Guidelines for Requesting a Letter of Recommendation - Tips and Requirements

Sep 15, 2026

Guidelines explain how to request and manage three confidential Letters of Recommendation for graduate applications at U.S. institutions. Recommendation letters help admissions understand a candidate’s personal and academic qualities, strengths, qualifications, and performance. The guidance specifies what requesters must provide to writers (resume, achievements, academic goals, and statement materials), who should write (knowledgeable, non-relative contacts), and how to prepare (advance notice, request only positive letters). It also covers confidentiality and requires all recommendations be written in English, including official translations if needed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages1

AccessFree to download

What is a Recommendation Letter?

Tips for Requesting Recommendation Letters

Information to Provide to Writers

Who Should Write the Letters

Timing and Request Standards

Confidentiality and English Requirements

Online Registration and Fulbright Office Submission

Guidelines for Requesting a Letter of Recommendation What is a Recommendation Letter? As part of the application process to graduate programs at U.S. institutions, all candidates are required to submit three Letters of Recommendation (LOR) . Recommendation letters provide further insight into a candidate’s qualifications for graduate study and should include an overall assessment of the candidate’s personal and academic characteristics, strengths, qualifications, and performance. Tips for Requesting Recommendation Letters: • A request for a letter of recommendation should provide insight into what you are applying to and why you are applying to it. For a writer to create a recommendation letter that shows you are a competitive applicant, you will need to provide the following information prior to having them write the letter: o A current resume o Any notable achievements or accomplishments both educationally and professionally o Academic interest and goals o Copy of your personal and study objective/research statements • A recommendation letter should be written by someone who knows you well and can speak at length about your educational and professional character, work ethic, and performance. o Focus on work contacts and/or academic contacts depending on what is weighed more significantly by the admissions committee. This will vary by your field of study. Work and academic contacts should be ones that are/were responsible for overseeing work i.e., job supervisors, professors, or research advisors. o Recommenders should not be work colleagues, classmates, or a friend. o Recommenders should not be related to the candidate. Recommendations cannot be from a parent, sibling, or other relative. o Recommenders should be chosen so that they say different things about you. • Time is important. It takes time for your recommender to write a good letter. Please provide several weeks’ advance notice. A rushed letter does not always provide a comprehensive overview of a candidate’s qualifications. • Only ask those who can write a positive recommendation letter. A negative recommendation letter could hurt your application. • Recommendation letters are confidential. A candidate cannot upload recommendation letters on behalf of a recommender. • All recommendations must be written in English. If the original recommendation letter is written in a language other than English, there must be an official English translation. Because the recommendation letter is confidential, the translation cannot be done by the applicant. • IIE strongly recommends that candidates register their recommenders as part of the online application process. However, if a recommender cannot complete the online form and upload a letter, they can submit the letter directly to the candidate’s home-country Fulbright office.

FAQs

What is the purpose of a recommendation letter in a graduate application?

Recommendation letters provide additional insight into a candidate’s qualifications for graduate study, including personal and academic characteristics, strengths, and performance.

What information should a candidate provide to a letter writer?

Candidates should provide a current resume, notable educational and professional achievements, academic interests and goals, and copies of personal and study objective/research statements.

Who is eligible to write a recommendation letter?

Writers should know the candidate well and be able to discuss character and performance in detail, such as supervisors, professors, or research advisors. Recommenders should not be colleagues, classmates, friends, or relatives.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Ava Thompson