tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post966110507856655893..comments2024-03-25T11:49:21.281-07:00Comments on The Splintered Mind: Applying to Philosophy Ph.D. Programs, Part III: Letters of RecommendationEric Schwitzgebelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11541402189204286449noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-82330373639405580282021-10-05T15:34:07.171-07:002021-10-05T15:34:07.171-07:00It's almost certainly better to have a strong ...It's almost certainly better to have a strong letter by an established analytic philosopher than a letter by a PhD candidate in German. As a fourth letter, though, it could be helpful, especially if she strongly praises your language skills.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-57719087819406290122021-10-05T15:28:37.500-07:002021-10-05T15:28:37.500-07:00Professor Schwitzgebel,
Thanks for your help so f...Professor Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />Thanks for your help so far. I also have a question that I haven't been able to find an answer for. I am applying for PhD programs to focus on Hegel and German aesthetics. I have 3 philosophy professors who would give great recommendation letters for me. But one of these professors, despite being fairly well-known, focuses on analytic philosophy, which isn't related to what I want to focus on. Moreover, I took classes with her 1.5 years ago and my philosophical interests and writing capabilities has considerably changed since then (though she herself told me she would write a "very strong" letter).<br /><br />But I also have someone in the German studies department that I have taken multiple classes with and with whom I am currently doing an independent study on German aesthetics. This person can talk about my interests in aesthetics as well as my German skills very well. I've been doing extremely well in all of her classes. But (1) she is still a PhD candidate, and (2) she is in the German department. <br /><br />I realize that having 3 strong recommendation letters from 3 philosophy professors is good, but should I still ask this person in the German studies department as a 4th recommendation? Or would a recommendation by her be better than a recommendation by the more well-established analytic philosopher?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-7450023988543368652020-08-17T15:53:27.023-07:002020-08-17T15:53:27.023-07:00No harm in asking! As a professor, I'd be hes...No harm in asking! As a professor, I'd be hesitant to agree until I'd seen and evaluated the final work. Since letter deadlines are usually after final grade deadlines, a professor might tentatively agree, pending evaluation of your final exam and/or papers.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-54949947074338974632020-08-14T23:53:17.255-07:002020-08-14T23:53:17.255-07:00Professor Schwitzgebel,
Would you say that it is ...Professor Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />Would you say that it is appropriate to ask for letters from professor(s) that has not given you a grade yet? I.e. would it be appropriate to ask the professors that I’d be taking a course or two with during senior fall semester, when I’d be applying to graduate schools? I am taking a graduate course with a professor and if I feel like I am performing well on the course, I’d like to ask him for a letter, but I am not sure if I can ask for a letter if I don’t know if I got an A or not in the course.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-86409871570232715272020-07-06T08:29:00.804-07:002020-07-06T08:29:00.804-07:00Yes, it would be fine to have a letter of this sor...Yes, it would be fine to have a letter of this sort. Depending on how the professor self-describes in the letter, it might or might not be viewed as being a letter from a "philosopher".Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-64057351286163830232020-07-05T14:34:25.562-07:002020-07-05T14:34:25.562-07:00Hello Dr. Schwitzgebel,
I've enjoyed reading ...Hello Dr. Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />I've enjoyed reading your posts on grad school applications. Thank you so much for writing these.<br /><br />I am curious to hear about your opinion on this: would it be appropriate to receive a letter from a professor who is not in the philosophy department, but nonetheless has a PhD in Philosophy? To elaborate: this professor actually has two PhDs, one in Philosophy and one in German, but is a professor of the German Language and Literature department (although this professor is jointly-appointed in the philosophy department, the primary affiliation is the German Language and Literature department). Do you think it would be appropriate to receive a letter from this professor? I don't know if this professor would count as a 'philosophy professor' as you say in the post and in other comments.<br /><br />Your opinion on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.Phillipnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-52697312151540183602020-07-02T12:29:54.539-07:002020-07-02T12:29:54.539-07:00(From Anon Jun 30:)
