Rania Haddad Adjunct Instructor of English Tempe, 85281, United States [email protected] · (480) 555-0119
11 September 2026
Dr. Ines Ferreira Department of English Papago Community College Scottsdale, United States
Application for the adjunct English pool, spring term
Dear Dr. Ferreira,
I am writing about the adjunct English pool posting for the spring term. I can teach ENG 101 Composition I, ENG 102 Composition II, ENG 111 Introduction to Literature and ENG 235 Technical Writing, in person or asynchronous online. My MA is in Rhetoric and Composition from Arizona State University, with 42 graduate semester hours in English, so the credentialing file is straightforward.
I have taught 61 sections and roughly 1,400 students since 2019, most of them at Sonoran Valley Community College across 14 consecutive per-course contracts. My mean student evaluation there is 4.6 of 5 against a departmental mean of 4.2, and course completion in my composition sections runs 79% against a departmental mean of 71%. When the department rebuilt its ENG 102 research sequence I wrote the portfolio rubric, which is now used across all 14 sections of the course.
I noticed your catalogue lists ENG 235 in the applied sciences pathway. Before I moved to teaching full time I spent six years as a technical editor in medical device documentation, so that course is one I would particularly want. I also hold a graduate certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language, which has been useful in sections with a high proportion of multilingual writers.
I am free Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings on campus, and I can take asynchronous online sections in any term. Unofficial transcripts and full evaluation reports are ready to send. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Rania Haddad, M.A.
Summary
An adjunct professor cover letter names the course numbers you can be assigned, the graduate credit hours that qualify you under your accreditor, one teaching result, and your availability by day and modality. This guide gives you a full adaptable letter, the per-course hiring calendar, and how the letter differs from a tenure-track application letter.
Adjunct Professor cover letter examples by experience level
An adjunct professor cover letter is a one page letter naming the course numbers you can be assigned, the graduate credit hours that qualify you to teach them, one result from a section you have already taught, and when you are available.
It is not a tenure-track job letter. That letter argues a scholarly identity over two pages to a committee reading for months. This one is read by a chair with an unstaffed section and about three weeks, and the questions are narrower: can you teach this course, can I document that you are qualified, and are you free on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Guide to an adjunct professor cover letter
This guide and the corresponding adjunct professor cover letter example will cover:
- How to structure the letter, paragraph by paragraph
- Why the course numbers and your graduate hours belong in the first paragraph
- What the per-course hiring calendar actually looks like
- How this letter differs from a tenure-track application letter
- The openings that get a file moved to the top of a chair's pile
How to write an adjunct professor cover letter
| Paragraph | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The posting, the course numbers you can cover, your graduate hours | 2 to 3 sentences |
| Evidence | One course, one cohort, one number, the evaluation scale | 4 to 5 sentences |
| Fit | Something real about the department, and your range beyond the posted course | 3 to 4 sentences |
| Close | Availability by day and modality, and a start date | 2 sentences |
Put the course numbers and the graduate hours in the first three lines
A chair reading adjunct applications is doing two things at once: covering a section and building a file that satisfies an accreditor.
Answer both immediately. "I can teach ENG 101, ENG 102 and ENG 235. My MA is in Rhetoric and Composition, with 42 graduate semester hours in English." The first sentence covers the section; the second closes the compliance question before it is asked.
Under the Higher Learning Commission faculty qualifications policy adopted on 2 November 2023, faculty teaching general education courses hold a master's degree or higher in the discipline, and a faculty member whose degree is in another discipline should have completed a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline or subfield they teach. Every accreditor has a version of this, and very few applicants state whether they clear it.
An adjunct professor cover letter example you can adapt
Dear Dr. Ferreira,
I am writing about the adjunct English pool posting for the spring term. I can teach ENG 101 Composition I, ENG 102 Composition II, ENG 111 Introduction to Literature and ENG 235 Technical Writing, in person or asynchronous online. My MA is in Rhetoric and Composition from Arizona State University, with 42 graduate semester hours in English, so the credentialing file is straightforward.
I have taught 61 sections and roughly 1,400 students since 2019, most of them at Sonoran Valley Community College across 14 consecutive per-course contracts. My mean student evaluation there is 4.6 of 5 against a departmental mean of 4.2, and course completion in my composition sections runs 79% against a departmental mean of 71%. When the department rebuilt its ENG 102 research sequence I wrote the portfolio rubric, which is now used across all 14 sections of the course.
I noticed your catalogue lists ENG 235 in the applied sciences pathway. Before I moved to teaching full time I spent six years as a technical editor in medical device documentation, so that course is one I would particularly want. I also hold a graduate certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language, which has been useful in sections with a high proportion of multilingual writers.
I am free Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings on campus, and I can take asynchronous online sections in any term. Unofficial transcripts and full evaluation reports are ready to send. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Rania Haddad, M.A.
