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Graduate School Letter of Recommendation Examples 2022-2023

Grad school recommendation letters are an essential part of every graduate school application package–even in this (almost) post-COVID era of remote work and Zoom classes. Nearly all applications to graduate school still require at least two recommendation letters from individuals who can discuss your abilities, competencies, and personal character in a coherent way and recommend you for admission to graduate school.

Many referees have difficulty writing these recommendations themselves (for language issues or simply because they are busy) and some rely on the applicant to pen the draft of the letter and receive confirmation before submitting it to the graduate school. But regardless of who is writing the letter, there are a few key elements the recommender needs to include to craft a stellar recommendation for their graduate candidate.

Who should write a recommendation letter for graduate school?

Choosing which professors, supervisors, or advisors to request a graduate school recommendation letter from can be somewhat overwhelming. Should you choose someone who does not know you personally but who has connections to your target graduate school? If a famous professor writes you a grad school recommendation letter, will this automatically give you an advantage with the admissions committee? 

In general, graduate recommendation letters should come from people who know you well, who respect you enough to say glowing things about you as a student and researcher, and who hold positions in school or work that are above your own. At least one letter of recommendation should be submitted from a past or current professor or academic advisor. 

Another could be from someone in a slightly different role, including an employer, a research adviser, a senior colleague, or a professor from a different department or kind of class (e.g., a discussion class professor instead of a lecturer). No matter who it is, the recommender should know the applicant and recognize their accomplishments. It also helps if the recommender understands some details about the program to which their candidate is applying.

Here are some guidelines to follow when choosing who to ask for letters of recommendation for graduate school. Select someone who:

• Knows you well and can answer positively. Choose an individual who you have spent time with outside the classroom if possible. They should also be familiar with your career goals and hold a favorable view of you. 
• Has known you for quite a while. A recommendation letter for graduate school carries more influence if the person has known you for months or years instead of months. If you can, find someone who knows you from various contexts, such as a professor who is also your advisor. 
• Can speak to your strengths in relation to your graduate program. Choosing a finance professor to write your recommendation letter for an MBA program would be a good idea because they can write about the qualities that will aid you in pursuing an MBA (qualities you can also include in your MBA essay ) and a broader career in business. 
• Has substantive stories to share about you. Who was fortunate enough to see you succeed in an academic, extracurricular, or professional setting? Having someone write your LOR who has good stories to share about you is certainly going to benefit you more than someone whose class you took with two hundred other students. 

How to Request a Letter of Recommendation for Graduate School

Knowing how to request a letter of recommendation for graduate school can directly impact the quality of the letter your referee writes for you. Show respect and consideration for the time that your recommender is taking to write a glowing review that will get you into graduate school and positively impact the rest of your life. 

With this in mind, it may seem obvious that the very best way to ask for a letter of recommendation for graduate school is to do so in person. While this isn’t possible for all students (due to availability or schedule), it is the best route if you want to ensure that your LOR is not only written on time, but includes all the positive information about you that admissions committees want to see in a graduate candidate. When you cannot ask in person, sending an email is an appropriate second-best option. But remember to always be cordial and polite when making this request. 

What information should be included in a graduate recommendation letter?

Your referral letter should cover a range of skills, from academic abilities to research experiences, to applied experiences in and out of class. As the recommender, your letter should clearly answer some specific questions:

Your letter of recommendation should cover a range of skills, from academic abilities to research experiences, to applied experiences in and out of class. As the recommender, your letter should clearly answer some specific questions:

• What is your relationship with the student?
• Why should the graduate faculty listen to your opinion? (include your status, title)
• What makes this student special? (discuss their characteristics, qualities, traits)
• What specifically did this student do to impress you? (discuss their accomplishments, habits in class)
• What makes this student qualified for graduate school and for this program? (include specific courses or interests of the student in addition to abilities and traits)
• What do you know about the program the student is applying to?

What information does the LOR recommender need from me?

The recommender should be given sufficient time to write (and/or confirm) the letter. If it has been a while since you were last in contact, sending a background information file will make things easier. Include the following information so that the recommender can use a few details to bolster their letter:

• Classes the student has taken with the recommender
• Experiences you have shared
• Transcripts
• Research experience and internships
• Awards and achievements
• Academic/career goals
• Relevant professional experience

In addition to background information, make sure that the recommender has the necessary information to plan the writing in a timely manner and target the letter as much as possible:

• Graduate program application due date
• Copy of recommendation forms (if applicable)
• Instructions for submitting LORs (hard copy, soft copy, or direct to school)
• Details about the program and school the student is applying to

What style of writing should be used in a recommendation letter?

Although the letter of recommendation is more informal than academic writing, you should make sure that your language has no grammatical or mechanics errors and that it is of an academic level that reflects the author’s educational level and qualifications. Apply the following standards to the writing and the essay-drafting process:

• Make your language more personal in tone than research writing.
• Use the active voice and first-person point of view more often.
• Write chronologically, starting from important traits and then moving on to actions and achievements.
• Use lots of details—list course names, scores, and specific achievements of the student.
• Edit your letter before submitting it to the graduate admissions faculty.

How to Write a Grad School Letter of Recommendation Letter: LOR Outline

A well-structured recommendation letter (like any organized essay) will guide the reader logically towards an understanding of why this student is worthy not only of praise but of admission to graduate school. Grad school requires quite a few high-level scholastic attributes that not all students possess, and therefore it is important to focus on both the achievements of the candidate and on their personal character and potential to thrive in a difficult academic environment.

Use this outline as a letter of recommendation template in which to input your candidate’s achievements, skills, and traits. Note that the flow of information moves the reader into greater detail, using form phrases and transitions that increase the readability of the letter.

1. Greeting to the recipient

Dear {Name}, or To Whom It May Concern, To the graduate faculty of the {University / Department}

2. Opening paragraph: position; relationship to the applicant; general assessment of the applicant

It is my absolute pleasure to recommend {Name} for admissions to {Program} at {University}… I am a professor of {area of study} in the department of {department} at {University}.

3. Second paragraph: positive skill or trait; evidence of trait or skill; anecdotes demonstrating this skill

Jane has excellent communication skills. Her written work is both clear and concise, as well as interesting to read…

4. Third (up to fifth) paragraph: Other skills or traits; evidence of character and skills; detailed anecdotes

At a personal level, Jane is a well-disciplined, industrious student with a pleasant personality. She went well beyond the course expectations…

5. Final Paragraph: clear recommendation of the candidate to the specific school or program.

Jane is unquestionably an exceptional candidate for graduate study in {Program Applying for}. Jane’s work in “Developments in Anthropology” suggests that she would greatly benefit from the opportunities for intellectual development provided by a sustained period of graduate study…

6. Closing line: polite offer to be contacted if needed

If I can be of any further assistance, or provide you with any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Letter of Recommendation Template and Useful Phrases

Admission essays often contain template phrases or “form phrases” that allow the writer to plug in their specific information while not spending too much time deciding how to compose every single aspect of the writing. This can be especially useful for ESL authors because conventional expressions used in academic and essay writing can be difficult to learn and memorize. Use the following form phrases to help craft a more professional letter of recommendation.

Introducing yourself

• My name is  {Author}  and I have been a Professor of Math at  {University}  since  {date} .
• I write to you today to proudly express my support for  {Student}  in applying to your prestigious university.

Discussing your relationship with the applicant

• I first came to know  {Student}  while teaching him/her in my  {Course Name}  course…
• I was  {Student} ’s thesis advisor during his/her senior year.
• I have known  {Student}  for several years now and can attest to his/her strengths and quality of character.

Discussing the student’s general positive traits

• {Student}  has excellent communication skills and displays them regularly in class discussions.
• He/She is a highly intelligent and competent student who excels in many areas.
• Not only is  {Student}  hard-working and thoughtful, but he/she also demonstrates kindness and generosity towards his/her peers.

Demonstrating evidence of student’s character and skills

• She/he has shown herself/himself to be a true leader who is able to successfully develop plans and implement them in his/her work.
• {Student}  demonstrated his/her independence daily, completing difficult lab exercises by researching outside of class.
• During his/her internship,  {Student}  consistently managed his/her work responsibilities diligently and learned quickly. For example…

Discussing the school/program the student is applying to

• As  {University}  is renowned for its  {Program} , I believe this is an ideal place for  {Student}  to solidify his/her abilities and cement his/her knowledge of  {area of study} .
• The learning environment that  {University}  is famous for creating excellent opportunities in which  {Student}  to apply his/her skills.

Final endorsement and offer to be contacted

• For the above reasons, I am confident that  {Student}  will make an excellent addition to your graduate program, and I wholeheartedly support him/her for admission to your program.
• Thank you for your time and attention in reading my endorsement.

Further Tips for Writing Admissions Essays

• Highlight your self-motivation, competence, and potential in this essay
• Emphasize everything from a positive perspective and write in the active voice.
• Demonstrate through examples; don’t just write that you are a “persistent person”—show it!
• Approach every topic with continuity and focus.

The Final Step: Editing Your Recommendation Letter

As any good writer knows, it takes more than one draft to create a strong and compelling work of writing. After you have written your recommendation letter draft, there is still a lot of room for revision. One way to ensure that grammar mistakes and style errors do not get in the way of a strong letter is to let the admissions experts at Wordvice’s Admissions Editing Services edit and proofread your (of your candidate’s) letter of recommendation or other application essays, raising the chances that your candidate will be admitted to the program of their choice.

With a full suite of professional proofreading services , we edit thousands of admission documents each year for all kinds of authors of academic and admissions documents just like you. Furthermore, our application essay editing services , recommendation letter editing services , personal statement editing services , CV editing services , cover letter editing services , and SOP editing services are tailored to the needs of your specific admissions essay.

For more articles on writing and editing your essays and academic work, visit Wordvice’s Academic Resource page . 

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• Applying to graduate school

How (and Who) to Ask For a Letter of Recommendation

Published on October 30, 2020 by Lauren Thomas . Revised on June 1, 2023.

Letters of recommendation often make or break a graduate school application . It’s important to think carefully about who to ask and how to do it.

Ideally, you should approach former supervisors who know you and your work well, and can advise you. Different programs require different types of recommendation letters, but the process of requesting them is similar.

Follow these five steps to guarantee a great recommendation, including program-specific tips and email examples.

Table of contents

Step 1: choose who to ask, step 2: reach out and request a meeting, step 3: ask for a letter of recommendation, step 4: share your resume and other materials, step 5: remind your recommenders of upcoming deadlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about recommendation letters.

Your first step is to decide who you’ll ask to write a letter for you. Ideally, this should be someone who you worked with outside of just the classroom context—for example, a former professor who supervised your research.

It’s important to ask someone who knows you well, even if they are less well known than other professors at your institution. Graduate admissions committees want to get a good sense of your ability to perform well in their program, and this is difficult to accomplish if your recommender only knows you as a face in the crowd.

Who you should ask also strongly depends on the type of program that you’re applying to. Different programs prefer different qualities in their admitted students, and thus weigh types of recommenders differently. Take a look at the program-specific tips below.

For research programs (MPhil, DPhil, PhD , Research Master’s), graduate admissions committees are looking for evidence of your potential as a future researcher.

Since this is tricky to assess from test scores and transcripts, letters of recommendation are often the most important part of a graduate research program application.

Your letter should thus be from someone who can speak to your skills as a researcher. This could be, for example, a professor who supervised you on an independent research project, or the head of a lab that you worked in as an undergraduate.

