It is my pleasure to recommend Jane Doe for admission to [name of program] at [name of university]. I am a fifth year Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley. I came to know Jane when I was her Graduate Student Instructor for Philosophy 111: Ethical Relativism, taught by Professor John Doe. The course comprised [short description of course]. Jane distinguished herself by submitting an exceptionally well researched and interesting project on ethical practices in ancient Greece. I would rank her in the top 2% of students that I have taught in the past five years in respect of her writing ability and research skills.
Overall, Jane is highly intelligent and has good analytical skills. Her project on ethical practices in ancient Greece demonstrated her ability to come a detailed understanding of the ethical practices of another, very different culture, and to analyze the consequences of those practices for contemporary ethical theories. She gave a particularly interesting discussion of the difficult practice of infanticide, and showed both sensitivity and detachment when discussing its ethical consequences. Her overall intelligence is also reflected in her grades for the course, which were by far the best in the class.
Jane has excellent communication skills. Her written work is both clear and concise, and interesting to read. She demonstrated her oral articulateness in the discussion sections that were an integral part of the course. Each discussion section focused on a particular ethical dilemma. Students were required analyze morally problematic situations, and to develop and argue for their own ethical views with regard to the issue in question. Jane was highly proficient in applying the course material in analyzing the problem situations. She always explained her views very concisely and gave supporting arguments that were both clear and persuasive. Jane also demonstrated good team working skills in group assignments.
At a personal level, Jane is a well disciplined, industrious student with a pleasant personality. She went well beyond the course requirements in the quantity and quality of her project, putting in a lot of extra research and attending office hours every week. Throughout the course, Jane demonstrated great perseverance and initiative. She was not only interested in and motivated to learn the material, but put great work into assimilating it to her own experience and developing her own ideas about each ethical topic that we discussed.
Jane is unquestionably an exceptional candidate for graduate study in Ethics. Jane's work in Philosophy 111 suggests that she would greatly benefit from the opportunities for intellectual development provided by a sustained period of graduate study. She has proven herself to have the perseverance and initiative, and the intellectual creativity necessary to complete an advanced graduate degree. I would therefore highly recommend Jane Doe. If her performance in my class is a good indication of how she would perform as a graduate student, she would be an extremely positive asset to your program.
If I can be of any further assistance, or provide you with any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely,[Signature]
[Sender's Name and Title]
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am professor at Shenyang Medical University of China, and was Ms. Olivia Li's Advisor for her graduation thesis. Now I am pleased to recommend her to your Ph.D. program in Pharmaceutics.
During the one-year period while Ms. Li worked with me on her thesis project, she impressed me deeply as a highly motivated, goal-oriented student of lively personality and creativity. She was a member of our research group for a project I was in charge of in developing a sustained release preparation for a compound herbal medicine. Since part of the compound substance was volatile, the project temporarily came to a halt. Ms. Li tackled the problem, under my direction, and thus assumed an important role in the research team. She spent many hours looking up technical literature, and proposed a novel solution with satisfying results. All along, I found Ms. Li a fine research worker of uncompromising scientific rigor and adventurous spirit. She has also demonstrated a solid educational background and a remarkable ability in lab experimentation. In addition, she has an excellent command of English, which is rather uncommon among undergraduate students. She can read professional journals and documents in English without any problem, and can carry a conversation with native speakers of English easily.
As her teacher and former Advisor, I am proud of Ms. Li for her academic achievements. She certainly stands out as a student of great potential. Since the study and research in Pharmaceutics in China are still below international standards, I personally believe that it will be to Ms. Li's best interest to enter a graduate degree program in Pharmaceutics in a technologically advanced country. And I have no doubt that Ms. Li will take full advantage of this precious opportunity to make herself a first-rate pharmacist.
Finally, I again recommend this student of mine, in view of her remarkable academic potential and positive personality, to your graduate program. Ms. Li has my wholehearted support.
Yours Sincerely
Letter of Recommendation for MIPT Alumnus (01/2000) The Biophysics Student admitted to Caltech, MIT, Princeton
Applicant: Irina I. Ivanova
Recommender: Dr. Petr P. Petrov
It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation on behalf of Irina Ivanova. I have known her since 1998, when she started to work as a research assistant under my guidance. For more than a year I have close experience of Irina’s work and can state unequivocally that her academic and professional skills place her in the top 5% of the students I have worked with during my 50 years of work at Lebedev Physics Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences.
