Hey there,
I would really appreciate it if someone told me when is the right time to approach supervisors at universities with your ideas for PhD? I will be completing my masters in April 2018. Should i start sending in emails now? I am particularly looking at Monash University. Thank you.

[quote]Quote From lissal:
Hey there,
I would really appreciate it if someone told me when is the right time to approach supervisors at universities with your ideas for PhD? I will be completing my masters in April 2018. Should i start sending in emails now? I am particularly looking at Monash University. Thank you.

What does your current supervisor for your Masters say Lissal? Are you hoping to extend your Masters study into a PhD thesis or do you want to try something new? Have you discussed your wish to go on and complete a doctorate with your current supervisor? They may be able to help with references, information and support.

Personally, I don't think it would hurt at all to email potential supervisors at Monash and express your interest. No doubt you will still need to go through the regular processes and applications for scholarships and stipends, which will be pretty competitive, especially for Monash, but I would imagine some, if not all, of the academics you email (regarding future doctoral supervision) will respond with encouragement and information that would be helpful.

Best wishes, P.

I agree too. This isn't too early to start making contact. Good luck!

Hi you need to write a PhD research proposal first and then approach a supervisor. if you need help in writing a research proposal let me know.

Thank you so much :)
I'm looking at new research ideas and I do not wish to continue my masters thesis. My masters supervisor would be happy to help me with my doctoral thesis also, but personally I would like to try a new and challenging environment and university. So i guess I'm just going to go ahead and mail potential supervisors.

Beware of scammers on this website by the way...

I don't think you need a proposal at this stage. Dropping a friendly email is fine. It may be more useful to say what interests you and ask what their interests are and come up with something jointly. That is unless you already have the idea you want to pursue. In which case, by all means, put it in proposal form and attach it to your email.