I am happy to support student applications for internships, graduate programs, scholarships and full time employment. Please review the policies and procedures below prior to requesting a letter of recommendation or professional reference.
Letters of Recommendation
To qualify for a letter of recommendation for an internship, co-op or BS/MS program*, students should:
To request a letter of recommendation students must:
*Since letters of recommendation for external graduate programs and national scholarships are longer and require more detail, students must meet additional requirements. Please schedule a meeting and discuss with me at least 1 month prior to the deadline to see if I feel I will be able to write you a strong enough letter based on your performance and our interactions.
- Have completed at least 1 semester of class with me
- Earned B or higher in all classes completed with me.
- Technical positions require completion of a technical 3 credit class
- Interacted with me in a meaningful way outside of class or through consistent class participation
To request a letter of recommendation students must:
- Submit the request in writing via email at least three weeks* in advance of the deadline
- Include the following in the initial request:
- Deadline and mechanism of submission for each program
- Up to date resume
- Unofficial transcript
- After I agree to write your letter, you must also send answers to the following questions within 2 weeks of the deadline:
- Why are you interested in this opportunity?
- What is your ultimate career goal? How will this opportunity help you achieve that?
- What characteristics about yourself would you like me to include in the letter? Can you point to instances in the course/our interactions where you demonstrated those traits?
- What other experiences have you been involved in (research, internship, clubs, etc) that are relevant to the position. What did you learn/gain from each experience?
- Electronic requests from all programs should be sent at the same time so that I can upload the letters in a single session. Please discuss with me if this is not possible.
*Since letters of recommendation for external graduate programs and national scholarships are longer and require more detail, students must meet additional requirements. Please schedule a meeting and discuss with me at least 1 month prior to the deadline to see if I feel I will be able to write you a strong enough letter based on your performance and our interactions.
Professional References
- Companies typically contact professional references to gain additional insight into a candidate’s personality, work ethic and overall interpersonal skills once that candidate is under serious consideration for a position. As such, it is important that I know you well to serve as a personal reference.
- You must have interacted with me significantly outside of class for me to serve as a professional reference.
- You must ask me first before listing me as a reference. If I agree, I will provide you with the best contact info to put in the application. Make sure to include your resume, unofficial transcript, job description and why you are interested in the opportunity in your request.