If you worked as a full-time research or lab assistant after undergrad, ask your managers, who are usually full-time researchers themselves and therefore experts on what makes a good researcher.

Unlike most graduate programs, business schools are less interested in your undergraduate academic performance. Instead, they try to assess your potential to succeed in the workplace, particularly in managerial or leadership positions. The same applies to public policy and other professional programs.

Ideally, your letters of recommendation should come from current supervisors at your work. If this isn’t possible, you should ask coworkers who are senior to you and know your work well.

Although business schools normally prefer candidates with several years of experience, current undergraduates sometimes apply as well. In this case, you should ask internship supervisors or—as a last resort—professors who know you well.

Medical schools look for evidence that you are academically prepared for the study of medicine and that your character is well-suited to becoming a doctor. Admissions committees in medicine prefer academic references, but they also require a few extra steps.

Firstly, while graduate programs usually require two or three recommendation letters, medical schools often ask for more—you may have to submit up to six letters, some of which should be from former professors in the natural sciences.

In addition, many schools recommend that you submit a letter from the premedical advisory committee at your undergraduate institution, which summarizes your overall suitability for medical school. Be aware that deadlines for materials for these letters are very early—often the spring of the year before you are due to start medical school.

Finally, if you’ve worked on any research projects, you should submit a letter from your supervisor. Medical schools view research competence as a plus.

Law school letters of recommendation should mostly be from former professors or other academic supervisors.

You should only use non-academic recommenders if they can directly speak to your suitability to study law—for example, if you regularly work with lawyers, or if your job involves skills like critical reading or research that are relevant to legal practice.

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The next step is to get in contact with your potential recommender. If you haven’t talked to them in a while, begin your email with a quick reminder to jog their memory. Be friendly, direct, and concise.

If possible, it’s best to plan a meeting to discuss your request. However, if this isn’t practical (for example, if you’ve moved far away from your undergrad institution), you can skip this step and head straight to the third.

Hi Professor Smith!

I hope that everything is going well with you and that you’re still enjoying teaching your seminar on the post World War II international order. I thoroughly enjoyed taking it with you last year as a junior.

I’m currently thinking about what I want to do next year, which will hopefully involve graduate work in political science, and was hoping to meet with you to discuss your thoughts on graduate school. Do you have any time over the next few weeks to meet?

Make your request during your meeting or, if necessary, via email. Let them know what sort of programs you are applying to and when the deadlines are. Make sure to give your recommenders plenty of time!

Instead of just asking for a recommendation letter, specifically ask if they can write you a strong recommendation . This allows your recommender an “out”—for example, if they don’t feel they know you well enough. A bad or even lukewarm recommendation is the kiss of death for any application, so it’s important to ensure your letters will be positive!

If they say they can’t give you a strong recommendation, don’t panic. This gives you the opportunity to ask someone else who can provide you a better recommendation.

Hi Professor Jones!

How are you? I hope everything is going well and you’re still teaching Introduction to Labor Economics to eager students!

I’ve been out of school for a year now, working as a full-time research assistant in New York City. Come this fall, I’m hoping to apply to a few programs for graduate school, mostly doctoral programs in Economics.

Since I took two economics classes with you (Introduction to Labor Economics in Spring 2018 and Industrial Organization in Fall 2019), I was hoping that you might agree to serve as a letter writer for my graduate program. I wanted to highlight my work in labor economics, since that’s what I’m hoping to study in graduate school. Also, since I loved your classes, I thought you might be a good person to ask!

The letters of recommendation would be due to each individual program’s website in December. I understand, of course, if you’re too busy this summer or if you don’t feel that you would be the best fit to write a letter. My goal is simply to paint as complete a picture as possible of my undergrad career at Western. If you’d like, we can also discuss this on the phone.

I look forward to hearing back from you!

You should send your resume or CV to your recommenders, along with any other material that might jog their memory or aid in their recommendation.

For instance, you may want to send along your statement of purpose or writing sample if one is requested in your application. Admission committees are looking for a cohesive story that the letters of recommendation, personal statement , and CV work together to tell.

You should also check whether the school provides any prompts or guidelines for recommenders. Many programs want your recommenders to comment on your potential to serve in the specific role the graduate program prepares you for. See the program-specific tips below.

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Finally, you should send an email to your recommenders a few weeks before the letters are due, reminding them of the deadline and asking if there is anything else you can send them to assist in writing the letter.

If any materials are late, programs will often reject your entire application, so it is imperative that your recommenders get their letters in on time. However, you should also keep in mind that your letter writers are probably quite busy, so don’t send too many reminders!

Dear Professor Jones,

Hope the semester is going well! Thank you again for agreeing to serve as my recommender. I just wanted to send you a quick reminder that recommendations for Program X, Y, and Z are due in two weeks, on December 15. Please let me know if you need anything else from me, and thank you again!

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Choose people who know your work well and can speak to your ability to succeed in the program that you are applying to.

Remember, it is far more important to choose someone who knows you well than someone well-known. You may have taken classes with more prominent professors, but if they haven’t worked closely with you, they probably can’t write you a strong letter.

This depends on the program that you are applying for. Generally, for professional programs like business and policy school, you should ask managers who can speak to your future leadership potential and ability to succeed in your chosen career path.

However, in other graduate programs, you should mostly ask your former professors or research supervisors to write your recommendation letters , unless you have worked in a job that corresponds closely with your chosen field (e.g., as a full-time research assistant).

It’s best to ask in person if possible, so first reach out and request a meeting to discuss your graduate school plans.

Let the potential recommender know which programs you’re applying to, and ask if they feel they can provide a strong letter of recommendation . A lukewarm recommendation can be the kiss of death for an application, so make sure your letter writers are enthusiastic about recommending you and your work!

Always remember to remain polite. Your recommenders are doing you a favor by taking the time to write a letter in support of your graduate school goals.

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Intellectual Omnivores Unite

Recommendation Letters: Dos and Don’ts 

Check out these recommendation letter recommendations from our UHP Director, Professor Bethany Kung!

Thinking about applying for an internship? A fellowship? A study abroad semester? A job? You will almost certainly need a recommendation letter or two (or more!) to support your application. Honors faculty members are often a great choice for writing your recommendation letters, but consider the following dos and don’t when it comes to recommendation letters: 

• Do plan way ahead! Even if you aren’t currently applying for anything, odds are that you will eventually need some references or letters of recommendations. Each and every faculty you interact with, therefore, is a potential recommender. If you think and plan ahead, you should be able to count on strong recommendation letters from at least 2 or 3 different faculty members at GW.  
• Do ask for letters of recommendation from faculty members that know you and your aptitudes! These are typically faculty members with whom you have developed a relationship beyond just attending their class – you went to office hours, you joined in on a “Faculty on the Town” event, you asked questions about the class material beyond what was on the syllabus, etc.
• Don’t ask for letters or recommendation from faculty members just because you enjoyed their class or just because you got a good grade in their class. If you never went to office hours and didn’t actively build a relationship with that faculty member, then they probably don’t know you as an individual and won’t be able to write you a strong letter.  
• Don’t ask for a letter or recommendation from a faculty member you have not spoken to in many years. If you’ve kept in contact with a faculty member at least on occasion then it is okay to ask for a letter even if it’s been a few years since you took a class with them. 
• Do consider a faculty member’s field, but don’t be limited by it. Whenever possible, It makes sense to get at least one recommendation letter from a faculty member in a field related to whatever you are applying to but it is almost always better to have a letter from a faculty member who actually knows you then just from someone in the “right” field.  
• Don’t assume you can only ask for a recommendation letter if you earn an A in a course! The exact grade you got in a course is less important than how much of an impression you made. Imagine two students. “Student 1” goes through the motions of the class, doing what is required but never showing any particular interest or engagement with the subject. “Student 2,” on the other hand, struggles on the first exam or paper, but comes regularly to office hours to get extra help, asks questions above and beyond the class material out of genuine curiosity, and shows significant improvement in their understanding of the material on the second exam or paper. Student 1 might earn a higher grade in the course, but most faculty members would be able to write a much, much stronger letter of recommendation for Student 2.
• Do assume that one of your most important letters of recommendation will come from your thesis advisor. Choose your thesis advisor carefully and cultivate a strong relationship with them (if possible, even before the semester in which you write your thesis).         

Some nuts and bolts to consider when asking for a recommendation letter:

• Whenever possible, make sure faculty have at least a month’s notice before the recommendation letter is due. 
• Be gracious if a faculty member declines to write a letter for you.  
• If a faculty member indicates that they will not be able to write you a strong letter of recommendation it is best to thank them for their consideration and ask a different faculty member instead.
• Once a faculty member has agreed to write a letter for you, provide them with information about what you are applying for and why you are applying. Also send the faculty member your resume/CV. 
• Communicate clearly to faculty about how many letters are needed, where/how to submit each letter, and the due date of each letter. 
• About a week before your letter is due, if you do not know if a faculty member has already submitted a letter, send them a polite reminder email.  

Here are some ways that you can help ensure that faculty have a positive reason to remember you by the end of the semester: 

• Be mindful of how you address and interact with your professors. Remember that it is better to err on the side of being overly professional, even with a friendly professor. Unless a faculty member has stated a different preference, address faculty as “Professor Last Name.” Note that starting emails with “hello there, First Name”, or without any greeting may be perceived by some as rude. Always end the email with “thank you,” “sincerely,” or “best wishes” rather than “cheers.”  
• Be consistently engaged in class – active listening is as important as contributing!
• Be consistently respectful and supportive of your peers.  
• Consider every piece of class work as an opportunity to make a good impression, even small assignments like discussion board posts. Show your interest and engagement by being thoughtful with every submission and demonstrate respect by carefully following instructions and only submitting clear and well-proofread work.
• Recognize that mistakes and failures can lead to learning if you take feedback seriously and if you seek out new learning strategies if your old ones aren’t working.  
• Admit when you need extra help, and seek it out.
• Attend office hours regularly. Everyone should use office hours as a chance to get to know the faculty, but office hours are particularly important if you are a student who tends to be more reserved during class time or if you are more comfortable talking to a faculty member one-on-one. 
• Find other ways to connect. For example, if you happen upon an interesting news article that relates back to class material, you could send your faculty member a message with a link to the article with a few sentences about how you found it interesting and connected to class. Faculty might not always have time to respond, but they’ll definitely have seen your name. 

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The Professor Is In

Guidance for all things PhD: Graduate School, Job Market and Careers

How to Write a Recommendation Letter

By Karen Kelsky | September 7, 2016

The wonderful Shit Academic Say (@AcademicsSay) retweeted a hilarious parody of American vs. British recommendation letters this week. (December 8, 2016)

It’s so painfully accurate that it immediately brought back traumatic memories of my time as a department head.  European tenure letters were the bane of my existence. (Indeed here is the first comment on FB:  Britta Hoyer the German style:” I confirm that Jones has worked here as a PhD student. “)

I spent hours undoing the damage caused by purportedly “positive” letters written by UK and European writers to my junior faculty members’ tenure cases.  So today I share my post on how to write a recommendation letter, American style.  May it produce the hoped-for results.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I offer a special request post for all the people who have asked for information on writing recommendation letters. A few of these folks have been letter-writers, but most of them are the sorry subjects of letters that they they were horrified to have had the chance to see.  Others have been asked to write their own recommendation letters by irresponsible and lazy recommenders. I disapprove of this practice completely.  Go ahead and tell me I’m wrong. I don’t care. Recommendations are to be written BY THE PERSON WHOSE NAME IS AT THE BOTTOM.

