Recommendation Letters

I am happy to write strong recommendation letters for students I have taught or worked with. To ensure I can write a good letter, please observe the below guidelines:

• Notice: Send requests at least one month before first application deadline.
• Eligibility:
  • A- or better in a class I taught
  • TA for a class I taught
  • Undergraduate or MS thesis (not MS project) where I was advisor or reader
  • Significant involvement in a research project More is better: if you only took a class or TA’d, I won’t have as much to say to improve the letter. For a recommendation letters for PhD programs, you need to have done a thesis with me or contributed to a project: otherwise I won’t have anything to say about your capabilities and potential as a researcher.
• What to include in request:
  • How I know you: If I was your instructor, what grade did you receive? If you worked on a research project, what was your contribution? If you wrote a thesis, what was it about?
  • What kind of program(s) are you applying to? (i.e., MS / PhD / etc)
  • Date of earliest deadline
• What to send if I’m writing a letter:
  • A link to an online spreadsheet (e.g. Google Sheet) with all institutions you are applying to and their application deadlines. Links to submission forms are great if available. Status boxes for when you send your app and when I send my letter are sometimes helpful.
  • Transcript
  • CV/Resume
  • Personal statement (if/when ready, early draft is fine)