difference between cover letter and teaching philosophy

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What is the difference between a Teaching Philosophy and a Teaching Statement?

Context: I am a PhD student in mathematics currently applying for tenure-track positions at small colleges throughout the US.

In general, most openings I've seen are asking for what they've termed a "Teaching Statement," while the remainder ask for a "Teaching Philosophy." Is there a difference between these two documents? If so, what is it?

I've posed this question to a wide variety of people (colleagues, panels, etc.), and they can't seem to arrive at a consensus. Some say that there is no difference whatsoever, whereas others say that a statement is supposed to be much more concrete and give more specifics than a philosophy.

I realize that this question was already addressed in some of the answers to this question , but I'd like to hear a little bit more detail, if possible.

• application
• faculty-application
• teaching-statement

3 Answers 3

One of the confusing aspects of the various fields of academics is that within one field there can be many terms that essentially mean the same thing. People may try to state that there is a difference but normally the differences are so minor that it is essentially hair-splitting.

The difference between a "teaching philosophy" and "teaching statement" is basically the second word used in both terms. If there is more difference then this it is so nuanced that the average person would fail to notice.

There are two ways to describe your attitude to the teaching: to tell what you think should be right and why (a very dangerous thing for a recent postdoc to do on a job market, by the way) and just to list your formal experience and methods to deal with common classroom problems (how to motivate the students, what amount of workload to put on them, etc.). In normal world the first would be called "teaching philosophy", and the second "teaching statement", but in reality administrators just use whatever word sounds nicer to them. So, do not pay any attention whatsoever to the wording, but rather think if you have a friend out there who could tell you what exactly is expected (a small liberal art college would have a very different way to evaluate your teaching statement/philosophy than a big research university and there are plenty of "shades of gray" in between).

They both are definitely different.

Teaching Statement consists of:

Statement of Teaching Interests. (Don't reproduce your CV)

1.1 Some history of your teaching

1.2 Institutions taught in, along with Courses

1.3 What do you love teaching? etc., etc.

Statement of Teaching Philosophy. (Don't reproduce your CV)

1.1 What do you think should be outcomes of your teaching?

1.2 What teaching methodology do you use? Pedagogy, means "leading children" or Andragogy means "leader of adult men". etc.

1.2 What technologies - OHP, Slides projector, Computer hardware and software; Conventional Blackboards, white boards or An interactive whiteboard (IWB) or Smart board? etc., etc.

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Teaching philosophies for faculty job applications

The purpose of a teaching philosophy.

The main goal of a teaching philosophy is to show search committees that you are ready and able to teach the students at their institution. There may be few formal opportunities to get on-the-job training to be an effective teacher once you start in your new role as a faculty member, and it is expected that you will be able to teach with minimal supervision once you start. This means that you should certainly seek out opportunities to gain meaningful teaching experiences as you are working on your PhD or as a postdoc. There are plenty of opportunities to do this as an adjunct, a teaching assistant, a mentor, a journal club coordinator, and in any situation where you are imparting knowledge to others, whether in groups or one-on-one.

A teaching philosophy is a document that describes your general approach to teaching. Can you summarize for the search committee what your goals are when you teach? If you can articulate this, and do so in a way that aligns with that institution’s own teaching philosophy or mission, then you will have done a good job at showing that you understand the role and responsibility that may take up a fair proportion of your life as a new faculty member. Search committees will be interested in seeing how you have improved over time, how you have incorporated new approaches, and even how you have learned from approaches that did not work.

To a certain extent, your teaching philosophy can focus on broad concepts of learning, and it can be philosophical at heart. However, it is helpful to show how your teaching philosophy has developed over time so that any broad concepts can become more tangible and real. For example, where did you get your ideas or inspiration? What has cemented the approaches you take? Was it your experience as a student, as a teacher, or based on research you may have done on teaching theory? Philosophies should not just spring out of nowhere, they develop and evolve as you put them into action and test them. One of the purposes of the teaching philosophy is to show search committees that you have a firm foundation on which you can develop as a faculty member. If your philosophy comes without context or explanation, you are not going to be as convincing.

Really good teaching philosophies quickly turn from general concepts to specific illustrations of teaching in action (whether you are doing the teaching or you are being taught). As search committees are looking for someone who will be able to teach existing curricula, develop new and interesting courses, and who can connect effectively with students (and other faculty), they will be looking for some evidence that you have done something similar already. If you are potentially going to be teaching both graduate and undergraduate students at the institution you are applying to, can you describe experiences where you have interacted with both of these groups that is in some way relevant to teaching approaches? What are the differences between these groups that you have observed, and how have you adjusted your approach? What about teaching students from diverse backgrounds or international students, what evidence can you provide within your philosophy that might show that you have the ability to do this, try to tailor your teaching statement to indicate you can work effectively with the population of students that attend the institutions that interest you.

Ultimately, your teaching philosophy should complement your cover letter, CV, and research statement to illustrate what makes you an ideal candidate for the job. The more specific the illustrations that you provide, the more meaningful your philosophy will become, and the more interesting it will be to read.

Timeline: Getting Started with your Teaching Philosophy

Developing and teaching your own class is not a necessary prerequisite to having your own interesting and informative teaching philosophy (but it can certainly help!). There are many aspects of your academic experience that you can draw upon when thinking about and developing your own philosophy.

As a student, you have seen a range of good, bad, and indifferent teaching styles and approaches. The teaching philosophy is not the place to complain about the negative ones, but it is an opportunity to discuss what you learned from these experiences as a student, how you can integrate what you learned into your own teaching approaches, and why this will make you an ideal candidate. You should mention those approaches you saw to be very effective at achieving teaching goals, and be clear as to what you see these goals to be. As stated above, do not be afraid to give specific illustrations of particular situations where you saw teaching being truly effective. These specific examples will help your teaching philosophy standout from the rest of the philosophies in the application pile.

If you are interested in gaining additional teaching experiences while you are studying at Penn, then consider visiting the Center for Teaching and Learning, which works with graduate students to help them improve their teaching at Penn and to help prepare them to become faculty in the future. It is important to think about teaching as more than just standing in a classroom giving a lecture. Mentoring students, overseeing aspects of your lab, coordinating practical or lab components of courses, participating in journal clubs, all involve teaching to a certain degree, depending on how you choose to define the term. You can certainly use these experiences as the foundation for your teaching philosophy, and expand on how these experiences will translate to more formal lecture-based situations.

It is easy enough for anyone to say that they have a “student-centered teaching style” where they focus on the different learning styles of the students. However, it is much more effective to back-up broad statements like this with specific illustrations of your teaching in action, especially when the examples you choose have some great outcomes you can highlight (e.g., high student evaluation of the course, student retention throughout the class, individuals choosing your subject as a major). Do not spend too much time trying to drop in teaching buzzwords if this takes away from actual examples of you using or experiencing effective teaching approaches. And remember, your teaching philosophy is always going to be subject to change as you continue to have new and different teaching experiences that inform you. There are always new learning theories, new technologies, and new ways of assessing teaching effectiveness, which you can integrate into your philosophy over time. Keep your philosophy statement updated with your new perspectives and new illustrations.

Follow these general steps to begin developing an effective teaching philosophy:

Step 1: Think about your experiences as a student, and any experiences you have had as a teacher, and describe what you see as your teaching goals and what you believe are effective outcomes of learning. Do not be tempted just to make up a philosophy that sounds good, really give some thought as to what you believe teaching actually represents. Additionally, you can try to envision how you would like to be described by your (future) students if they were asked about what kind of teacher you are. Specifically show how effective teaching approaches are tied to outcomes and results as you are describing your experiences. It is OK to talk about learning experiences that you have had or seen that you have improved (in other words, that were not as effective as you had hoped), especially if you describe how you used student or faculty feedback or your own evaluations to do so.

Step 2: Ask faculty in your department if they are willing to share their own teaching philosophies with you. To a certain extent, there will be some subject-specific differences in what is expected from a teaching philosophy, and so it is always a good idea to see how others in your field have done it. You should try to draft your own teaching philosophy first before you review any philosophies shared with you. Your goal is to create a unique philosophy tailored to your experiences and perspectives, not to echo the philosophies of your advisors.

Step 3: Look at the website of the academic institution(s) to which you are applying, and try to find out about their institutional teaching philosophy. You can usually find this in their mission statement, or on departmental homepages. If you can describe your own philosophy in a language that is similar to the way they describe theirs, then you will help them to see how you will fit in as a faculty member. It is advisable to tailor your teaching philosophy for each application, however, more time should be devoted to tailoring your cover letter and CV.

Step 4: Integrate all of this information together in 1-2 pages, remembering to make your philosophy rich with actual examples and illustrations of your teaching experiences and ideas. Schedule an appointment with a career advisor to get feedback on your draft. You should also try to get faculty in your department to review your philosophy if they are willing to do so.  In particular, faculty who have seen you teach or your student evaluations are important resources for feedback (and can serve as references).

Explore other application documents:

• Career Advice
• Seeking a Faculty Job

How to Craft a Teaching Philosophy Statement

Mohammed Albakry describes four pitfalls to avoid so they don’t mar your statement’s effectiveness and alienate search committee members.

By  Mohammed Albakry

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The diversity, equity and inclusion statement that higher education institutions require in academic job applications has become highly divisive and polarizing in a number of states. But colleges and universities regularly request two other kinds of statements that raise few, if any, concerns. The research statement and the teaching philosophy statement provide applicants opportunities to situate themselves in the ongoing scholarly and pedagogical conversations related to their disciplinary fields. They are thus perceived as being less politicized and more related to the faculty’s core mission.

That doesn’t mean, however, that either statement is easy to write. In fact, both rhetorical documents lack a defined format and pose challenges for graduate students who are about to launch their academic and professional careers.

In this essay, I will focus on the teaching philosophy statement, also known as the teaching statement. The majority of departments in both teaching and research institutions, from community colleges to Ivy League universities, require such a statement in their faculty job applications. Often viewed as an important indicator in assessing a candidate’s potential for teaching success, it can weigh heavily in the hiring process—especially, of course, at more teaching-focused institutions.

I should note that not all educators agree on the importance or relevance of the statement. Some critics argue that writing a compelling statement does not necessarily equate to being an effective teacher who can excite students in the classroom. After all, as one commentator put it, “You’d never hire a major league pitcher to write a nice essay on throwing the hanging curveball.” Yet although the point about the possible gap between theory and practice is a valid one, the analogy is ultimately misleading. Whereas baseball players are hired solely on their ability to throw, catch, bat and score runs, academics are expected to be effective communicators who can articulate their thoughts and reflect on their knowledge and praxis.

