Academic Job Cover Letter Generator
Describe your research, your teaching and why this department, and get a faculty or postdoctoral cover letter in the US or UK convention, with the greeting, sign-off, referee line and length guidance to match. Placeholders mark anything you have not yet written, and a page estimate tells you whether you are inside the usual one to two pages. Honest templates, no AI — the substance is yours. Free, no sign-up.
Your application
Changes the greeting, sign-off, referee line, date format and length guidance. The posting's own instructions always win.
The post
Include the title. Blank gives the usual committee greeting for your convention.
You and your research
Finishes the sentence “I am …”.
Finishes “At [institution], I plan to …”.
Teaching
Separate with commas.
Fit and service
Separate with commas.
Enclosures
Signature
Your cover letter
8 placeholders left to fill — shown in [brackets]
Dear Members of the Search Committee,
I am writing to apply for the position of [Position title] in [Department] at [Institution].
[Your research: what you study, what you found, why it matters]
[Your teaching: courses, approach, and evidence it works]
[Why this department: specific colleagues, centres or students]
Enclosed is my curriculum vitae. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss my application further. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely, [Your name] [Your current position]
Length
76 words, about 0.2 pages at 450 words a page. Under a page: there is usually room to say more about fit.
Faculty letters in the US and Canada usually run one and a half to two pages, read alongside a CV and separate research and teaching statements.
How to Use the Academic Job Cover Letter Generator
- 1. Pick the convention and the post. Choose United States / Canada or United Kingdom, and faculty or postdoctoral. This sets the greeting, the sign-off, the referee line, the date format and the length guidance.
- 2. Enter the post. The title, department and institution, plus a job reference number if the advertisement gives one. If you know who is receiving applications, enter their title and name; otherwise the standard committee greeting is used.
- 3. Write the substance. Your research in a short paragraph, what you would do at this institution, your teaching, and why this department. Be specific — names, centres, courses. These paragraphs are yours; the tool adds only the connecting sentences.
- 4. Choose the enclosures. Tick what you are sending. The letter lists them and, if you wish, mentions your referees.
- 5. Check the length and copy. The estimate compares your word count with one to two pages. Copy the letter, or download it as text, then set it on letterhead in your own word processor.
What an Academic Cover Letter Does
A search committee reads dozens of applications and uses the cover letter to decide which CVs deserve a careful look. It is not a summary of the CV. It answers three questions in order: what do you work on and why does it matter, can you teach what we need taught, and why are you right for this department rather than any department? The strongest letters answer the third with specifics a form letter could not contain.
| Paragraph | What it should do |
|---|---|
| Opening | Name the post and, in one sentence, who you are now. |
| Research | State your question, what you found, and where it goes next. Say what you would do at this institution. |
| Teaching | Courses you have taught and could teach, your approach, and one piece of evidence it works. Postdocs can shorten or omit it. |
| Fit | Colleagues, centres, facilities or students that connect to your work. Specific, not flattering. |
| Service and close | Mentoring or service if relevant, the enclosures, the referees, and an offer to talk. |
US and UK Conventions Compared
The conventions overlap, but they are not identical, and the advertisement or the department's guidance always takes priority over any general rule.
| United States / Canada | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical length | About one and a half to two pages | No more than two pages of A4 |
| Companion documents | CV plus separate research and teaching statements, and any other statements the posting requests | CV, sometimes a supporting statement addressing the person specification |
| Greeting without a name | Dear Members of the Search Committee | Dear Sir or Madam |
| Sign-off | Sincerely | Yours sincerely (named recipient) or Yours faithfully (no name) |
| Referees | Letters usually sent separately | Named on the application form |
| Date | October 5, 2026 | 5 October 2026 |
UK posts often score applications against essential and desirable criteria in a person specification. If you are asked for one, treat the cover letter as a short overview and put the point-by-point evidence in the supporting statement; do not repeat all of it twice.
Common Mistakes
- Sending the same letter everywhere. A fit paragraph that could be pasted into any university shows that you did not read the advertisement. Name a colleague, a centre or a course.
- Restating the CV. Tell the committee what the CV cannot: why your results matter and where the work is going.
- Going past two pages. Committees skim. If it does not fit, cut detail that the research statement already carries.
- Praising the institution. “Your prestigious university” says nothing. “The coastal field station would let me compare temperate and tropical systems” says something.
- Forgetting the posting's instructions. Some advertisements ask for specific items in the letter itself, such as your visa status or a start date. Answer them.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How long should an academic cover letter be?
- In the US and Canada, about one and a half to two pages for a faculty post. In the UK, no more than two pages of A4. A postdoctoral letter is often shorter. The generator estimates pages at 450 words a page, which is a guide: margins, type size and the address block change the real number.
- How is an academic cover letter different from a regular cover letter?
- It is longer, written to a committee of researchers, and organised around research, teaching and fit rather than around a job description. It also assumes a CV and, in many fields, separate research and teaching statements, so it summarises rather than repeats them.
- Should I address the letter to a person or the search committee?
- To a named person if the advertisement gives one, with their correct title, such as Professor or Dr. If it does not, use the committee greeting for your country: “Dear Members of the Search Committee” in the US and Canada, “Dear Sir or Madam” in the UK. Avoid “To whom it may concern”.
- Do I need a teaching paragraph for a postdoc application?
- Usually not as a full paragraph. A postdoc is chosen mainly for research fit with a lab or group. If you have taught or mentored students and the advertisement mentions it, say so briefly. The generator only adds a teaching paragraph for a postdoc if you write one.
- How do I mention my referees?
- In the US it is usual to say that letters will be sent separately, if the system collects them that way. In the UK, referees are normally named on the application form, so the letter simply notes it. Tick the referee box only if that is true for your application.
- Does this tool write the letter for me?
- No. It adds an opening line, connecting sentences, the enclosure list and the close; the research, teaching and fit are your words. Honest templates, no AI. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded, so download the letter before you leave the page.