Letter Of Recommendation Template For Masters Program – A recommendation letter for graduate school is a written endorsement of a candidate for graduate school that is submitted with the application. Recommendations should be written by professional or academic contacts who really know the applicant and can provide a credible perspective. The letter should be concise and positive, and should use specific examples when possible.
The purpose of this letter is not just to praise the applicant. Everyone has good qualities, but only a few get selected for graduate school. The recommendation should provide a rationale for why the interested student will be successful in the targeted program. These include:
Letter Of Recommendation Template For Masters Program
Whenever possible, claims should be supported by specific examples. It’s easy to tell someone is intelligent or conscientious, but it’s more meaningful to show the applicant’s strengths through anecdotes from the workplace or the classroom.
Sample Recommendation Letters For Scholarship Applications
Applicants will need 2 to 4 letters of recommendation to support their graduate school application. The best choices for writing these letters would be the candidate’s professors, supervisors, mentors, managers, and employers. The person writing the letter should be able to make a sufficiently long relationship to reflect the applicant’s interests, work habits, and personal character.
A professor or mentor can easily assess a candidate’s academic qualities and scholarly temperament, while a manager or employer may be able to reference a longstanding working relationship to confirm their character.
A graduate school letter of recommendation should fill at least one full page (typically 400 – 600 words) and include a letterhead, an introduction, up to 4 body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
The following information regarding the author of the letter should be included in the upper left corner of the page:
Letter Of Recommendation: How To Write + Samples & Templates
The introduction only states who is writing the letter to whom, and who is the candidate on whose behalf the writer is writing. This paragraph should only be 2-4 sentences long.
Example #1 Dear Sir/Madam: I am writing to you in support of Gary Yamamoto and his desire to attend Dartmouth University for the Cellular Biology Masters program. Every year, I receive countless requests to write these types of letters, but it’s only a handful that trouble me from notable students. I believe wholeheartedly that only the students who are the most deserving should be placed in any program, and Mr. Yamamoto is a very promising biology student.
In this example a university professor is writing on behalf of a student and he emphasizes that he only recommends students who are suitable candidates for the program of his choice. By emphasizing that they do not take the matter of submitting recommendation letters lightly, they have made their recommendation more credible.
Example #2 To Whom It May Concern: It is with great pleasure that I write to you in recommendation of Francine Charles for the Art History graduate school program. Francine has worked well for me over the past three years at The Word, a bookstore located near the McGill campus, and I have found her to be a kind and hardworking person. His knowledge of and passion for art history spans millennia and includes many indigenous cultures.
Reference Letter Sample For Law School
This sample is written from the perspective of a hiring manager and includes the length of time the candidate has worked with this employer, as well as some of their positive attributes. Since this information is included in the introduction, it will be necessary to include more personal reflections and specific examples in the body of the letter.
Next, the writer needs to describe the context in which they have known the student and for how long. A description of how long the author has known the student and the nature of their relationship will add weight to the verification of the student’s positive qualities that follow this section. In terms of length, this paragraph should be made up of 3-6 simple sentences.
Example #1 During the Fall/Winter semesters of 2015 and 2016, I had the privilege of having Mr. Yamamoto in my Evolutionary Biology and Microbiology 1 classes. Although my class sizes are large, I always pay close attention to students who present exemplary work. Gary’s work has always been meticulous and well organized, and most importantly his work and test results but he is in the top percentile on his schedule. Compared to most of his peers, I can say with confidence that Mr. Yamamoto is a remarkable student who would greatly value attending any university.
Here, a professor uses comparisons and personal observations to highlight that the candidate is an excellent student. They also detail how long they have known the student.
Nurse Practitioner Reference Letter
Example #2 I first met Jacinthe four years ago when she came to me for an advisory consultation. I remember being struck by his familiar enthusiasm and the importance he placed on education. While most first-year students are content with a straight-forward program of first-year courses, Jacinthe wanted to ensure that her course program supported her ability to excel and provided her with the most opportunities for future study. Please provide These important early choices helped Jacinth be on the Dean’s List three years in a row and allowed him to pursue extra-curricular interests in sports and student administration.
In this example the author describes his first meeting with the student. By doing so, they are saying that the student is memorable, while at the same time specifying how long they have known the student. They emphasize the student’s academic performance and provide positive examples of the candidate’s personal characteristics (will be expanded upon in the next section).
After describing the writer’s relationship with the student, the next paragraph will illustrate the student’s competencies and positive characteristics that will provide the body of the letter. This section should include a positive description of the student’s work habits, character, and sense of responsibility. Only one paragraph is necessary for this section of the letter, although it can run up to 3 paragraphs in length, depending on how much detail the writer wants to include.
Example #1 Although Corey has consistently shown his skill, ingenuity, and willingness to work, the best example of his intelligence came to the fore when I asked him to take a stock inventory of all materials in the building. In the production of books and other supplies, we have a variety of paper stocks, inks, and other materials. Instead of simply counting every item and returning it to its original place, he would first remove all the items and rearrange the shelves and containers in such a way that it would be easier to count them in the future. Much to my astonishment, Cory was able to take the entire inventory before the end of the day, keeping the work area organized for easy workflow and counting. This demonstrates that Cory is always ready to exceed expectations, to work quickly and efficiently, and to take initiative when necessary.
Letter Of Recommendation For Graduate School
In the above example, an employer uses a specific example to illustrate the positive qualities of the candidate. It describes how the applicant exceeded the employer’s expectations and used their problem-solving skills to perform a job.
Example #2 Gary has been very helpful in the microbiology lab; With their immense enthusiasm and passion for the subject, they have made the past year more enjoyable for me personally. Volunteering in his spare time, he has helped me during lab experiments for second year students and in return, I have worked closely with him on his school projects. Offering help and knowing how to ask for it, I believe, are important skills when working within the scientific community, and especially in laboratory situations. I was most impressed when Gary proposed that we design an experiment for the students to test the effects of ultraviolet light on the fermentation rate of yeast. He was responsible for gathering the necessary materials, and the orbit experiment was a complete success. As his school records will attest, Mr. Yamamoto’s work is always of the highest caliber. I would say that his academic gifts, combined with his ability to work in groups and perform in a competitive environment, make him the perfect candidate for a microbiology graduate program.
This longer example features a lab supervisor who uses several examples to demonstrate the candidate’s positive character, academic talents, school involvement, and ability to perform in their chosen field. By showing their understanding of the demands of a given field of study, their recommendation will be taken more seriously.
The final paragraph should summarize and confirm the writer’s recommendation for the applicant and include the preferred method of contact. This paragraph should only be 2-4 sentences long. The author must also put his signature at the bottom of the conclusion to authenticate the letter.
Sample Letters Of Recommendation: Template And Format
Example #1 It is my belief that this young man will excel and flourish in the field of microbiology, and especially in practical laboratory work. Gary Yamamoto is a highly qualified candidate and I would be happy to provide more information if you need it.