So how can you best compose such an important document? Based on my experience serving on numerous search committees as well as my research on self-presentation in academic discourse, I offer below a distillation of some of the points that can mar your statement’s effectiveness and risk alienating the search committee members. Some key pitfalls you should avoid are:

• Taking an overly theoretical approach. The statement is not an academic abstract nor a research paper that requires a full literature review. You needn’t pile up in it all the brand-name theorists— Foucault, Bourdieu, Bloom, Vygotsky and Freire seem to loom large in most statements, and not always to good effect. Rather, the statement is an invitation for you to share who you are as a teacher, the ideals that motivate you and the beliefs that guide your teaching practice. It is not about laying out your theoretical expertise in the psychology of learning or scholarship of teaching, unless those happen to be among your primary fields. But even in that case, it’s still better to save the theorizing threads for a research statement.
• Packaging your experiences into broad, common expressions and trendy jargon. Think “grit,” “mindset,” “best practices,” “decolonizing the curriculum,” “evidence-based,” “student-centered” and so on. Unless you contextualize such generic terms and exemplify them through concrete particulars, they are nothing more than overused buzzwords—lethargic phrases that can strip away the individual nuances and layered meanings of your teaching experiences.
• Overstating the importance of different learning styles. A common belief is that students, because of their brain wiring or personality traits, are neurologically predestined to acquire knowledge in a certain way. Such learning styles are usually categorized as visual, auditory and kinesthetic, for instance. Subscribing to this belief often leads to the erroneous assumption that learning preferences are fixed and must always be accommodated. As it turns out, little to no evidence exists to confirm that catering to perceived preferences in learning styles will lead to better learning outcomes. Indeed, many researchers agree that the stubbornly persistent belief in learning styles has been largely discredited. Such belief is now widely regarded as a neuromyth .
• Focusing on a deficit perspective . By that I mean the view that assumes that some student groups have social, cognitive, cultural and motivational defects that obstruct their learning. Often unconsciously embraced, this view is especially common in reference to minoritized students and those who are learning English, as well as low-income, nontraditional and so-called at-risk students. By focusing on what students lack or don’t have access to without paying sufficient attention to the existing structural barriers in higher education institutions, the deficit view can perpetuate harmful learning stereotypes.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of what to avoid in crafting your teaching statement. Nor will merely avoiding jargony style and debunked beliefs and stereotypes about learning produce a gripping statement. Nonetheless, it’s important to steer clear of these traps. When it comes to committees and hiring managers ruling out candidates, what goes wrong in the job application statements is frequently more important than what goes right.

That said, it’s certainly important to do things right, too. And when it comes to that, you need to offer a story that captures a pivotal moment in your teaching as a stepping-stone for discussing your underlying educational philosophy in order for your statement to stand out. Astute job seekers strategically add narrative elements and small anecdotes that represent the truth of, rather than the dry facts about, their teaching experience. Mindful of the view of narrative as situated meaning making, they use their personal stories to help a potential employer better understand how their experiences shape their teaching beliefs and principles.

They also connect their teaching philosophy to the specific instructional practices they employ in order to help readers see them in action in the classroom. Moreover, they are aware that teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin and thus strive to strike a balance between highlighting the labor of the teacher and the engagement of the students.

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So, for instance, instead of stating that your philosophy is informed by experiential learning, give specific examples of the types of experiences your students get involved in—internships, apprenticeships, practicums, fieldwork, work programs, community partnerships and the like. And show how such projects have helped them develop essential life skills and grow in their learning. In other words, rather than simply focusing on what you do in your teaching, you should also focus on what your students do as active learners in your classroom.

Along with the cover letter and recommendation letters, I’ve always found the teaching statement to be one of the most helpful sources of information about a job applicant. It is also often the most enjoyable statement in the application packet to read because of its more personal and reflective nature. Sure, it is sometimes stale and full of bromides and banal generalities. At its best, however, it can be an engaging document that reminds us of the value of what we do and the wondrous calling the teaching profession can be.

Mohammed Albakry is a professor of English linguistics at Middle Tennessee State University. He is the co-author, with Clint Bryan, of Writing Recommendation Letters (Michigan University Press). He is currently working on a book project on self-presentation in the academic support genre.

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/images/cornell/logo35pt_cornell_white.svg" alt="difference between cover letter and teaching philosophy"> Cornell University --> Graduate School

Teaching philosophy statement, what is a teaching philosophy statement.

A teaching philosophy statement is a narrative that includes:

• your conception of teaching and learning.
• a description of how you teach.
• justification for why you teach that way.

The statement can:

• demonstrate that you have been reflective and purposeful about your teaching.
• communicate your goals as an instructor and your corresponding actions in the classroom.
• point to and tie together the other sections of your portfolio.

What is the purpose of a teaching philosophy statement?

You generally need a teaching statement to apply for an academic position. A teaching statement:

• conveys your teaching values, beliefs, and goals to a broader audience.
• provides a set of criteria and/or standards to judge the quality of your teaching.
• provides evidence of your teaching effectiveness.

Components of a teaching philosophy statement

• educational purpose and learning goals for students
• your teaching methods
• methods for assessing students’ learning
• assessment of teaching

You also may include:

• a list of courses you have taught.
• samples of course syllabi.
• teaching evaluations.
• letters of recommendation.
• a video of a class you have taught (asked for by some universities).

Teaching values, beliefs, and goals

You should consider what you believe is the end goal or purpose of education:

• content mastery
• engaged citizenry
• individual fulfillment
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• discovery and knowledge generation
• self-directed learning
• experiential learning

What criteria are used to judge your teaching?

• student-teaching roles and responsibilities
• student-teacher interaction
• inclusiveness
• teaching methods
• assessment of learning

How do you provide evidence of your teaching effectiveness?

• peer review
• students’ comments
• teaching activities

Writing guidelines:

• There is no required content, set format, or right or wrong way to write a teaching statement. That is why writing one can be challenging. 
• Make the length suit the context. Generally, they are one to two pages.
• Use present tense and the first person, in most cases.
• Avoid technical terms and use broadly understood language and concepts, in most cases. Write with the audience in mind. Have someone from your field guide you on discipline-specific jargon and issues to include or exclude.
• Include teaching strategies and methods to help people “see” you in the classroom. Include specific examples of your teaching strategies, assignments, discussions, etc. Help them to visualize the learning environment you create and the exchanges between you and your students.
• Make it memorable and unique. The search committee is seeing many of these documents—What is going to set you apart? What will they remember? Your teaching philosophy will come to life if you create a vivid portrait of yourself as a person who is intentional about teaching practices and committed to your career.

“Own” your philosophy

Don’t make general statements such as “students don’t learn through lecture” or “the only way to teach is with class discussion.” These could be detrimental, appearing as if you have all of the answers. Instead, write about your experiences and your beliefs. You “own” those statements and appear more open to new and different ideas about teaching. Even in your own experience, you make choices about the best teaching methods for different courses and content: sometimes lecture is most appropriate; other times you may use service-learning, for example.

Teaching philosophy statement dos and don’ts:

• Don’t give idyllic but empty concepts.
• Don’t repeat your CV.
• Do research on the teaching institution and disciplinary trends.
• Do keep it short (one to two pages).
• Do provide concrete examples and evidence of usefulness of teaching concepts.
• Do discuss impact of methods, lessons learned, challenges, and innovations—how did students learn?
• Do discuss connections between teaching, research, and service.

Answer these questions to get started:

• The purpose of education is to________.
• Why do you want to teach your subject?
• Students learn best by______________.
• When you are teaching your subject, what are your goals?
• The most effective methods for teaching are___________.
• I know this because__________________.
• The most important aspects of my teaching are______________.

More information on teaching philosophy statements

An excellent guide for writing your teaching philosophy statement is Occasional Paper number 23, “Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy for the Academic Job Search,” from the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, which you can find at this page on The Teaching Philosophy and Statement .

Articles on Teaching Statements:

• “Writing the Teaching Statement”  by Rachel Narehood Austin, Science Magazine
• “How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy”  by Gabriela Montell, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “What’s Your Philosophy on Teaching, and Does it Matter?”  by Gabriela Montell, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “A Teaching Statement”  by Jeffrey Marcus, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “Everything But the Teaching Statement”  by Jeremy S. Clay, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• “Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement”  by Helen G. Grundman, Notices of the American Mathematical Society

Additional Resources:

• From Cornell’s Center for Teaching Innovation
• From the University of Michigan
• From University of California Berkeley
• From University of Pennsylvania

Electronic portfolios

The electronic portfolio is a way to showcase your accomplishments, skills, and philosophy on the internet. You can write a personal profile; post your CV, resume, research statement, teaching philosophy statement; give links to published articles, work samples, etc.; and post photos and other images. You can continually update it as you progress through your studies and your career. It is readably available for potential employers to see.

Sites that Host Electronic Portfolios:

• Digication (Cornell-supported option)
• Interfolio  (fee-based)
• Google Sites  (free)

Help at the Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI)

Coursework involving teaching portfolio development.

The course ALS 6015, “ Teaching in Higher Education ,” guides graduate students in how to prepare teaching portfolios and provides opportunity for peer and instructor feedback.

Individual Advice

By enrolling in the CTI’s new Teaching Portfolio Program , you will have access to consultations and advice on helping prepare elements of a teaching portfolio such as a teaching philosophy statement.

Workshops and Institutes

For graduate teaching assistants and postdocs considering academic positions in higher education, you could attend a teaching statement workshop as part of the Graduate School’s Academic Job Search Series , or a day-long Teaching Portfolio Institute offered by the CTI to help refine and document your teaching for the job search.

Katie Schulman

How to write a teaching philosophy statement: 10 helpful questions to get you started.

Originally published by under my maiden name Kathrin Viehrig on http://brachahkathrinviehrig.com on Feb 27, 2020

Andrea Piacquadio/ Pexels

Teaching philosophy statements are an important part of hiring and tenure. They are also good for reflective teaching practice. As Stephen Brookfield writes:

““Teaching is about making some kind of dent in the world so that the world is different than it was before you practiced your craft. Knowing clearly what kind of dent you want to make in the world means that you must continually ask yourself the most fundamental evaluative questions of all — What effect am I having on students and on their learning?”” (Stephen Brookfield (1990) The Skillful Teacher ,  pp. 18-19)” 10

But what exactly is a teaching philosophy statement? And how can you write one?

A teaching philosophy statement contains your beliefs, values and practices as a teacher 1 , 13, 15 , 14 , 9 . It should give “a clear and unique portrait of [you] as a teacher” 14 . 

Yet, a teaching philosophy statement is not a theoretical document. You should discuss specific examples as evidence “of what you do in the classroom to support those beliefs” 13 , see also 14 ,9 . Examples can be “experienced or anticipated” 1 ,14 . They should help the reader visualize you as a teacher 8, 10 ,11 ,12 . The reader should get a sense of what makes you different from other teachers.

A teaching philosophy statement is not a static document.  It is changing over time, as you learn from new experiences, new situations (e.g. different student ages and class sizes), new mentors, ideas, requirements or readings 1 .

Questions to get you started when writing your teaching philosophy statement

There are a lot of different how-to pages on the internet. Common parts of a teaching philosophy statement include 1 , 8 , 9 , 10 ,11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 :

1. So, why do you want to teach?

Show why being an educator matters to you. Think about your “why” in general, but also about why you teach at that level and that specific subject.

2. How did you become who you are as a teacher?

This shouldn’t be a rehash of your CV or resume. Instead, you could talk about role models and lessons learned from your past experiences – training, experiences as a teacher, reading or even childhood experiences. It can also describe how and why your thinking and practice have changed and what evidence you have for your progression.

3. What is your context?

This helps the reader to visualize your examples better. Think about the  type of institution you teach at, class sizes, level and subject-specific elements.

4. What are your core beliefs and values about teaching and learning?

For instance, you can talk about: What is a good teacher and adviser?  What responsibilities students have and what is your role? What are your values? (e.g. equality)  What promotes and what hinders learning? What makes a good learning environment? What challenges does your field have for students? What are your beliefs about diversity?

5. What goals do you have for your students?

What do you want your contribution to your students’ education to be? You can use specific examples for certain courses, but also think beyond to more general goals (e.g. learning how to learn). How do you reach these goals and how you know that you did?

6. How do you teach based on these beliefs, values and goals?

This can include a wide variety of examples that show how your beliefs, values and goals show up in practice. What are the methods, student activities, assignments, assessments and evaluation strategies you often use? How do you mentor students? How  do you create learning environments? What steps do you take to help motivate your students? How do you help students to overcome challenges ? And so on. You can, for example, put yourself into the shoes of an observer – what would s_he see?

