Academic Cover Letter Examples and Templates

As an academic, you understand better than most people the importance of research. So, apply this skill before writing your cover letter. Learn about the institution, the department, what your job will involve and how you can be of value.

You may have a lot of impressive work in your background, but a cover letter shouldn’t be longer than a page. Focus on highlighting only the most important moments and achievements, like publications and relevant research projects or awards and recognitions you have received.

Relevance is the key to writing a good cover letter and CV. Whether you’re giving specifics on volunteer work, your achievements teaching at summer school as a graduate student or your experience as a TA, make sure the information you give directly answers the job description.

As an academic, the hard skills you use to do your job — language skills, project management, data analysis or academic writing — aren’t the only ones that matter. It’s important to balance them out with soft skills like communication, time management, flexibility and work ethic to show the institution you’re a well-rounded candidate.

There’s nothing worse than realizing your cover letter has a typo after submitting it. Proofread it once, twice and even thrice to ensure there are no errors or grammatical mistakes. A miswritten word can negatively impact how others view your professionalism.

A professional cover letter uses the same format as a business letter. Include your full name, phone number and email address at the top of the page. Aligned to the left, list the hiring manager’s name with their job title, the institution’s physical address, work email address and work phone number.

Can you say Dear Hiring Manager in a cover letter? Part of the research you must do is search for the hiring manager’s full name so that you can address your cover letter to them. Instead of using a generic “Dear Hiring Manager” or “To Whom It May Concern,” make your letter more personalized by starting with “Dear Dr. Smith” or “Dear Dr. Brown.” If you can’t find their name, address the letter as “Dear Members of the Search Committee.”

Start your opening paragraph with an eye-catching sentence that prompts the reader to continue. In the cover letter academic example below, the applicant first notes that she has a unique teaching philosophy. She’s interested in ensuring students learn information, not just pass a class. It’s possible to start your cover letter with something like, “I am pleased to apply to this job title,” but everyone starts their letters this way. Instead, jumping right into something that sets you apart from other job seekers can help capture a search committee’s interest. Dear Dr. Smith, My teaching philosophy has always been to forge a connection with my students. I’ve followed through with this philosophy as a teaching assistant, resulting in high student pass rates and solid satisfaction ratings. I am excited to use my knowledge and experience to help the University of California’s social sciences program.

Now that you’ve caught the eye of the search committee members, you can discuss exactly what makes you a fit for the job. Here, the applicant discusses her current research, talking about how it’s about improving teaching evaluations. This can appeal to the type of institution interested in their teaching staff having initiatives and collaborations with their existing research staff. My academic career has spanned several different subjects, but my research interests have always focused on the social sciences. My current research is actually on methods of improving research institutions, especially in improving how teaching evaluations work, and I have received positive feedback from students and colleagues about my mentoring abilities and desire to help.

Lastly, you need a call to action. This applies to actively requesting the interview (“I look forward to speaking with you about how I can benefit your organization”) and stating that she can provide more information about her future research plans. This incentivizes committee members to bring her in to talk about her qualifications. I believe my teaching experience makes me uniquely qualified to help students at the University of California, and I look forward to speaking with you about how I can benefit your organization. I can also provide more information about my research project methodology and future research, as well as how I hope to use it in higher education. Sincerely, Susan Buck You can also read our How to Write a Cover Letter article for additional cover letter tips.