Questions tagged [recommendation-letter]
Questions on recommendation or reference letters received from faculty members when applying for graduate schools or faculty positions.
1,084
questions
0
votes
0answers
11 views
How to bring up to a future postdoc employer, the point of not asking for recommendation for a specific postdoc employer?
I'm applying for a postdoc position at a French university, and the employer, who's a professor, requested me, in an informal email exchange, to state the name and email of a specific former employer ...
8
votes
1answer
245 views
Want a recommendation letter, but the professor passed away
I am in the process of collecting recommendations for my PhD.
I was the best-performing student in final exams on three different courses, all given by a single professor. (The results of the exams ...
58
votes
11answers
9k views
What do I do if I cannot give a good reference to my PhD student?
I've seen several questions from students about bad supervisor references but this is on the other side.
I have a PhD student whose priority during their PhD was family (had two children in 3 years) ...
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Is it better to have a strong letter of recommendation from a professor in a different area of study or a weaker letter from the same area of study?
I want to apply for a graduate electrical engineering program next fall. I have one engineering professor who has written letters of recommendation for me in the past, however I only know her from ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
I am in fourth year and didn't get to know any of my professors really well. Is it too late to ask for letters of recommendation for graduate school?
I am a fourth-year student who graduates in May and I only realised mid last year that I was interested in graduate school. Unfortunately due to my shyness, I didn't get to know most of my professors ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
Advice on applying for MA/MS programs in Statistics with undergraduate degree in social science
I studied political science in undergrad and subsequently took a few graduate courses in statistics, econometrics, and causal inference as part of a non-degree program, with some exposure to Stata and ...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
Non-STEM Letter of Rec for STEM PhD Programs
I am applying to PhD programs in math, cs, and statistics this fall at roughly top 15 US schools. I will be having recommendations from two professors who I worked on projects with personally and who ...
28
votes
3answers
3k views
Letter of Recommendation From A Coach
I was recently asked to write a letter of recommendation for a young women that I coach for a sport. I am aware that she is a good student, however my only interaction with her is through coaching. ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Should I mention an informal research intern in my CV?
I was doing an informal research intern in a research institution more than a year ago, and it's probably the only experience related to the scientific research during my undergraduate time. Basically ...
0
votes
1answer
121 views
Recommendation Letter: the final position of a student in the class
Suppose there are 25 students in a class, where two students scored 100/100, and four students scored 96/100, while the rest of the students scored below that. The question is: Should I mention the ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
Is a scholar whose work contributes substantially to my proposed project a suitable arm's length referee?
I am submitting a postdoctoral application that requires an external arm's length referee to write an evaluation of the proposal to be submitted with the application. The referee should be an ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
Letter of Recommendation from PhD Student for Masters [duplicate]
I am an undergraduate student at an American university and am applying for an Msc at LSE for the 2021-2022 school year. I need advice on a letter of recommendation. I already have one professor who ...
1
vote
1answer
111 views
Recommendation Letter: How to properly mention the grade and the rank of a student in multiple courses?
I am writing a letter of recommendation for my student as he is applying for a master's degree to study in the UK. The GUIDANCE FOR REFEREES states that I should mention the grades of the applicant in ...
1
vote
3answers
122 views
Central deposit for recommendation letters
A while back, I remember seeing a service, and I believe more than one, that claimed that they would store letters of recommendation for you and send them on your behalf or the person writing the ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
Remote writing of master's thesis vs. taking a course
I am currently writing a masters thesis (in mathematics). I began a month ago, but I have been stuck to the point of feeling like I'm wasting my time. I don't have good grasp of the fundamentals ...
-2
votes
1answer
82 views
Do we have any software to check plagiarism in SOPs and LORs?
Softwares like Turnitin and IThenticate serve the purpose for the plagiarism check of the documents, but they have their own databases to check from and compare with the provided document.
According ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
Should I ask for a LOR from my future Master's Supervisor?
I start my master's year project in mid November this year and am currently applying to graduate school, most of whose deadlines are 1st of December. I was wondering if it was acceptable to ask my ...