7. In what way does your teaching relate to diversity?

While this is included in the earlier questions, because it is so important, I decided to list it as its own question. Describe how your diversity beliefs show up in practice and which steps you take to create an inclusive learning environment, from the way your syllabus is designed to how you vary your approach for students with different abilities, identities, backgrounds, concepts or learning styles. Some employers require a separate diversity statement.

Writing a diversity statement

If you have to or want to write a diversity statement separately, they  are usually short, about 1 to 2 pages. 19 . 23   Of course, if you have a separate diversity statement, it should fit with your teaching statement.

Diversities you can address are e.g. “race, ethnicity, and [socio-economic status], [] age, religion, academic preparedness, disability, gender expression” 20, sexual orientation 19 or nationality see also 22 .

Tell your story and how it has shaped who you are.”If you have overcome obstacles to get to where you are, point those out. If, in contrast, you are privileged, acknowledge that” 18 . You can, but don’t have to, disclose your identities – it’s seen controversially. 20 , 22 If you don’t have personal experiences (or don’t want to disclose some of them), you can “cite statistics or studies” to help your arguments 18 .

Discuss your values 19, 20 .

Show examples of how that impacts your practice in different areas:

• Research : How is your research “address[ing] issues of diversity, inclusion, or equity”? 20 This could be related e.g. to the topic and/or to the participating groups 20 . Another point is sharing your research “with the community or public in a way that promotes access to scholarship?” 20  see also 19 , 22
• Teaching : Think about past, current and future teaching, tutoring and mentoring experiences. How do you “help [diverse students] identify and overcome barriers to success” 20 , see also  18 ? Which strategies “to recruit and retain students from marginalized and underrepresented groups” 20 do you use? Are you “using inclusive language in the syllabus and classroom” 20 ? How do you address diversity in course design, creating your classroom atmosphere, course content and course readings? 20 see also 19 , 22
• Service : Another area is service – from volunteer work to professional committees. 19, 20

Highlight how your experiences will help you in the position you are applying for 19, 20 . Be specific 19 . Like a teaching statement, tailor it to the institution you are writing it for 19,  20

How do you want to grow? How do you want to contribute in the future? 19, 20

Examples to get you started: 21,  22, 23

8. What are your interests and goals as a teacher?

A teaching philosophy statement should show that you are willing to learn and change. You can describe goals you have to improve as a teacher, strategies for reaching them,  indicators for knowing when you reached them and examples of past goals reached. You can also include a discussion of things that you are still struggling with, special interests you have (e.g. using specific digital media or certain methods) or things you want to try out.

9. How do you link different aspects of your career?

What is the relationship between e.g. your research and your teaching? You can also describe whether you include students in your research or links to your professional development or colleagues.

10. “[H]ow do you advance your field through teaching”? 1

Beyond the individual students you teach, does your teaching have a wider impact? This can include, for instance, methods or published teaching materials that you have developed and that are now used in other classrooms.

You can also draw on literature. For instance, “ Are there discussions in academic journals or in professional organizations about shortcomings in the education of students today or unmet needs in the discipline and do you have ideas about how to address those shortcomings and needs? ” 13 

Or, put differently, “ How do you want to make the world or at least [] education better? ” 13 

Linking the answers

What relationships emerge between your answers? For instance, don’t “simply list[] teaching techniques or experiences, but [] describe how these techniques or experiences have contributed to [your] beliefs about what constitutes effective teaching” 17 .

Preparing your teaching philosophy statements

Yes, that’s plural – statements, not just statement!  You will have to write different versions of your teaching philosophy statement depending on what it’s used for. For instance, some elements will be different depending on whether you’re applying to a religious school or a state school, a school with small classes or large classes, a technology in teaching grant etc. 8 . As one recruiter says: “Just like cover letters, teaching statements should be tailored to the institution; if yours isn’t, we’ll toss out your application” 12.

To help you when writing a specific teaching philosophy statement, Canada’s Western University recommends that you keep a comprehensive file 1 . That file can then be used to write the specific statement.

Another thing that can help you to prepare your teaching statement is looking at examples that are shared on the net. Even just looking through a few of them, you will see how different teaching philosophy statements can be.

To get you started, you can look e.g. here: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5, 6,   7 , 9, 15

Putting it together

Teaching philosophy statements are short (about 1-2, sometimes up to 5 pages) 1 . 9 , 10 ,12 ,13 ,14 , 17, 16 . 

Resist the temptation to squeeze everything tightly together. “Include generous white spaces between paragraphs to allow for ease of reading.” 17   Even if that means you can’t include detailed answers to all of the questions above.

Write in the first person 1 . 9 ,11 ,12 ,13 ,14 , 16 ,17 .

Write for people beyond your field. Don’t assume that they know discipline-specific terms 17 .

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Internship and Career Center

Preparing cover letters for teaching positions in academia.

Cover letters for teaching positions in academia should be tailored to the position and mission of the institution. For 4-year universities, the emphasis is first on research, then secondly teaching and thirdly service. For Liberal Arts colleges and state universities, the emphasis is on a balance of research and teaching, with the research informing your engagement of students, and service. For community colleges, the emphasis is solely on teaching and service, with research noted as a means to stay informed about the field and engage the diverse student population.

General Tips and Suggestions

• Understanding the expectations of the position and the unique characteristics of the institution are essential to writing an effective cover letter. Research the campus and department.
• In some cases and, only with permission of the department, you can use departmental letterhead for your cover letter. Otherwise, creating a header you can use for all of the application materials you are submitting (e.g., CV, Teaching Philosophy Statement, Research Statement) can help create a unified packet.
• Use the same font and margins as your CV and other materials.
• Review your materials for typos and grammar. Error free is best!

Cover Letter Content

Below describes the general content for each paragraph of your cover letter. Before getting started, review the academic cover letter template and samples .

First Paragraph

State the specific position for which you are applying and where you learned about it. If there is not an advertised position, explain who suggested you write and why you are writing. Let the reader know who you are, what your field is and where you are attending school. Indicate any a special interest or background you have that may be of interest to their department or institution. If your research involves collaboration with a well-known person in your field, or if you come recommended by someone in their department, be sure to highlight that relationship up front .

Middle Paragraphs

These paragraphs will vary according to your field and possibly the types of positions you will be applying for (teaching emphasis vs. research emphasis). If you are applying to research universities, discuss your dissertation or thesis (or most recent search), what it accomplishes, your methodology, conclusions, and the implications of your work. This may take more than one paragraph, but you should write to a general audience as opposed to specialists in your field. Discuss future plans for research or research interest as well. You should also point out supporting fields in which you have expertise or enumerate the variety of classes you could teach. If the position requires teaching, be enthusiastic about your experience and discuss the courses you have developed or your teaching style. If it is solely a teaching position, your middle paragraphs should focus on your teaching experience, philosophy, pedagogical approach and teaching interests. You will also want to describe how your research informs your teaching.

Concluding Paragraph

Deal with logistics, namely, are you having a reference file sent, attaching writing samples or chapter of your dissertation? Mention that you look forward to meeting with the committee and to their inviting you for an interview.

Additional Resources

• The Basics of Cover Letter Writing - for academic positions, Chronicle of Higher Education
• Academic Cover Letters - Purdue Online Writing Lab
• Understanding Cover Letters - for academic jobs, Inside Higher Ed

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Writing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy 

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Many academic and educational jobs require applicants to submit a statement of teaching philosophy (also sometimes referred to as a teaching statement). This document outlines a teacher's beliefs about teaching and how they put those beliefs into practice in their pedagogy. 

A good teaching statement demonstrates what a teacher brings to the classroom—not only their qualifications and personality, but also specific examples of how they make their teaching align with their values.   In addition to presenting a picture of what someone’s teaching looks like to a reader who’s never seen it, teaching statements also offer an opportunity for teachers to reflect and critically engage with their own pedagogy .  

So, what does a statement of teaching philosophy entail?   T eaching statements should be between one to two pages in length, written in the present tense using language that gestures to a teacher’s specific discipline but avoids jargon. The more specificity, the better—good teaching statements avoid empty, generalized statements about what teachers should or shouldn’t do. Instead, they present examples of individual teachers’ practices, and how those align with that teacher’s values and beliefs about educational best practices. And in making connections between theory and practice—in other words, in giving   the what , how, and why of teaching—good teaching statements also avoid simply rehashing the contents of a CV.  

In terms of content, teaching statements should outline:  

• What beliefs and values a teacher holds regarding education, learning, and teaching  
• W hat goals that teacher has for their students    
• H ow that teacher implements readings, activities, discussions, assignments,  etc.  to help students meet those goal s  
• H ow that teacher evaluates and  asse sses  student work  
• H ow that teacher creates an inclusive teaching environment  

Remember that the goal of a teaching statement is to explain a teacher’s overall vision using specific examples. The document should explain what a teacher believes, what a teacher does, as well as why their actions reflect what they believe.

In other words, a statement of teaching philosophy should ground pedagogical action in values—and explain how values contribute to pedagogy. For example, a teacher should explain how their goals for students, activities, and assessment methods reflect their values and contribute to an inclusive classroom. Making these connections will justify a teacher’s beliefs and practices to their colleagues and potential employers—and writing a statement of teaching philosophy can help teachers better understand those beliefs and practices themselves.   

Looking for more on teaching statements? For a  detailed breakdown of how to address these and other points, including examples of Dos and Don’ts and tips for making your teaching statement stand out, check out our Statement of Teaching Philosophy presentation . 

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Center for Teaching and Learning

• Documenting Your Teaching

Writing a Teaching Philosophy or a Teaching Statement

Strictly speaking, your teaching philosophy is a written description of your values, goals, and beliefs regarding both teaching and learning. By contrast, your teaching statement develops from your teaching philosophy and uses evidence from your teaching to make the case that you have excelled as a teacher. (In practice, of course, these terms are often used interchangeably.) As a general expression of your beliefs and practices, your teaching philosophy can shape your syllabi or  introduce your course website. As an argument for excellence, your teaching statement is more appropriate for your dossier or a job application. Regardless of whether you are on the market or preparing your dossier for promotion, or whether you simply want to help your students better understand who you are as a teacher, the following resources will help get you started on the process of articulating your beliefs about and goals for teaching. Consult our companion bibliography Resources for Teaching Portfolios for additional readings.

Identify what is important to you as an instructor

Before you begin writing, or even if you are in the process of editing, it is a good idea to find out what you value and believe as an educator and how you demonstrate those values and beliefs while you teach. Utilize the following tools to help you accomplish this admittedly daunting task.

• Complete the Teaching Perspectives Inventory . This tools will help you identify your ideas about learning and about teaching.
• Complete the Teaching Goals Inventory . This tool will help you identify the goals you have for your students.
• Answer these Questions to Consider . Your responses will ultimately form the basis of your teaching statement.

Write a general teaching philosophy

Review what you have learned about yourself using the above tools and write an explanation of your beliefs as an instructor. Do not worry about length at this point. The purpose here is to articulate your ideas about teaching and learning and to describe how these ideas inform your actual teaching. Focus on your beliefs, and avoid writing a narrative about how or why you became a college instructor. The multiple resources listed below or in the sidebar will help you with this stage of the process.

Adapt your general philosophy to the intended purpose and audience (i.e., create a teaching statement)

Much like your curriculum vitae, teaching philosophies are designed to be adapted and developed for various purposes, including but not limited to promotion and tenure dossiers, job applications, and your course website. Study the sample teaching statements in the links provided in the sidebar to generate ideas and help refine your own text.

