Hello all! I’m looking to hear the two cents of any PIs willing to share their perspective on students looking to join their U.S.-based labs in the current funding climate.
If it’s helpful context, I have a bachelor’s degree in integrative biology and earth sciences (class of 2020), as well as a 2-year MSc completed in Europe (class of 2024), and a couple published papers. I’ve been struggling to find work in my field and am currently volunteering in it instead. My field is a non-medical, biological/ecological science, and I am not informed or “insider” enough to understand how optimistic I should be that things will improve with research funding for the sciences in the U.S., and I worry about being disrespectful or insensitive while I reach out to potential advisors who I would love to work with here in the states.
The “playbook” of how to reach out to advisors that applied in previouse years seems to be out the window, along with the past several decades’ funding structure. This is why I am interested in hearing what PIs think about how to reach out to professors now, in this moment, and in what ways the etiquette may differ from previous years (or if it does at all?).
Would it be inappropriate to bother PIs with inquiries as to whether they are accepting students this upcoming application cycle, given how during last year’s f2025 cycle universities were already tightening their belts (with hiring freezes and reduced number of graduate students accepted)?
At present, I am also reaching out to my past mentors to see what they think, but (funnily enough!) it is a bit faster to seek advice from community online than from individuals in real life, as it’s a bit more crowdsourced this way. But rest assured I am also reaching out to people I know in real life! I’ve waited for many months (was advised to wait until after March acceptances to reach out, and now have waited longer hoping for funding situations to improve, and they have not…), and I’m worried about waiting too much longer to reach out for the f2026 application season in order to have enough time to develop a project or do any other legwork.
Thank you so much for reading my questions! I am so grateful 🙂
(Please let me know if this should go under the STEM tag instead, I wasn’t sure which was a better fit!)
Comments
It’s not disrespectful to reach out. Most still have their funding. There are many unknowns but absolutely no harm in an inquiry. They will tell you what their situation is. My son, for example, is in biology and he would welcome a letter from a good student. With the proviso to the student that things are more unstable than usual.