Most grad school applicants have the grades, passion, and skills to excel there. Not everyone, however, can put that across in a few short paragraphs of a grad school cover letter.
The competition for graduate schools can be fierce. Nobody’s applying here if they don’t have the grades or a passion for the subject. This is why a personal touch can go a long way. Cover letters for graduate school are rarely required, as many institutions have their process fully online. However, if you didn’t have to write one, you wouldn’t have searched for this guide.
Most people will write an unimpressive description of their prior education and a list of attachments. This is your chance to stand out. So let’s make it a good one.
In this guide:
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First, let’s check out this graduate school cover letter sample. See how it makes the best use of this opportunity.
This sample cover letter for graduate school is from Joanna, seeking admission to a Master of Arts in Philosophy program.
Here’s how to pass the first time around:
Joanna Perreault
245 Lucy Lane
Bloomington, IN 47408
309-122-1128
joannaperreault@me.com
Bloomington, Dec 16, 2019
Dr. John Smith
Columbia University
708 Philosophy Hall,
1150 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10027
Dear Dr. Smith,
I am pleased to submit my application to the Master of Arts in Philosophy program at Columbia University. Given my previous academic background, a BA in Linguistics & Philosophy from Boston University (4.0 GPA), the graduate program at Columbia with its modules in Philosophy of Language is a perfect fit for me to expand my expertise and make a step towards my goal of completing a PhD in Philosophy, focusing on the Philosophy of Language and the way microaggressive and dog-whistle language in politics shapes public opinion.
While working on my BA at Boston University, I have had the incredible opportunity to be at the forefront of linguistics research. During my studies in the ‘Topics in Knowledge, Language, and Logic’ module, I have had the opportunity to join Dr. Fraser’s research on the language of the media. My part was in the preparation stage, during initial, manual selection of parsing criteria, establishing algorithm rules and baselines. I have manually analysed the language of 300+ articles using a continuously evolving model. Several of my recommendations and insights became key tenets of the model, which you can read more about in Dr. Fraser’s letter of recommendation. All in all, I have given over 500 hours over 2 years to this project, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. Together with colleagues and students from the Department of Computer Science, an algorithm was built to parse media content and use NLP through Python to analyse the language within. The sentiments of each media outlet could then be plotted on a subject-specific spectrum. Over 500,000 articles and 400 million words were analysed. One of the recommendations for further research was to study the implications and effects of what Dr. Fraser called ‘combative’ language on public opinion, and the proportional impact of positive vs. negative descriptions. This has now become my ambition, and I hope to complete a PhD that surveys these effects.
Please find the list of attachments and application documents below. It is compliant with the list required on the university website, but if there is anything else you require, or you have any questions, please let me know.
Thank you,
Joanna Perreault
Attached:
Graduate School Admission Application
Undergraduate Transcript
Statement of Academic Purpose
CV
2 Writing Samples (1 Philosophy, 1 Linguistics)
3 letters of evaluation / recommendation
With a graduate school cover letter like that, you can be sure you’ll be getting an interview. It captivates the reader with an account of the student going above and beyond—
Which is what graduate education is about.
It shows a clear path and intention to contribute to the body of knowledge in their field, as well as listing all the necessary parameters concisely.
Let’s get started on your grad school cover letter.
Here’s how to write a perfect cover letter for graduate school:
It would be comforting to assume that every cover letter for grad school is read meticulously, the advantages of each candidate being mapped on a huge leaderboard through standardised weighting.
But—sometimes people just don’t like the look of you. Or your grad school cover letter.
The way your grad school cover letter looks might not secure extra points for being correct, but it can definitely get your application binned if it’s wrong. If you can’t get your graduate school cover letter right, do you demonstrate the attention-to-detail and thoroughness required for further studies?
This is how not to lose points on your cover letter format:
Make sure you check these steps again at the end—sometimes formatting can get messed up mid-way, especially when copy and pasting.