• Statements for promotion and tenure dossiers often have to follow a particular format, so it is wise to review institutional guidelines and published sample dossiers. You can find examples from IUPUI faculty at the Office of Academic Affairs website.
• Statements for job applications may not only be limited in terms of word count or page number, but should be tailored according to the job description. For example, if you are applying for a job that involves working with a specific student population, be sure to address your experience with that sort of population in your statement. Similarly, if you will be expected to teach a certain course or set of courses, your statement should reflect your beliefs regarding learning in those courses or types of courses.
• Your teaching philosophy itself is appropriate for course websites; however, it should not only be tailored to the course in question, but also to the audience--i.e., the prospective and current students for that course. The philosophy should convey not only your general beliefs and practices, but your personality as well. Consider creating a bullet-list of the most important aspects of your philosophy and what your beliefs mean for students (i.e., what should students expect from you as a result of your beliefs?). You may even want to record a video of yourself explaining your philosophy.

Evaluate your statement

Ask colleagues, both inside and outside of your discipline, to review your statement. If you are using the statement for a job application, be sure to provide your colleague a copy of the job description. You can also utilize one of the following rubrics to evaluate what you have written. Note that depending on the purposes of your statement, some of these items may not apply.

• Rubric for scoring statements of teaching philosophy
• Rubric for composing and evaluating a statement of teaching philosophy  

A Word about Structure

Following a clear rhetorical structure can make the task of composing and revising your teaching statement much less difficult. Consider using, for instance, Nancy Chism's Key Components model to organize your thoughts on a macro level and then create a topic sentence outline as you revise to focus your ideas on the paragraph level. The Chism model, the topic sentence outline, and some other helpful tips are explained below.

The Key Components Model

Developed by Nancy Chism, this model structures a teaching philosophy or teaching statement around five key component areas. These component areas consist of the answers to a number of important questions related to learning, teaching, goals, assessment, and professional development. The component areas and the questions related to them are all listed below. For more information, you can also read Dr. Chism's paper on the Key Components model . For another, different model for teaching philosophies and teaching statements, see Goodyear & Allchin (1998).

• How does learning take place?
• Based on my observation and experience, what do I think happens during a learning episode
• How do I facilitate learning?
• What are my assumptions about teaching?
• Why do I teach the way I do?
• How do I motivate, challenge, or support students?
• How do I deal with students who struggle?
• How do I vary my approach?
• As a result of learning, what do I expect my students to know, do, or value (in their careers and future lives)? Why?
• What does my teaching philosophy mean for my students?
• How are my conceptions of teaching and learning transformed into instructional strategies?
• What are the consequences of my instructional strategies?
• How do I know my teaching is effective?
• What data do I use to gauge my effectiveness?
• What goals have I set for myself as teacher?
• How will I accomplish these goals?
• What are some present challenges to overcome in order to achieve my goals?
• How have I developed?
• What evidence do I have that can demonstrate my development?
• What has changed over time in my assumptions and actions?
• How have I met goals that I set in the past?

The Topic Sentence Outline

After you have drafted your philosophy or statement, use the following steps to sharpen the focus of your paragraphs, which in turn will improve the coherence (i.e., flow) of your entire document. This approach can work for any sort of scholarly writing, and you can read more about it in this article by George Gopen and Judith Swan . For other writing and revision techniques, see Tara Gray's book, Publish & Flourish: Become a Prolific Scholar (2005).

• Cut and paste your thesis statement and the first sentence of each paragraph (i.e., your topic or key sentences) into a new document. Read through the outline you've created.
• The outline should convey your main point and highlight your subordinate points in a logical, if brief, manner. Ideally the outline should also hint at your evidence and highlight your concluding thought.
• If your outline does not clearly convey your main point, or if the flow of your subordinate points seems too disjointed, then revisit and revise your paragraphs. Begin by trying to locate the sentences that do contain each paragraph's central message (i.e., your subordinate points). As you then revise your paragraphs, move those sentences to the top of each paragraph (i.e., the topic sentence position). Next, make a new outline to see if the flow of your subordinate points has become clearer or more cogent.

Irrespective of the model you use, the following general tips can improve the focus, clarity, and coherence of your teaching philosophy or statement:

• Know your audiences and their needs or interests.
• Use specific, personal examples.
• Avoid buzzwords and jargon.
• Avoid statements of absolute fact, e.g., “Small group activities are the only way to build community in a freshman class.”
• Write in the first-person and the active voice, e.g., “I engage students with active learning techniques.” NOT “Students are engaged with active learning techniques.”
• Write more than you need and revise down. Be concise!

Resources and References

• Angelo, T. A. & Cross, K. P. (1993). The teaching goals inventory. Classroom assessment techniques: A handbook for college teachers . (2 nd Ed.). (pp. 13-24). San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. 
• Chism, N.V.N. (1997-98). Developing a philosophy of teaching statement. Essays on teaching excellence: Toward the best in the academy 9 (3). 
• Faculty Focus. (2009). Philosophy of teaching statements: Examples and tips on how to write a teaching philosophy statement.  
• Goodyear, G. E. & Allchin, D. (1998) Statement of teaching philosophy. To Improve the Academy 17 , 103-22. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.
• Gopen, G. and J. Swan. (1990). The science of scientific writing. American scientist  78, 550-558. 
• Gray, Tara. (2005). Publish & flourish: Become a prolific scholar . Las Cruces, NM: Teaching Academy.
• Kearns, K. D., Subino Sullivan, C., O'Loughlin, V. D., & Braun, M. (2010). A scoring rubric for teaching statements: a tool for inquiry into graduate student writing about teaching and learning. Journal for Excellence in College Teaching, 21, 73-96. 
• O’Neal, C., Meizlish, D., & Kaplan, M. (2007). Writing a statement of teaching philosophy for the academic job search . CRLT Occasional Papers No. 23.  
• Pratt, D. D. & Collins, J. B. (2001). Teaching Perspectives Inventory . 
• The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning at Princeton University. (n.d.). Statement of teaching philosophy: Questions to consider.  

Video: Workshop on Teaching Philosophy

Watch this recorded workshop  video by Dr. Brian Coppola on effective strategies to formulate and write your teaching philosophy. Dr. Coppola is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan.

Workshop Abstract: A statement of teaching philosophy is a discipline-centered argument about one’s instructional practices. As with any other professional argumentation, the essay ought to have a thesis (or claim), and a coherent text that focuses on providing evidence that warrants the claim. In this workshop, participants will prepare an outline for their personal teaching statement. In preparation, participants should think about one sentence: a global statement about student learning that represents your most significant instructional goal.

Resources and Samples from Other Universities 

• Information on teaching portfolios and sample teaching portfolios (Vanderbilt University)
• Teaching philosophy and statement resources (University of Michigan)
• Process of writing a teaching philosophy and samples (University of Minnesota)

Philosophy of Teaching Articles from Faculty Focus 

Your concept of teaching, including a description of how you teach and the justifications for your strategies, constitute your personal philosophy of teaching. Faculty Focus is a free newsletter that publishes articles on effective teaching strategies for the online and college classroom. Articles published in the section of Philosophy of Teaching focus broadly on teaching philosophy in higher education and can provide new information that could help expand and enhance your philosophy of teaching. Some useful examples include:

Nine Characteristics of a Great Teacher

Strategies for Writing Better Teaching Philosophy Statements

Helping Students with Disabilities Reach Their Educational Goals: Reflections and Lessons Learned

Enhancing Out-of-Class Communication: Students’ Top 10 Suggestions

What Students Want: Characteristics of Effective Teachers from the Students’ Perspective

Revised by Anusha S. Rao (April 2020) Revised by James Gregory (November, 2016) Revised by James Gregory (October, 2015) Authored by Sarah Lang (April, 2012)

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Writers Workshop

Teaching Philosophy Statements

A statement of teaching philosophy is an argument-driven document that conveys your understanding of teaching and learning and your goals for teaching. It should also provide some evidence of your teaching practices by including concrete, specific examples of your in-class methods, assignments, and evaluation methods. Your statement of teaching philosophy should allow readers to “see” you in the classroom—to visualize the way you interact with students and structure learning experiences.

The core components of a teaching philosophy statement are:

• What are your learning goals for your students and your courses?
• Make sure to provide specific, concrete examples to give readers a clear vision of your teaching, as well as evidence of your effectiveness as a teacher.
• Here, you might discuss how you respond to student writing, your evaluation methods, or specific assignments from classes you’ve taught.

General Suggestions

Keeping in mind that prompts might provide more insight, or ask for less or more, and that different disciplines might have different expectations, here are a few general suggestions for writing your statement. Your statement should generally be:

• 1-2 pages long
• Single spaced, 12-point font
• 1 st person and present tense: “In my teaching, I focus on XYZ.”
• Tailored to audience. Try to avoid really discipline specific jargon—remember that your application materials will be read by a variety of audiences.
• Different from your other materials. Materials such as your cover letter, CV, research or diversity statements all have their own generic conventions and goals. Some overlap is okay, but you don’t want to be really repetitive across these materials.
• Balanced between buzzwords and concrete examples/ applications. While you want to be careful of overused terms related to teaching, such as “student-centered teaching,” if you choose to use such terms, balance them with concrete examples of how you do this in your classroom with your students.

Tips for Getting Started

• Your statement will be stronger if you not only state a philosophy of teaching but also provide specific examples of how that philosophy translates to practice. Are there activities you do that help you achieve your teaching goals? What assignments do you use that show us that your teaching is “student centered” or “collaborative”? What classroom strategies do you use to create an “inclusive learning environment”?
• Researching the institution and disciplinary trends can help you learn what approaches to teaching the institution (or maybe even department) values. You may need to write different teaching statements for different types of institutions—for example, religiously-affiliated institutions, liberal-arts colleges, and research universities.
• If possible, building connections across your teaching, research, and service can make your statement stronger and continue to show that you’re a well-rounded applicant.
• Sometimes schools will ask for a teaching portfolio in addition to a teaching philosophy statement. If that’s the case, you’re often asked to include other materials such as sample syllabi, assignments, and teaching evaluations. You should make connections to these materials in your statement. For example: “My teaching evaluations show that students in my courses appreciate XYZ.”

Developing Your Own Philosophy

• What are your goals for teaching your classes?
• How do you help students achieve those goals?
• Where do you fall on this spectrum?
• Why do you feel this way?
• How does this translate to your practice? Be specific.

Related Links:

• Academic Cover Letters
• Curriculum Vitae
• Diversity Statements

You can find additional information and sample statements through the Graduate College Career Development Office , University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching , and The Professor is In .

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Academic Cover Letters

What is this handout about.

The long list of application materials required for many academic teaching jobs can be daunting. This handout will help you tackle one of the most important components: the cover letter or letter of interest. Here you will learn about writing and revising cover letters for academic teaching jobs in the United States of America.

What is an academic cover letter?

An academic cover letter describes your experiences and interest as a candidate for a specific position. It introduces you to the hiring committee and demonstrates how your academic background fits with the description of the position.

What do cover letters for academic teaching jobs typically contain?

At their most basic level, academic cover letters accomplish three things: one, they express your interest in the job; two, they provide a brief synopsis of your research and teaching; and three, they summarize your past experiences and achievements to illustrate your competence for the job. For early-career scholars, cover letters are typically no more than two pages (up to four pages for senior scholars). Occasionally, a third page may make sense for an early-career scholar if the application does not require a separate teaching statement and/or research statement. Digital versions of cover letters often contain hyperlinks to your CV or portfolio page. For some fields, cover letters may also include examples of your work, including music, popular articles, and other multimedia related to your research, service, or teaching available online. Typically, letters appear on departmental or university letterhead and include your signature. Above all, a strong cover letter presents your accomplishments and your familiarity with the institution and with the position.

How should I prepare to write my academic cover letter?

Like all writing, composing a cover letter is a process. The process may be as short as a few hours or as long as several weeks, but at the end the letter should present you as a strong candidate for the job. The following section has tips and questions for thinking through each stage of this writing process. You don’t need to answer all of these questions to write the letter; they are meant to help you brainstorm ideas.