3
votes
1answer
150 views
Applying for Applied Math PhD as a non-math major (Letters of Recommendation, etc.)
This is my first post, so I'm not be fully familiar with the etiquette of posting on this forum, but I'll do my best.
I graduated Summa Cum Laude in May from a reputable university with a major in ...
0
votes
0answers
42 views
How to write judgment of my own potential for fellowship nomination
I'm a PhD student in social science, currently looking for postdoc positions.
One professor I'm interested in working with suggested that he could nominate me for a postdoc fellowship and asked me if ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
Reusing reference letters
I am a first-year PhD student applying for STEM fellowships this fall (NSF GRFP, NDSEG, Hertz), which I applied for last fall as a senior undergraduate. Although I was not awarded any of them, the ...
4
votes
2answers
515 views
Should I email the university admin to explain that one of my references is out of office until Monday?
I emailed my undergrad supervisor back in July asking them to write a reference letter, which they agreed to.
I had an email from the uni I am applying to yesterday stating they were yet to receive ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
How important are recommendation letters when applying to a PhD in Germany?
I am planning on applying to a PhD in engineering in Germany (either by contacting a group, which I will prioritize, or through a normal application at the graduate school).
The problem I currently ...
3
votes
2answers
158 views
It it appropriate to request a letter of recommendation via LinkedIn?
I had a professor who told me during the year that he'd be happy to write me a letter of recommendation for a research degree I was contemplating applying to. I've since decided to apply.
My ...
20
votes
5answers
7k views
Professors refusing to write recommendation letter due to change of field
I am a chemistry undergraduate student applying for master’s programs in electrical and computer engineering or computer science (ECE/CS). All my programming skills are self-taught so my professors ...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
Should I approach my boss from my previous company for a LOR for my Master’s in Computer Science (From USA)?
I graduated in 2018 (in computer science) and worked in an education startup (Sept'18-Feb'19), as a co-founder of sorts, and later joined a well-known company in Mar'19 and have been working there ...
2
votes
1answer
164 views
Applying Late to Mathematics Graduate School
I have posted a similar question to this previously, but would like to reword it and re-ask it.
I just recently completed my undergraduate studies with a degree in mathematics from a relatively well-...
11
votes
4answers
3k views
PhD supervisor (who I use as a reference) is the department director for position I am applying for. Should this bias be avoided?
I am applying for a position at a University. The director of the department at the University I am applying to was my PhD supervisor.
Is it still proper to ask them to provide a letter of ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
Postdoc Letter of recommendation same school or different school
I am going on the postdoc market this year (mathematics). I am now looking into who I should ask for a letter of recommendation. I think my advisor will give me a good one, and there is another ...
3
votes
0answers
179 views
Career advice: How to move on in academia after a negative PhD experience?
I am post-PhD and I am really struggling with the job search phase of my career. My PhD took me almost a decade to finish, with time off, because after successfully completing all of the requirements ...
5
votes
4answers
973 views
Submitting more than three letters of recommendation to a math PhD program
I will likely be applying for PhD programs in mathematics. Several of the schools I intend to apply to state that they require ‘a minimum of 3 letters’. Presently, I have three solid letters from well ...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
Trouble finding good letter writers for math grad school due to switching programs
I'm planning to apply to top US grad schools in the fall, and out of all the required documents, I would say that my weakest link would be in the quality of my recommendation letters.
I'm currently ...
3
votes
1answer
222 views
Recommendation letter from CS faculty for math grad school (and vice versa)
I am in kind of a dilemma(ish) situation. I am a rising junior, and I plan on applying to graduate school in math, but I have not shut the door on graduate programs in CS or applied math either (am ...
1
vote
1answer
79 views
Can a Letter of Recommendation be effective without much coursework
I'm applying to grad schools this coming fall and have 2/3 letter writers lined up, and am just trying to make a decision about the third. I took two classes with this third letter writer about two ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
Recommendation letters post master's
I'm presently in a master's program. The program is much more relevant to the area I wish to do a PhD in (I switched majors from Bachelor's->Master's). I took two recommendation letters from my ...