Some of the main credits of Irina are her persistence and diligence sometimes even ranging with obsession with work. I will give you an example. When I first met Irina in September 1998 she was a 4th year student at MIPT and possessed a solid background in physics and mathematics, though she lacked some knowledge in biology and chemistry necessary for successful research in the field of biophysical kinetics which our laboratory is primary concerned with. It took her only a few months to read a rather large number of books and articles in Russian as well as in English and become proficient in this field. From that time she started to attend extra-curriculum lectures and seminars on different topics in biophysics (such as Biophysics of Membrane Processes, Biochemical Physics, Physical aspects of Biological Processes) at MIPT as well as at Moscow State University.
I must admit that now Irina possesses a unique combination of solid academic knowledge in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematical methods. In scientific discussions and during colloquia Irina revealed maturity, excellent analytical thinking and clarity of thought. She often proposed original ideas and made outstanding conclusions.
As a member of our laboratory Irina investigated permeability of erythrocyte membrane for glucose and oxygen in normal conditions and under pressure. This was an important part of our major research concerning influence of pressure on permeability of cytoplasmic membranes. Irina took part in construction of theoretical model and then carried out a lot of independent research. I should mention her accuracy and thoroughness in carrying out experiments and an ability to pay attention to nuances, which often play crucial role. Her findings were very important for confirmation of our theory of structure of cytoplasmic membrane. As a result of this work in June 1999 Irina successfully defended her thesis and got BS with Honors. Recently she has reported these results at Biophysics section of MIPT Scientific Conference. This report was made at the top level.
In summary, Irina distinguished herself as an individual who exhibits an organized, scientific approach to research, and with a high degree of motivation, innovation and initiative, can accomplish her goals. Therefore, I evaluate Irina Ivanova as a person with high potential to carry out an advanced study in the field of biophysics and strongly recommend her for further education at Biophysics Department of California Institute of Technology.
Petr P. Petrov, D.Sc. 12/07/99Sample reference letter from a hospital administrator for a Chief of Psychology Service seeking a new position: (names are fictitious)
To Whom It May Concern:
This serves as a letter of reference for Dr. Martin Kaye, Ph.D., who has applied for an administrative position at your company, Healthcare Systems. It is my honor to recommend Dr. Kaye. I have known him since January 1994. I became his administrative supervisor upon my employment at County Medical Center.
Dr. Kaye has been the Chief of Psychology Service here for ten years. He has demonstrated outstanding talents in both administrative/ managerial as well as clinical practice spheres. He has a reputation as a superb manager of the mental health program at this center.
Revealing of his administrative abilities, Dr. Kaye took the initiative to significantly enlarge the substance abuse treatment program (in-patient, day hospital, and outpatient) and the mental health outpatient clinic program. He was able to greatly increase staffing and funding for these services. Consequently the hospital was able to construct an entire new building, devoted exclusively to these programs, a few years ago. As Chief of the Psychology Service, Dr. Kaye has demonstrated uncanny skill in selection of staff and interns. These employees and trainees continue to practice successfully to this day.
Dr. Kaye has also distinguished himself as a superb clinician, working in his profession over two decades: ten years here and ten years in a previous, similar setting. His competence, compassion and ethics as a psychologist are exemplary. In providing a broad spectrum of psychological assessment and treatment, he has more than proven his ability to lead a large and complex mental health care system.
As a clinician, Dr. Kaye also devoted much time recently to developing an outstanding Anger Management Program, a special area of interest which has become in demand in modern American society for obvious reasons. His skill diagnosing and treating Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and other disorders is remarkable. He regularly lectures on these topics to other mental health professionals. Dr. Kaye also provides excellent consultations to inpatient psychiatry and medical-surgical units of this center.
His commitment to education and teaching is highlighted by his early development of the Psychology Internship Program for trained individuals who have completed coursework to qualify for doctoral degrees in psychology. In this capacity he had to develop a seminar curriculum, schedule clinical assignments, arrange for supervision (by himself and others), and coordinate with their doctoral departments at several universities. The supplementary services of these interns do greatly benefit the medical center and its patients. This program had to gain official approval by the American Psychological Association; it thus affords much prestige for our medical center in addition to providing required training for future licensed psychologists.
I am deeply impressed by Dr. Kaye and recommend him unhesitatingly. I am confident that, if selected for your vacancy, he would provide the same high level of service and commitment. If you have any questions or wish to speak further about Dr. Kaye, please feel free to call me at 443-887-2345.
Sincerely,
Donald Stern, Ph.D.