Questions tagged [recommendation-letter]
Questions on recommendation or reference letters received from faculty members when applying for graduate schools or faculty positions.
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The consequence of a good letter of recommendation when things do not work out
In a recent conversation I had with a University Professor about letters of recommendation he explained that if he recommends me (or anyone) and things do not work out, his letters become completely ...
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Recommendation from professor in a different field for grad school
Somewhat related to this question, but different.
I am going to apply for grad school in the US soon and will need three recommendation letters. I have had two good research experiences (one on my ...
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Is it suspicious to write about research with no accompanying letter from a PI for PhD admissions?
I am beginning my applications for PhD programs and am currently writing my statement of purpose (research statement). In it, I spend a bit detailing some work I did in a lab during my second year of ...
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Somebody used recommendation by an in-law – should I report it?
I recently learned that a friend of mine was accepted in their master’s program to become a therapist after multiple denials throughout the past years. They tried again this year with an additional ...
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I'm a little embarrassed by the research of one of my recommenders
Staying vague for the sake of anonymity.
I am applying for jobs and PhDs post-masters and I am in a bit of a dilemma.
Basically, I worked very closely with a professor over the last year who I am ...
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How should I respond to a former student from my old institution asking for a reference?
I moved universities about a year ago. In my old institution I had a large number of students, so I did not know most of them personally or remember how they performed.
Sometimes I get emails from ...
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Can reference letters be sent in after the application due date? If so, how late it can be?
I am applying for Ph.D. programs for fall 2025. I found that most universities' application deadlines are before the end of the 2024 fall semester (or slightly later). Does that mean that it is ...
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Possibly manipulated recommendation letter - inform alleged author?
I am a young faculty member and have recently started hiring for my first PhD vacancy. Among my pool of applicants, there was one candidate whose recommendation letter stood out. Allegedly written by ...
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Postdoc reco as PI won't even co-sign undergrads who aren't co-authors
My whole summer I worked meticulously in a REU for the PI to tell he never writes or signs letters of recommendation for interns. I need a third recommender; my first two are great profs.
Will the ...
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Is it okay to ask my advisor what he'll say in his letter of recommendation?
I'm applying to postdocs this fall. I'm not asking for a copy of the letter, but I would really like to know, generally, what the letter might look like and how positive it would be. I haven't been ...
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Professor previously wrote letter, and now he's not responding to my emails [closed]
Last year I applied for PhD programs. I got together four letter writers two from my current MA program and two from a previous MA program. I was rejected from every PhD program that year, and I was ...
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Strange Interaction with Professor
I'm currently preparing my applications for graduate economics and statistics programs, and had a bit of a strange interaction with a statistics professor I'm currently doing research under. Since I'm ...
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Suitable candidates to ask for reference letters for PhD application?
I am going to graduate this semester and would like to apply for a PhD after a one-year research assistant position in the same lab I have been performing my two-year research projects.
I notice that ...
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How can I build a research profile now?
I'm gutted. I recently graduated with a non-thesis Masters degree and always wanted to do a PhD or at least a Masters thesis. I approached several professors to convert to thesis but it never worked ...
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Great recommendations from people not in the field, or ok to decent recommendations from those in it? [closed]
I'm planning on applying this fall to several statistics/biostatistics grad programs (probably Master's, maybe PhD; still deciding) and I'm trying to get the best recommendation letters I can.
For ...
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My master's supervisor and paper co-author is not willing to give a letter of recommendation for PhD admissions?
She is saying that since she has left the University and moved to another country and working in a full time job there, she won't be able to write the letter. She maintains she is very busy and is ...
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letters of recommendation for computer science masters [duplicate]
How does someone secure strong letters of recommendation for a master's program in computer science, considering my bachelor's degree is in biology and I graduated five years ago?
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letters of recommendation computer science masters
Would it be appropriate to request a letter of recommendation from a faculty member who taught me a course outside of the computer science domain, given that my bachelor's degree is in biology and I ...
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Recommendation letter for postdoc [closed]
I have applied for a postdoc position in the USA. I have been asked to submit two letters of recommendation. I have requested one of the letters from my supervisor. After multiple attempts, finally, ...
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Recommendation Letter sent from an unofficial email of the director of a start-up
I work for a start-up. Due to budget constraints, employees don't have company domain specific emails yet, we just have one general domain email ID for clients to contact the company. I need to get a ...
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Difficult to provide recommendation letters for PhD as I don't want to nudge professors for every application
I am at the final semester of my Master's. I am trying to apply for a PhD in various universities. However mostly I fail to provide letters of recommendations. My academic history and experience are ...
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How acceptable is it to copy and paste a certain structure and some particular sentences in letters of recommendation?
I hope this isn't a silly question, but I was wondering how acceptable it'd be to copy and paste a certain structure and some particular sentences in letters of recommendation.
Of course, I'm not ...
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Whom to ask for a recommendation letter
I'm gearing up to apply for a PhD position in AI and aiming for one of the top schools in the US. Currently, I'm wrapping up a research project (based on my graduation thesis) and preparing it for ...
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Is it okay to ask your undergraduate final project supervisor for a letter of recommendation for Phd admissions?
She will be my third referee. First one is my Master's thesis supervisor and the second was my masters co-supervisor, both phds. The person in question has just recently undergone her phd proposal ...
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Why do people keep saying 'it is your responsibility' to make sure your supervisor uploads their letter of recommendation (or similar)?
