The semester just came to an end and you want to say thank you to your professor for making it enjoyable. You need to write something short and sweet to express your gratitude.
Fortunately, we’ve got you covered as this article will provide some templates to get you started. Additionally, we’ve also included some tips to keep in mind when contacting your professor.
Tips For Emailing Professors
Let’s look at a few things to keep in mind whenever you’re writing an email to your professor.
Use Proper Title
Always remember to use your professor’s official title in your communication. Identify what their official titles are, before you contact them.
If they’ve officially earned the title “professor”, you should try and use the appropriate title to address them. On the other, you should use “Dr” if they haven’t yet received the “professor” title.
If you aren’t sure what their official titles may be, you can check the course syllabus or the faculty pages of the school website.
Examples:
Dear Professor {{Last name}}
Dear Dr. {{Last name}}
Use School Email
Every tertiary institution provides its faculty and students with official email addresses. If you don’t know the professor’s email address, we’ll show you how to find it later.
Keep in mind that your professor may not respond if you send them an email using your personal email or if you simply send it to their personal emails.
Using your school email also ensures that the professor will get the mail as your personal email may end up blocked by spam filters.
Some professors also try to ensure there’s a balance between their personal lives and work. Any work-related emails, especially from students, to their personal emails would simply be ignored.
So, if you want them to receive and read your email, you should make sure that you use your school email.
Formal Tone
When emailing your professor, it’s important to keep it professional. No matter how close you are to them, you should avoid using any kind of informal language.
Emojis and other slang that you typically use with friends should be avoided. The professor would merely become irritated.
They might simply interpret it as a sign of disrespect so you should refrain from any form of informal tone or language.
So, unless the professor specifically instructs you to use informal language, always use formal language in any official email discussion between yourself and the professor.
Additionally, any signs of overfriendliness between faculty and students could raise red flags as the school has access to moderate these emails.
Correct Grammar
No one enjoys reading horrible grammar. Professors expect students at the tertiary level of education to have good writing skills.
This is especially true when it comes to writing short messages like emails. That said, everyone makes writing mistakes especially when the information is lengthy.
But you can reduce these mistakes by using tools Grammarly which can help identify errors in your writing.
Keep in mind that these tools aren’t perfect, so it’s advisable to read through them yourself or ask a third party to read through them before you click “send”.
Be Polite
Professors are people like us all and have been in your shoes at some point in their academic journey. Additionally, they’ve also had to interact with students with all sorts of concerns and issues.
So, they’re empathetic to your situation so long as you speak to them politely. On the other hand, they would simply ignore any student acting entitled.
Identify Yourself
Whether you’re a new or returning student, you should identify yourself. Professors teach multiple classes and may not be able to remember every one of their students.
You don’t want to give them additional work to do by not identifying yourself. No professor wants to spend the next 30 minutes looking through their student list to identify who you may be.
Either identify yourself in the introduction of the email or include it in the email signature. You can also do both to make things easier.
Clear And Brief
This isn’t the time to show them how verbose you may be. You may have the time to do that but that doesn’t mean they have the time to read through it all. Avoid writing long emails if you want them to read through it all.
Professors receive multiple emails from students, other staff members, publications, and more. Don’t make things difficult for them by writing lengthy emails. Shorten the email as much as possible while also maintaining a polite tone.
Explain Your Situation
Get to the point. Let them know why you’re interrupting their day. Most professors would appreciate the thought and would respond.
Students hardly write such emails to their professors, so the professor would most definitely appreciate it. You may be interrupting their day, but it would be worth it.
Act Early
Keep in mind that while professors may not take full breaks at the end of the semester, they may not check their school emails during holidays.
You can send the email right after your last class of the semester if you really want to make an impression. If you wait too long, their inboxes could end up full by the time they return to school.
Wait Patiently
While the majority of professors would respond to such emails, you shouldn’t worry if your professor doesn’t respond quickly or even respond altogether. Avoid bombarding them with follow-up emails to ask whether they received your email.
Clear Subject Line
Don’t forget to include a subject in your email if you want a response. Professors receive loads of emails daily and subject lines help them identify urgent emails so they can quickly respond.
It makes it easy for them to understand the content of your email without spending too much time reading the full body of your email, which saves them a lot of time.
Example:
Thank You For A Wonderful Semester
End Formally
Thank the professor for their time and consideration as you close the email. If you didn’t specify it in the email’s introduction, provide your full name, class, and section information.
Example:
Thank you
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section}}
How To Find Your Professor’s Email
So how do you find the professor’s email address if this is the first time, you’re reaching out to them?
School Website
Check your faculty page on the school website. These pages usually include information about professors including their official contact information.
Course Overview (LMS)
If your school uses some form of learning management system (LMS) you can check the course overview page for the professor’s assigned course.
You’ll find the professor’s official contact details on the course overview pages.
Course Syllabus
You can also check out the professor’s syllabus for their contact information. You’ll usually find the professor’s contact information as well as their attendance policies on the course syllabus.
Other Students
You’re most likely not the only student who had to email the professor at some point. So, you can ask your classmates for the professor’s email.
Even if none of them has it, you can be sure that someone will provide some advice on where they may have seen it along the line.
Sample Thank You Emails To Professor At End Of Semester
Template 1: Thanking Professor For Great Semester
Email Subject
Thank You For A Wonderful Semester
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this finds you well. I wanted to thank you for making this semester an incredible learning experience. I was initially concerned about the course content when I saw the syllabus, but once you began teaching, it came to me clearly.
Thank you for the additional assistance you provided me during your office hours with the few issues I found challenging. I really appreciate your talent and commitment to ensuring your students benefit from every single lecture.
I feel privileged for the opportunity to learn from your and will forever appreciate the impact you had on my academics. Thank you and wishing you {{Happy holidays}}.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 2: Thanking Professor For Great Semester
Email Subject
Thank You For A Wonderful Semester
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my sincerest gratitude for an incredible semester. I know you were simply doing your job but I haven’t enjoyed a class this much before.
Your method of teaching and patience made every class an exciting learning experience. You always found a way to make complex subjects easy to understand, including some topics I personally found challenging.
Your guidance and support have been instrumental in my academic and personal growth, and I will always be grateful to you. Thank you for making this semester so transformative. I wish you a wonderful break and I hope to take another of your classes in the future.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
Template 3: Thanking Professor For Great Semester
Email Subject
Appreciation for a Fantastic Semester
Body
Dear Professor {{Last name}},
I hope this finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for making this semester a memorable experience. Before the start of the semester, I was worried about taking your {{Class title}}, since I’ve never been great at {{Subject area}}.
But your engaging teaching style, encouragement, and patience made it easy for me to understand subjects I previously found difficult to comprehend. I appreciate how you practically demonstrated concepts and made them enjoyable.
I have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the subject and I owe it all to you. Thank you for your dedication to your students and for making this a memorable semester. I am honored to have had you as my professor and I wish you a wonderful break.
Sincerely
{{Your full name}}
{{Class and Section Number}}
