Who should I ask for recommendations?  

 The standard suggestion for graduate school is to provide two professional recommendations, but please check if the program you are applying to has more specific requirements. Traditionally recommendations are from one educational source and one from an employer if applicable (two recommendations from professors who know you well are just as acceptable).  

• Academic reference allows you space to discuss your academic credentials and highlight your strengths to returning to academia.  

• Employer references provide greater context within your field of expertise, your resume, and skills you may have developed after being in school that will assist you in your program.  

You want to reach out to mentors and bosses that can speak to your capabilities and potential success in your program of interest. 

What can I ask a recommender to highlight? 

Your recommenders may ask you what you’d like them to focus on in your recommendations. This is a good time to ask your recommenders to effectively highlight:  

• Any intense research you may have done 

• Projects you participated in or led successfully 

• What makes you a unique candidate for your specific program of interest 

When should I ask for a reference? 

As soon as you can! This allows your recommenders to understand the timeline of the application and assess if they are able to write you a letter in a timely manner.  
You are going to want a backup recommender just in case your top choices are unable to write your recommendation in your required timeframe.

Where does the recommender submit the reference?  

Here at Clark University, you can send an email directly to your two recommenders through our website. When filling out your application, you will input your recommender’s first and last name, the organization they currently work at, their position at that organization, their professional relationship to you, their phone number, and most importantly their email address.

Once you’ve filled in this information and pressed save, an email will be sent to the recommender’s email address on file with a link where they can submit their letter of recommendation to you. The link can sometimes go to a recommender spam folder, so please be sure to let your recommender know to check both their inbox and their spam folder.  

As always, if you have any questions regarding the process, please reach out to our office and we’d be happy to assist you. Best of luck with your application!