Anyway, recommendation letter-writing is really a little-understood art, considering the major role that these letters play in every scholar’s career. And if anyone thinks those letters aren’t really read—think again. They are taken very, very seriously, and pored over, and deconstructed, and discussed. And sometimes, acknowledged as works of writing in their own right as when I once overheard one tenured colleague say to another: “I loved the letter you wrote for XXX; it was a beautiful piece of writing.  Nicely done!”

So, what needs to happen in a recommendation letter?

I will first lay out a paragraph structure. This is just a suggestion. Obviously this kind of writing will be completely personalized.

• An opening that indicates a general but not excessive warmth. “I am pleased to write this letter on behalf of xxxx.” Followed by explanation of who writer is, how they know the subject of letter, in what capacities, and for how long. Brief sketch of the subject in terms of discipline and topical/thematic focus. General comparison of the subject within the field/fields. “XXX is among the very top young cultural anthropologists of Japan, and promises to ….”
• Substantive description of major research work (diss or otherwise), describing the topic, but then, more importantly, providing critical context for the topic within a field or fields, or body of literature. The most important thing a letter can do is contextualize a candidate’s research for its larger scope, import, and promise. Many times on searches one of us would remark, “the advisor understands the candidate’s project better than the candidate does.” By this we were referring to the ability to see not just the trees of the project, but also the forest. This of course was not good for the candidate’s chances…. but it does indicate a powerful and memorable letter.
• A second paragraph continuing from above about the status of the main writing project. The most effective letter will reassure skittish search committees that the dissertation is in fact done or almost done, and/or that the book manuscript will be quickly forthcoming. Pace of work and productivity are valuable here. The key  is that the candidate be described as a (soon-to-be) scholar, not as a graduate student still enmeshed in the minutiae of a graduate program or dissertation.
• Evidence of the wider success of the candidate in the profession—the grant support, awards, and of course publications associated with the primary research. Conference activity can be mentioned here.
• A brief indication of next steps in research and publishing, so that search committees feel reassured that the candidate has a long-range plan.
• Discipline-specific attributes, such as experience in country of research, language fluency, technical skills, or other such things. For example, because I sometimes visited my Ph.D. students in the field in Japan, I had the opportunity to see them operate in their field settings, in Japanese. I always made a point to provide my “objective” account of their skills.
• Description of teaching abilities. This will be specific, mentioning course names, and methods used by the candidate, and departmental observations, evaluations, or feedback, to the extent the writer has this information available. Ideally the writer will have personally witnessed teaching by the candidate. If he/she has, this must be specified in the letter. Awards given for teaching should be mentioned.
• Service if applicable. One of my Ph.D. students was active in mobilizing the graduate students to overturn an outdated requirement in the program. The student’s effectiveness in this work demonstrated a real ability in departmental administrative responsibilities, and I made a point to mention it in my letter. One of the fears of search committees is that a candidate will be tiresomely focused on their research, and will be unable to assist in the running of the department. The letter can assuage those fears.
• A brief final remark about character and personality, insofar as these pertain to the candidate’s potential collegiality. This must be non-emotional and strictly non-gendered. Attributes to emphasize include resourcefulness, responsibility, good humor, organization, energy, etc. For women candidates it is essential to avoid anything that depicts them as any of the following: nice, selfless, giving, caring, bubbly, sweet, warm, nurturing, maternal, etc.
• “ In sum, I expect XXX to have a career in the first rank of xxxx scholars in the country, and give him/her my unqualified recommendation. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at [phone number and/or email address] if you should require any additional information.”

Some basic expectations of the recommendation letter:

1. It will be at least two solid single spaced pages long.

2. It will be on letterhead

3. It will not gush or wax emotional

4. It will stay strictly at the level of evidence and substance

5. It will not rely on cheap and empty adjectives such incredible, remarkable, extraordinary, amazing, etc.

6. It will not damn with faint praise (“XX is one of the better graduate students we’ve had in the department”)

7. It will emphasize depictions of the candidate as a professional scholar, NOT a graduate student.

8.  It will remember to include the wider context, providing a discipline-level view of the candidate’s accomplishments and promise.

9. It will provide specific information or examples about research, argument, methods, teaching, or service–not vague generalities. The exception to this is (as noted in the comment stream): if you are in a position of a certain amount of obligation to the subject (as in, on their committee), but don’t feel able to write a detailed letter, and are also aware that the absence of your letter would send a strong but unwarranted negative message about the subject’s position in the department, and also feel positively disposed toward the subject in general, then write a generic letter that “first, does no harm,” but–and this is important–make sure the candidate knows that he or she needs another letter that will be more detailed.

10.  It will be unfailingly (although not gushingly) positive.  Any writer who cannot be 100% positive about the subject should not write a letter. In the event that you are ambivalent about the subject, it is better to tell the subject that you cannot write the letter.  A tactful method is to say you don’t know the record well enough to write a detailed letter.  

And indeed, if the subject is really problematic in your view, you are doing the subject a favor by stating that clearly, and not “enabling” self-destructive or substandard performance through misplaced “niceness” or conflict avoidance.

When candidates write their own letters, they typically fall afoul of #3 and #5 in particular. Remember: stay at the factual, don’t go emotional!  And #8, which, after all, no candidate is really positioned to write.

Now, some of you will wonder where the warmth comes in. Indeed, warmth is necessary for an effective letter. But in reality, the warmth comes through, even without a lot of cheap adjectives. Any writer who can speak with great care and thoroughness and respect about a candidate’s achievements is a writer demonstrating warmth about and investment in that candidate. Extra efforts to “sound warm” just end up muddying the message and in the case of female candidates, overly-gendering the profile in ways that do not work to women’s benefit on any professional job market.

Bonus tip for European, Asian and other international letter-writers:   American letters of recommendation, like American tenure file external review letters, must be entirely and energetically and overtly positive (but without degenerating into gushing or encomium).  “Objective” and “realistic” are not qualities of this genre of writing.  As a department head, I had more than one tenure case almost derailed by European external review letters that very reasonably provided a “strengths and weaknesses” assessment of the candidate.  In the U.S. context, there can be no mention of weaknesses.  I’m not saying this is good.  I’m just saying this is true.  So international writers for the U.S. market: please be alert to this cultural difference, and have an American colleague review your letters when possible.  Candidates with international references:  consider sharing this post with them!

Similar Posts:

• The Perils of “Nice,” Cont’d: Recommendation Edition
• “I’m the Ideal Candidate for Your Position!”
• How to Write Your Own Rec. Letter, plus All of my Vitae columns
• Do Your Homework! A Live Report From a Job Search
• The Role of Your Tenure Committee and Department Head

Reader Interactions

September 7, 2012 at 4:53 pm

Excellent. Thank you.

September 7, 2012 at 6:11 pm

Excellent… this is great from the grad student’s perspective. It’s quite helpful to see how we can “help” our referees craft strong letters.

Your point of seeing your students using their language skills hit home for me. My adviser regularly uses terminology and phrases in their original language, almost never in English (though there are translated words/phrases that I’ve always used), and she shared a few stories of how she used those languages to “prove” herself as a competent scholar. After reading this post, it hit me that I’d better damn show her that I can capable of utilizing those languages in scholarly conversations too! Perhaps, not quite wait until I actually am in such a situation where my language skills may be tested in front of her.

September 7, 2012 at 6:48 pm

Great advice for the next time I’m asked to write my own recommendation…

November 13, 2014 at 12:07 pm

I hear your pain…I was told this is “good practice’ and “fair” to ask me to do this, and in any case it’s the “only way it’ll get done”.

September 7, 2012 at 7:31 pm

Quick question about when you cannot write such a letter, either because you don’t know a student well enough or your regard is not high enough. Is it best to demure rather than write a half-hearted or overly general letter?

September 8, 2012 at 9:05 am

When I get into that situation with an undergraduate I just tell them plainly that I can comment on this or that, but that they need a stronger letter than I can produce. Then I ask them about their contact with other professors and help them find someone else — or cultivate someone else. If it’s a grad student going on the job market, sometimes one really needs to write the letter since it will look strange if one doesn’t. Example: there was a woman on my dissertation committee that I needed to have a letter from so as not to raise suspicion but I had had only arm’s length contact with her (she moved to another university a year before I was done). So, she didn’t know me very well but I got a letter from her in any event suspecting it might say something to the effect that I was a fine student but that she just hadn’t had that much contact with me. To solve this, I got four letters (instead of three) so that she was not absent but the other three (I’m guessing?) were just more detailed.

There are key people who must write a job candidate a letter and if for some reason they can’t write the strongest letter, candidates should just get more letters, I think. Indeed, who writes letters for whom can be highly political and I’ve seen PhD’s made terrified, miserable and unhire-able when key faculty on their committee refused to write them a letter of any kind. So be frank about what you can do but also respectful of the power you wield as a referee.

September 8, 2012 at 7:48 am

Thanks for writing this, Karen! It is interesting that the suggested length of a recommendation letter exceeds the suggested length of the research proposal. That is not what I would have expected, so it’s good to know.

September 8, 2012 at 12:32 pm

Having written many letters (in physical science), I agree with almost all of your prescription. However, I wonder why you think it is the letter writer’s responsibility to describe items that will be found in the applicant’s own application materials, such as items 4 and 5 in the above. Do you think hiring committees read the letters and not the applicant’s cover letter and CV? This is not my experience with hiring committees – although it’s true that, in my field, applications tend to number in the dozens, not the hundreds. Of course, in writing letters, I give my own perspective on those items if I have access to information that the hiring committee may not have.

September 8, 2012 at 1:18 pm

To me being able to describe the achievements shows that you are, in fact, keeping up with the candidate’s record–ie, care enough about the candidate to actually know his or her record well. You definitely don’t have to list ALL the publications or grants, just the highlights. Ie, “She is the only person in the program to win both the AAUW and the Fulbright…” That kind of thing. That lends credibility to the letter.

September 8, 2012 at 4:56 pm

I’d like to suggest a couple of do’s and don’t’s if the person you’re recommending is an adjunct colleague or member of your department. I recently got a full-time position after working as an adjunct at the same school for four years, so I am sensitive to these issues. I also got to see all of my letters of recommendation once I was hired.

First, do NOT belabor the person’s adjunct status. Mention it ONCE ONLY, in the first paragraph, when you are describing how you know the person. After that, stick strictly to describing the candidate’s teaching, research, collegiality, and so on, as described in Karen’s post. Please avoid saying things like “Susie carries on an active research agenda even though she’s an adjunct” or “Jeffrey was regarded by his colleagues as an equal member of the XYZ Committee despite being only an adjunct.”

Secondly, do NOT, under any circumstances, refer to how small the candidate’s salary is in your letter. Never say things like, “Susie’s diligence and generosity are clear because she worked hard to provide quality instruction despite making so little money as an adjunct.” I had a letter-writer who said something along those lines and I was mortified when I saw it. It’s like telling someone I am an intellectually stimulating cheap date.

