Academic Cover Letter Sample

Welcome to the Purdue OWL
This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.
Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.
Click here to download this sample paper.
Points to Remember
- Use the form of address and title of the contact person as they appear in the job notice.
- Refer to the job title as it appears in the notice, and state where you learned of the position.
- Mention your major professor by name, especially if he or she is well known in your field. Also, mention your expected completion date.
- Make a claim for your candidacy that you will support in the body of the letter.
- For a position at a small undergraduate college, emphasize teaching experience and philosophy early in the letter.
- Describe your dissertation and plans for future research. Emphasize links between your teaching and research interests.
- Mention specific teaching experience that is relevant to the job notice or is otherwise noteworthy.
- Refer to relevant materials available on the web.
- State your willingness to forward additional materials and to meet for an interview.
- Mention any temporary changes in contact information.