Cover Letter for Application to Phd Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

Stands out from other cover letters , specific to you and specific to the position at hand. Relate your specific skill sets and previous experience to the programme you are applying for. The answers to the following questions should influence how you present yourself on paper: what is the balance between research and teaching? will i be working on someone else rsquo s research or my own independent research? is the position fixed term/contract or permanent/open ended? if possible try to also find out more about the position using either the contact given in the job advert or your own contacts. Try to find out why the position is being advertised for example, has someone retired? and a bit about what they are expecting from their new hire, such as to teach existing courses or develop new ones. Length is unimportant ndash can run to several pages list items in reverse chronological order within sections most recent at top don rsquo t need personal details such as photo, gender, marital status use simple, easy to read formatting and layout avoid institution specific terminology e.g. The codes of courses you rsquo ve taught if you are applying outside lse these are typical section headings for academic cvs. You don rsquo t need to use all of them ndash if something is not appropriate for your cv leave it out: name and contact details research areas education research positions/academic appointments awards and research grants teaching experience publications conference presentations organisational and administrative experience professional affiliations/memberships additional skills e.g.

Languages, it references it rsquo s crucial to present your publications clearly as this section will be one of the most important on your cv. You should: include lsquo in preparation rsquo or lsquo planned rsquo publications within reason and state which journal you plan to submit them to and if possible when be clear about the status of other publications e.g. Lsquo under review rsquo , lsquo accepted for publication rsquo separate out different types of publication. The highest impact publications for an academic selection panel are likely to be any peer reviewed journal papers.

Below are some examples of successful academic cvs that have been kindly donated by lse phd students. These are based on real applications but some names and details have been changed: length ndash generally 1 to 3 pages shorter if you are also sending a research proposal use the layout for a professional letter see examples on website the first paragraph should state clearly what position you are applying for avoid giving simply a chronological account of your experience ndash this is what your cv is for. Analyse the position to decide what parts of your experience will be of most interest to the selection panel e.g.

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For a research only position they will be more interested in the impact of your research than in your teaching experience. Show that you are interested in and know about them in particular ndash don rsquo t allow your cover letter to read as if it could be sent to any department/university you should consider who will be reading your cover letter. For example, if you are applying for a lectureship your letter will be read by academics in the department to which you are applying. This means that you cannot assume that they will appreciate the novelty/value of your research and you will need to be explicit about this. So: situate your work ndash how does it relate to what other scholars have done/are doing draw attention to what is original about your thesis and your research activity and how it contributes to the field mention key publications that are published/planned ndash these are the main means of assessing research quality in most academic markets if appropriate e.g. You will need to persuade the reader that these are worthwhile, interesting and well thought through mention any experience you have of securing research funding below are some examples of successful academic cover letters that have been kindly donated by lse phd students.

All of these are real applications but some names and details have been changed: firstly, i would like to thank for the possibility of this forum. I am writing to apply for the phd in environmental risk management at university of . During my degree i became very interested in the sustainable development, its principles and associated tools that allow the evaluation of potential risks and prevent them. In the context of sustainability, during the last year of my degree, i worked directly with a local authority council, spain to develop its sustainable observatory based on a set of indicators, which covered the environmental, social and economic areas.

The observatory revealed to be a very important tool for their local agenda , helping the decision makers to evaluate their local development plans, strategies and policies. Once i have completed my degree, i focused my professional career on the development of quality and environmental management systems, namely in companies related to the construction industry. As i have always been involved with this particular industry, i became aware of the bivalency between environment and built environment and conscious that construction has the potential to cause severe impacts on the environment but on the other hand, it is the kind of industry that has the ability to enhance the environmental health, biodiversity and quality of life when applying the appropriate approaches and tools. Between 199x and 200x, i have worked in spain as a consultant and developed quality and environmental management systems according to iso 9001 and iso 14001 standards in ready mixed and quarrying companies. In 200x, i came to england to do a masters degree in quality engineering from university.

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When developing my masters´ dissertation, i applied my research skills in a real case study company belonged to a very well known ready mixed brand within united kingdom. It was a real challenge and very interesting experience for me, from which i decided to stay here to reinforce my international experience, namely in the construction industry. Since 200x, i have been working as a qe quality and environmental manager in an engineering consultancy company. Its main clients are local authorities and its services include: design and maintenance of highways design, maintenance and inspection of highways structures and development of regeneration projects. Dealing with this type of clients/entities and projects, i have realised how important all the parties from planers and local authorities to designers and contractors are in terms of making the sustainability happen and how difficult it is due to the lack of appropriate or available tools and factual data. This has reinforced my interest in this topic, to which i intend to contribute and get involved as a researcher. Hence, i intend to develop a phd related to sustainable issues and associated tools/practical techniques capable to enhance the capacity of policy makers, managers, planners, public authorities and enterprises to identify from a range of options, the most effective in promoting and achieving the level of sustainability suited to their own circumstances, maximising the benefits in economic, social and environmental terms.

As the division of environmental health and risk management at university has important research activities in these areas, i would like to have the opportunity to develop its phd programme in environmental risk management, to which i am confident i have the skills, knowledge and competence. Thank you very much for considering my application and i look forward to hearing from you. ^_^ i am writing to express my great interest in applying for the phd program in your research group. During my academic years, i was doing the research on metallic films deposited on liquid substrates. The temperature dependence of formation mechanism and microstructures of the ag films are studied. Afm research on the microstructures of the ag and au ramified aggregates as well as the up and down surfaces of the au continuous films are presented. These laboratory experiences provide me the training and therefore skills as well as innovations in the experiment of condensed matter physics such as sample fabrication, microstructure analysis and so on.