These types of comments send the wrong message, IMO. I know you may think that you’re praising someone’s ability to overcome adversity, or to make something out of nothing. But you aren’t doing that if you write those kinds of things. You’re actually diminishing the candidate’s value. You’re telling the search committee that this applicant is a superior adjunct, and I can’t help but assume that will undermine the candidate’s chances. As I said, I did get a job from the only interview I actually scored after sending out dozens and dozens of applications. I do wonder if I wouldn’t have gotten more interviews without letters that made those types of comments.

September 8, 2012 at 6:31 pm

Amen and thank you.

September 11, 2012 at 4:42 am

This probably won’t come up as much in a job recommendation letter, but for highly competitive fellowships please also do not belabor the fact that a candidate may have struggled with poverty or other difficult circumstances. It is fine to mention it — as noted above, abililty to overcome adversity is to be admired and many review committee’s are looking for economic as well as other types of diversity — but the primary focus of the letter should be the candidate’s stellar academic credentials, great potential (that, given your observations of their strong character, they are likely to live up to), and solid research question/ project design.

September 10, 2012 at 10:04 am

I have heard in the past that giving excessive praise in a recommendation letter can be function as a sort of code that the recommender is not actually in support of the candidate. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but it’s made me concerned about being perceived by readers as excessively praising a student and inadvertently hurting their chances. Any sense of this?

September 10, 2012 at 2:30 pm

That is where the superlatives must always be avoided! Just always back all statements up with evidence.

November 13, 2014 at 12:20 pm

Also – outside of the U.S. superlatives that might fly there are often seen as insincere or, even faked. When I was a student member on an admissions committee we received one letter so over the top that several of us thought it was faked. Fortunately we had some folks who knew U.S. letter writing culture well (and I’m only in Canada, where generally all the rules outlined here still apply).

September 12, 2012 at 6:53 pm

Dear Karen, Thanks for this play-by-play. This is great, and just the guidance that I’ve been seeking.

September 13, 2012 at 1:35 am

Is the 2 page single line recommendation for graduate students the same as those for undergraduate students applying for grad school? Or is only for masters students applying for PhD positions?

September 13, 2012 at 11:20 am

I was definitely envisioning the letters that Ph.D.s need for jobs and postdocs and fellowships in this post. When you’re writing for someone applying to a grad program, a one page letter is often totally sufficient.

January 17, 2014 at 10:55 am

I had exactly the same question in mind. Being important, I think you should include this information in to the original post.

September 14, 2012 at 1:21 pm

This is a wonderful how-to guide. I read (and write) a lot of recommendations myself and can second your point that hiring, fellowship, and graduate admissions committees read them very carefully. I would say, however, that external letters for tenure and promotion files are a different genre. Those that read like standard recommendation letters (i.e., letters solicited by the candidate) aren’t given the same weight as relatively dispassionate “strengths and weaknesses” letters–at least in my experience.

September 19, 2012 at 6:56 am

I’m a recent PhD going out on the job market for the first time this year. I’ve heard that if I give my permission, my supervisor can read all of my letters and, if need be, steer me away from using any “damning” ones. Anyone know if this is true?

September 20, 2012 at 12:32 pm

Some departments have a mechanism or culture of doing that. It depends i9f you use Interfolio or such services. If not, and the letters are personal, then no your advisor can’t just ask for them to see.

September 21, 2012 at 7:59 pm

What are your thoughts if referees request the letter be drafted by the candidate and then make appropriate edits? As I am a first year direct-entry Ph.D. student, I am thinking specifically of letters that apply to competitive studentships and other scholarships. My advisor has informed me that it is common to write a draft reference letter for one’s referees that they can then modify (i.e. he has been very successful in regards to awards, etc. by doing this). . .

October 4, 2012 at 12:45 pm

I’m on a search committee this fall, and we just got in a letter of recommendation from a recently retired Giant in the Discipline. This is the kind of scholar who has a five-page Wikipedia entry. The first line reads: “I am delighted to recommend Joe Schmoe for a position in DEPARTMENT HERE.”

Maybe Expectation #11 is in order?

Something like: “11. It will be bloody well proofread.”

October 4, 2012 at 2:47 pm

LOL. that is just not cool.

October 11, 2012 at 7:20 am

Not only did I see that type of mistake in recommendation letters in our search last year, but also letters that had the incorrect name of the candidate leading me to believe the same letter was sent for all students working with professor to-busy-to-care. Also, in at least one instance the letter writer identified the students grad advisor incorrectly. I only knew this because the letter was for an applicant who worked with my former grad advisor.

October 11, 2012 at 2:57 pm

November 13, 2014 at 12:23 pm

I ran into this as well – this was for grad school admission-level letters. The errors that stood out to me:

– wrong name of institution -half the letter about the letter writer -including inappropriate personal information -reusing a letter (in which someone else’s ethnicity was identified) -directly translated idiomatic expressions

October 14, 2012 at 2:16 pm

Your article was very helpful. By outlining your points using specifics and examples helped to drive home your intended meaning of each point.

I have been searching for information and advice for an undergraduate student who is writing a letter of recommendation for a Professor who has been nominated for a teaching award. Any advice or tips for a letter with this relationship is greatly appreciated.

November 12, 2012 at 5:10 am

Your post about recommentadion letters is very helpful and has a lot of information! It contains a lot of helpful tips when writting a recommendation letter. I agree with you that the person who signs the letter is the one who should be writting it, however, I also think that there are supervisors who doesn’t have the time or the interest to write a good recommendation letter for you. For instance, my current Ph. D. advisor has asked me to prepare my own recommendation letter and I really don’t think that is because he doesn’t want to provide me with a good recommendation letter but because he is really busy and he doesn’t have enough confidence on his English skills.

November 28, 2012 at 10:42 pm

Thanks for sharing this with us. I will be applying for my phd. I got my bachelor’s degree in 2006 and I just obtained my master’s degree from other university. For this phd application, I need three recommendation letters. Two of which will come from my master’s thesis advisor and my head of department where I did my masters degree. Can I ask my undergraduate academic advisor to write this letter?

November 29, 2012 at 8:32 am

December 12, 2012 at 5:16 am

Hello Karen, Thanks for the info. It is really very helpful. Regards, Venkatesh M D

December 28, 2012 at 4:23 pm

How should one refer to the candidate after the first instance? As Ms. or Mr. Surname or by their first name?

December 28, 2012 at 5:04 pm

good question! I generally used first name, although Mr/Ms is ok too.

December 14, 2019 at 1:07 pm

What about using first name vs. addressing as Dr. for those candidates who already have a PhD?

December 15, 2019 at 10:28 am

Use Dr. to start and then make a choice asd to whether to stay with Dr. or go with first name. For women, honestly, I’d suggest using Doctor throughout to avoid any gender bias creeping into your letter (letters for women OFTEN end up downplaying actual prof accomplishments and overemph. stereotypically feminine personal qualities like “nice” “caring” etc.). But this choice will also reflect your relationship with the cand., so there are not hard and fast rules.

December 29, 2012 at 6:41 pm

When a student is requesting letters be sent to multiple universities (PhD programs), should the letters be customized in calling out the name of the university and/or program?

I could see this being true for instances where the writer knows someone in the program (does research with, etc.) but if not, can it be a general letter?

December 30, 2012 at 9:52 am

I always customized letters and generally found the best letters for candidates to my programs to have been customized. I believe that it’s one of the best things you can do for a candidate.

January 19, 2013 at 2:15 pm

Very useful.

My worst/strangest experiences in assessing reference letters: -addressed to the wrong institution -hand written -very strange (and sometimes inappropriate) translations of idiomatic expressions from other languages -too informal (‘he’s a good guy’) -on letter was written almost entirely ABOUT the referee (1.5 of two pages) I feel really terrible for applicants in these situation – who likely don’t know their letters were so out to lunch. I also know of at least one case, where I think a letter template was re-used which (mis) identified the applicant as a member of a very under-represented group. That was a significant factor in the person’s admission.

February 11, 2013 at 10:59 pm

I hope that you have not covered what I am about to ask elsewhere in the blog. What do I do if the job call asks for 3 letters of recommendation but I want to send four? Ideally I would be sending two letters from my two co-chairs, a teaching letter and a letter from an outside (senior) scholar. Can I go ahead and just send all four? Or do I need to count one out? In that case, do I throw out the teaching letter or the outside scholar letter for R1, R2 and SLAC jobs? Also, any advice on how I can point my letter-writers to this post without implying that I think they are not doing their job well?

February 12, 2013 at 9:41 am

The basic rule is send only what they ask for and no more in all things job doc related. However, having said that, it is quite common to send 4 recs when they ask for three so I’d say it’s probably ok. Sometimes, though, ads are very specific about not sending anything extra, and in that case, you’ll need to cut one.

In terms of how to get them to read this… Perhaps you could say that you were asked to write a letter for an undergrad and in researching how to do it, you found this post, and what do they think of it…

February 20, 2013 at 2:26 pm

Great advice. But what of letter writing for undergrads, particularly for those you had in class years ago?

February 21, 2013 at 9:51 am

Hi Gilberto! Since this blog is aimed at new Ph.D.s and their advisors this isn’t an issue that has ever arisen in my work with them. I’ll write on this, though, at some point since it is one of the mysterious tasks of a new assistant professor…

November 20, 2014 at 12:32 pm

Please do! Speaking as an assistant professor and long-time reader who is mining this post and the comments for guidance on just this topic. I want to write a strong letter for a past undergraduate student who is applying to extremely competitive programs.

February 12, 2015 at 10:44 am

I second this request! As a new assistant professor, I have a lot of these to write–and not just for graduate programs, but fellowships, study abroad programs, and the like.

February 12, 2015 at 1:15 pm

OK, OK, I’ll put this in my queue! stay tuned!

October 25, 2015 at 10:39 am

As another new asst prof, I’d like to chime in and add to this request. Particularly, does the advice to avoid describing female candidates as nice, helpful, patient, etc. still apply when it’s an undergrad applying for a graduate fellowship, and broader impacts/ outreach are an important part of the award?

March 10, 2013 at 8:44 am

hi,i am a Cameroonian undergraduate student,i need a recommendation letter before the 15th of march for a scholarship to study medicine in the USA.I went to my high school chemistry teacher for that because he was the leader of the OZONE club in which i was an active member but he told me to write it myself and he’ll only sign.please help me because i dont know how to go about it.thanks

April 1, 2013 at 8:17 pm

Hi Dr. Karen, I have a very morbid question. Recently a prominent faculty in our university passed away unexpectedly. He basically died over the weekend after saying goodbye to his lab the day before at a conference. My question is very selfish, I know, but I was wondering what would happen to supervisor X’s student in terms of getting references (of course, the immediate trauma would be worst of all). My supervisor is of the same age as the faculty who passed on and his passing really hit home in our lab and we were quite shaken up. My PI too seemed quite shaken. I don’t know what the correct approach to this is. I don’t want to live nervously and imagine the worst, but my PI’s letter is a huge deal for me because I’m working with her full time. And she is getting older. But I can’t tell her to write me one…just in case! Any thoughts? Thanks!

July 25, 2013 at 7:43 am

Dear Dr. Karen, Can you explain/expound on why you wrote: “For women candidates it is essential to avoid anything that depicts them as any of the following: nice, selfless, giving, caring, warm, nurturing, maternal, etc.”. I concur, but I’m not sure I fully understand the reasoning (perhaps because these qualities are not objectively useful or relevant for a position, and therefore not helpful to the person applying. Is there a problem with people using these for women??

