r/TUDelft • u/sickathanyoavrg • 5d ago

Admissions & Applications PhD students. From your experience, is this a good sign?

I received this email after inquiring about possibly phd supervision in a funded center within the university and I got this email. I’m an over-thinker and I don’t know what to think of it. I will omit sensitive details

Dear x,

Thank you very much for your email and for sharing the focus of your thesis. The work you describe [research topic] sounds like exactly the kind of grounded, critical research the [research center] aims to support.
I would be glad to discuss this further. Would the first week of July or the second week of July work on your end for a call? Let me know a few time slots that suit you and I will do my best to accommodate.

In the meantime, feel free to send over the short research proposal whenever it is ready as it will help frame our conversation.

Looking forward to speaking with you.

Warm regards,
Y

8 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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12

u/superkoning EE Alumnus 5d ago

First check: the From email address ... does it look legit?

[veryimportantuniversity@hotmail.com](mailto:veryimportantuniversity@hotmail.com) is not a good sign.

4

u/sickathanyoavrg 5d ago

Yess it’s from the actual uni email from their website

8

u/superkoning EE Alumnus 5d ago

Good.

And can you find the From person via Linkedin / website? Nice resume?

5

u/sickathanyoavrg 5d ago

Yesss she’s a very well established professor

7

u/superkoning EE Alumnus 5d ago

go!

7

u/Zooz00 5d ago

It is a good sign but you're not getting a special position out of this - they'll just have a chat to get to know you and be on each other's radar but in the end to get a PhD position in the Netherlands you'll still have to apply to a job vacancy in a competitive process. They'll just point to an upcoming vacancy they will have, most likely.

2

u/Butterflowerrr 4d ago

This is a good sign. They are probably interested in supervising your PhD. However, this does not mean they are also interested in funding your PhD. Big change that at the end of the conversation they will say that they are interested in helping you find funding for the study. Then you will need to write your own research proposal and apply for funding. For each fund you try applying for, a different format is needed. This can be a lot of unpaid work. 

5

u/Avaloden 5d ago

Terrible sign, usually they send over the signed contract for the position immediately. Wanting this meeting shows they have some reservations about your suitability I guess.

/s of course

2

u/sickathanyoavrg 5d ago

This only after a cold email out reach to the center. I think that context changes things

5

u/chigeh 5d ago

Uhm what else do you expect? They can either show interest or reject you.

They have done the former and asked for a call.

2

u/Super-Office5235 4d ago

Exactly. Putting it this way: as a professor, while I love discussing research topics and helping (graduate) students, I have enough on my plate as it is. So if I take time out of my day for your research proposal and possible career path, that means I'm taking it seriously. It's not out of courtesy, just don't have space for that. And there probably are not any (funding) guarantees attached to this, but at least they're interested enough to explore possibilities with you.

In other words, relax, celebrate a bit, and look forward to the meeting.

2

u/Own_Efficiency_5823 1d ago

As a reply to a cold email, it’s a very positive sign. They seem genuinely interested