Questions tagged [recommendation-letter]
Questions on recommendation or reference letters received from faculty members when applying for graduate schools or faculty positions.
1,126
questions
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41 views
Should I send a second reminder for recommendation letter?
I already sent one 5 days ago and she said she was working on it. However the deadline is really close now (30/11). Should I send a second reminder now?
9
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2answers
3k views
It may not be in my best interest to ask a professor I have done research with for recommendation letters. Can this seem suspicious in my application?
I am not from the US and my field is in the social sciences. A while back, I started collaborating with a foreign professor on a research project which is now under review and another one which is ...
5
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0answers
157 views
Why forbid previous employers as references?
Very rarely I have seen in faculty job application forms:
Please list below names, addresses, and telephone numbers of references. Do not list the names of relatives or previous employers.
Why would ...
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vote
2answers
96 views
Getting reference letter from professors whom I took their class-should I make any impression except my grade?
I am a master (international)student in Germany, I will apply Phd in Canada or US. There will be a gap year between my graduation year and entrance year.
Now my plan to get reference letter is as ...
0
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1answer
152 views
Asking recommender to avoid talking about a project that was abandoned
I'm applying to grad school and have requested a professor to write a recommendation letter. He said he'd be happy to write one for me. I had worked on two projects with him. While working on the ...
3
votes
2answers
161 views
Will reference letters from a researcher who does not have a Ph.D be valid?
I'm applying to Ph.D. programs in the biomedical field in the US but I have a question regarding reference letters:
Can I request a reference letter from a co-worker that has no Ph.D. (instead has ...
1
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1answer
102 views
How soon do I need to submit the reference letters? (TT job) [closed]
I'm applying for tenure-track positions for the first time (STEM). One of the schools (School A) contacted me today, saying the committee would like to see my reference letters. The application ...
12
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4answers
7k views
Is it a bad idea to ask my erstwhile PI to say in a recommendation letter he “forgot” to acknowledge me in a prior work?
Three years ago, I was an undergrad majoring in Biochemistry in a major US university, and did significant research work in preparation for my thesis.
I am currently polishing a personal statement for ...
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0answers
81 views
Starting PhD programs - walking back comment [closed]
I am very interested in pursuing a PhD program - I was recently told by a professor who I took classes with during my Master's program that he would be happy to take me into his PhD program over the ...
1
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2answers
97 views
Is it possible to apply to a masters program without letters of recommendation?
I've been out of undergraduate for several years and am applying to graduate school. However, I'm hung up on how to obtain the required letters of recommendation.
While I did exceptionally well in ...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
How can a freelance writer supply recommendation letters?
Suppose, a BSc in Computer Science student has been doing online freelancing for the last 10 years. The teachers who knew him in his undergrad school are either retired, or dead, or doesn't have any ...
5
votes
1answer
257 views
PhD Advisor not responding to emails for letters of recommendation
I am an immigrant in US and graduated in 2018 from a good public university on the east coast. I had a cordial relationship with my advisor during my PhD.
Currently, I am working on my immigration ...
1
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1answer
120 views
Help choosing my recommender: weaker letter from faculty with PhD, or strong letter from non-PhD industry boss? [closed]
I know none of the choices below are ideal, but I've exhausted my options. I'm applying for PhD in mechanical engineering to US schools, some of which specifically stated letters must come from ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
Is it polite to ask my mentor to recommend me to Professors she knows in the graduate school?
I am currently applying for the doctoral program. One thing I am keep considering is that should I politely ask my mentor who will write me the ref letter to recommend me to professors that she knows ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
Asking for letters of recommendation for HS teaching positions from PHD program which I would be leaving
I am in my first year of a PhD. The only thing I look forward to in the morning is grading/prepping lab/office hours for my twice a week TA assignment.
The nature of my program is very stressful, and ...
4
votes
2answers
312 views
What does it mean to co-sign a letter of recommendation?
To provide some background, I'm an MS student (CS - machine learning) looking to apply for PhD programs. I was looking for letter writers, and struggled to find the third.
I have the option of asking ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
Is it alright to ask recommendation letter from the same professor more than once?
Background: I was applying for grad school last year, and asked my professors for a lot of rec letters(likely 15 programs which made the work really tedious). They kindly agreed and send all the rec ...
2
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1answer
138 views
Professor who I requested an LoR from told me to look for someone who knows me better, but would write me one if I couldn't find anyone
I made a post yesterday regarding when I should send a professor a reminder regarding a LoR request. Well, he actually got back to me today and told me that (translated and paraphrased from Korean):
&...
1
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1answer
72 views
Letter recommender hasn't responded to request and has conference deadline coming up. Should I remind them?
The title is a bit lengthy but captures the crux of the issue. I made a bit of a hasty decision to apply to PhD programs this round rather late (last Thursday) and sent potential letter writers a ...
5
votes
1answer
569 views
Can the review of a tenure track application start before the reference letters arrive?
I was chatting with some friends and some claimed that a tenure track applicant can be reviewed and invited to campus before letters arrive. However, others claim that without the arrival of all 3-5 ...
6
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1answer
140 views
A current PhD applicant in a dilemma between current lab and other programs
Some of my backgrounds: Currently a master's student in a good but not top school. Now in a research group that could have been more productive. I am applying for PhD programs in this round of ...
33
votes
5answers
8k views
Writing letter of recommendation for someone I have never met
I'm a first year PhD student. A student applying for an undergraduate institution in the US has asked me to write him a letter of recommendation. I wonder if a first year graduate student can write ...