Thank you– Elisabeth

July 29, 2013 at 9:45 pm

I have one query if anybody can help. I wrote a recommendation to one of my X-firm HR Director starting with “I am pleased to recommend….”. However, he replied that I should not be pleased to recommend as I am having enough experience to recommend. Can I know how to start a line in other way?

August 11, 2013 at 9:38 am

I have written all but one LOR in my career (post grad school app). It was particularly draining when applying for k-awards from NIH, on top of the admin/writing burden, to have to do this task as well …. and make them all not sound like they were in the same voice .I’m currently non tt at R1, applying for tt at a slac. My letter writers for my current search have all requested drafts from me up front and my mentor told me that this is ideal because I can control the content. At least the job docs are less burdensome than a grant app. I agree with dr Karen’s sentiment though. I’ve written many LORs for undergrads for awards/positions never considered asking for a draft. I knew based on their conversations what impressions they wanted to give and I think all mentors should have the acuity to see this. For high stakes letters, like med school, I let the students vet, though I doubt they knew what to look for..

September 18, 2013 at 11:50 am

so helpful. thank you.

October 8, 2013 at 6:32 am

Dear Ma’am, Can you suggest me how to thank one of my Prof who has given me a excellent recommendation for graduate studies.

November 24, 2013 at 7:30 pm

I currently work as an adjunct at two community colleges and am applying for full time teaching positions. I have 2 strong recommendations (from the Head of my Dept. and PhD supervisor) and am just wondering if it would be better to have my third recommendation from the second community college where I teach but have very little interaction with the faculty, another faculty member at the same community college as one of my recommendations that I interact with on a regular basis or a short and sweet recommendation from the Dept. Chair in a 4 year college that I worked for many years ago. Thank-you.

February 11, 2014 at 9:41 am

I had a dissertation committee member who had briefly supervised me after I completed my MA (until I dropped him due to sexual harassment but had to keep him on my doctoral committee due to a lack of enough faculty in my area), write in my letter that he supervised my MA (he hadn’t) on an article I had published but had nothing to do with my actual thesis. Luckily, I still got a number of interviews and a job, but I was shocked when my department secretary showed me the letter a year or two later.

May 2, 2014 at 12:32 pm

Bookmarked forever. Thank you very much for this article.

September 29, 2014 at 11:49 am

I’ve been in an investigator at a non-academic institution for 7 years. A couple years ago I started teaching as an adjunct and I am thinking of making a career switch now. Should my letters still be from my PhD advisor and committee member(s)? Or should I use someone from my current institution?

September 29, 2014 at 3:45 pm

A career switch to what?

October 31, 2014 at 12:46 pm

Hi Dr. Karen, I read this post with interest. I learned that one of my recommendation letters is only one page long (Interfolio doesn’t let you see the content but tells you how many pages it is), which doesn’t even meet the basic expectations #1 listed here. Do you think it’s still possible that it is a strong enough letter?

December 1, 2014 at 8:19 am

Hi Karen, A useful post indeed! One question though – is it always necessary to have the academic LOR written on under-grad college letter-head?Because, of the two LORs I am planning to get written by my lecturers in under-grad, one is likely to be by a lecturer who no longer works with the college, he has started to work somewhere else. Is getting a LOR from him equally fine or I have to get it from members of faculty who are still there? And if its fine, can he just write it as a normal word document (not on a letter-head)? And is a hand-written signature required as well?

December 4, 2014 at 6:49 am

Thank you so much! . I need to write my own letter, so I find this post very helpful.

Thank you also for the tip about USA, I also noticed that when one of my professors wrote a letter on my behalf for a Japanese university.

March 26, 2015 at 11:32 am

I’ve been asked to write a letter of rec for my professor’s tenure. I feel much better writing it now that I have read your blog but a little worried how I can put all your rec into one letter. This is going to be tricky. Can you identify which elements of a letter which are most important to speak on?

July 7, 2015 at 8:10 am

Thank you so much for this, Karen! What about the teaching letter–a letter from someone totally outside your subfield who has observed your teaching?

December 11, 2016 at 11:40 am

When writing a reference letter for a foreign applicant, is it then a good idea to comment (positively, of course) on the applicant’s English skills?

December 16, 2016 at 12:21 pm

My students were often Japanese and Korean, and I did not mention their language skills as it is a given that to do a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology ones skills are exemplary (even though I know in practice that they are not always). I know language can be a real issue for STEM Ph.D.s however, so perhaps if you are coming from those fields, then yes it would be good to mention.

January 3, 2017 at 6:40 am

Thanks for your reply! One more question: Often American universities ask me to place the student in a percentile. The options could perhaps be top 2%, top 10%, top 20%, etc. Is this a question where an honest answer is expected, or is there only one correct answer to this one?

January 3, 2017 at 10:56 pm

LOL. You can be moderately honest… ie, top 1, 2, 5, 10%, maybe even 25%… anything beyond that is basically a negative rec. though.

October 4, 2017 at 8:53 am

What’s the etiquette for recommending two candidates to the same position? If I truly feel either would be absolutely stellar in the job, is it okay to write for both?

October 4, 2017 at 2:09 pm

oh wow. that’s a good question. I do not know the answer. Want me to put it up as a query on FB?

January 23, 2018 at 11:53 am

Here’s another DON’T, especially about women. Please, do not say something like, “despite having two babies in graduate school, candidate x was able to finish in 4 years,” or make any reference to pregnancy, leave, or children. Unfortunately, discrimination exists, and these facts, while in your mind may be a positive, could be detrimental to the candidates!

January 23, 2018 at 1:23 pm

March 23, 2018 at 2:49 pm

I will use this when writing my own letters in the future!

Yes, I have written my own letters ever since a professor wrote me a letter that ended with, and I quote: “That’s all I can offer. I hope it’s enough.”

November 4, 2018 at 11:58 am

I’m a PhD who left the academy twenty years ago (I work at a prominent museum). A colleague who is interested in returning to the academy just asked me to provide a letter of reference.

In many ways, this column provided great and much needed advice as I haven’t written a letter of reference for an academic position in about 15 years. However, as I write this letter and struggle to fit myself back into the strait-jacket of academic writing and customs, I can’t help but contrast this with how I am assessing candidates for a museum position (I’m also about to make an offer to a job candidate this week). All of this just underscores to me how very, very inefficient and fundamentally ineffective academic hiring is.

Outside the academy, it has been a tremendous relief to simply call references and to engage in a candid discussion about an applicant. I’ve found people who provide references to be very honest when you speak with them directly. I suspect some of this has to do with the fact that a phone conversation is not as heavily documented and so people are more willing to be candid (which is actually what I want). But some of this also has to do with the fact that a phone conversation can be more about give and talk. It’s a dialogue and frankly, I want to ask deeper questions about the candidate and not read a boilerplate (tweaked but boilerplate nonetheless) letter about a candidate.

With this approach, I can get clarity on any of the issues the reference has raised. For example, in a recent hire (again of a PhD curator), a colleague at his former place of employment indicated that he was brilliant but very “quirky.” This is true (we hired the individual in question)—but before I did the hire, I was able to learn about this person’s quirkiness and to make a very informed decision on the hire based on what this meant. There were no surprises with this hire which was great (and as the curator’s supervisor, I’ve avoided putting him in a situation where that quirkiness could be a problem).

I also tend to call references only when I am pretty sure I want to hire a candidate. Academic job searches amaze me b/c a candidate submits reams of material to a committee upfront. Why not stagger the process? A search committee in field X should be able to read a CV and make a preliminary assessment of a candidate from that. Make a preliminary cut—and then ask for the various statements and the reference from your top 20 or 30 candidates. Can you imagine how much time you would save—on the part of candidates, references, and the search committee?

And then…when you have narrowed it…CALL the references. Speak to them candidly and engage in a genuine dialogue to get the information you need to make an informed decision.

I know…I am crazy. But I dream of a rational world, in and outside of academia.

November 5, 2018 at 8:27 am

Thanks for these thoughts–they are supremely rational (and thus have almost no chance of being adopted in the academy….) 🙂

November 12, 2018 at 12:13 pm

The lack of rationality is one of the many, many reasons I left academia.

More seriously, though, I will say that it staggers me that academics demand so much material from a job applicant—simply to make a preliminary cut. I say this because an academic friend just sent me an email in which she was bemoaning reading tons of material for an academic job search. I am guessing that any qualified applicant in our field could make an easy preliminary cut just using the cv’s (frankly, if you cannot do that, then, you really don’t know your field and what matters in your field).

I get that there will never be a rational approach to hiring in academia (in fact, I think it is headed in the opposite direction as search committees now routinely demand materials that they did not ask for 20 years ago).

But all of this leads me to lose sympathy with academics who tell me how overworked they are. They have created part of the nightmare themselves by demanding so much information so early on in a search process.

April 26, 2019 at 12:10 pm

My fiance has been asked to write his own recommendation letter by his Doctoral advisor. Obviously we both feel this is unacceptable, but it’s a little too late to do much about it at this point, especially since his future is still very much in his advisor’s hands. I have been trying to help and using this post as guideline, but wow. After all of his experience with his advisor (who is also on my committee, but I didn’t even bother to ask him to be a letter writer for me), I feel he should not be allowed to advise phd students until he receives some guidance from more responsible faculty. I don’t feel we as graduate students have any recourse in this scenario, because failure to comply could result in very serious consequences for us both. What should we do to try to make sure this doesn’t happen to more students in the future?

January 26, 2021 at 12:13 pm

recommendation letters are overated and you never know whether the persons writing them are assholes and most contracts have probationary periods.

October 28, 2021 at 2:19 am

How can I write different description for different courses, and when I want a recommendation from a person?

[…] How to Write a Recommendation Letter | The Professor Is In […]

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[…] and others online – google a few – but for writers for a US market, I particularly like this from Karen Kelsky who blogs at WordPress under […]

[…] Many readers of this blog will someday be asked to write letters of recommendation for their own students.  Here is some excellent advice on how to do this. […]

[…] usual, The Professor Is In is another great resource.  In this case, her recommendations are geared towards letters for faculty positions but can be adapted for other […]

[…] This is good advice on how to write a reference letter for someone applying for a faculty position, and this and this are good advice for academic reference letters more generally. So go read them and then come back here so I can emphasize a few points I think are particularly important. […]

[…] If I’m writing you a letter, I believe in you and want you to get that job. I follow best practices as much as I can. Then I do this […]

[…] für den angelsächsischen Raum schreiben müssen. Comment écrire une lettre de recommandation: The Professor Is In: How to write a Recommendation Letter via […]

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[…] The Professor Is In: How to Write a Recommendation Letter […]

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Advising guide for research students.

Success as a graduate student is a shared responsibility between students and faculty. For research students, the relationship with your research advisor, also known as your special committee chair, is extremely important. 

Your responsibility to identify and choose an advisor is one of the most critical tasks you have early in your graduate school career. It’s an opportunity to meet and get to know faculty in your field, to assess your needs for support and supervision, and to collaboratively define your goals, values, and strategic plan for your academic and professional career.

Graduate School Requirement

At Cornell, the faculty advisor in research degree programs is referred to as the special committee chair.

Doctoral students have a special committee of at least three Cornell faculty, which includes the special committee chair and two minor committee members.

Master’s students have a special committee of at least two Cornell faculty, which includes the special committee chair and one minor member.

For both doctoral and master’s degree students, the special committee chair must be a graduate faculty member in the student’s own field.