Let’s run down what to include in your cover letter for graduate school.
Addressing a cover letter for graduate school is not vastly different from addressing one for jobs. Make sure to include your physical address, but also email and phone number. If there is anything missing from your application, you want them to be able to reach you.
Underneath, write down the date like any other letter, and below, the details of the person that will be dealing with your admission.
Check against our template:
[ Your Full Name]
[ Physical Address ]
[ Phone Number ]
[ Email Address ]
[ Date ]
[ Graduate Program Director / Administrator ]
[ Academic Department ]
[ University Name ]
[ Address ]
[ City and Zip Code ]
Expert Hint: Take extra time and care when applying to fully-funded programs, the acceptance rates for those drop into low single digits.
Couldn’t be anything easier to do on a grad school cover letter than addressing it, right? Once again, we are in territory where you will not be winning points, but you may get your application binned.
These aren’t general undergraduate admissions, graduate programs usually have a specific person in charge dealing with the applications, and it doesn’t hurt to look it up. The name of the program administrator should be right there on the course description page on your university’s website. If you wade through the departmental pages and still can’t find it, just call them up. It’s no secret.
Once you’ve done the research, address the program administrator by their first name.
Start your cover letter by clearly identifying the graduate program you are hoping to join, and give them a reason to keep reading—your biggest academic achievement or a specific relation to the course you’re applying to.
Here’s a graduate school cover letter sample—you can just replace the [blanks] with your information.
Dear [Proper Academic Title] [Surname]:
I am pleased to submit my application to the [Program Name] program at [Grad School Name]. Given my previous academic background, a [Your Degree Name] from [University Name] [GPA], the graduate program at [Grad School Name] is the natural progression in working towards my goal of [your goal], due to its [graduate program focus/specific modules/other reason].
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They have the what, let’s give them the why. Graduate programs can be very specific, narrowed versions of a broader discipline—if this is the case, this is your easiest path to proving your adequacy for the program.
Focus on parts of your existing education that match this focus and what achievements or skills you have acquired that will let you excel in this graduate program. List any extracurricular experience related to your graduate program—jobs, work experience, placements, internships.
As a graduate of [Degree Name] at [University Name], I was fortunate enough to [list any achievements/notable projects/unique skills/things you can quantify]. My [list background experience/specific modules/extracurricular work] make me the ideal fit for the [Graduate Program Name] program, due to [the link between your background and the focus of the graduate program].
Expert Hint: Most graduate programs will require you to take a GRE—the Graduate Record Examination. Machine learning solutions exist that craft a tailor-made program to your weaknesses, and help you fix them to raise your score, and your chances.
All done. Just some formal pleasantries and a safeguard in case you missed something.
Feel free to just copy this paragraph:
Please find the list of attachments and application documents below. It is compliant with the list required on your website, but if there is anything else you require, or you have any questions, please let me know.
When ending your cover letter for graduate school, mention your full name again and add a list of attachments.
Here is how we close sample cover letters for graduate school:
Best Regards,
[Your Handwritten Signature]
[Your Full Name]
Attached:
Graduate Admission Application
Undergraduate Transcripts
Statement of Academic Purpose
Standardised Test Scores
CV
[X] Writing Samples (1 Philosophy, 1 Linguistics)
[X] letters of evaluation / recommendation / reference
The handwritten signature is a nice touch if you have the space for it. Drop 3 lines of space to make it stand out.
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If you’re writing a cover letter for graduate school, you’re most likely going to need a CV. See:
When writing your cover letter for graduate school applications, make sure to:
Do you have any more questions about writing a cover letter for graduate school? Did you find our grad school cover letter examples helpful? Leave us a comment, I’ll be more than happy to hear from you!
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Dave is a career expert whose articles cover various topics related to job applications. He created numerous advice pieces for ResumeLab UK to help readers improve their chances of landing great jobs using well-researched, data-driven tips.
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