking in the syllabus). Please let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
–Full name
Example:
Subject line: COM 453-74272: Question about Group Project
Hello Professor Smith,
I hope you had a great weekend!
My name is Grace Newman, and I am in your COM 453-74272 online class for the Fall semester.
I was hoping you could clarify something for me. The module says for one student from each group to submit the essay for the whole group, but the instructions say for each person to submit the essay. I looked in the syllabus, but it didn’t specify. Should we all submit the essay or just one person for the group? Please let me know.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks,
–Grace Newman
3. Sample email to your professor asking for an appointment
Throughout your time at college, you may need to schedule an appointment with a professor (often over Zoom or the phone for online students).
Template:
Subject: Course and section number: Can we schedule a meeting
Hello Professor _____,
I hope you had a great weekend!
I am a student in your course and section number (specify if it is an online class).
Describe why you need to meet with them. I was hoping we could meet and discuss it during your office hours. I checked the syllabus, but I do not see if your office hours are over Zoom or by appointment only. Please let me know when and how I can reach you during your office hours. Thank you!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Much appreciated,
–Full name
Example:
Subject line: COM 453-74272: Can we schedule a meeting
Hello Professor Smith,
I hope you had a great weekend!
My name is Grace Newman, and I am in your COM 453-74272 online class for the Fall semester.
I am unclear about the internship requirements. I have a possible internship, but I do not know if I can use it for credit hours. I was hoping we could meet and discuss it during your office hours. I checked the syllabus, but I do not see if your office hours are over Zoom or by appointment only. Please let me know when and how I can reach you during your office hours. Thank you!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Much appreciated,
–Grace Newman
4. How to email your professor asking for a reference
A professor can make a great reference, but as with all references, you must ask them before you list them. Since they are often busy and get many requests to be a reference, make sure you are polite, concise, and ask them as early as possible.
Template:
Subject: Course and section number: Potential reference
Hello Professor _____,
I am a student from your course/section number and semester and year. Talks about something that you liked about their class.
Talk about what type of things you are applying for. Talk about why you think they would be a great fit as a reference. You was wondering if you would be willing to be listed as a reference for me. I would need to provide your name and contact information. Please let me know. Thanks!
Much appreciated,
–Full name
Example:
Subject line: COM 453-74272: Potential reference
Hello Professor Smith,
My name is Grace Newman, and I was in your COM 453-74272 online class for the Fall 2020 semester. Your creative writing class has been one of my favorite courses! Sharing my writing and getting feedback from the group helped me become much more confident.
We am applying for an editorial internship that is looking for people with creative writing experience. I was wondering if you would be willing to be listed as a reference for me. I would need to provide your name and contact information. Please let me know. Thanks!
Much appreciated,
–Grace Newman
5. Sending an assignment to your professor by email
Unless your professor asks for the assignment to be sent by email or it is an in-person class and you will be absent when you are supposed to turn it in, DO NOT SEND ASSIGNMENTS BY EMAIL!
Sorry, I shouldn’t yell, but seriously, professors hate getting assignments sent by email. If you don’t turn in your assignment in the correct place, the grade book on the Learning Management System that your school uses (such as Canvas or Blackboard) won’t recognize it as turned in, and it often won’t be counted as being submitted on time.
Avoid this by reading the instructions and/or the syllabus and submitting the assignment in the proper place.
If your professor has asked for the assignment to be sent by email, then they will be getting lots of emails, so keep it super short and to the point.
Template:
Subject: Course and section number: ______ assignment
Hello Professor _____,
I am a student in your course and section number (specify if it is an online class).
Attached in my _______.
All the best,
–Full name
Example:
Subject line: COM 453-74272: S.W.O.T Analysis
Hello Professor Smith,
My name is Grace Newman, and I am in your COM 453-74272 online class for the Fall semester.
Attached is my S.W.O.T. Analysis.
All the best,
–Grace Newman
6. How to email your professor about your grade
One reason people frequently email their professor is about their grade. They want to know how to improve their grade or if the professor offers extra credit.
If the professor has offered extra credit before or talks about it in the syllabus, then do the extra credit! Otherwise, don’t specifically ask for extra credit; just ask for advice on how to improve your grade and if there is anything that you can do to bring your grade.
Template:
Subject: Course and section number: Advice on improving my grade
Hello Professor _____,
I am a student in your course and section number (specify if it is an online class).
Describe the problem with your grade, what assignments you haven’t done great on, and/or what you are struggling with. Do you have any advice on how I can better succeed in your class? What should I focus on for_______ (the next assignment or test)? Is there anything that I can do to bring my grade up? Please let me know.
Thank you for your time.
Much appreciated,
–Full name
Example:
Subject line: COM 453-74272: Advice on improving my grade
Hello Professor Smith,
My name is Grace Newman, and I am in your COM 453-74272 online class for the Fall semester.
I thought I understood all the material, and I studied a lot, but I did not do well on the last quiz. Do you have any advice on how I can better succeed in your class? What should I focus on studying for the final?
Is there anything that I can do to bring my grade up? Please let me know.
Thank you for your time.
Much appreciated,
–Tech Tecno
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