Guidelines for Seeking Faculty Letters of Recommendation and Reviews/Endorsements of Professional Materials
The Photography Faculty strongly encourage and support students’ efforts to advance their professional careers. More often than not, the application processes for job searches, internal and external grants and awards, and other potential opportunities call for letters of recommendation from faculty who can speak directly to students’ particular qualifications. Crafting a detailed and compelling letter of recommendation takes considerable time, and the faculty regularly receive requests from many students to supply these letters on their behalf.
In order for faculty to produce recommendation letters in a timely way, students need to keep the following “professional courtesy” rules in mind when planning their internal deadlines towards their goals. These rules/expectations of professional etiquette are standard, and should be adhered to at all times.
Graduate School Recommendation:
Faculty Lead Time: 2 weeks
Documents you need to submit with your request to the faculty member: Link to the college and program you’re applying to, your full, completed essay or statement and portfolio of images (if applicable), CV, contact information for addressing the recommendation letter (if available), due date and steps for submitting the completed letter.
Job and Internship Applications:
Faculty Lead Time: 1 week
Documents you need to submit with your request to the faculty member: Full job/internship listing/position description, your CV and cover letter, contact information for addressing the recommendation letter (if available), due date and steps for submitting the completed letter.
Grant and Award Applications:
Faculty Lead Time: 2 weeks
Documents you need to submit with your request to the faculty member: Full grant/award description listing, your full, completed project proposal or award narrative, CV, contact information for addressing the recommendation letter (if applicable), due date and steps for submitting the completed letter (if applicable).
Review of Professional Materials:
Faculty Lead Time: 1 month
At times, you may need to get faculty feedback on job and other types of professional applications before you finalize them to send your requests for faculty endorsements. This requires additional time, with the amount depending on the scope of the documents to be reviewed/revised. You should plan for an additional month in these cases.