Should you contact a professor before you apply? Who decides, country by country
Published by Corresponda · Last checked: · Next check: January 2027 · این راهنما به فارسی
Short answer
It depends on who makes the admission decision. For Germany's individual doctorate, doctorates in France, UK self-proposed projects and many thesis-based programmes in Canada, a professor usually has to agree first, so the email is the first step of the application. In the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, PhD positions are advertised jobs. In many US PhD programmes and in Italy, a committee decides.
This guide is for applicants to research master's, PhD and postdoctoral positions. It explains who decides in the main destinations, what contacting a professor first achieves in each, and how to check a professor before you write. Every fact about a country comes from an official source, listed at the end.
Who decides? The three admission models
Research admissions follow one of three models. The model tells you whether contacting a professor is the application itself, an advantage, or optional.
| Who decides | Examples | What contacting a professor first does |
|---|---|---|
| A professor must agree first | Canada, thesis-based programmes1, 2; Australia, universities that start with an expression of interest3, 4; Germany, individual doctorate5, 7; France8; UK, self-proposed projects9 | It is the application. Without a supervisor, there is usually no file to submit. |
| A position is advertised and a panel hires | The Netherlands11, Sweden12 and Norway13, where PhD candidates are usually employees; UK advertised projects10 | When the position opens, the person deciding may already know your name. |
| A committee admits you | Many US PhD programmes14; Italy, through a public competition (concorso)15 | It helps you choose and shows genuine interest, but the committee decides. |
Do you need a supervisor before you apply? Country by country
For applicants with Iranian citizenship: check the route before the professor
- United States: the entry of Iranian nationals, including on student visas, has been suspended since June 2025 under Presidential Proclamation 1094917. Proclamation 10998 kept the full suspension in place from 1 January 202616. It was still in force when this guide was checked.
- Every destination: before you pay an application fee, confirm on the official pages of the embassy and the university that you can obtain a visa appointment and pay the fee from where you are.
Canada
In thesis-based programmes, the question is usually not whether you need a supervisor, but when. At the University of Alberta, some programmes require applicants to identify and contact a potential supervisor before applying1. Others, such as the School of Public Health, accept applications without a named supervisor but do not admit anyone without one2. Read the admission page of your specific programme.
Australia
Some universities begin with an expression of interest (EOI), a short form submitted before the full application. At the University of Queensland, the EOI includes nominating your preferred supervisor3. The University of Melbourne's engineering faculty also uses an EOI form4.
Germany: two routes to a doctorate
- The individual doctorate. Most doctoral candidates choose this model5; according to Research in Germany, the DAAD's portal for researchers, it is the path of over three quarters of all doctoral students6. You need to find a professor who will supervise your dissertation5. Their written confirmation of supervision is known as the Betreuungszusage; the University of Göttingen states that without a confirmation, you cannot be accepted as a doctoral candidate7.
- Structured doctoral programmes. These offer supervision by a team of advisors5. Each programme publishes its own application procedure.
France
Campus France, the French national agency for international students, states that before you can enrol in a doctorate, you must find a thesis supervisor and a subject, and that the doctoral school must also accept you8.
United Kingdom
- Advertised projects are defined pieces of research, each led by a researcher who supervises the PhD student. You apply as the advertisement instructs10.
- Self-proposed projects start with the supervisor. The University of Manchester's Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health asks applicants to contact potential supervisors directly before applying, and states: “We do not accept applications without an identified supervisor.”9
The Netherlands, Sweden and Norway
In these countries, a PhD position is usually a job. Maastricht University describes PhD candidates as researchers employed by a university, and its positions are posted online as job vacancies11. Lund University states that doctoral students are both employees and students, and each position is advertised12. NTNU states that PhD candidates are usually employees of the institution that funds them13. An early email does not replace the formal application, but the person deciding may already know your name when the position opens.
United States
In many US PhD programmes, a committee admits students to the programme. Stanford's Electrical Engineering department, for example, states that contacting faculty is not a required part of the application and that admission decisions are made by the Admissions Committee, not by individual faculty members14. A short, specific email can still help you choose programmes. Applicants with Iranian citizenship should first read the visa note above.
Italy: what the concorso is
A common misunderstanding
A concorso is not an entrance examination like Iran's konkur. It is a public competition: each university publishes a call (bando) and ranks the candidates. A written test is possible, depending on the programme. The University of Pavia's call for the 2025/26 cycle, for example, allows three formats, set for each programme: qualifications with a written test and an interview; qualifications with an interview; or qualifications only15.
