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Rev. 8/23/2015
General Academic Cover Letter Sample
October 4, 2011
Dr. Francine Maps
Geography Search Committee Chair
Department of Geography and Anthropology
Famous University, Florida 00090
Dear Dr. Maps and Members of the Search Committee:
Please accept this letter and accompanying documents for the position of Assistant Professor
of Geography recently advertised in the Chronicle of Higher Education. I have carefully
reviewed the position and believe that my research and teaching experience is a strong
match for your position. I am a PhD candidate in the Geography Graduate Group at the
University of California, Davis working with Dr. Timothy Tireless and will complete my
degree in June 2012.
My dissertation research examines the role of migrant laborers and their families in
California and the Pacific Northwest and uses GIS technology to trace the movement of
families from the Monterrey, Nuevo Leon region of Mexico through California, Oregon, and
Washington, and culminating in reverse migration at the culmination of the harvest season. I
argue that recent political events have negatively influenced the migration of both
documented and undocumented laborers and seek to prove this theory through the voluntary
tracking of families using handheld GPS devices. This research is significant because it builds
on the body of research in migration geography and expands these traditional concepts by
using GIS data to create complex mapping programs in response to chain migration trends of
immigrants. As you will see in my C.V., I recently published an article entitled “Chain
Migration from Nuevo Leon, Mexico to Olympia, Washington: a Tale of Perseverance”, in the
Journal of Migration Studies. In addition, I am in the process of completing a manuscript
exploring the formation of migrant communities in California’s Central Valley which will be
submitted to the California Geographer in early November.
The Center for Immigration Studies in the Geography Department at Famous University has a
renowned history of examining similar themes and I believe my research would also mesh
well with migration projects currently being conducted by Dr. Rivers in the Caribbean and Dr.
Dunes in the desert southwest. My expertise with GIS would make me a unique fit and build
upon your advertised goals of introducing undergraduate students to GIS and expanding your
research program for graduate students.
As an associate instructor, I have had the privilege of teaching an upper-division course on
the Geography of Migration. As the sole instructor for this course, I designed and delivered
the lectures and created all of the materials and exams for the course. I also supervised
teaching assistant and a reader. As a teaching assistant, I have also had the opportunity to
teach 3 course- Introduction to Cultural Geography, Cultural Ecology and Geographical
Information Systems for a total of 7 quarters. I am comfortable teaching large lecture classes
and have had the opportunity to give guest lectures to Cultural Ecology classes with over 100