Before you begin writing your cover letter, consider researching the institution, the department, and the student population. Incorporating all three aspects in your letter will help convey your interest in the position.

Get to know the institution. When crafting your cover letter, be aware of the type of institution to which you are applying. Knowing how the institution presents itself can help you tailor your letter and make it more specific.

• Where is the institution located?
• Is it on a quarter-system or semester-system?
• What type of institution is it? Is it an R1? Is it an R2? Is it a liberal arts college? Is it an HBCU? Is it a community college? A private high school?
• What is the institution’s culture? Is it teaching-focused or research-focused? Does it privilege experiential learning? Does it value faculty involvement outside the classroom? Is it affiliated with a specific religious tradition?
• Does it have any specific institutional commitments?
• How does the institution advocate for involvement in its local community?
• What are the professional development opportunities for new and junior faculty?

Learn about the department. Knowing the specific culture and needs of the department can help you reach your audience: the department members who will be reading your documents and vetting you as a candidate.

• Who is on the search committee? Who is the search committee chair?
• What is the official name of the department?
• Which different subfields make up the department?
• Is it a dual appointment or a position in a dual department?
• How does the department participate in specific types of student outreach?
• Does the department have graduate students? Does it offer a terminal Master’s degree, Ph.D., or both? How large are the cohorts? How are they funded?
• Does the department encourage or engage in interdisciplinary work?
• Does the majority of the department favor certain theoretical or methodological approaches?
• Does the department have partnerships with local institutions? If so, which ones?
• Is the department attempting to fill a specific vacancy, or is it an entirely new position?
• What are the typical course offerings in the department? Which courses might you be expected to teach? What courses might you be able to provide that are not currently available?

Consider the students. The search committee will often consider how you approach instructing and mentoring the student body. Sometimes committees will even reserve a position for a student or solicit student feedback on a candidate:

• What populations constitute the majority of the undergraduate population?
• Have there been any shifts in the student population recently?
• Do students largely come from in-state or out-of-state?
• Is there an international student population? If so, from which countries?
• Is the university recruiting students from traditionally underrepresented populations?
• Are students particularly active on campus? If so, how?

Many answers to these questions can be found both in the job description and on the institution’s website. If possible, consider contacting someone you know at the institution to ask about the culture directly. You can also use the institution’s course catalog, recruitment materials, alumni magazine, and other materials to get answers to these questions. The key is to understand the sort of institution to which you are applying, its immediate needs, and its future trajectory.

Remember, there is a resource that can help you with all three aspects—people. Reach out to your advisor, committee members, faculty mentors, and other contacts for insight into the prospective department’s culture and faculty. They might even help you revise your letter based on their expertise. Think of your job search as an opportunity to cultivate these relationships.

After you have done some initial research, think about how your experiences have prepared you for the job and identify the ones that seem the most relevant. Consider your previous research, internships, graduate teaching, and summer experiences. Here are some topics and questions to get you started thinking about what you might include.

Research Experiences. Consider how your research has prepared you for an academic career. Since the letter is a relatively short document, select examples of your research that really highlight who you are as a scholar, the direction you see your work going, and how your scholarship will contribute to the institution’s research community.

• What are your current research interests?
• What topics would you like to examine in the future?
• How have you pursued those research interests?
• Have you traveled for your research?
• Have you published any of your research? Have you presented it at a conference, symposium, or elsewhere?
• Have you worked or collaborated with scholars at different institutions on projects? If so, what did these collaborations produce?
• Have you made your research accessible to your local community?
• Have you received funding or merit-based fellowships for your research?
• What other research contributions have you made? This may include opinion articles, book chapters, or participating as a journal reviewer.
• How do your research interests relate to those of other faculty in the department or fill a gap?

Teaching Experience. Think about any teaching experience you may have. Perhaps you led recitations as a teaching assistant, taught your own course, or guest lectured. Pick a few experiences to discuss in your letter that demonstrate something about your teaching style or your interest in teaching.

• What courses are you interested in teaching for the department? What courses have you taught that discussed similar topics or themes?
• What new courses can you imagine offering the department that align with their aim and mission?
• Have you used specific strategies that were helpful in your instruction?
• What sort of resources do you typically use in the classroom?
• Do you have anecdotes that demonstrate your teaching style?
• What is your teaching philosophy?
• When have you successfully navigated a difficult concept or topic in the classroom, and what did you learn?
• What other opportunities could you provide to students?

Internships/Summer/Other Experiences. Brainstorm a list of any conferences, colloquiums, and workshops you have attended, as well as any ways you have served your department, university, or local community. This section will highlight how you participate in your university and scholarly community. Here are some examples of things you might discuss:

• Professional development opportunities you may have pursued over the summer or during your studies
• International travel for research or presentations
• Any research you’ve done in a non-academic setting
• Presentations at conferences
• Participation in symposia, reading groups, working groups, etc.
• Internships in which you may have implemented your research or practical skills related to your discipline
• Participation in community engagement projects
• Participation in or leadership of any scholarly and/or university organizations

In answering these questions, create a list of the experiences that you think best reflect you as a scholar and teacher. In choosing which experiences to highlight, consider your audience and what they would find valuable or relevant. Taking the time to really think about your reader will help you present yourself as an applicant well-qualified for the position.

Writing a draft

Remember that the job letter is an opportunity to introduce yourself and your accomplishments and to communicate why you would be a good fit for the position. Typically, search committees will want to know whether you are a capable job candidate, familiar with the institution, and a great future addition to the department’s faculty. As such, be aware of how the letter’s structure and content reflect your preparedness for the position.

The structure of your cover letter should reflect the typical standards for letter writing in the country in which the position is located (the list below reflects the standards for US letter writing). This usually includes a salutation, body, and closing, as well as proper contact information. If you are affiliated with a department, institution, or organization, the letter should be on letterhead.

• Use a simple, readable font in a standard size, such as 10-12pt. Some examples of fonts that may be conventional in your field include Arial, Garamond, Times New Roman, and Verdana, among other similar fonts.
• Do not indent paragraphs.
• Separate all paragraphs by a line and justify them to the left.
• Make sure that any included hyperlinks work.
• Include your signature in the closing.

Before you send in your letter, make sure you proofread and look for formatting mistakes. You’ll read more about proofreading and revising later in this handout!

The second most important aspect of your letter is its content. Since the letter is the first chance to provide an in-depth introduction, it should expand on who you are as a scholar and possible faculty member. Below are some elements to consider including when composing your letter.

Identify the position you are applying to and introduce yourself. Traditionally, the first sentence of a job letter includes the full name of the position and where you discovered the job posting. This is also the place to introduce yourself and describe why you are applying for this position. Since the goal of a job letter is to persuade the search committee to include you on the list of candidates for further review, you may want to include an initial claim as to why you are a strong candidate for the position. Some questions you might consider:

• What is your current status (ABD, assistant professor, post-doc, etc.)?
• If you are ABD, have you defended your dissertation? If not, when will you defend?
• Why are you interested in this position?
• Why are you a strong candidate for this position?

Describe your research experience and interests. For research-centered positions, such as positions at R1 or other types of research-centered universities, include information about your research experience and current work early in the letter. For many applicants, current work will be the dissertation project. If this is the case, some suggest calling your “dissertation research” your “current project” or “work,” as this may help you present yourself as an emerging scholar rather than a graduate student. Some questions about your research that you might consider:

• What research experiences have you had?
• What does your current project investigate?
• What are some of the important methods you applied?
• Have you collaborated with others in your research?
• Have you acquired specific skills that will be useful for the future?
• Have you received special funding? If so, what kind?
• Has your research received any accolades or rewards?
• What does your current project contribute to the field?
• Where have you presented your research?
• Have you published your research? If so, where? Or are you working on publishing your work?
• How does your current project fit the job description?

Present your plans for future research. This section presents your research agenda and usually includes a description of your plans for future projects and research publications. Detailing your future research demonstrates to the search committee that you’ve thought about a research trajectory and can work independently. If you are applying to a teaching-intensive position, you may want to minimize this section and/or consider including a sentence or two on how this research connects to undergraduate and/or graduate research opportunities. Some questions to get you started:

• What is your next research project/s?
• How does this connect to your current and past work?
• What major theories/methods will you use?
• How will this project contribute to the field?
• Where do you see your specialty area or subfield going in the next ten years and how does your research contribute to or reflect this?
• Will you be collaborating with anyone? If so, with whom?
• How will this future project encourage academic discourse?
• Do you already have funding? If so, from whom? If not, what plans do you have for obtaining funding?
• How does your future research expand upon the department’s strengths while simultaneously diversifying the university’s research portfolio? (For example, does your future research involve emerging research fields, state-of-the-art technologies, or novel applications?)

Describe your teaching experience and highlight teaching strategies. This section allows you to describe your teaching philosophy and how you apply this philosophy in your classroom. Start by briefly addressing your teaching goals and values. Here, you can provide specific examples of your teaching methods by describing activities and projects you assign students. Try to link your teaching and research together. For example, if you research the rise of feminism in the 19th century, consider how you bring either the methodology or the content of your research into the classroom. For a teaching-centered institution, such as a small liberal arts college or community college, you may want to emphasize your teaching more than your research. If you do not have any teaching experience, you could describe a training, mentoring, or coaching situation that was similar to teaching and how you would apply what you learned in a classroom.

• What is your teaching philosophy? How is your philosophy a good fit for the department in which you are applying to work?
• What sort of teaching strategies do you use in the classroom?
• What is your teaching style? Do you lecture? Do you emphasize discussion? Do you use specific forms of interactive learning?
• What courses have you taught?
• What departmental courses are you prepared to teach?
• Will you be able to fill in any gaps in the departmental course offerings?
• What important teaching and/or mentoring experiences have you had?
• How would you describe yourself in the classroom?
• What type of feedback have you gotten from students?
• Have you received any awards or recognition for your teaching?

Talk about your service work. Service is often an important component of an academic job description. This can include things like serving on committees or funding panels, providing reviews, and doing community outreach. The cover letter gives you an opportunity to explain how you have involved yourself in university life outside the classroom. For instance, you could include descriptions of volunteer work, participation in initiatives, or your role in professional organizations. This section should demonstrate ways in which you have served your department, university, and/or scholarly community. Here are some additional examples you could discuss:

• Participating in graduate student or junior faculty governance
• Sitting on committees, departmental or university-wide
• Partnerships with other university offices or departments
• Participating in community-partnerships
• Participating in public scholarship initiatives
• Founding or participating in any university initiatives or programs
• Creating extra-curricular resources or presentations

Present yourself as a future faculty member. This section demonstrates who you will be as a colleague. It gives you the opportunity to explain how you will collaborate with faculty members with similar interests; take part in departmental and/or institution wide initiatives or centers; and participate in departmental service. This shows your familiarity with the role of faculty outside the classroom and your ability to add to the departmental and/or institutional strengths or fill in any gaps.

• What excites you about this job?
• What faculty would you like to collaborate with and why? (This answer may be slightly tricky. See the section on name dropping below.)
• Are there any partnerships in the university or outside of it that you wish to participate in?
• Are there any centers associated with the university or in the community that you want to be involved in?
• Are there faculty initiatives that you are passionate about?
• Do you have experience collaborating across various departments or within your own department?
• In what areas will you be able to contribute?
• Why would you make an excellent addition to the faculty at this institution?

Compose a strong closing. This short section should acknowledge that you have sent in all other application documents and include a brief thank you for the reader’s time and/or consideration. It should also state your willingness to forward additional materials and indicate what you would like to see as next steps (e.g., a statement that you look forward to speaking with the search committee). End with a professional closing such as “Sincerely” or “Kind Regards” followed by your full name.

