Letters of Recommendation

Guidelines on Requesting a Letter

Faculty members are willing to write letters of recommendation when the requests are timely, appropriate, and warranted. Before requesting a letter of recommendation from a faculty member, be sure to provide the following:

1. Time. Are you informing the professor three to four weeks in advance? A good letter takes time, and many faculty members are balancing a number of tasks. Provide clear instructions on when each letter is due and request any letters at least three weeks in advance.
2. Clear instructions. How is the professor going to submit the letter? Is it a hard copy on letterhead snailmailed overseas? Or is it a PDF file through an online system? Should the letters be sent to a specific email address? For each request, the faculty should know exactly how to submit.
3. Details. What is the context for the letter? What type of opportunity are you applying for? The more details you provide, the better.
4. Confidentiality. For many applications, there may be an option to choose whether letters are confidential or not. With few exceptions, most letters should be confidential. The recommendation is a rare opportunity for faculty to give frank, honest insight into students' abilities. This is not the case with "open" letters. Students should choose the confidential option. Most faculty will not be willing to provide you directly with their letter of recommendation.
5. Representative scholarship. A good letter of recommendation should make mention of a student's potential. This is best encapsulated through their scholarship. Providing the faculty with an example of your best work for their class will help them in writing a letter.
6. Statement of purpose. Many positions will require a statement of purpose (SoP). This is a crucial piece of information which will shape how faculty write their letters. More information on SoPs is available from graduate programs at UC Berkeley or Northeastern.
7. CV or Resume. A list of achievements will provide faculty with an idea of what to highlight in their letters of recommendation.