The same call lists places with a scholarship and places without one, and some places are tied to a company or a specific project, with a separate ranking list15. The annex for your programme states which format applies.
Why contact a professor first in Italy? A professor can tell you which topics and funded places the group expects in the next call, which helps you write a proposal that fits what the committee is looking for.
How does this differ for a research master's, a PhD and a postdoc?
- Research master's. If the degree includes a thesis and you join a supervisor's project, finding the supervisor is often the real application, and a professor with a funded project may be able to pay a student on it. Taught (course-based) master's programmes are normally admitted by a committee, so contacting professors rarely helps. See The funded research master's.
- PhD. Who decides depends on the country, and so does the funding: PhD candidates are paid employees in the Netherlands and Sweden11, 12, while Italian calls list places with and without a scholarship15. Do not assume a PhD is funded until the offer says so.
- Postdoc. Postdoctoral positions are usually funded either by a professor's research grant or by a fellowship. For a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship, researchers apply together with a host organisation, and in many cases develop the application with a supervisor there18. See PhD vs. postdoc.
Why contact a professor early, even when a committee decides?
- Committees are made of faculty. Admission committees are usually formed from the department's own professors. A professor who already knows your work can speak for your file.
- Projects are known before they are advertised. Professors sometimes know about a new project or grant before a position is published.
- A clear “no” saves money. If a professor will not take a student next year, you can save the application fee and redirect your effort.
- Early means before the call or the deadline. Find each programme's deadline and plan backwards from it.
How do you check a professor before you write?
A well-written email to the wrong person is wasted. These three checks take a few minutes for each name.
Check 1: Are they still publishing?
Search for the professor on Google Scholar or a publisher's website. If they have published nothing in the last two years, prioritise other names.
Check 2: Where do they work now?
Read the affiliation on their latest paper. Department pages are often out of date, and researchers move between institutions.
Check 3: Do they lead the research?
In many science and engineering fields, the group leader is listed as the last author. A recent paper with the professor last and a student first suggests that they currently supervise students. It suggests; it does not prove.
What these checks cannot tell you
Whether the professor has funding or a place for a student this year: only the professor can confirm that. To investigate further, the funding section at the end of recent papers names the grants, and public databases list funded projects: GEPRIS (Germany), CORDIS (European Union), NIH RePORTER and NSF Award Search (United States). The guide How to tell if a professor is actively recruiting covers these steps in detail.
Where Corresponda helps, and where it does not
Done by hand for thirty or forty names, checks 1 and 2 take days. When Corresponda's founder was applying from Iran, this stage took weeks.
What Corresponda does
- Reads five years of published research in your field and leaves out anyone with no papers in the last two years (check 1).
- Reads where each professor works from their latest papers (check 2).
- Shows up to five recent papers under every name, so you can check any name in seconds and choose the paper to mention.
- Judges the fit for your level (research master's, PhD or postdoc), in the countries you select.
- Records who you contacted and reminds you to follow up after a week. Free on every plan.
What it does not do
- It does not know each country's admission rules. That is the purpose of this guide.
- It cannot see funding or open positions. “Likely has room” is an estimate based on publications, not a fact.
- It never guesses an email address. Most results have no public address, so it links to the page where the professor can be reached.
- Email and SOP drafts are available on the Plus and Pro plans. They are first drafts: read them and adapt them before sending.
The first search is free, and no card is required. What Corresponda can and cannot do
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to contact a professor before applying for a PhD?
It depends on who decides admission. In Canada's thesis-based programmes, Germany's individual doctorate, France and UK self-proposed projects, a professor usually has to agree to supervise you, so contacting one is the first step of the application. In the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, PhD positions are advertised jobs. In many US PhD programmes and in Italy, a committee decides and contacting a professor is optional.
In which countries must a supervisor agree before I apply?
A supervisor's agreement usually comes first for Germany's individual doctorate (the route of over three quarters of doctoral students, according to the DAAD's Research in Germany portal), for doctorates in France (according to Campus France), for self-proposed PhD projects in the UK, and in many thesis-based programmes in Canada. Some Australian universities, such as the University of Queensland, start with an expression of interest that names a preferred supervisor. Always check the rules of the specific programme.
Do I need to contact professors before applying to a US PhD programme?
Usually not. In many US PhD programmes, an admissions committee admits students to the programme. Stanford's Electrical Engineering department, for example, states that contacting faculty is not a required part of the application and that decisions are made by the Admissions Committee, not by individual faculty members. A short, specific email can still help you choose programmes.
