Question Description
Outline of contact letter to Faculty at prospective Graduate Schools:
Study the faculty teaching and research of each of the Architecture Graduate Programs IN ARCHITECTURE that you are interested in. Select 2 faculty member or professors per school bellow. And write their names and email address.
1-
NEW SCHOOL
OF ARCHITECTURE
2-YALE UNIVERSITY
3- MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Prep: Do your homework – after selecting the faculty you are going to contact, get to know their
research interest and work better – the more detailed and specific you can be in your letter, the
better. You want to draft a general letter but you need to have a part that can be heavily
customized for each professor.
- Email Subject must be non-generic, needs to be specific to their research or teaching
-
Greeting must be non-generic, include the facultys name: Dear Professor Jones, or Dear Dr.
Jones, (if faculty is a PhD), -
Who you are: current senior, applying to the specific school, include the full name of the school
and program of interest. Mention any special achievement that you have: Deans List,
Scholarship recipient, Honors Student, etc. (1 sentence, Paragraph 1) -
Why them: go directly into their research. Talk about what you particularly find interesting
(sustainability is too general), it will have to be something very specific to what they do
affordable housing, ecocities, etc. Read an article about them or a paper that they wrote in order
to get relevant information. Tell them what youre hoping to learn short term and long term. (2
sentences, Paragraph 1) -
What do you want: do not ask for general information. Tell them that the ability to work with
people on the subject that interests you is the most important thing in deciding on Graduate
School. Ask if they would be available as mentors, researchers or teaching faculty if you get
accepted and choose to attend that school. Ask what the current status of their research is and if
there are opportunities for your potential involvement, either in their research or teaching. (2-3
sentences, Paragraph 2) -
Seek advice: ask if they have any recommendations on what things will make you a stronger
candidate for their particular school and program particular items in your portfolio or personal
letter. (1-2 sentences, Paragraph 3) - Thank them for their time, hope to hear from them soon and mention you hope to visit soon and
introduce yourself in person. Give you full name and contact info at the end. -
Example:
Dear Professor Jones,
My name is Your Name and I am currently a senior at Morgan State University School of
Architecture and Planning. I will be graduating with a Bachelors of Science and Environmental
Design degree in May 2014 and I have chosen Urban Design as the next step in my Graduate
education. I was very happy to find out that University of Virginia has an impressive graduate
program in Urban and Environmental Planning that I am interested in applying to.
I am proud to have had a very successful college career so far – I have been acknowledged at the
top of my junior design studio and I have maintained honor grades not only in my required major
classes but through the rest of my undergraduate education. My main reason for wanting to
attend graduate school for Urban and Environmental Planning is to help struggling cities in their
process of revitalization into thriving cities for today and in the future. Addressing the challenges
and the devastation of a city will not only contribute to the solution of the problem but also
strengthen the city to handle future problems that may come about. In attending University of
Virginia I am hoping to learn how to be a successful, effective, and creative urban and
environmental planner.
The ability to work with faculty and peers with the same interests is my most important
consideration in choosing Virginia University as a graduate school to attend. I would like to
connect with you and seek advice on what it will take for me to strengthen my application to
University of Virginia Graduate program for Urban and Environmental Planning with regards to
any particular elements to focus on in my portfolio and personal statement. Also, I would like to
know what the current status of your research work is and if there are any opportunities for my
potential involvement in your research or teaching.
I would greatly appreciate your mentorship in this process I believe it would make me a stronger
candidate and put a solid foundation to my future Graduate studies. Thank you for your time and I
look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, Your Name & Contact in another sheet of paper do the other part of the assignment in a WORD dox
1. Research.
Study the faculty teaching and research of each of the Graduate Programs that you are interested in.
Select 2 per school that you are interested in connecting to. Organize your list by University and include
summary information for each including: contact, course taught, research focus, accomplishments, and
your interest with respect to their work.
2. Communicate.
Prepare a concise and clear letter that expresses your interests in their research or teaching work. Start
with a basic introduction of yourself and your academic and professional goals. Explain why you are
interested in their work and ask for their help in understanding how their research and teaching engage
students and if there are any teaching or research assistantships available. Inquire about their opinion in
what would make you a stronger candidate for admission to their program.
3. Connect.
Contact the faculty with the letter to begin communication. Follow up on their responses. don’t sent the emails ill do that from my email. but don’t forget to write their name and email address.
So what i want from you is the 6 letters. it could be the same letter but you must change their names and the information of the univeristy and the professor.And one paper which is the other part of the assignment a summery of each professor.
