letters of recommendation and reference requests

Any ILS current student or alum who would like to request a letter of recommendation or verbal reference from our staff must use the Letter of Recommendation and Reference Portal (below). Students are limited to a maximum of 6 letters of recommendation per academic year, one letter of reference for any given application, and unlimited verbal references. Graduate and professional schools, internships, research opportunities, scholarships, and employment often have letters of recommendation as a required component, so please plan accordingly.

Students must give a minimum of two weeks’ notice prior to the deadline for their requests, and earlier requests are always preferred. Requests made with less than two weeks of notice are likely to be denied due to a high volume of requests, as our tiny staff writes hundreds of letters per year on behalf of our talented students. Help us best assist you by giving us plenty of time to write a compelling letter.

Make sure that ILS staff are not your only source of letters of recommendation or verbal references in your academic career. You are better served by choosing a more diverse recommendation pool beyond the ILS staff, so make sure you get to know your other faculty, instructors, and supervisors who can write persuasive letters on your behalf. 

FIRST-YEAR & SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS

Unless there are additional circumstances, such as you are currently or have previously worked with an ILS staff member as a UTA, Office Assistant, or additional capacity, first and second-year student letters are written by Dr. Sabrina Kramer.

THIRD-YEAR AND FOURTH-YEAR STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

All third- and fourth-year student and letters will be written by Dr. Sabrina Kramer. As these letters are often more time intensive and detailed, it is imperative that you submit your materials as early as possible. Please submit your requests early!

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION and REFERENCE portal:

In order to request a letter from ILS staff, click this link to be directed to an online request form. You will need: an updated copy of your CV, your UID, the deadline, contact information, and description of the opportunity you are requesting a letter for, and submission requirements.

Please note: if you would like multiple letters, you must submit multiple requests, so make sure to save your answers in a separate document. Additionally, the ILS staff team writes one letter per opportunity you are applying for, though joint letters are available. For example, Dr. Kramer will write you a letter for graduate school, OR Dr. Kramer and Jalah will write a joint letter, but you will not get one letter from Dr. Kramer AND a letter from Jalah for the same opportunity.