Definition of an Advisor

Advising  and  mentoring  are often used interchangeably, but understanding the distinctions is important as you choose an advisor.

Advisor Responsibilities

• Guides you in meeting the requirements and expectations for your degree
• Required coursework
• Exams required by the graduate field or the Graduate School
• Research proposal/prospectus
• Research project
• Thesis or dissertation
• Writes informed letters of recommendation for your job applications
• May be a valued colleague or collaborator after you graduate

Mentor Responsibilities

• Provides support and guidance that extends beyond scope of advising
• Demystifies the structure, culture, and unstated expectations of graduate education
• Expands your professional network by introducing you to others
• Provides nominations for awards or other recognitions
• Brings job opportunities to your attention and writes letters of recommendation as you apply for jobs
• Advocates for you within the graduate program and discipline
• May serve as a role model and source of inspiration
• May become a colleague and peer in your discipline and may continue serving a mentoring role

Finding an Advisor

When do i select my first advisor.

At Cornell, the process for obtaining your first advisor varies by field.

Your faculty advisor may be assigned prior to your arrival or you may begin your program with a faculty member you met during the application process.

In some graduate fields, the faculty director of graduate studies (DGS) advises all incoming students. This provides you with time to get to know faculty in your field. By the end of the first semester or year (varying by field), it’s expected that you will have identified your own, long-term advisor. 

In fields where students apply to study with a specific faculty member (rather than do rotations and choose a lab or research group and advisor), you will have chosen an advisor prior to arriving on campus.

You can begin initial conversations about expectations and the advising relationship with your new advisor prior to the start of your program via email.

Start your graduate study and research with clear expectations and thoughtful communication about your plans for an effective advising relationship and success in graduate school.

How do I find an advisor? 

Meet and get to know faculty in your courses and in graduate field seminars and other events.

Talk to advanced students about their experiences and perceptions of the faculty in your programs and ask questions about possible advisors:

• How would you describe their approach to advising?
• What can you tell me about their work style?
• What can you tell me about their research interests?
• How good are their communication skills?
• How clear are their expectations for their graduate students?
• Do they use timeliness in reviewing their students’ writing and their approach to giving feedback?
• How available are they to meet with their graduate students?

After you have gathered information, make an appointment to meet with a potential advisor.

Possible Questions

• Is there a typical timeline you encourage your students to follow in completing their degree programs?
• How often do you meet with your students at different stages of their graduate program? (For example, during coursework, research, and writing stages)
• What are your expectations for students to make conference presentations and submit publications?
• What are your authorship policies? (This is especially relevant in fields where there is collaborative research and publishing involving the student and advisor or a group of students, postdocs, and faculty.)
• How soon should I identify my research project?
• How do you describe the degree of guidance and supervision you provide with regards to your students becoming more independent in their research and scholarship?
• If you are joining a lab or research group: What are the sources of funding for this research? Are there any new or pending research grants?
• How many of your students seek, and secure, external funding? What are your expectations for students to apply for external fellowships?
• Do you have a statement of advising you can share that lists our respective responsibilities and clarifies mutual expectations?
• What’s your advice on how students can manage what they find to be the biggest challenges in their graduate program?

Add other questions to your list based on your own needs and specifics of your program, such as questions about specialized equipment, lab safety, travel to field sites, support and accommodations for special health needs, communication during a faculty member’s sabbatical, funding in fields where there are fewer fellowships and research grants, etc.

Getting Other Mentoring Needs Met

How do i find other mentor(s) .

You may find one faculty member who can serve as both advisor and mentor, but that’s not always the case.

Consider identifying and cultivating additional mentors if that is the case. 

Suggestions on where to look for a mentor:

• The minor members of your special committee
• A faculty member who is not on your committee, and perhaps not even in your graduate field
• Peers and postdoctoral fellows who have knowledge and experience in pertinent issues

No one mentor can meet all your needs.

Good mentors have many protégés and many other demands on their time, such as teaching, research, and university or professional service. They also may not have all the expertise you need, for example, if you decide to search for jobs in multiple employment sectors.

Develop a broad network of mentors whose expertise varies and who provide different functions based on your changing needs as you progress from new student to independent scholar and researcher.

NCFDD offers a webinar, “ Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors, and Collaborators “, which students can view after activating a free NCFDD membership through Cornell.

Maximizing the Advising Relationship

A successful relationship with your advisor depends on several different factors and varies with needs and working styles of the individuals. Some of these factors are under your control. But some are not. 

Suggestions for Building a Successful Advising Relationship

• Identify what you need from an advisor.
• Communicate clearly and frequently with your advisor to convey your questions, expectations, goals, challenges, and degree progress. Follow up verbal communication and meetings with an email detailing your understanding of what you both agreed to and next steps.
• Update your written academic plan each semester or whenever major changes or adjustments are needed.
• Consider including your plans to write competitive fellowship applications and co-authored grant proposals.
• Consider including  plans for professional development  that support your skill-building objectives and career goals.
• Recognize that you and your advisor have distinct perspectives, backgrounds, and interests. Share yours. Listen to your advisor’s. There is mutual benefit to sharing and learning from this diversity.
• Work with your advisor to define a regular meeting schedule. Prepare and send written materials in advance of each meeting. These could include: your questions, academic and research plan and timeline, and drafts of current writing projects, such as fellowship applications, manuscripts, or thesis/dissertation chapters.
• Be prepared to negotiate, show flexibility, and compromise, as is important for any successful relationship.
• Be as candid as you are comfortable with about your challenges and concerns. Seek guidance about campus and other resources that can help you manage and address any obstacles.
• Reach out to others for advice. Anticipate challenges and obstacles in your graduate degree program and their impact on the advising relationship.

Be proactive in finding resources and gathering information that can help you and your advisor arrive at solutions to any problems and optimize your time together.

Making Use of Meetings

First meetings.

Your first meeting sets the tone for a productive, satisfying, and enduring relationship with your advisor. Your first meeting is an opportunity to discuss expectations and to review a working draft of your academic plan.

Questions to ask about expectations

• What do your most successful students do to complete their degree on time?
• How often do you want us to meet?
• May I send you questions via email, or do you prefer I just come to your office?
• Would you like weekly (biweekly? monthly?) updates on my research progress?
• Do you prefer reviewing the complete draft of a manuscript or may I send you sections for feedback?
• After each meeting, I’ll make a list of what we each agreed to do before our next meeting, to help me keep moving forward with my research. Would you like a copy of that list, too, via email?

Draft Academic Plan

Prepare and bring a draft plan that outlines your “big picture” plans for your coursework, research, and writing, as well as an anticipated graduation date. (Or, email in advance with a message, such as, “I’m looking forward to meeting with you on [date] at [time], [location]. In advance, I’m sending a copy of my academic plan and proposed schedule for our discussion.”)

Contents of the plan

• Include the requirements and deadlines of your degree program. (This is information you should be able to find online or in your program’s graduate student handbook.)
• Include a general timeline indicating when you plan to meet requirements for courses or seminars, any required papers (such as a second-year paper), exams required by the graduate field (such as the Q exam) or by the Graduate School (the A exam and the B exam for research degree students).
• If your graduate field has a specific set of required courses, indicate the semester you may complete each of them, and be open to suggestions from your advisor.
• If your field does not have required courses, have some idea about the courses you are interested in taking and solicit input and suggestions from your faculty advisor.

Subsequent Meetings

Use each subsequent meeting as an opportunity to update your written academic plan and stay on track to complete your required papers and exams, your research proposal or prospectus, and the chapters or articles that comprise your thesis or dissertation.

In later meetings, you can elaborate on your general initial plan:

• Adding specific coursework or seminars
• Add professional development opportunities that interest you (workshops, dissertation writing boot camp, Summer Success Symposium, Colman Leadership Program, etc.)
• Include intentions to participate in external conferences and travel to research sites
• Identify a semester or summer when you would like to complete an internship.

Your written plan is also important to document what your advisor has agreed to, especially when the deadline to submit a manuscript or your thesis is looming and you are awaiting feedback or approval from your advisor. Use a combination of oral and written communications to stay in touch with your advisor, establish common expectations, and mark your progress toward degree completion.

Meeting Frequency

The frequency of meetings between advisors and advisees varies by field and individual. Assess your own needs and understand your advisor’s expectations for frequency of communication (in person and via email).

• Does your advisor like to provide guidance each step of the way so that he or she is aware of the details of everything you are doing?
• Does your advisor want you to launch your work more independently and report back at pre-determined or regular intervals?
• What do you need to be productive? Are you ready to work more independently?

Be proactive in seeking information. Explicitly ask how often your advisor usually meets with new students and how the advisor prefers to be updated on your progress in between meetings. Ask your peers how frequently they meet with their advisor and whether this has changed over time.

There will be disciplinary differences in meeting frequency.

• In humanities and in some social sciences, where library, archive, and field research take students away from campus, maintaining regular communication is essential, including through scheduled meetings, whether in-person or virtual.
• In life sciences and physical sciences and engineering, students often see their advisors daily in the lab or meet as a research group about externally funded projects; these regular check-ins and conversations may replace formal meetings. Make sure that you are also scheduling one-on-one times to talk about your broader goals and academic and career planning progress, however.

Some of your decisions about meeting frequency will be informed by talking to others, but much of it you learn through experience working together with your advisor. Even this will  change over time  as you become a more independent researcher and scholar. Communicate with your advisor regularly about your changing needs and expectations at each stage of your graduate career.

Resolving Conflict

In any relationship, there can be conflict. And, in the advisor-advisee relationship, the power dynamic created by the supervision, evaluation and, in some cases, funding role of your advisor can make conflicts with your advisor seem especially high.

You have options, however, including:

• Code of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty
• Campus Code of Conduct
• Policy on Academic Misconduct
• Research Misconduct
• Graduate School Grievance Policy
• Intellectual Property policies
• Graduate Student Assistantships (Policy 1.3)
• Talking with your advisor to clarify any miscommunication. Cornell University’s Office of the Ombudsman , one of the offices on campus that offers confidentiality, can also assist you by talking through the issue and helping you gather information you need before you speak directly with your advisor.
• Speaking with someone in the Graduate School, either the Associate Dean for Academics ( [email protected] ) for academic issues, or the Senior Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Life ( [email protected] ) for other issues. These deans will listen, offer advice and support, and coach you through any conversation you might want to have with your advisor. Together, you can brainstorm possible solutions and evaluate alternative plans for resolution.
• Touching base with your director of graduate studies (DGS) – if this person is not also your advisor – to talk to about policies and possible solutions to the conflict.
• Soliciting peer advice. Discuss strategies for managing and resolving conflict with your advisor. “Do you have any suggestions for me?” “Have you ever had an issue like this…?” can be effective questions.
• Identifying a new advisor if the conflict can not be resolved. Your DGS can help with this, and the Graduate School (as above) can help as well.

The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity offers a webinar, “ How to Engage in Healthy Conflict “, which students can view after activating a free NCFDD membership through Cornell.

Changing Advisors

On occasion, students find that they need or want to change their advisor. An advisor can resign as the student’s special committee chair/faculty advisor. The  Code  of Legislation of the Graduate Faculty describes the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty in each of these situations.

