Letters of Recommendation

We require three letters of recommendation with your application.

In selecting your recommenders, choose individuals who can provide an overall evaluation of your readiness and potential to succeed as a doctoral student and ultimately as a researcher and professor.

Selecting Your Referees

Our faculty prefers that all recommendation letters be written by academics. They can be your instructors, your advisors, or, in the case of applicants who hold teaching jobs, your colleagues.

In some cases, it may be appropriate to ask nonacademic individuals, as long as they can best speak about your academic abilities.

If you have been out of school for a significant period of time, you may substitute non-academic recommenders of your choice.

Recommendation Requirements

You are responsible for ensuring that all three recommendation letters are submitted online by the application deadline.

Federal law provides, after enrollment, a right of access to letters of reference if retained by the school, and if the right has not been waived; no school may require an applicant to waive this right. You will be asked to read, choose, and sign in regard to your right of access to each recommendation letter.

It is highly inappropriate to draft or write your own letter of reference, even if asked to do so by your referee. If the individual insists on this approach, you should find another referee.

Registering Your Recommenders

You must register your recommender in the online application. Go to the “Recommendation Letters” tab and enter the names and contact information — including a valid email address — for each recommender. You may submit your application after all three recommenders have been registered; you do not need to wait for your recommenders to submit their recommendation letters.

Submitting Letters of Recommendation

Individuals writing letters of recommendation on your behalf are required to submit them through the online application.* Once you register a recommender, he or she will receive an email confirmation with instructions to log in and submit his/her recommendation letter. Once a letter has been submitted, your recommender will receive an email confirming that the submission was successful. Be sure to ask your recommender to use your formal name when writing your recommendation letter.

Check the Status of Your Letters of Recommendation

You can log in to the online application to verify whether all letters of recommendation have been received and to also send your recommenders a reminder if necessary. We cannot guarantee the review of any materials received after the deadline.

*Unless an exception has been made by our office, hard copies of recommendation letters will not be accepted. If your recommender cannot submit his/her letter of recommendation online, contact our office to receive a hard copy of the recommender form.