Is the Italian concorso a written exam?
Not necessarily. A concorso is a public competition: the university publishes a call (bando) and ranks the candidates. The format is set for each programme. The University of Pavia's call for the 2025/26 cycle, for example, allows three formats: qualifications with a written test and an interview, qualifications with an interview, or qualifications only. The annex of the call states which format applies.
Should I contact professors for a taught master's degree?
Usually not. Taught (course-based) master's programmes are normally admitted by a committee, so an email to a professor rarely changes the outcome. Contacting a professor matters for research master's degrees with a thesis, where you join a supervisor's project. The programme's admission page states which type it is.
Can Iranian citizens get a US student visa in 2026?
No, as of October 2026. Presidential Proclamation 10949 suspended the entry of Iranian nationals as immigrants and non-immigrants from June 2025, and Proclamation 10998 kept the full suspension in place from 1 January 2026, according to the White House and the US Department of State. Check travel.state.gov for any change.
Sources
All sources are official pages of universities, governments or programmes, checked on 31 October 2026.
- University of Alberta, Faculty of Graduate Studies, “Apply to Study Here” (university): Some thesis-based programmes require applicants to identify and contact a potential supervisor before applying.
ualberta.ca/en/graduate-studies/admissions-programs/apply/index.html - University of Alberta, School of Public Health, “Selecting your supervisor” (university): Applications are accepted without a supervisor; admission is not.
ualberta.ca/en/public-health/programs/admissions/selecting-your-supervisor.html - University of Queensland, “How to approach a PhD supervisor” (university): The expression of interest includes nominating a preferred supervisor.
study.uq.edu.au/stories/how-approach-phd-supervisor - University of Melbourne, Faculty of Engineering, expression of interest form (university)
eng.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/word_doc/0003/3817344/eoi-form.docx - DAAD, “Ways to your PhD” (German Academic Exchange Service): Most candidates choose the individual model; finding a supervising professor; team supervision in structured programmes.
daad.de/en/studying-in-germany/phd-studies-research/ways-to-your-phd/ - Research in Germany (DAAD), “Two ways to get your PhD” (official portal): Over three quarters of doctoral students take the individual path.
research-in-germany.org/your-goal/phd/two-ways-to-get-your-phd.html - University of Göttingen, doctorate in Göttingen (university): “Without a confirmation, you cannot be accepted as a candidate.”
uni-goettingen.de/en/537430.html - Campus France, “How to enrol in a Doctorate” (French national agency): A thesis supervisor and subject before enrolment; the doctoral school must also accept you.
campusfrance.org/en/how-to-enrol-Doctorate-France - University of Manchester, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, “Self-proposed projects” (university)
bmh.manchester.ac.uk/study/research/projects-programmes-degrees/self-proposed-projects/ - University of Edinburgh, “Advertised PhD research projects and other opportunities” (university)
study.ed.ac.uk/postgraduate/applying/research-degrees/projects - Maastricht University, “Paid PhD positions” (university): PhD candidates employed by a university; positions posted as job vacancies.
maastrichtuniversity.nl/research/phd/paid-phd-positions - Lund University, “Employment as a doctoral student” (university): Doctoral students are both employees and students.
lunduniversity.lu.se/about-university/work-us/career-paths-lund-university/employment-doctoral-student - NTNU, “Admission and financing” (university): PhD candidates are usually employees of the institution that funds them.
ntnu.edu/phd/admission-and-financing - Stanford University, Electrical Engineering, “Frequently Asked Questions for PhD Applicants” (university)
ee.stanford.edu/admissions/phd/faq - University of Pavia, call for admission to PhD courses, 41st cycle, 2025/26 (university, PDF): Three selection formats; places with and without a scholarship; separate ranking lists.
phd.unipv.it/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/call41.pdf - US Department of State, “Suspension of visa issuance to foreign nationals to protect the security of the United States” (government): Proclamation 10998, in force from 1 January 2026.
travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-visa-issuance-to-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-security-of-the-united-states.html - The White House, “Restricting the entry of foreign nationals…”, 4 June 2025 (government): Proclamation 10949.
whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/ - European Commission, “MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships” (official programme page): Researchers apply together with a host organisation.
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/postdoctoral-fellowships
This guide describes the usual pattern. Admission rules change and differ between programmes; the programme's own page and call for applications are the final authority. If you find anything out of date, please tell us through the contact page.
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