Your Letter of Recommendation: What I Need
This section is for my students and former students who would like to request a recommendation from me. Below is a list of the information that I would like you to include in your request. Even if we’ve already had a conversation about the opportunity you’re applying for, please do include all the information I’m requesting again in your email so that I don’t forget to include anything important.
I’ve created two categories of information that I need. The first is information I’d like for any and all recommendation requests. The second is additional information I’d like for graduate program requests only.
Please note that it is my policy that all letters of recommendation are confidential. This means that I will not provide you with a letter of recommendation directly. I will only provide it to the institution or organization that is requesting the letter.
1. For any recommendation request, please include:
2. For graduate programs, and fellowship programs for graduate study, please also include:
Updated 08/19/2022
I’ve created two categories of information that I need. The first is information I’d like for any and all recommendation requests. The second is additional information I’d like for graduate program requests only.
Please note that it is my policy that all letters of recommendation are confidential. This means that I will not provide you with a letter of recommendation directly. I will only provide it to the institution or organization that is requesting the letter.
1. For any recommendation request, please include:
- The instructions I need for how to submit the letter. Do I send it by email? Do I submit the letter via an online form? (I don't need this for grad schools, which will send me a link.)
- The full name of the internship, scholarship, fellowship, or graduate program to which you are applying.
- The deadline for submitting the letter.
- A link to the online description of the program. (I don't need this for grad schools.)
- Your resume.
- The courses you took with me—and thesis, if I was your reader—and the semester/year for each one.
- If you've worked for me as an RA, when you did that work (just identifying the semester & year, or summer & year, is fine).
- The paper you’ve written in one of my courses that you’re most proud of.
- Briefly, in a sentence or two, the reason why you’re seeking this opportunity. No need to try to impress me here—I really just want to know why you’re spending your time/effort to apply. For example, are you applying for an internship because you hope to determine whether you’re interested in a career in that field? Are you applying for a scholarship as a potential source of funding for graduate school? Are you applying for a graduate program because you believe it will educate you for the career you want to pursue? Are you applying for an internship because it’s at an organization you admire? Are you applying for a position because you want to see what it’s like to work for an elected official? Etc.
2. For graduate programs, and fellowship programs for graduate study, please also include:
- The name of the degree you’re hoping to pursue (if you plan to apply to different types of degree programs, such as Master of Public Policy degrees and Master of International Relations degrees, name both types)
- What you’d most like to study in that program (this does not need to be specific to each school, only to the degree program type)
- Briefly, what you’re hoping to do after you graduate from the program. What kind of career(s) do you hope to embark upon? What’s your dream job?
- For Ph.D. programs only: What topic area do you think you might want to conduct research in? Which program you're applying to do you most want to be accepted to or consider yourself the best fit for? And if we haven’t had a conversation about this already, I strongly encourage you to meet with me so that we can discuss the particular benefits and challenges of Ph.D. programs, and careers that require and do not require a Ph.D.
Updated 08/19/2022