If you are finding it difficult to write the different sections of your cover letter, consider composing the other academic job application documents (the research statement, teaching philosophy, and diversity statement) first and then summarizing them in your job letter.

Different kinds of letters may be required for different types of jobs. For example, some jobs may focus on research. In this case, emphasize your research experiences and current project/s. Other jobs may be more focused on teaching. In this case, highlight your teaching background and skills. Below are two models for how you could change your letter’s organization based on the job description and the institution. The models offer a guide for you to consider how changing the order of information and the amount of space dedicated to a particular topic changes the emphasis of the letter.

Research-Based Position Job Letter Example:

Teaching-Based Position Job Letter Example:

Remember your first draft does not have to be your last. Try to get feedback from different readers, especially if it is one of your first applications. It is not uncommon to go through several stages of revisions. Check out the Writing Center’s handout on editing and proofreading and video on proofreading to help with this last stage of writing.

Potential pitfalls

Using the word dissertation. Some search committee members may see the word “dissertation” as a red flag that an applicant is too focused on their role as a graduate student rather than as a prospective faculty member. It may be advantageous, then, to describe your dissertation as current research, a current research project, current work, or some other phrase that demonstrates you are aware that your dissertation is the beginning of a larger scholarly career.

Too much jargon. While you may be writing to a specific department, people on the search committee might be unfamiliar with the details of your subfield. In fact, many committees have at least one member from outside their department. Use terminology that can easily be understood by non-experts. If you want to use a specific term that is crucial to your research, then you should define it. Aim for clarity for your reader, which may mean simplification in lieu of complete precision.

Overselling yourself. While your job letter should sell you as a great candidate, saying so (e.g., “I’m the ideal candidate”) in your letter may come off to some search committee members as presumptuous. Remember that although you have an idea about the type of colleague a department is searching for, ultimately you do not know exactly what they want. Try to avoid phrases or sentences where you state you are the ideal or the only candidate right for the position.

Paying too much attention to the job description. Job descriptions are the result of a lot of debate and compromise. If you have skills or research interests outside the job description, consider including them in your letter. It may be that your extra research interests; your outside skills; and/or your extracurricular involvements make you an attractive candidate. For example, if you are a Latin Americanist who also happens to be well-versed in the Spanish Revolution, it could be worth mentioning the expanse of your research interests because a department might find you could fill in other gaps in the curriculum or add an additional or complementary perspective to the department.

Improper sendoff. The closing of your letter is just as important as the beginning. The end of the letter should reflect the professionalism of the document. There should be a thank-you and the word sincerely or a formal equivalent. Remember, it is the very last place in your letter where you present yourself as a capable future colleague.

Small oversights. Make sure to proofread your letter not just for grammar but also for content. For example, if you use material from another letter, make sure you do not include the names of another school, department, or unassociated faculty! Or, if the school is in Chicago, make sure you do not accidentally reference it as located in the Twin Cities.

Name dropping. You rarely know the internal politics of the department or institution to which you are applying. So be cautious about the names you insert in your cover letters. You do not want to unintentionally insert yourself into a departmental squabble or add fire to an interdepartmental conflict. Instead, focus on the actions you will undertake and the initiatives you are passionate about.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Ball, Cheryl E. 2013. “Understanding Cover Letters.” Inside Higher Ed , November 3, 2013. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/11/04/essay-cover-letter-academic-jobs .

Borchardt, John. 2014. “Writing a Winning Cover Letter.” Science Magazine , August 6, 2014. https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2014/08/writing-winning-cover-letter# .

Helmreich, William. 2013. “Your First Academic Job.” Inside Higher Ed , June 17, 2013. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/06/17/essay-how-land-first-academic-job .

Kelsky, Karen. 2013. “How To Write a Journal Article Submission Cover Letter.” The Professor Is In (blog), April 26, 2013. https://theprofessorisin.com/2013/04/26/how-to-write-a-journal-article-submission-cover-letter/ .

Tomaska, Lubomir, and Josef Nosek. 2008. “Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Cover Letter to Accompany a Job Application for an Academic Position.” PLoS Computational Biology 14(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006132 .

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Your teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning. It's a one to two page narrative that conveys your core ideas about being an effective teacher in the context of your discipline. It develops these ideas with specific, concrete examples of what the teacher and learners will do to achieve those goals. Importantly, your teaching philosophy statement also explains why you choose these options.

+ Getting Started

Your reasons for writing a teaching philosophy may vary. You might be writing it as an exercise in concisely documenting your beliefs so that you can easily articulate them to your students, peers, or a search committee. It might serve as the introduction to your teaching portfolio. Or, it can serve as a means of professional growth as it requires you to give examples of how you enact your philosophy, thus requiring you to consider the degree to which your teaching is congruent with your beliefs.

Generating ideas

Teaching philosophies express your values and beliefs about teaching. They are personal statements that introduce you, as a teacher, to your reader. As such, they are written in the first person and convey a confident, professional tone. When writing a teaching philosophy, use specific examples to illustrate your points. You should also discuss how your values and beliefs about teaching fit into the context of your discipline.

Below are categories you might address with prompts to help you begin generating ideas. Work through each category, spending time thinking about the prompts and writing your ideas down. These notes will comprise the material you’ll use to write the first draft of your teaching philosophy statement. It will help if you include both general ideas (‘I endeavor to create lifelong learners’) as well as specifics about how you will enact those goals. A teaching philosophy template is also available to help you get started.

Questions to prompt your thinking

Your concept of learning.

What do you mean by learning? What happens in a successful learning situation? Note what constitutes "learning" or "mastery" in your discipline.

Your concept of teaching

What are your values, beliefs, and aspirations as a teacher? Do you wish to encourage mastery, competency, transformational learning, lifelong learning, general transference of skills, critical thinking? What does a perfect teaching situation look like to you and why? How are the values and beliefs realized in classroom activities? You may discuss course materials, lesson plans, activities, assignments, and assessment instruments.

Your goals for students

What skills should students obtain as a result of your teaching? Think about your ideal student and what the outcomes of your teaching would be in terms of this student's knowledge or behavior. Address the goals you have for specific classes or curricula and that rational behind them (i.e., critical thinking, writing, or problem solving).

Your teaching methods

What methods will you consider to reach these goals and objectives? What are your beliefs regarding learning theory and specific strategies you would use, such as case studies, group work, simulations, interactive lectures? You might also want to include any new ideas or strategies you want to try.

Your interaction with students

What are you attitudes towards advising and mentoring students? How would an observer see you interact with students? Why do you want to work with students?

Assessing learning

How will you assess student growth and learning? What are your beliefs about grading? Do you grade students on a percentage scale (criterion referenced) or on a curve (norm referenced)? What different types of assessment will you use (i.e. traditional tests, projects, portfolios,  presentations) and why?

Professional growth

How will you continue growing as a teacher? What goals do you have for yourself and how will you reach them? How have your attitudes towards teaching and learning changed over time? How will you use student evaluations to improve your teaching? How might you learn new skills? How do you know when you've taught effectively?

+ Creating a Draft

Two ways of organizing your draft.

Now that you've written down your values, attitudes, and beliefs about teaching and learning, it's time to organize those thoughts into a coherent form. Perhaps the easiest way of organizing this material would be to write a paragraph covering each of the seven prompts you answered in the Getting Started section. These would then become the seven major sections of your teaching philosophy.

Another way of knitting your reflections together—and one that is more personal—is to read through your notes and underscore ideas or observations that come up more than once. Think of these as "themes" that might point you toward an organizational structure for the essay. For example, you read through your notes and realize that you spend a good deal of time writing about your interest in mentoring students. This might become one of the three or four major foci of your teaching philosophy. You should then discuss what it says about your attitudes toward teaching, learning, and what's important in your discipline.

No matter which style you choose, make sure to keep your writing succinct. Aim for two double-spaced pages. And don't forget to start with a "hook." Your job is to make your readers want to read more; their level of engagement is highest when they read your opening line. Hook your readers by beginning with a question, a statement, or even an event from your past.

Using specific examples

Remember to provide concrete examples from your teaching practice to illustrate the general claims you make in your teaching philosophy. The following general statements about teaching are intended as prompts to help you come up with examples to illustrate your claims about teaching. For each statement, how would you describe what happens in your classroom? Is your description specific enough to bring the scene to life in a teaching philosophy?

"I value helping my students understand difficult information. I am an expert, and my role is to model for them complex ways of thinking so that they can develop the same habits of mind as professionals in the medical field."

"I enjoy lecturing, and I'm good at it. I always make an effort to engage and motivate my students when I lecture."

"It is crucial for students of geology to learn the techniques of field research. An important part of my job as a professor of geology is to provide these opportunities."

"I believe that beginning physics students should be introduced to the principles of hypothesis generation, experimentation, data collection, and analysis. By learning the scientific method, they develop critical thinking skills they can apply to other areas of their lives. Small group work is a crucial tool for teaching the scientific method."

"As a teacher of writing, I am committed to using peer review in my classes. By reading and commenting on other students' work in small cooperative groups, my students learn to find their voice, to understand the important connection between writer and audience, and to hone their editing skills. Small group work is indispensible in the writing classroom."

Go back to the notes you made when getting started and underline the general statements you’ve made about teaching and learning. As you start drafting, make sure to note the specific approaches, methods, or products you use to realize those goals.

+ Assessing Your Draft

Assessing your draft teaching philosophy.

According to a survey of search committee chairs by the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, there are five elements that are shared by strong teaching philosophy statements:

• They offer evidence of practice (specific examples)
• They are student-centered
• They demonstrate reflectiveness
• They demonstrate that the writer values teaching
• They are well written, clear, and readable

Now that you’ve completed an initial draft, ask whether your statement captures these elements and how well you articulate them.

You might find it useful to compare your draft to other teaching philosophies in your discipline. It can also be useful to have a colleague review your draft and offer recommendations for revision. Consider printing out a teaching philosophy rubric from our “Rubrics and Samples” tab to provide your reviewer with guidelines to assess your draft. These exercises will give you the critical distance necessary to see your teaching philosophy objectively and revise it accordingly.

+ Rubrics and Samples

Rubrics and sample teaching philosophies.

Here are links to three teaching philosophy rubrics to help you assess your statement. We have included four different rubrics for you to choose from. These rubrics cover similar elements, and one is not necessarily better than the other. Your choice of which to use should be guided by how comfortable you feel with the particular instrument and how usable you find it. 

• Teaching Philosophy Rubric 1   This rubric allows a reader to rate several elements of persuasiveness and format on a scale of 1 to 5.
• Teaching Philosophy Rubric 2   This rubric contains prompts for assessing purpose and audience, voice, beliefs and support, and conventions.
• Teaching Philosophy Rubric 3   This rubric contains prompts for assessing content, format, and writing quality.
• Rubric for Statements of Teaching Philosophy  This rubric was developed by Kaplan et. al. from the University of Michigan.
• Marisol Brito – philosophy 
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Trauma-informed practices in schools, teacher well-being, cultivating diversity, equity, & inclusion, integrating technology in the classroom, social-emotional development, covid-19 resources, invest in resilience: summer toolkit, civics & resilience, all toolkits, degree programs, trauma-informed professional development, teacher licensure & certification, how to become - career information, classroom management, instructional design, lifestyle & self-care, online higher ed teaching, current events, tips for writing an effective teaching and research statement.

A compelling teaching and research statement can make the difference between getting the academic job desired and having the profile ignored with dozens of other job seekers. One may not actually be asked to present a teaching statement during the job application process, but the action of writing one will help to clarify one’s goals and how to talk about them. If asked for a statement of teaching and research, then it will be a useful resource to have completed.

Writing a teaching and research statement

Take the time to write your statement correctly, for it is not something that can come “off the top of your head.” Teaching and research statements are a summary of work and teaching philosophy, both of which can be very complicated statements.

