The SROP application requires two letters of recommendation.
We ask for recommendation letters from 2 people who have served in any role (e.g., professors, mentors, collaborators, community leaders, supervisor, employer) who can speak to the following four things:
- Your character and their experiences with you
- Your aptitude and skills for academics and research
- What they know of your goals and aspirations
- Why they want to support your application to the SROP
It is best to contact recommenders as soon as possible to ask if they will write a letter for you. Click here for an email template you can copy and paste when reaching out to your potential letter writers.
Once a person agrees to write you a recommendation, submit their email addresses on the Recommendation Request Form or you can submit that information at the same time you submit your application. Our system will contact them with an email to request a letter of recommendation. We will also send them reminders 1 week before the March 15, 2023 deadline, if they have not already submitted their letters.
[Updated on November 12, 2020 to add “supervisor, employer” as example recommenders in response to a helpful comment by Sophie in the comment thread!]
[Updated again on February 16, 2021 to fix the incorrect date for recommenders to submit their letters. We are sorry for this error, and we will work with any letter recommenders (i.e., the people identified in the student application) who have not submitted their letters yet to make sure that your application is fully considered and their time is respected, as well. We apologize for and will minimize the impact of this error.]
Would you please give some examples for community leaders and mentors (e.g., boss)?
Thank you
Thank you for asking for more examples! Your question helped me realize we forgot to mention supervisors/bosses/managers/employers entirely, but people who have played those roles in someone’s life would certainly be equipped to write a good letter of recommendation. I just updated the FAQ post above to reflect that employers are good people to ask for letters, too. Thank you so much for asking this question!
Would TAs (teaching assistants) also be considered alright for letters of recommendation? Thanks!
Could my Teaching Assistant write one of my recommendation letters? since she has gotten to know me more personally.
Thank you
Rayan
Hi Rayan! Yes your teaching assistant can write your letter of recommendation, especially if they can speak to your goals and aspirations. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any other questions!
Would we be able to ask our Teaching Assistants (TA) for a letter of recommendation (as they can be considered mentors)? And would this carry the same weight as an employer/ professor?
Hi Akanksha! Yes you’re Teaching Assistant can write you a letter of recommendation if they can speak of your goals and aspirations! Also, please be assured that the letter will carry the same weight as that from an employer/professor. Please feel free to reach out to us and ask any other questions!
Hello, I see that it says up above that letters of Recommendation are due March 15, but I saw elsewhere that the letters are due Feb 26. So which is the correct date?
Hi Katherine! The letters of recommendation are due on February 26th, we are very sorry that this wasn’t made clear. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions or would like further clarifications.