Typical reasons to seek a new advisor include:

• Research interests that veer from the faculty’s expertise or ability to fund a certain project
• Your advisor retires or resigns from the university or takes an extended leave of absence for personal or professional reasons
• Differences in goals, values, or an approach to work or communication style that can’t be resolved
• Serious issues, involving suspected inappropriate behavior, questionable research conduct, or alleged bias, discrimination, or harassment

If you are considering changing advisors:

• Talk to a member of your committee, your director of graduate studies (DGS), or someone in the Graduate School about the proposed change. Some issues, such as funding, require timely attention.
• Identify other faculty members who could serve as your advisor, then meet with one or more of them. The goal is to decide together if you are a good fit with their program. Tips: Discuss or rehearse this conversation with a trusted person, especially if there were issues with your last advisor. Be transparent about these issues and address them going forward with a new advisor. Often prospective advisors are more willing to take on a new graduate student who conveys genuine enthusiasm for their area of study rather than a student who seems to be looking for a way out of a current advising relationship that has gone sour.
• Consider how and when to inform your advisor if you plan to change advisors. Be professional and respectful. Thank your advisor for past support and guidance. Don’t damage, or further damage, the relationship.
• Your DGS, if appropriate
• Office of the University Ombudsman
• Graduate School’s Senior Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Life ( [email protected] )
• Graduate School’s Associate Dean for Academics ( [email protected] )

Forms: 

• Use Student Center if you are changing your advisor before your A exam (for Ph.D. students).
• Use the Post A Committee Change Petition form for changes after the A exam. More information is available on the Graduate School’s Policy pages .

Challenges and Potential Solutions

All good relationships take work. To navigate an advising relationship successfully over time, you should familiarize yourself with some common challenges and possible actions to take.

Challenge: Mismatch in communication needs or style

One example of a communication challenge in an advising relationship is when you want input along the way during a writing project, but you have an advisor who prefers to wait to comment on a complete written draft.

Some possible steps to address this might be to talk to peers about they have handled this in their relationship with their advisor or to explain to your advisor how his or her input at this earlier stage will help speed you along toward having a complete draft for review. It’s important in communicating with your advisor to show that you understand what alternative they are proposing and why (e.g., “I understand that …”).

Challenge: Advisor unavailable or away

Your advisor might be away from campus for a semester or more to conduct research or take a sabbatical leave. Or when a grant proposal deadline or report is looming, your advisor might be less available. Maybe you’ve emailed your advisor several times with no response.

Planning and stating in advance what you need, such as feedback on a manuscript draft or signatures on a fellowship application, can help your advisor anticipate when you will have time-sensitive requests. Making plans in advance to communicate by email or video conference when either of you will be away from campus for a longer period of time is another useful strategy. Your director of graduate studies (DGS) and other faculty who serve as special committee members can also provide advice when your advisor is unavailable.

Challenge: Misaligned expectations

You are ready to submit a manuscript for publication. Your advisor says it needs much more work. Or you begin your job search, applying to liberal arts colleges with very high reputations, or schools in your preferred geographic location, but your advisor insists that you should apply for positions at top research universities.

Discussing your needs and expectations early, and often, in the advising relationship is essential. Get comfortable, and skilled, advocating for yourself with your advisor. Use the annual  Student Progress Review  as an opportunity to communicate your professional interests and goals with your advisor. Use multiple mentors beyond your advisor to get advice and expertise on topics where you need a different perspective or support.

Sometimes challenges can become opportunities for you to develop and refine new skills in communication, negotiation, self-advocacy, and management of conflict, time, and resources. For example, although you might feel abandoned if your advisor is unavailable for a time, even this potentially negative experience could become an opportunity to learn how to advocate for yourself and communicate about your needs and perceived difficulties in the relationship.

Advising Resources

Graduate School deans and directors  are available to answer academic and non-academic questions and provide referrals to useful resources.

Counseling and Psychological Services  (CAPS) staff offer confidential, professional support for students seeking help with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, adjustment challenges, relationship difficulties, questions about identity, and managing existing mental health conditions.

Let’s Talk Drop-in Consultations  are informal, confidential walk-in consultations at various locations around campus.

External Resources

University of Michigan Rackham, How to Get the Mentoring You Want  

Laura Gail Lunsford & Vicki L. Baker, 2016, Great Mentoring in Graduate School: A Quick Start Guide for Protégés

Michigan State University, Guidelines for Graduate Student Advising and Mentoring Relationships  

Michigan State University, Graduate Student Career and Professional Development  

Template for Meeting Notes

Adapted and expanded from Maria Gardiner, Flinders University © Flinders University 2007; used with permission and published in  The Productive Graduate Student Writer  (Allen, 2019). Used here with permission of the author and publisher.  

Use this template for making notes to help you plan for a productive meeting with your advisor, keep track of plans made, and clearly identify next steps that you’ll need to take to follow up on what you discussed.

Mentoring Resources

Graduate school programs focused on mentoring, building mentoring skills for an academic career.

Develop and enhance effective communication and mentorship skills that are broadly transferrable to all careers. Offered by Future Faculty and Academic Careers.

Graduate and Professional Students International (GPSI) Peer Mentoring Program

Share lessons learned as a new international student at Cornell as a peer mentor with new international student peer mentees. Offered by the GPSI in collaboration with the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement.

Graduate Students Mentoring Undergraduates (GSMU)

Share knowledge with and provide support to undergraduate students interested in pursuing further education. Offered in collaboration with the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives (OADI).

Multicultural Academic Council (MAC) Peer Mentoring Program

Develop strategies to excel academically and personally at Cornell and beyond as a peer mentee or share strategies as a peer mentor. Offered by MAC in collaboration with the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement.

NextGen Professors Program

Learn from faculty in Power Mentoring Sessions and prepare for careers across institutional types. Offered by the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement and Future Faculty and Academic Careers.

Graduate School Programs with a Mentoring Component

Graduate school primer: navigating academia workshop series.

Program for new students on navigating graduate school with sessions on mentoring.

Perspectives: The Complete Graduate Student

Program for continuing students on common issues with some sessions on mentoring.

GPWomeN-PCCW Speaker Series

Series for all students featuring talks by Cornell alumnae with an occasional mentoring focus.

Future Professors Institute

One-day event featuring workshops and guest speakers with occasional mentoring focus.

Intergroup Dialogue Project (IDP)

Peer-led courses blending theory and experiential learning to facilitate meaningful communication with occasional mentoring focus.

Building Allyship Series

Series for the campus community featuring panels designed for productive dialogue with occasional mentoring focus.

Institutional Memberships

Center for the integration of research, teaching, and learning (cirtl) network.

Access to resources on teaching and research mentoring.

Access to career development and mentoring resources.

New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS)

Access to resources, including webinars and articles on mentoring.

Mentoring Programs Across Campus

Give and receive advice as part of a peer mentoring program for all College of Engineering students. Offered by Diversity Programs in Engineering.

Mi Comunidad/My Community

Peer mentoring program run by graduate and professional students affiliated with the Latin@ Graduate Student Coalition (LGSC) and supported by the Latina/o Studies Program (LSP) and Latina/o/x Student Success Office (LSSO) at Cornell University.

Additional Resources:

• Mentoring and Leadership Tips from Graduate School Programs
• Cornell University Office of Faculty Development and Diversity – Resources for Mentors and Mentees
• Careers Beyond Academia LibGuide
• National Research Mentoring Network

Graduate School Articles on Mentoring:

• Alumna Addresses Importance of Mentoring
• Becoming Better Mentors Through Workshop Series
• August Offers Mentoring Advice
• ‘A Better Chance of Providing Access’: Future Professors Institute Fosters Inclusivity

Virtual Training and External Resources

• How to Get the Mentoring You Want: A Guide for Graduate Students – University of Michigan, Rackham Graduate School
• The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM – National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine
• Mentor Training: Online Learning Modules – University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute
• Mentor Curricula and Training: Entering Mentoring – Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research

For other resources, view the Advising Guide for Research Students.

If there is anything not included on this list that we should consider, please send the information and a link to [email protected] .

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• CAREER COLUMN
• 20 July 2020

Writing the perfect recommendation letter

Andy Tay is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Undergraduates need them for graduate-school applications; PhD students and postdocs use them to apply for fellowships and jobs; senior scientists often have to have them to apply for awards and promotions. But writing an effective and personal recommendation letter can be time-consuming, especially for academics who must juggle grant applications, manuscripts, teaching and student supervision. And some might struggle to say the right things to support a former employee or student in their career move, while sounding original and unique.

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Nature 584 , 158 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02186-8

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

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Computational Postdoc

The German Cancer Research Center is the largest biomedical research institution in Germany.

PhD / PostDoc Medical bioinformatics (m/f/d)

The Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine / University of Freiburg is looking for a PhD/PostDoc Medical bioinformatics (m/w/d)

Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg (DE)

University of Freiburg

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Advice for requesting letters of recommendation

Do you want a recommendation letter from me or someone else for a PhD program? Follow the excellent advice of a Brown CS professor (transposing CS to physics, of course, but not much else): http://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Memos/Reco-From-Me/ Note especially his description of a "brag sheet" and its purpose. Consider supplementing this by saying to a particular writer "I hope you will be able to speak to my experience at mentoring other undergrad researchers" or "I hope you will be able to remark on my ability to design and build an experimental setup" (just examples.)

The same principles hold for letters for other purposes (internships, coterm programs, postdocs, faculty positions, industry jobs) though obviously what's expected at different stages and for different roles is different.

See also that same Prof's excellent advice to letter-writers for PhD program applications. Read it, follow its guidance on selecting a complementary collection of letter-writers rather than ones who all speak to just one aspect of your capabilities, and consider sharing it with your writers (in a non-pushy way), especially if they may not be experienced at writing for this purpose or this level of institution. 

http://cs.brown.edu/~sk/Memos/Grad-School-Recos/

A personal story: When I was applying for Ph.D. programs and fellowships, I had a research advisor with whom I had done substantial work. I knew my relationship with him was not perfect, but I asked him for a letter -- I couldn't imagine not asking him. He replied that he expected others could write me more effective letters. Decades later I remain deeply grateful to him: I got into an excellent Ph.D. program and even was awarded fellowships. Probably none of these would have happened had he written one of my three letters luke-warmly (or worse.) I was fortunate to have others who could step in to write for me. I take from this several lessons I'd like to share.

1. When someone asks me for a letter and I don't feel I can write a letter that will help them toward their goal, if possible I suggest that they consider having someone else write for them. This scenario doesn't happen often, but my practice gives people a chance to be judged by their best sides, which is important especially early in studies and career. Of course, if one of my primary Ph.D. thesis advisees or postdoc advisees is applying for a faculty position, it may be practically necessary for them to get a letter for me. This is only one reason to maintain good communications between advisor and advisee.

2. If you want a letter from someone, you can't rely on this degree of candor from your proposed letter-writer. Instead of asking "Can you write me a letter?", consider instead "I'm considering applying to XXX. Do you think you could write me a letter that would help me be selected / be seriously considered?" This gives a reasonably gracious way for them to suggest that you ask someone else. They'll probably even appreciate that -- few of us like the feeling of writing a less-than-positive letter. In my experience, if the rest of one's portfolio is strong one can be successful in obtaining Ph.D. admission, postdoc positions, and even interviews for faculty positions based on one or two stellar letters, combined with other letters that are positive but more generic.

3. Months or even years before you'll want a letter, think about who might be possible letter-writers. Develop and maintain the relevant relationships -- not primarily for the sake of the letters!