The research statement discusses a person’s work in a way that helps people understand one’s interests and focus in his or her work. It should address several points clearly and concisely:

• What impact has it had or is expected to have?
• How does it line up (if it does) with other work being done in the field?
• What changes might there be in a person’s life as a result of this work?
• How might someone be challenged to make use of this work?
• What additional questions have come up as a result of the work?
• What is the timeline and what resources are required to make this happen?

The research statement could be several pages, but be prepared to create a one to two-page summary that can be presented on demand. One can speak with the facility to which they are applying and get an idea of the length and format of the research statement they wish to see.

The teaching statement presents one’s philosophy on teaching. This should not only talk about the techniques used, but the motivation behind choosing those particular methods. Some of the points that a teaching statement might cover are:

• What are one’s goals for teaching and the reasoning behind the particular methods used?
• How have they been adapted to one’s own style?
• How effective are these techniques compared to other techniques in the field?
• How has one’s implementation of a particular tool been influenced by his or her teaching style?
• How does one’s method of teaching take into account the various ways in which people learn?

The teaching statement should communicate a person’s vision for teaching and describe how and why the methods selected improve the teaching experience for people. This is a presentation of how the teaching methods of one person have influenced the teaching profession.

Both the teaching and research statements are created for the employer to determine what kind of teacher or researcher a person is and how he or she will fit into the organization. Especially in the academic role, one must be able to work within the policies of the institution and with the various philosophies of his or her co-workers. Tenure often depends on this.

When creating these statements, there are some guidelines applicable to both:

Focus on the how, not the what

This is not a laundry list of the research work or teaching that’s been done. It may be helpful to present a short list of topics to emphasize the focus or diversity. But the real purpose of these statements is to discuss why those classes were taught, or why that piece of research was done.

Back up statements with evidence

There is often the tendency to make positive, but very open-ended statements in teaching and research statements and CVs. Those get glossed over unless there is a statement of proof accompanying them. One might say “I create a safe learning environment for students,” but the real question is how is this done? Make sure to reword those statements as “I create a safe learning environment for students by…” which covers the obvious question.

Create good writing examples

These statements will give some insight into how well a person can write. They should serve not only as the tool for communicating teaching philosophy and work accomplishments, but as a piece of writing that demonstrates how one communicates through the written word. Do not ignore spelling and grammar checking. Even when making simple revisions, recheck spelling and grammar when done.

Express confidence, not omniscience

Do not let these statements sound as if one knows all there is to know about teaching and research. The tone should not present that mistakes never happened. It is more useful to talk about successes mixed in with some failures and how one learned from those times. Show how one continues to become a better professional by learning from mistakes.

Keep the focus external

These statements should express how the teaching and research efforts were done for the benefit of the students or other researchers. A tone of humility is preferred over a selfish one. This helps to emphasize the motivation for which these tasks were done. Both of these statements give insight into what drives the person and helps the employer see how he or she will work with the existing staff and in the organization.

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The Professor Is In

Guidance for all things PhD: Graduate School, Job Market and Careers

The Teaching-Centric Letter

By Karen Kelsky | November 7, 2014

In response to many requests, I am devoting today’s post to the teaching-centric letter.  The absence of a post on this subject before now might seem surprising on a blog that purports to cover every aspect of the academic job search.  But that absence was intentional.  The fact is, very few tenure track jobs outside of community colleges actually need a teaching-centric letter, and this is a point of great confusion among job seekers.  Many liberal arts colleges, mid-rank universities and small teaching colleges claim to be “teaching-focused,” and “student-centric,” but decisions about hiring and tenure will nevertheless be firmly focused on research.

Job seekers routinely mis-identify the jobs that require a teaching-focused letter, because they naively take institutional rhetoric about the importance of teaching at face value.  As I said, the vast majority of institutions, departments, and positions weight research far more heavily than teaching, regardless of the PR on their websites.  (See this guest post on the inner workings of a search at just such a department ).

However, there are indeed times when a teaching focused letter is appropriate.  Those include:

• For a community college
• For jobs seeking Masters level hires
• For a temporary replacement hire at a teaching focused institution
• For an ongoing instructor position at any institution, as long as it carries no research expectation whatsoever; this will be clear from the ad, which will make no reference to research in any way.
• For tenure track positions at teaching colleges and liberal arts colleges that are low-ranked; regional; possibly religiously-affiliated.  The well known SLACs [Williams, Amherst, Wellesley, Davidson, Smith, Grinnell, and so on] should get research-focused, NOT teaching-focused, letters.

With regard to the third position type listed above, note that temporary replacements (ie, Visiting Assistant Professorships) at research-oriented universities and elite SLACs will likely need to see a letter that balances research and teaching equally. In other words, while the teaching is of course central, and the candidate will need to reference specific courses listed in the ad, the committee’s deliberations will likely weight the research profile of the candidates heavily, because they want active researchers even among their temporary faculty).

If after careful thought and consultation with mentors, you determine that a position does indeed require a teaching-centric letter, then begin by reading the blog posts The Dreaded Teaching Statement: 8 Pitfalls , The Weepy Teaching Statement, Just Say No , Teaching: Not When and Where but What and How  and When I Say Be Specific, What Do I Mean? and at all costs avoid blathering on about your love of and passion for student learning. Keep your emotions about the teaching enterprise to yourself.  While I know that you are convinced that your passion sets you apart, in an environment in which everyone is peddling the same passion, it functions only as white noise.  For more on that, please see my post, Those Twelve Sentences .

If the job posting states that you may be expected to teach specific classes, you must address those classes specifically, and describe the teaching method, approach, readings, and assignments you’ll use.  If no courses are identified by name, then address the bread-and-butter classes you will likely be expected to handle.  It is unlikely that a teaching-only ad will be asking for sophisticated small seminars; chances are, you are being hired to teach the large intro courses, surveys, methods courses, and so on (but judge each ad on its own merits).

Base your letter on the following template; you can of course adjust the phrasing, but stick to this order of approach:

Professor XXX, or if name unknown, “Search Committee Chair” Department College/University Street Address City, State Zip

Dear Professor XXX/Chair of Search Committee:

PARA 1: I am applying for job X in the department Y.  My Ph.D. is in XXX, from the University of XXX, in the field of XXX (20XX).  I am currently XXX.  My teaching specializations are XXX and YYY, with an additional expertise in ZZZ.

PARA 2:  My teaching focuses on… [your core teaching philosophy with key thematics and goals relevant to your discipline and subfield, as appropriate].  For example, in XXX course, I use YYY readings to help students understand ZZZ, with the goal of increasing their awareness of QQQ….  Similarly in YYY course, I….   Etc. [2-3 courses in total; these will respond to the courses mentioned in the ad, or be the basic courses you are likely to be asked to teach].  I am also prepared to teach courses such as XXX, YYY, and ZZZ.  [Do not tether any of your past teaching experiences or courses named to the other campuses at which you taught; render your teaching capacities as general and portable.]

PARA 3: My success in the above efforts has led to: awards, increased responsibility [no runner-up “almost” awards].  My effectiveness in the classroom is attested by my quantitative evaluations. [1 or 2 quantitative averages, no cheesy student quotes].

PARA 4: Additional areas of teaching/pedagogy focus [discipline specific], study abroad, directing a program, innovative curriculum, etc.  Here address any additional pedagogical requirements mentioned by the ad.

PARA 5:  Research description [if you have/if necessary for the job—not necessary for teaching-ONLY instructor positions].  Approximately six sentences: your dissertation topic; its material/data/texts; its theoretical or conceptual approach; the questions/themes pursued; your core conclusion; contribution to the field.

PARA 6: Publications [if you have/if necessary for the job—not necessary for teaching-ONLY instructor positions]

PARA 7: X and Y make this job particularly appealing/your department particularly attractive.  [To write this paragraph, also consult the blog posts How to Tailor a Cover Letter (Without Flattering, Pandering, or Begging) and Tailoring: Beginning and Advanced ; focus on courses to develop, teaching synergies with current faculty, and program or curriculum potential.]

PARA 8: I look forward to hearing from you soon.  Thank you.

Similar Posts:

• Editing Your C.V. and Letter for Teaching/Writing Positions
• Teaching: Not When and Where but What and How
• How To Write a Journal Article Submission Cover Letter
• Those 12 Sentences: Evaluating Cover Letter Advice
• Your Academic Cover Letter: Don’t Fall into the Cliché Trap About Teaching!

Reader Interactions

November 7, 2014 at 6:23 pm

Question: What about an application for a TT job at a regional SLAC (ranking #1 in region) no grad program in my discipline? Teaching-centric or research?

November 9, 2014 at 12:11 pm

Each case has to be individually parsed—I’d need to know which institution, know which department, and then examine the job ad. I don’t normally provide this service for readers because if I did I’d need 10 of me, but to illustrate this case, if you’d like to copy the ad and any VERY BRIEF context you’re aware of for the field/dept/type of job, I’d give you an opinion. Just for the purposes of adding substance to this blog post!

November 12, 2014 at 5:44 pm

Okay great! Thanks, Karen. Here is the posting (It gave me pause because it lists teaching as the first responsibility):

POSITION: Assistant Professor of English, tenure-track, with research specialty in Early Modern Drama including Shakespeare. RESPONSIBILITIES: Teaching three undergraduate classes per semester, including the First-Year Experience. Teaching competencies required: upper-level courses in Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama and lower-level survey courses in British Literature before 1800. Research activities, including publications and presentation of papers; participation in professional and scholarly activities, including attendance at professional meetings. Student advising; service to the department, the university, the profession, and the community. QUALIFICATIONS: Recent Ph.D. (or near Ph.D.) in English, with research specialty in Early Modern Drama including Shakespeare, with broad-based, survey knowledge of British Literature before 1800. QUALITIES AND SKILLS: A strong commitment to teaching undergraduates and evidence of potential as a scholar; ability to relate well to students at a relatively small liberal arts and sciences university. SALARY: Competitive THE DEPARTMENT: The Department of English at Trinity University consists of twelve full-time faculty members; it offers a major (B.A. Degree) and a minor in English and in Creative Writing, as well as an Honors Program and courses for the Common Curriculum and electives. Trinity, founded in 1869, is an independent, coeducational, primarily residential university with a predominant emphasis on undergraduate education in the liberal arts and sciences tradition. Highly selective in its admission standards, Trinity is rapidly becoming one of the foremost institutions of its type in the United States. The quality of both faculty and students is acknowledged to be among the finest in the country. Undergraduate enrollment is approximately 2,700, including students from all parts of the United States and many foreign nations. An attractive campus overlooks downtown San Antonio, a city rich in heritage and ethnic diversity with a population of approximately one million. APPLICATIONS: Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, three confidential letters of reference (not to be sent by candidate), graduate institution(s) transcript(s), dissertation abstract, and writing sample, by November 21, 2014 to:

November 14, 2014 at 4:10 pm

I’m going to first say, that either kind of letter would probably be fine, and in a sense, this is a case for a ‘balanced’ letter; however, given that they do seem to say a lot about research, I’d send a research-first letter to this, just making sure that you ahve a solid 2 paragraphs on teaching.

November 9, 2014 at 7:18 pm

How’s this for a rule of thumb: if it’s 3-3, do a research letter no matter how much they say they value teaching; if 4-4, then lead with teaching.

November 10, 2014 at 9:15 am

November 23, 2014 at 2:35 am

Would you say that an ad requesting a generalist might be an indication that a teaching-centric letter is called for? This is a very small college in a rural area. They don’t list a teaching load, so I can’t use that proposed rule of thumb. This one is close to my family, so I don’t want to screw it up!

