Letter of Recommendation Requests

Letter of Recommendation Requests

I'm generally happy to write and do write letters in support of applications for graduate schools, scholarships and fellowships, research programs, internships, positions in academia and industry, grants, promotion and tenure, immigration, and more. Before listing me as a reference for any application (in academia or industry), please make sure to contact me first to make sure that I can provide a letter for you.

The remainder of this page is regarding letters of recommendations for students, for example for applications for graduate programs, internships, and student fellowships.

In order to be able to write a meaningful and supportive letter, I need you to either:

have successfully completed a research project under my supervision, OR
have completed at least two courses with me with a grade of A or A+, OR
have completed at least one course with me with an A/A+ grade and helped as a TA/grader in a course offered by me.

In general, you should ideally ask for a letter that can substantially bring an added value to your application package, and communicate information that cannot be directly inferred from the rest of your application materials. For example, if I have no more to say than the fact that you have done a good job in a course and have obtained an A+, that wouldn't say much, since this information is already apparent from your academic transcript. If you're applying for a Ph.D. program, your letters should ideally come from those who can comment about your research track record and potentials, and this information can only be provided by someone who has supervised a research project done by you. For more information on the best practices regarding letters of recommendations, and graduate applications in general, read the amazing advice by Professor Mor Harchol-Balter at CMU. I myself benefited from this guide back when I was looking for Ph.D. programs. Best of luck for your search!

(Disclaimer: This is my personal website, and any opinions expressed in this website are solely my own.)

Last Updated: September 2022

Home Page