It is very common to see statements like "it is your responsibility to make sure [someone with higher rank, like your advisor/supervisor/mentor] to submit/upload [something like a letter/approval]...
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Is a recommendation letter from my PhD advisor unethical? [closed]
After finishing my Ph.D, I asked my advisor to provide me a recommendation letter for a possible future application, and they replied: "according to my standards it is unethical to provide ...
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What are my options if a prof ghosted me after agreeing for recommendation letter?
I asked one of my professors, who I had a great relationship with, to write me a LoR for a fellowship.
They're not my advisor.
I had informed them of this 2 months prior to the LoR deadline.
They ...
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How to ask a professor from 29 years ago to write you a recommendation?
After college, I never kept in touch with this professor even though he was one of my favorite professors, did very well in his class and have thought of him often. I was basically conflicted over his ...
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Whom to take recommendation letter from if master thesis advisor never replied?
I am from a poor country in Asia . I will apply for PhD positions in pure mathematics in USA in the upcoming year. I completed my masters in mathematics in June 2020 but I am still not able to find a ...
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Cold calling external researchers to evaluate a manuscript for a tenure/promotion file
Suppose one is seeking external comments on the quality of one's research for a tenure/promotion file. Assume that my institution requires such a letter and my chair has advised me that "it would ...
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reapply without recommendation from current advisor
I'm a new PhD student in a middle-ranked university. I decided to accept my professor's offer because his publication matches my interests and has a reputable reputation from my research(like asking ...
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A referral form asks me to list 3 negative aspects of this coworker's work. Will it hurt this persons chances if I don't? [closed]
I am a referral for a former coworker. The referral form, which is hosted online, asks me to list "the top 3 ways that this individual could improve upon their work performance."
I think ...
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A question about choosing LORs in a particular case
I know that the topic of letters of recommendation is already a topic in this community and I have read many posts about it, but it seems to be a topic that never ends up raising new questions. Here I ...
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Professor offered to write a letter without prompting
I’m applying for a fellowship, and I contacted one of the professors to ask him about his experience (just tenured last year, but very well-known in the field and won that fellowship in 2014). We’ve ...
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Professor nominated for award asks for a recommendation from a Dean, who is also on the Award Committee. Ok or No?
Is it conflict of interest when a faculty member who is a nominee for a university award competition, asks for a letter of recommendation from a Dean, who is also on the review committee that decides ...
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What is the route to a postdoc without a PhD supervisor?
I really like my PhD! I'm a 3rd year and need to begin thinking about next steps.
I've found the area of physics I can truly get behind (and I've engaged with a lot of different topics, in and out of ...
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Comparing ways of sending a recommendation letter
A student is applying for a study program that requires letters of recommendation as an integral part of the application.
The application portal allows the student to attach letters of recommendation ...
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Unsure if I am the best fit to write a Recommendation Letter for a Research Internship
A promising student of mine has asked me to write them a letter of recommendation for a research internship they are applying to. I believe the student is a very good candidate for an internship, but ...
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Ethical and Normative Aspects of Unpaid TA Positions with High Workload for Recommendation Letters
I'm facing a situation at my university that I'm not sure is standard or ethical, and I'd like some outside perspectives. In certain courses, we have about 60 teaching assistants (TAs), all of whom ...
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Filling out graduate school recommendation letter rubrics for students
A question for other professors or recommenders out there.
How do you deal with filling out these complicated rubrics that some schools have on their recommendation letters for graduate applications, ...
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How can we identify and filter AI-generated statements of purpose (SoP) and recommendation letters?
How can we effectively identify and filter out statement of purpose (SoP) and recommendation letters that are generated by AI tools?
The authenticity of these documents is crucial for our admission ...
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How to avoid writing a 'good but not great' reference letter
I am from Asia and I am writing a reference letter for my student for PhD applications to US universities.
Given the culture differences, I am afraid that I may write too conservative and hurt my ...
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What will a search committee do when a letter writer does not respond?
I have submitted my applications for faculty positions, and one of my recommenders ask that I make sure their letters show "received" in the application portals.
Some of the applications ...
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Does a recommendation letter from a professor at the university I'm applying to enhance my application?
I'm currently preparing my application for a graduate program and have the opportunity to include a recommendation letter from a professor who is part of the faculty at the university I'm applying to.
...
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Why are Applicants Often Asked to Draft Their Own Recommendation Letters in Academia [duplicate]
As I know, it's not uncommon for professors to ask students to draft their own recommendation letters in academic settings.
Firstly, I want to know how this impacts the authenticity of the ...
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Recommendation letter; reminder email
I had an interview for a faculty position about 6 days ago. I was asked to arrange two letters of recommendations. One of my references sent it, but another one has not submitted yet. Shall I remind ...
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How to deal with a weak recommendation letter?
During the graduate school application process, I contacted a potential supervisor. He initially accepted me, but he requested specifically a recommendation letter from my previous research internship,...
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Getting a post-doc after 5 years in industry -- recommendation letters
I finished my PhD five years ago in computer science, and left academia for industry. I had a decent but not spectacular publication record when I defended, but my research subfield has basically died ...
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Is it okay to use ChatGPT for generating letters of recommendation?
Someone I know will be applying to universities in the US for their PhD. To that end, he sought LORs from his undergrad instructors. However, they told him to write those himself, and to send those to ...
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Dealing with Delayed Recommendation Submissions from Thesis Advisor
I'm in the process of applying to graduate schools and had secured a commitment from my thesis advisor for a recommendation letter. However, I've noticed delays in their submissions, with a few ...
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