2016-2017 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Career Planner

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Career Planner Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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Sample Cover Letter for an Academic Position
January 14, 2017
Dr. James Gerontology
Department of Epidemiology
Emory University School of Public Health
Atlanta, GA 30334
Dear Dr. Gerontology,
I am writing in response to your notice in the November issue of the Journal of Epidemiology regarding the e
position of Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in your department. I am currently a doctoral candidate at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and expect to complete all requirements for the degree by
March, 2017.
My dissertation deals with the evaluation of access to health care in the metropolitan Philadelphia area. Through
my association with the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE), I interviewed 80 mothers
participating in various parent education programs. From the qualitative data I gathered, as well as from
quantitative data collected by NAHSE, I am evaluating the efficacy of the programs. In addition, the qualitative
data have led me to challenge cultural assumptions about health care practices and to consider issues
surrounding the mainstream definitions of seeking medical treatment. Since the populations I have studied are
largely poor minorities, I am examining the role of social norms and the family experience of these parents.
As you can see from my CV, I have been most fortunate in my graduate student career to have had ample
opportunity both to teach and to do research. As a teaching assistant and as an instructor of my own courses, I
have been afforded a great deal of experience with a wide range of courses, including Qualitative Methods,
Outcomes Research and Environmental Induced Illness; a list of my teaching interests can be found on my CV.
The anonymous reviews by my students have been consistently laudatory, citing my knowledge, teaching style,
and enthusiasm as highlights of the courses. I am committed to working with students and have maintained
professional relationships with many of them years beyond the classroom.
My research interests are as varied as my teaching. I have engaged in organizational research for the past three
years with Dr. Chad Everett at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health. One article stemming from
this work, “Comparing Community Health Centers, Hospital Outpatient Departments, and Physician Offices,” has
recently been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In addition, I have worked
extensively with Professor Jane Arbor, formerly of Bryn Mawr College and currently of the University of North
Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Public Health. This work has included my master’s project on quality health
care for the medically under-served in North Carolina. Recently, I independently conducted research on female
crack addicts in rehabilitative programs, a project which I eventually hope to address in a series of short papers.
I have been an active member of the academic and social communities at both Schools of Public Health at Johns
Hopkins and the University of North Carolina. I have served on numerous committees and have been a vigorous
and enthusiastic participant in university life. My involvement spans groups as serious as the University
Academic Planning and Budget Committee, the Provost’s committee to which only two graduate students are
appointed each year, and as whimsical as the annual talent show, which I originated and continue to run each
year.
I believe that I would be an asset to your department and university and would welcome the opportunity to
discuss the assistant professorship with you further. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
T. L. Candidate
T. L. Candidate