PhD Cover Letters

A PhD cover letter is an important part of your PhD application. Your cover letter (which may also be referred to as a motivational letter) focuses upon what makes you a great candidate and why you should be invited for interview.

This article will cover what a PhD cover letter is, when it would be used and how you can write a notable cover letter for your PhD application.

What Is a PhD Cover Letter?

Your cover letter is your first opportunity to explain to the committee why you should be selected to study for your postgraduate doctorate. It not only demonstrates your personality, but it can also explain in your own words why the hiring panel should choose you as a PhD student.

Like most cover letters, your PhD application letter should complement, but not repeat, your CV. It should explain and expand on the details referenced within your CV or application form.

You should tailor the content to your chosen PhD topic – this will enable you to focus your specific expertise and academic achievements on your learning capabilities.

It should be noted that when it comes to submitting your application to study for a PhD, you may be required to submit a personal statement as well as a cover letter. Each university will have its own criteria, but note that a cover letter is different from a personal statement.

Your personal statement will focus upon your interests and your ambitions, whilst your PhD cover letter will be looking at your tangible achievements, such as your academic and professional experience.

If you are required to draft both statements, then try to keep this in mind during the writing process.

What Key Points Should I Include Within My PhD Application Letter?

There are no rules for what to include within your PhD cover letter but, broadly speaking, your submission should include references to the following:

• Who you are – what your personality is and what sets you apart from other potential PhD candidates. Your cover letter should be a sales tool that should make any committee want to choose you to join their team.

• Your skills and achievements (along with any evidence to substantiate your claims).

• Your research into the specific academic institution (why you want to attend that specific school and what makes it a good fit for you).

• Your understanding of your research project and what you believe its impact may be upon your sector (this will demonstrate not just your knowledge of the research but will showcase your passion and motivation for the project).

• How your specific skills are relevant to the application. Have you undertaken any work experience relevant to that field? Have you been inspired by what previous alumni have achieved?

As with all applications, writing a great cover letter is a skill. It requires you to tread the balance between explaining in detail who you are and why you should be chosen, while remaining concise. It needs to showcase your personality while remaining professional.

It’s a difficult writing skill and one which shouldn’t be rushed. You should take your time to craft your application letter – the more time that is spent on it, the greater your chance of success.

A practical tip is to use the ‘top-down’ approach. This is a writing skill often used by marketers and PR professionals whereby you incorporate the strongest arguments/details at the top and work your way down.

You need to ensure that if a committee member stops reading your cover letter at any point, then they have already noted the most pressing details.

How Do I Write My PhD Cover Letter?

An easy way to focus your thoughts when writing your application letter is to consider it as a way of telling your story, at least in relation to the PhD you are applying for. By this, we mean that your letter should have a clear beginning, middle and end.

Using this format as a guide, here are some examples of how to start writing your PhD cover letter.

Starting Your Cover Letter

As with any form of professional correspondence, do your due diligence and be confident that you know who to send your application to.

As previously mentioned, each school will have its own application criteria – for some, it may need to be addressed to a specific professor, whilst others may direct you to a department or someone responsible for all recruitment.

Make sure you find out their name – along with correct spellings and titles. This is your first chance to make a good impression, so you must pay attention to the details.

Introducing Yourself

A good place to start is to introduce yourself first. Ask yourself, who are you and why should the committee continue to read your application letter?

This is your opportunity to explain what PhD you are applying for and why you want to study further. You may want to start your storytelling in this section.

For example:

As you can see from this example, the letter is starting to explain why the candidate wants to apply for the application, what inspires them to continue their learning and gives a look into their achievements. The result is that it makes the reader want to continue reading the letter.

Showcasing Your Skills and Achievements

The middle section is where you talk about what you have achieved and how you want to further your development and make an impact on your field of study.

This section should refer to your CV and provide greater insights into what you already know and why you would be a great candidate for the PhD programme.

You could use this section to briefly introduce what topic you believe would make a great research project.

For example:

Again, this is demonstrating a level of professionalism while starting to showcase exactly why you should be chosen to join the PhD programme. It shows that you’re not just thinking of yourself, you’re also considering the wider implications that your research may have upon your field of study.

Ending Your Cover Letter

As you draw towards the end of your cover letter, you may wish to reiterate why you want to study at this specific institution. Showing you have researched the university’s research reputation can go a long way to impressing hiring panels.

It may be globally renowned, or perhaps it’s a good fit for your specific area of interest. Maybe there’s a specific professor you would like to work alongside or maybe you’ve seen the career advancement of previous alumni. If you have a personal reason why you are a good fit for the school, then state it here.

Additionally, we would also recommend explaining what you plan to do with your research upon its completion. Hiring panels will be keen to find out how you plan to use your expertise and what your long term ambitions are.

For example:

As you sign off your cover letter, make sure you include a call to action. Encourage the panel to get in touch with you to arrange a formal interview or direct them to your CV so that they can be reminded of your experience.

You need to end the letter with no doubt that you are a good fit for the PhD programme and that you are an ideal candidate that they need to snap up.

For example:

If you have addressed the letter to a named contact, use ‘Yours sincerely’. If you have been directed to address your letter to a general department, then formalities suggest that you should use the sign off ‘Yours faithfully’.

Tips to Improve Your PhD Application Letter

• Keep it concise. Where possible, it shouldn’t exceed two pages of A4. They can find out more detail about who you are during the interview stage; this is merely to whet their appetite and excite them to want to find out more about you.

• Don’t reiterate what has already been written on your CV. Instead, they want to know how the experience on your CV has made you a more rounded individual. How has it shaped your interest in your chosen study and what is compelling you to continue to further your learning?

• Provide evidence. If you are highly regarded within your professional sector, then demonstrate this – are you involved in any sector groups or have you been recognised with any awards? The whole purpose of your potential research project is to provide evidentiary proof of your hypothesis so if you are going to make bold statements about your career history, then the first thing any PhD supervisor will want to know, is 'Where is the evidence?'.

• Check for errors. Remember that your letter is a professional representation of who you are. Before submitting your PhD application, make sure that your cover letter is free from grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. It’s a sister document to your CV so try to ensure consistency between the two documents – use similar formatting, a professional font (Ariel or Calibri are good choices) and ensure that your margins are coherent.

Example PhD Cover Letter

Below, is an example of a cover letter for your PhD application. We hope that it inspires you and helps you to understand more about what you should be including when it comes to writing your own letter.

Remember that this is an example only and your cover letter should be tailored to your circumstances.

Final Thoughts

This article has been designed to give you some insights into what to expect from your PhD application.

To read more about PhDs, we recommend that you read our postgraduate pages, which contain numerous articles about PhDs, MBAs and further study.