1
vote
1answer
121 views
Choosing between letters of recommendation
I am in the process of preparing an application for a grad school/PhD program in Economics. The program I want to apply for requires two letters of recommendation so I was wondering which professors ...
1
vote
3answers
180 views
Requested *contact information of two references* in application for a PhD
I just find an interesting call for a PhD position. In order to apply one has to submit, among all the standard thing as cv and transcript of records, also contact information of two references. I don'...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Choosing which project advisor to ask recommendations from
I did a research project, in which I was advised by two researchers. Most of the time, it was a PhD student who defended and transitioned to post-doc during the project. But my official advisor, with ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
Will the admission committee try to get in touch with the referees who wrote the recommendation letters? [Graduate admission]
I am currently in an institution wherein most of the academic body in my department (Electrical Engineering) have a rather poor (and that's putting mildly) mastery of English.
My concern is if I ...
3
votes
2answers
176 views
One of my profs did his PhD at the University I want to apply for my math PhD. Should I get a recommendation from him?
The prof is quite famous (lots of publications and even a Wiki page). His doctoral advisor is also quite famous (still is part of the faculty of the university that I want to apply to). Would a ...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
Advice on rejecting job offer from recommender
I worked for this professor last summer for free and am going to ask her to be recommender for PhD application. This year I asked to work with her again, however this time I need salary. So she ...
27
votes
2answers
5k views
Getting a letter of recommendation from a socially controversial PhD advisor
I am about to finish my PhD at a US university and am starting to apply for jobs and postdocs in physics and computer science. Throughout my PhD, I maintained a good relationship with my PhD ...
3
votes
1answer
130 views
My professor has left the university and his official email ID is no longer active
I will be applying for MS in Computer Science in the United States and I want to ask for a letter of recommendation from one of my professors, with whom I share a strong relationship. He has left the ...
1
vote
2answers
206 views
Worried about Ws (withdrawals) on transcript and letters of reccomendation for a masters program
Disclaimer: W stands for withdrawal, it’s when a student withdrawals from a course regardless of grades after a certain deadline for course changes.
I graduated from a Big10 Engineering school with a ...
4
votes
1answer
445 views
How can I minimize the damage of my PhD advisor's bad recommendation when applying for industry jobs?
I did not get along well with my former PhD advisor. I was able to defend and graduate; however, I have learned that my advisor was giving bad recommendation letters. No wonder why all of my ...
1
vote
2answers
115 views
Should I contact potential recommendation letter writers if I only have vague plans about applying for a PhD?
I might, or might not, need letters of recommendation for a PhD application in the future. My plans are vague, I am just finishing my master's and planning to work for a while before deciding.
There ...
6
votes
1answer
111 views
What's expected in a UK postgrad letter of recommendation
Note: This is specific to the UK. My experience of recruitment more generally is that it varies a lot internationally.
I've been asked to write a letter of recommendation for an undergrad applying ...
3
votes
3answers
110 views
How to proceed if email asking for a recommendation letter hasn't gotten a response after 3 weeks (during COVID-19 pandemic)?
I know this question has been asked before but here is the Covid-19 Pandemic Edition:
I emailed my professor asking if they would consider writing me a LOR almost a month ago and haven't gotten a ...
-4
votes
1answer
323 views
How to Interpret This Response to a LOR Request [duplicate]
As I mentioned in my last post, I experienced a lot of stress during my last undergraduate semester as well as an episode of depression due to my professor's upcoming retirement. (I deeply admired her ...
1
vote
2answers
145 views
Recommendation letter for a short time collaboration
I have started my 1 year postdoc in math three months ago, of course after 1 month the university was closed and I have to work at home, due to Corona Virus. Recently, I want to apply for another ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
Non-confidential student suppport letter for a teaching award
My home faculty announced a call of nominations for a teaching award. I am confident that my teaching contributions has been substantial and wish to be recognized. So I contacted the selection ...
