Writing A Thank You Letter To Dissertation Committee Members

In the years past, a lot of value is attached to writing thank you letters and notes but this time around, it seems nobody is interested in writing such letters, not even when it is necessary that you thank your dissertation committee members after successfully defending your academic paper. You don’t have to toe this path of not showing appreciation, you can easily differentiate yourself from the others by taking your time to craft a letter full of appreciation. Apart from the fact that the committee members would be glad that somebody appreciates their efforts, it would also go further to strengthen the relationship between you and them, for future purposes.

If you want to experience the many wonders of writing a thank you letter to dissertation committee members, especially when you are ready to go into the job market, here are some tips to consider. They are:

• Add A Personal Touch: Don’t just send a generalized thank you letter. Make the letter very personal as it goes a long way to show you appreciate the time each given member spent to go through your academic paper. It also helps to foster relationships.


• Send It Early Enough: Don’t wait until several months have passed before you can send your thank you note to the committee members, you never know if you would need their help anytime soon.


• Mail Versus Email: Although it is okay if your thank you message is sent as email, people appreciate it when you take your time to write hard copy thank you letter and mail it to them. However, don’t let the issue of mail or email deter you from thanking the committee members.


• Insert Subtle Solicitation: Your major aim of writing this thank you letter is to create opportunities in the future, especially when it comes to career enhancement and others. Therefore, it is important that you subtly solicit the recipients’ assistance in the future, should it be needed. Don’t make the mistake of sounding very pushy or you will end up creating the wrong impression on the minds of your dissertation committee members.

These are just a few tips to help you write that appreciation letter you have been putting off. Whether you are sending a snail mail or email, make sure your letter is well-written and completely polished. It would increase your chances of building solid relationship with these committee members, if not now then definitely in the future.