Openings that work
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| I am writing to express my interest in adjunct teaching opportunities | I am writing about the adjunct English pool posting for the spring term |
| I am passionate about teaching and student success | I can teach ENG 101, ENG 102, ENG 111 and ENG 235, in person or asynchronous online |
| I hold an advanced degree in my field | My MA is in Rhetoric and Composition, with 42 graduate semester hours in English |
| I have extensive teaching experience | I have taught 61 sections and roughly 1,400 students since 2019 |
Each sentence on the right answers a question the chair has already written down. Each on the left asks them to read further before learning anything.
Understand the per-course hiring calendar
The rhythm of contingent hiring is unlike salaried work, and the letter has to be built for it.
| When | What is happening | What to send |
|---|---|---|
| Four to six months before term | Schedules are drafted and full-time loads assigned | The pool application, so you are on file |
| Six to eight weeks before term | Remaining sections are offered to known adjuncts | A short follow-up naming your availability |
| Two to three weeks before term | Enrolment shifts open sections and departures create gaps | A one paragraph note: courses, hours, availability |
| Week one | Sections are cancelled or split at the last minute | Nothing; be reachable |
Most assignments are made in the third row, which is why the availability line matters as much as the credential line. A chair covering a Tuesday and Thursday section on eight days' notice needs to know whether you can be there before they need to know what you have published.
Name the course numbers from their catalogue, not generic titles. State graduate hours as a number with the discipline. Give the evaluation figure with its scale and the departmental comparison. End with availability by day and modality. Say transcripts and evaluation reports are ready to send. Follow up two to three weeks before term.
Do not send a tenure-track job letter to a per-course posting; it raises the question of how long you will stay. Do not spend a paragraph on your dissertation. Do not leave availability out, because it decides more of these appointments than anything else. Do not apologise for teaching at several institutions.
Most of the profession is contingent, and paid per section
About 68 percent of faculty members in US colleges and universities held contingent appointments in fall 2023, against about 47 percent in fall 1987, and roughly 49 percent of all faculty appointments were part-time (AAUP, Data Snapshot: Tenure and Contingency in US Higher Education, spring 2025).
Among 555 institutions reporting part-time faculty data, the median starting pay was $3,121 per course section in 2024 to 2025, nearly 87 percent hired part-time faculty on a per-course-section basis, and nearly 70 percent provided them neither retirement nor medical benefits (AAUP, preliminary 2025-26 Faculty Compensation Survey results).
The occupation itself is growing: 1,378,200 postsecondary teaching jobs in 2025, projected up 7 percent through 2035, with about 103,300 openings a year (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025-35 projections). The work is there. The letter's job is to make each additional section easy to assign to you.
Length, format and sending it
One page, four paragraphs, 250 to 400 words. PDF unless the district portal says otherwise, named for you and the posting: rania-haddad-adjunct-english-cover-letter.pdf.
Address the department chair by name. Chairs are listed on nearly every department page, and a named letter reaches the person who actually assigns sections rather than a shared inbox.
Keep the figures identical to your resume. Our adjunct professor resume example uses the same numbers as this letter.
Key takeaways
- Name the course numbers from their catalogue in the first paragraph.
- State your graduate hours as a number, with the discipline.
- Give one evaluation or completion figure with the scale and the comparison.
- Name your range beyond the posted course, because chairs reuse a good file.
- Close with availability by day and by modality.
- Say transcripts and evaluation reports are ready to send.
- Follow up two to three weeks before term, when the gaps appear.
Write your adjunct professor cover letter in 10 minutes.
Adjunct professor cover letter questions, answered
How is an adjunct cover letter different from a tenure-track job letter?
Length, reader and purpose. A tenure-track letter argues a research identity over two pages to a committee reading for months. An adjunct letter gives a chair the course numbers, the credential line, one teaching result and your availability, in one page, so a section can be assigned this week. Sending the first in place of the second is the most common mistake in contingent applications.
Should I mention that I teach at other institutions?
Yes. Roughly 49 percent of faculty appointments were part-time in fall 2023 (AAUP, spring 2025), so a chair is not surprised by it. What they need is your availability, stated concretely by day and modality, since that is what determines whether you can take the section they are trying to fill.
How do I prove I am qualified to teach a specific course?
With graduate credit hours in the discipline, stated as a number, and with an unofficial transcript ready to attach. Most accreditors expect a master's degree or higher in the discipline for general education courses, or a minimum of 18 graduate credit hours in the discipline where the degree is in another field (Higher Learning Commission faculty qualifications policy, adopted 2 November 2023). Institutions may also qualify faculty through equivalent tested experience, so name relevant professional practice and how long it ran.
What if I have never taught at college level?
Write the teaching you have done as teaching: a graduate teaching associateship where you were instructor of record, sections and enrolments, evaluations, and any course design work. Then lead with the credential line, since your graduate hours carry the same weight as anyone else's. A new adjunct with clean documentation and open availability is a straightforward assignment.
When is the best time to send an adjunct application?
Send the pool application four to six months out so you are on file, then follow up two to three weeks before term. That late window is when enrolment shifts and departures open sections, and it is when most per-course assignments are actually made.