Sample Cover Letter

Dear Professor Greatguy and Members of the Faculty Search Committee,

I am writing to apply for your department’s open position for an assistant professor of organic chemistry. I have enclosed my curriculum vitae, two academic transcripts, a statement of my teaching philosophy, and three brief research proposals. I have arranged for letters of support to be sent directly from three references: Professor X (MIT), Professor Y (MIT) and Professor Z (California Institute of Technology).

I am seeking a faculty position at an institution that will support me sharing my passion for chemistry with students through teaching. I have significant teaching experience, with outstanding reviews from my students in both general and organic chemistry. I have assisted with both introductory and organic chemistry, and am excited about leading these courses, as well as teaching biochemistry and special topics such as Gene Therapy and the internationalization of science. I plan to teach not only students at WRU, but expand efforts to reach out into the community and raise awareness of the importance of science in everyday life.

As an assistant professor, I will focus my research gene therapy, specifically on the development of new types of nanospheres made of biodegradeable polymers. I have been developing some of these in my postdoctoral work, but will move my own research in a new direction, specifically looking at binding into the major and minor grooves for specificity of application. The three research proposals I have included each include preliminary results that validate my approach, and I plan to use those results to write fullfledged proposals to major funding agencies. The scope of this work dovetails nicely with both the type of students and resources available at WRU, falling naturally into small projects easily managed by an undergraduate over the course of a summer or semester. I am excited about building a research group to more deeply understand these systems, and develop better therapeutic methods.

My wide breadth of experience in biological, organic, natural products and synthetic chemistry, as well as chemical engineering, will allow me to not only work on interdisciplinary research problems, but also help expand the horizons of possibilities for students.

I have given careful considering to the type of academic institution that matches my talents and motivations, and am specifically looking for a primarily undergraduate institution, where I can run a small research group that will let me develop meaningful professional relationships with students. I was thrilled to see WRU’s strong focus on international collaboration, and plan to work with your Science Semester Abroad program, to enable my students to more deeply understand the collaborative and international nature of today’s scientific research.

Finally, I have visited Great City several times, and am well aware of the vast array of cultural and other amenities. I look forward to exploring the city further, and building a personal and professional life there.

Thank you for considering my application; I look forward to hearing from you.

With best regards,
Alice Walker