Asking for a recommendation letter from a PhD supervisor

Letters of recommendation are required for many applications, and PhD supervisors are often asked to provide these letters to PhD students. How you ask your PhD supervisor, what support you provide, and how you deal with a difficult supervisor relationship, matters for the quality of recommendation letters.

Reasons to need a recommendation letter from a PhD supervisor

Asking for a recommendation letter from a phd supervisor in person, asking for a recommendation letter from a phd supervisor via email, offering to provide a draft when asking for a recommendation letter from a phd supervisor, dos and don’ts when asking your phd supervisor for a recommendation letter, dealing with a difficult relationship when needing a recommendation letter from a phd supervisor.

There are various reasons to need a recommendation letter from a PhD supervisor. First, there are job applications.

PhD supervisors usually are some of the people who work most closely with a PhD student. Therefore, their opinion and feedback are valued for both academic and non-academic job applications.

However, especially for academic applications (such as postdoctoral positions), the PhD supervisor’s assessment of the student’s academic quality tends to be highly valued by application committees.

Letters of recommendation are often required for scholarship, grant and bursary applications. As many PhD students rely on these funding sources, a good recommendation letter from the PhD supervisor is really important in these instances.

Often, the recommendation letter is, next to the PhD student’s motivation letter, a key factor of success that can accelerate or slow down a PhD student’s career.

Recommendation letters from PhD supervisors are important, and a lot is riding on them. So how do you ask for a letter? The best and easiest way is in person.

Things to consider when asking for a letter of recommendation in person:

• Timing: If you have a job or grant application in mind, it is important to mention it to your PhD supervisor well in advance. Avoid asking for a recommendation letter last minute at all costs!
• Requirements: Tell your PhD supervisor about your application plans, and ask if he/she is willing to write a recommendation letter. Be specific about the requirements (length, points to cover, deadline, etc.) of the letter, so that your PhD supervisor knows exactly what to expect.
• Content: Letters of recommendation should never be generic. Therefore, always suggest key points to include in the letter. Don’t be shy. Providing direction in terms of the content of the letter makes it easier for your PhD supervisor to complete the task, and ensures that each recommendation letter is tailored to the specific application. And it does not mean that your PhD supervisor has to take over all your suggestions.
• Email confirmation: PhD supervisors tend to be busy, and they may forget about your letter. Even after agreeing that your PhD supervisor writes a recommendation letter for you, make sure to put this agreement, including the deadline and key points to include, into writing by sending an email.
• Friendly reminder: If you have not received your recommendation letter and your deadline is approaching, send a friendly reminder. Acknowledge that your supervisor is probably very busy, thank him/her for supporting you, and once again offer to help with drafting the actual letter.

Not all PhD students see their supervisors regularly and have the opportunity to ask for a recommendation letter in person. You can also ask for a recommendation letter via email.

When asking for a recommendation letter via email, it is extremely important to be concrete and concise.

The main reason for this is that you cannot explain elaborately what the application is about, why you need to letter or answer any direct questions when you ask your supervisor via email. And you don’t want your request to drown in an essay-long email.

Things to consider when asking for a letter of recommendation via email:

• Email subject: Make sure to be explicit about your request in the email subject. For instance: “Kind request for a recommendation letter for x application”.
• Purpose: Start your email by explaining why you need a recommendation letter in 2-3 sentences. Instead of talking about all the details, you can attach the job description or call for applications to your email, and simply refer to it in text.
• Content: Letters of recommendation should never be generic. Therefore, be explicit about the requirements of the application, and suggest key points to include in the letter. Don’t be shy. Providing direction in terms of the content of the letter makes it easier for your PhD supervisor to complete the task, and ensures that each recommendation letter is tailored to the specific application. And it does not mean that your PhD supervisor has to take over all your suggestions.

If you are struggling to formulate such an email, have a look at 5 sample emails asking for letter of recommendation from a professor.

You may also like: Sample emails asking for letter of recommendation from a professor

Having students write their draft letters of recommendation is a widespread practice in academia. While it may seem weird at first, offering to provide a draft recommendation letter about yourself can be a good idea.

Some PhD supervisors are of course completely committed to their supervisees and will take the time to write a unique, tailor-made recommendation letter each time they are asked to do so.

In reality, however, PhD supervisors are extremely busy and get multiple requests for recommendation letters regularly. Not only from PhD students but also from bachelor bachelor’s and master’s students.

Providing a draft letter, or key points to include or highlight, can ensure that the recommendation letter is on point, and addresses all relevant aspects of the application.

Therefore, many supervisors will request a draft version from you anyways. Many others will appreciate your offer of writing a first draft. Editing and adding opinions here and there is much easier for PhD supervisors than writing a recommendation letter from scratch.

In my experience, the chance that a PhD supervisor agrees writing a recommendation letter is much higher when the PhD student offers the provision of a draft.

You may also like: 3 sample recommendation letters for brilliant students

To summarise the information above, here are the key dos and don’ts when asking your PhD supervisor for a letter of recommendation.

• Ask your supervisor for a recommendation letter well in advance of the application deadline
• Be clear about the purpose and requirements for the letter
• Offer to write a draft letter yourself, or to provide key points to include
• Give your PhD supervisor a concrete deadline
• Ensure that each recommendation letter is tailored to the specific application
• Ask your supervisor last minute, or too close to the deadline
• Be vague about the content that you’d like to have included in the letter
• Leave the content of the letter entirely up to your supervisor
• Expect your supervisor to remember the letter and the dates of submission
• Submit a generic letter of recommendation as part of your application

Not every PhD student has a good or convivial relationship with his or her PhD supervisor/s. Thus, there may be some difficult situations.

If you think that your PhD supervisor will not put a lot of effort into the letter (because of a lack of time or interest), you can often mitigate the situation by providing a good draft. Make sure to inquire first if they are okay with you providing a draft. You cannot control the content of the final letter, but you can certainly steer it.

If you think your PhD supervisor will provide a very negative recommendation letter, it is better not to ask for one. Most applications do not explicitly ask for a recommendation letter from the PhD supervisor. So try to ask someone else, for instance, a good colleague, the head of the department, or someone else you collaborate with.

If you have a bad relationship with your PhD supervisor but your application explicitly asks for a letter of recommendation letter from that PhD supervisor, you have two options:

• Do include the recommendation letter of the PhD supervisor, even if it is a negative one, and provide an additional explanation about your relationship. Furthermore, provide positive recommendation letters from other people, even if they are not required, to counterbalance the negative opinion of the PhD supervisor.
• Do not include a recommendation letter from the PhD supervisor, even if the application requires one. Explain why you decided not to include this specific recommendation letter, and provide alternatives.

The latter two scenarios are not ideal and should be a last resort.

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Sample Recommendation Letter

College Admissions

Writing recommendation letters is hard work! If you don’t know where to start or are finding it challenging to organize your thoughts, reading a sample recommendation letter can help you figure out your next steps. Keep reading to learn more about why these letters matter, plus see a sample recommendation letter and find out what makes it the perfect example.

Sample Recommendation Letter by a Professor for a Student

Jeong Kyoon, Ph.D

Wuhan International Educational Center

No. 10-1 Boxue Road, WEDZ

Wuhan, Hubei, PRC 430056

Dear Dr. Kyoon,

It is my great pleasure to provide this letter of recommendation for Sarah as she pursues anEnglish as a Foreign Language teaching position with Wuhan International Educational Center in China. As an associate professor of English Literature at ABC University, I taught Sarah in four classes and served as her thesis advisor during her senior year. Sarah continues to impress me with her adventurous spirit, passion for knowledge, and love of helping others. With her background in English, experience living abroad and time spent tutoring ESL students, I am confident Sarah will make an excellent addition to your school.

I taught Sarah during her sophomore, junior, and senior year in Comparative Methods in the Humanities, The Global South Asian Diaspora in Literature and Film, Gender and Literature in South Asia, and Empire and Intimacy: Race and Sexual Fantasy in European Literature. I also worked closely with her on her senior thesis, which explored Marxism’s impact on Chinese Literature. Sarah was awarded the distinction of summa cum laude, because of her dedication and commitment to learning. She is a talented writer who offers an impassioned perspective in essays, class discussions, and personal conversations. I firmly believe Sarah possesses the mental dexterity, verbal skills, compassion, and depth of thought to be an engaging teacher.

Sarah is passionate about connecting with people from different cultures, something I  have had the joy of witnessing multiple times as she explores new ideas through world literature. I recall one insightful paper Sarah wrote for which she interviewed international students about their perspectives on various Western classics. It was very clear from this paper that she was passionate about cross-cultural exchange. She also spends her time volunteering with ESL students in local high schools, out of the pure desire to help others. As an English teacher with the Wuhan International Educational Center, I am confident Sarah will foster a similar passion in her students.

In addition to her studies and volunteer work with ESL students, Sarah has spent two semesters studying abroad with a host family in Shanghai. She speaks very highly of her host family, their dinners and daily conversations in Shanghainese, and their patience with her as she mastered this dialect. She is visiting her host family again this summer for her host sister’s birthday and contacts them regularly through email. Sarah enjoys meeting new people, learning about different cultures, and traveling as an engaged participant. These experiences and passions make Sarah the perfect fit for the opening with the Wuhan International Educational Center.

Sarah has my wholehearted and unequivocal support in her search for an English teaching position with your institution. She is thoughtful, passionate, and open-minded; with a clear commitment to teaching and helping others understand different cultures. I have no doubt that Sarah will make an outstanding English as a Foreign Language teacher at Wuhan International Educational Center. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Andrea LaLonde, Ph.D

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature

ABC University

[email protected]

123-456-7890

‍ What Makes This Sample Recommendation Letter Works

‍ When students graduate from college, job hunting is usually their top priority. Since most graduates don’t have a lot of previous employers to reach out to, they opt to ask their professors for letters of recommendation or support . In our example, Professor LaLonde taught Sarah in a subject closely related to the position she’s applying for which is one of the reasons why this letter works.

Professor LaLonde clearly states her support for Sarah’s application to an English teaching position in China. She discusses Sarah’s specific academic interests, how they relate to this opening, and essentially make Sarah working for them the next logical step. Professor LaLonde also takes the time to characterize Sarah as someone with a dedication to learning about and exploring other cultures. She achieves this by specifically mentioning Sarah’s study abroad experience in China, her relationship with her host family, and that she spends her time volunteering with ESL students in her community. Combined, these experiences have prepared Sarah for her work as an English teacher.

So even though Sarah’s professor has not personally supervised her student teaching others, she can offer insight into Sarah’s strengths on a personal and intellectual level. This perspective is very valuable, because Professor LaLonde has worked with Sarah during four classes and on her senior thesis paper. Because of all this time spent with Sarah, Professor LaLonde is able to assure the prospective employer that she is an ideal candidate for this position.

Keep that in mind when you’re writing a letter of recommendation or support for one of your students: tie it back to the position they’re applying for. It’s a bit like writing a short paper where your main idea is that this student is perfect for this job and you need to supply evidence to back up your claim.

Be sure to click here if you need to read over a few more examples before writing your own!

Letters of recommendation can be scary to ask for and sometimes even scarier to write. Looking for examples is a great way to give yourself an idea of how to organize your thoughts. Breaking down why each example works will help you write a letter of recommendation or support that your students will be proud to show off.

Are you having trouble writing a letter of recommendation? Do you have any other tips or tricks to share? Comment below and let us know!

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