1
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1answer
62 views
Ask for reference letter for applying graduate school, professor agreed, but no more follow up
I am currently preparing for the graduate school application. I was asking for reference letter from one of my Math professor who knows me well. I took classes with him for twice, went to his office ...
1
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1answer
117 views
explain bad grades to recommender
I asked this professor for a recommendation letter. She told me to send her transcript, CV, statement of purpose and the thesis.
I have some bad grades (not in her class though) and don't know how to ...
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0answers
128 views
Asked to write a Letter of Recommendation about myself [duplicate]
I am a student applying to a graduate program. Part of the application requires submitting some letters of recommendation.
I asked a former professor whose class I enjoyed, but she surprisingly asked ...
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1answer
63 views
Can I ask BOTH the lab manager and the professor for a recommendation letter?
I am gathering letters of recommendation for my masters graduate program application. Basically, I have been in a lab for 2+ years - the lab is huge, has 50+ research assistants, and is separated into ...
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0answers
38 views
Should I ask for a recommendation from a professor in a different field?
I'm an undergraduate senior and will soon be applying for competitive PhD programs in computer science in the US/Canada. I already have three CS professors whom I have good relationships with (as a ...
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0answers
92 views
How to persuade my supervisor to write a recommendation letter for P.h.D in the US?
I am currently a MS student at EE department at my final year pursing my thesis. I could not publish any of my works yet however I am willing to submit one journal paper for publishing at the end of ...
2
votes
1answer
195 views
Protections for writers of recommend letters
I was reading online some of the legal troubles in the US that can occur to recommend letter writers. I imagine that many of us are familiar with (at least some of the) FERPA regulations. We must ...
1
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1answer
59 views
Asking for a letter of recommendation from someone on a hiring committee that is also reviewing your application
I applied to a job at university A. It happens that a life-long friend (and, much later, professional colleague) is on the hiring committee for that job. Yay for that job. It's for my secondary ...
5
votes
4answers
261 views
Lack of confidentiality for a letter of recommendation [closed]
I was recently invited to write a letter of recommendation for a colleague applying for a tenure-track position at UCSD. The email said:
Although a candidate may request to see the contents of ...
0
votes
2answers
92 views
Confusion on whom to get letter of recommendation from
I'm working as a research assistant in a mechatronics lab. My research and work is largely based on designing circuits, robotics and programming. My PI also works on mechatronics. But I've also worked ...
3
votes
1answer
170 views
My Professor isn't submitting my reference letter
On September 1st, I asked my professors to write LORs for a grad program I'm applying to and told them the deadline is October 12th. It's actually a rolling admission, but I said October 12th to get ...
15
votes
3answers
4k views
Should I tell my supervisor that I added his/her name as a reference for my next academic position?
Recently I finished my PhD level and I did an interview with a research group for a postdoc position. After my review, they asked me for some references to contact them.
I choose my supervisor and ...
3
votes
2answers
159 views
Should I choose the schools that I apply to, or should I ask my advisors to do that for me?
I am applying to some PhD programs this year. If I just ask my advisors to choose the school for me, they might think I am lazy and have done no research. However if I do that on my own, I am afraid ...
0
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1answer
121 views
When should I send a reminder email for recommendation letter?
I am asking this professor about whether he can write me a recommendation letter for PhD application. I sent the email on Wednesday morning. Should I wait more or should I send him a reminder email ...
0
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2answers
229 views
Letters of recommendation — from postdoc or professor? Both?
I am an undergraduate studying pure mathematics in an American university with a top-10 graduate program.
I am applying to PhD programs and graduate fellowships this year, and I have a dilemma about ...
3
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1answer
191 views
Recommender sent me letter to submit
I am applying for postdoc positions this fall, and have three references.
My main two writers are doing everything as I expected.
The third agreed to write a letter for me--and he wrote a very good ...
2
votes
4answers
279 views
Conflict of interest — recommendation letters
I recently got asked by a professor who is also one of my recommenders to apply for a PhD in their department. This professor is also a co-chair of that said department.
Would I be incurring some kind ...
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1answer
121 views
Who to ask for letters of recommendations?
I am an undergrad from a pretty unknown Asian university and I would be applying to PhD programs (mostly US) in pure mathematics this application cycle. However, my major is physics and my intention ...
1
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1answer
89 views
How to ask for recommendation letter from someone already knew me? [closed]
due to covid, I think I will not be able to meet him in person. Writing him an email is the only option. In the email, should I introduce again to him who I am? He already knew and remembered my name.
...
3
votes
4answers
328 views
Are letterhead and signatures necessary in the LOR?
My manager (one of the recommenders) said that he is working from home for several months due to coronavirus. It will not be possible for him to give the recommendation letter on the letterhead.
...
2
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3answers
159 views
What should a work supervisor put in a recommendation letter for someone applying to statistics PhD programs?
This fall, I'll be applying to PhD programs in statistics in the U.S. I'm currently a full-time student in an applied math master's program in the U.S.; until this fall, I was a part-time student and ...
3
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2answers
118 views
Stature vs relationship for recommendation letters
Im curious how important is the stature of an author of a recommendation letter (both for phd positions and fellowship applications).
A more answerable question would be what is the difference from a ...
0
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1answer
78 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
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1answer
284 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 ...
63
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11answers
12k 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
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1answer
94 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
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1answer
114 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
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1answer
78 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 ...