November 23, 2014 at 4:41 pm

it’s not typically content-area that matters, but institutional type and status. small and rural suggests teaching-centric, unless it’s one of those little gem-like elite SLACs that dot the landscape in odd places (like Grinnell).

November 24, 2014 at 4:28 pm

Definitely not a place like Grinnell! I meant to note its status as well as its location and size in my original post but forgot. I’m going to try to determine teaching load and base my letter off of that. Thanks for the reply!

November 27, 2014 at 9:34 pm

Do some detective work to find out the teaching load. Usually the course schedule can be accessed publicly. Look at that to see how many courses people are doing.

Also if the ad doesn’t say how much teaching the answer is probably “a lot.”

December 29, 2014 at 6:46 pm

Forgive a newbie question: *How* substantial is the difference between addressing a cover letter to the search chair by name and using the less-detailed “Dear Chair” option? If an individual isn’t mentioned in the announcement, is it an important use of time to try to find a name? Is the juice worth the squeeze, so to speak?

January 5, 2015 at 8:59 am

You should make some effort to find the name but if you can’t don’t sweat it. It’s fine to say “Dear Chair.”

January 10, 2015 at 6:38 pm

So all of us who have adjuncted for years without publishing should kill ourselves, correct? To get ourselves out of the way for the golden children?

January 11, 2015 at 10:30 pm

No, you can still apply for the jobs that are truly teaching-focused: community college and probably other instructor-type positions.

January 20, 2015 at 2:38 pm

“I am also prepared to teach courses such as XXX, YYY, and ZZZ.”

Should XXX, YYY, and ZZZ be courses specifically listed by the institution? Basically course titles copied from the institution’s website? Or more general descriptions of courses I’m prepared to teach?

Thank you for such an informative blog!

January 24, 2015 at 5:08 pm

This is great information. However, if applying for a C.C position, and you are only currently an adjunct, should you still use the letterhead of the current institution you work for? In addition, should you include this on your CV as recommended in your CV post?

February 12, 2015 at 5:34 pm

I just wanted to say thanks for this post, as it’s the exact topic I was looking for. Your blog fills a huge void. My history Ph.D. program is having a much better than average year for placement, and I suspect your blog is the decisive factor.

February 16, 2015 at 3:22 pm

that’s pretty cool! Invite me out to give a talk there!

February 15, 2015 at 1:21 pm

Dear Karen, How do I address in the letter my position towards a Community College that advertises as part of the minimum qualifications:

“Demonstrated cultural competency, sensitivity to and understanding of the diverse academic, socioeconomic, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds”

The CC serves a predominately ethnic community with limited financial resources, many students are underprepared, don’t dominate the english language, are first in their families to go to school and hold full time jobs.

February 16, 2015 at 3:18 pm

Read my post on the Diversity Statement for insights into this question.

March 2, 2015 at 11:12 am

I just want to say that you and your website are awesome. I love that this resource exists; it didn’t when I started job-searching and I’m so glad it’s out there now. Keep up the good work–

April 16, 2015 at 7:35 am

Thank you for this most informative post, which will be most helpful as I apply to community college instructorships and non-tenure-track lecturer positions.

One question whose answer I haven’t come across: about how much overlap should there be in a teaching-focused cover letter and a teaching philosophy statement? The job for which I’m currently applying asks for 1-2 pages of each document, and as no research obligations are mentioned in the listing, I assume the cover letter itself should also be highly teaching-focused.

My intuition is that the teaching-focused Cover Letter should still contain the 8 PARAs you list above, but that the Teaching Philosophy statement should elaborate on material from PARAs 2 and 4 (perhaps also 3?) in much more depth. Is this on-track?

Thanks very much for sharing your expertise!

November 3, 2015 at 12:46 pm

I am applying for a job that requires a cover letter which includes statements of teaching and research interests (not submitted as separate documents). Have you encountered this? how long is too long?

November 15, 2015 at 8:22 am

I am applying to a tenure-track position at a SLAC which requires a teaching statement, research statement, and letter of application detailing how one fits into the department. The problem is they specify each document is limited to one page. Two pages is short but manageable. I am working on the research statement now and I got my teaching statement and cover letter to one page, but that is not including the letterhead/formatting typically included in that type of letter. Do you think it is acceptable in this case to include pertinent information in the header/footer and forgo the classic formal letter formatting?

December 12, 2017 at 8:35 am

I just wanted to say thank you so much for this cover letter advice; I am applying to my “dream job” as a professor of science education at a state University following the thaw of a rather lengthy hiring freeze. I have an inside knowledge of the institution, department, and requirements. However, I have been piling up the anxiety of how I could focus more a bit more on teaching and add my research second (which is needed). This post is a life saver, I also read your other works! Your advice is amazing and is very in-depth unlike the other stuff online which acts like everyone is an aspiring Biochemist looking for work at an R1.

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Teacher Cover Letter Example

Have you ever walked into a classroom buzzing with excitement, ready to teach and inspire? That’s exactly the vibe you need to bring to your teacher cover letter. This helpful guide will break down how to write a cover letter for teachers and provide some practical tips you can use to shine in the hiring process.

Why a teacher-specific cover letter matters 

When it comes to writing a cover letter , teachers like yourself must take this opportunity to set a great first impression.

A cookie-cutter letter won’t cut it. Yours needs to pop out if you want the school’s hiring manager to notice it while flipping through a stack of applications. The goal is to craft a letter that speaks to what that particular school is all about and how you fit in.

Your teacher cover letter is like your own little personal ad. It’s where you show that you’re not just any teacher but the right one for the school.

But don’t forget, a killer teacher cover letter is just the start. You need to pair it with an equally impressive resume to really open doors.

Need help with your resume? We’ve got resume examples to give you an edge.

Key components of a teacher-specific cover letter 

When composing your teacher cover letter, make sure it exhibits the same basic qualities as a good lesson plan — structured, informative, and engaging. Just like a lesson plan, your teacher cover letter needs to include some key components, including the following:

• Personalized Greeting: Address the principal or hiring committee by name to show you’ve done your homework 
• Introduction: Explain why you’re excited about this specific school and role, mentioning a specific program, initiative, or ethos that resonates with you
• Your Teaching Philosophy: Briefly outline your teaching philosophy and how it mirrors the school’s values, mission statement, and culture
• Relevant Experience: Highlight your teaching experiences, prioritizing achievements that have yielded a tangible benefit for students 
• Classroom Management Techniques: Give examples of the classroom management style and techniques you use to maintain a positive learning environment
• Closing: Reiterate your excitement about the opportunity and discuss how you can contribute to the school. 

Finally, thank your audience for reviewing your application and include your contact details and preferred method of communication. If you don’t hear back within a week or two, consider reaching out to the principal or hiring committee. It’s perfectly acceptable to send a follow-up email if you don’t receive a response to your application.

Teacher cover letter format

Formatting is crucial, as it makes your letter easy to read and professional. Keep your cover letter to a single page, use a standard font, and stick to the following layout:

• Header: Your contact information should be at the top of your teacher cover letter
• Greeting: Address the recipient by name
• Introduction: State your name, the position you’re applying for, and why you believe you’d be a good fit
• Body: Highlight your qualifications, experience, and teaching philosophy 
• Closing: Thank the readers for their time, list your contact information again, and briefly restate your interest in the position

Like teacher cover letters, CVs also need to follow a standardized format. Our CV templates can help you create a complete CV that provides employers with all the information they need to evaluate your job fit.

Sample cover letter for teachers 

Tom Jones 123 Main St Miami, Florida 33101 [email protected] (305) 123-4567

Diane Clark Sunnyside High School 456 Broadway Ave Miami, Florida 33101

Dear Principal Clark,

My name is Tom Jones, and I am applying for the 10th-grade math teacher position at Sunnyside High School, as listed on Jobseeker. As an experienced and enthusiastic educator passionate about fostering a collaborative and engaging learning environment, I was thrilled to learn about the opening at your school. With my extensive background in developing curriculum and integrating innovative teaching techniques, I am confident in my ability to contribute to the success of Sunnyside High School and, more importantly, the development of its students. 

Currently, as an 8th-grade algebra teacher at Beachside High School, I manage a classroom of 20 students. I have successfully implemented project-based learning strategies, resulting in a notable increase in student engagement, pass rates, and academic achievement. I teach standard, advanced, and AP algebra courses, which affords me the opportunity to nurture and challenge students in all stages of their educational journey. Additionally, I have been recognized as the 2022 Teacher of the Year, highlighting my dedication to academic excellence and student development.

My teaching philosophy revolves around encouraging student curiosity, critical thinking, and individual expression. I strive to create a classroom atmosphere where students feel heard, valued, and empowered. I was particularly drawn to Sunnyside High School due to its commitment to furthering math education through its innovative programs. I am eager to contribute my skills to aid in these initiatives.

I am also interested in assisting with the continued success of Sunnyside High School’s flourishing football program, and I believe that my background in the sport enables me to make unique contributions to your diverse student community. I am committed not just to educating students but also to mentoring them to ensure their holistic development and well-being.

I am excited about the opportunity to bring my dynamic blend of skills and experience to Sunnyside High School and have faith in my potential to create a vibrant and effective learning environment that caters to the needs of each student. I look forward to discussing how my passion for education and coaching aligns with your school’s goals.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to further discussing how I can contribute to the ongoing success and growth of Sunnyside High School. I can be reached by phone at (305) 123-4567 or by email at [email protected] 

Respectfully,

Attachments: Resume 

Dos and Don’ts 

Now that we’ve covered the basics of teacher cover letter examples, let’s outline some “dos” and “don’ts” to help you create your own outstanding teacher cover letter. 

• Tailor each cover letter to the school and position
• Use specific examples to demonstrate your impact as a teacher
• Keep your letter concise and focused
• Proofread for grammar and spelling errors
• Outline your teaching philosophy
• Provide a brief story that highlights the efficacy of your teaching practices
• Use a generic letter that could be sent to multiple employers
• Simply repeat your resume
• Tell your life story 
• Overload with jargon or buzzwords (clarity is key)
• Go over one page — respect the principal’s time

It’s crucial to ensure that your CV or resume complements your teacher cover letter. It shouldn’t simply reiterate the information covered in your CV but should instead provide an illustrative overview of your unique skills, values, beliefs, and achievements.

Additional tips 

Writing an exceptional teacher cover letter can be tough, especially if you’ve never crafted one before. Fortunately, there are plenty of tried and true tips to help you along the way. We suggest doing the following:

• Research: Take some time to learn about the school’s culture, programs, and achievements, as this knowledge will help you personalize your teacher cover letter 
• Show Passion: Schools want educators who are enthusiastic and committed, so let your love of teaching shine through
• Be Specific: Spell out what makes you a great candidate and avoid vague terms like “awesome teacher”
• Include a Call to Action: End with a statement expressing how eager you are to sit down with the principal to discuss how you can contribute to the school 

A fantastic teacher cover letter can mean the difference between an interview and a rejection email. However, you’ll need a great resume or CV to pair with your teacher cover letter. Make sure you review some CV examples before submitting your application.

Excel with our teacher cover letter samples 

A teacher cover letter is your tool for setting a great first impression, connecting with hiring teams, and demonstrating that you’re a good fit for the school you’re applying to. 

Nailing your cover letter can be tough, but the good news is that you don’t have to go through the process alone. Turn to Jobseeker for support. 

Ready to write a winning teacher cover letter and land that all-important interview? If so, we can help. Check out our teacher cover letter templates and jumpstart your writing process. We can also simplify your resume and CV writing journey with our resume template .

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Really stupid question but, what is the difference between you "teaching philosophy letter" and "cover letter"?

I am preparing my portfolio and am a little nervous and am just trying to make as little mistakes as possible.