Thank you for the reply, Dr. ...(From Anon Jun 30:)<br /><br />Thank you for the reply, Dr. Schwitzgebel. I've read your post on how to be an awesome first-year grad student, and I'll keep that in mind as I approach my senior year (and also as I go to graduate school). I do have an additional question though: since I am an auditor, if the professor refuses to read my paper or interact with me outside of class, then I have nothing I can do about it, correct? I doubt that the professor will actively refuse to engage with me, given that he offered me the opportunity, but I guess I am wondering if it is somewhat of a bet to anticipate that the professor would be happy to write me a letter given that I am not officially a student of his. <br /><br />Again, thank you for your reply. It was greatly helpful. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-42547078331956046902020-07-01T07:30:17.364-07:002020-07-01T07:30:17.364-07:00Anon Jun 30: Yes, entirely appropriate, and it cou...Anon Jun 30: Yes, entirely appropriate, and it could be an extremely valuable aspect of your application! The professor of course might decline for any of a variety of reasons.<br /><br />To anyone is such a situation who does hope for a letter: I would urge you to take the class with the utmost seriousness rather than treating it as a causal audit, including writing a full-length final paper, and if possible to show energy in going beyond the requirements of the course. See my post on how to be an awesome first-year graduate student (or advanced undergrad):<br />http://schwitzsplinters.blogspot.com/2020/01/how-to-be-awesome-first-year-graduate.html<br />Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-33063051054049463132020-06-30T23:13:25.169-07:002020-06-30T23:13:25.169-07:00Dr. Schwitzgebel,
Thank you for an amazing series...Dr. Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />Thank you for an amazing series of posts on grad school applications. I am planning on applying next semester, and your posts are of great help to me.<br />I have one question about requesting a letter to a professor whom I've audited a class. <br /><br />I will try my best to keep it in a way that people won't be able to recognize anything from my comment, but here is my situation: I've known this one professor from a previous context (a short summer school), and I've sent him an email about something. He replied, and he also offered me to audit his class next semester; since his college is mostly going to be online (and so is mine), I wouldn't physically need to be on the campus to audit his class. I could just 'Zoom' in if he sends me the Zoom link. I am strongly considering his offer because I am an undergrad at an unranked department and the professor is in one of the top 10 Leiter ranked department; it would be an amazing opportunity for me just to audit his class next semester.<br /><br />So, here's my question: Of course, I don't even know whether the professor would be happy to write me a letter or not because I have not interacted with him yet in a classroom setting, but in case that my interactions with him goes well and I do 'well' on the course, I am entertaining the possibility of asking him to write me a letter for graduate schools. Do you think this is appropriate, to ask for a letter to someone who is not a professor at my institution and at the same time just auditing a class instead of officially taking the class for credit?<br /><br />This is such a unique situation, made possible by COVID-19, so I am not sure if this would be appropriate; I never even thought about the possibility of asking for a letter from a professor at another institution. It would be appreciated if you could tell me your opinion on this.<br /><br />Thank you, Dr. Schwitzgebel, and I hope you are safe during these trying times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-89859672627584309152020-06-29T14:26:30.374-07:002020-06-29T14:26:30.374-07:00A tricky situation! I don't think it's *n...A tricky situation! I don't think it's *necessary* to have letters from your current institution, if you're looking to transfer, but it does look better if you can have at least one person from the new institution writing in support -- not necessarily your supervisor. Admissions committees understand that sometimes a new place isn't a good fit and/or that there can be conflict between student and supervisor that reflects more on the supervisor than the student, and if the latter is the case, then they wouldn't expect a letter from the supervisor.<br /><br />The longer you've been at the new place, the more desirable it is to have a letter from someone there who can address your situation. If you have stayed in contact with some people from your previous institution who can address your growth and process since leaving, that can also help.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-79627077052709606542020-06-28T13:46:41.330-07:002020-06-28T13:46:41.330-07:00Dear Prof. Schwitzgebel,
thanks for all the fanta...Dear Prof. Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />thanks for all the fantastic advice on this blog. I hope you're still answering questions.<br /><br />There's a question I had about letters of recommendation for transferring students. Do you think it looks weird if a transferring student does not have a single letter writer from their current institution? I'm asking because not all European-based PhD supervisors are equally happy about PhD students leaving (sometimes for purely financial reasons, and some are still of the opinion it is simply 'not done' to transfer or 'steal away' PhD students). So they're not always willing or disposed to write a (strong) letter. I'm also asking because European letter writers often don't write in quite as enthusiastic terms as American letter writers (I've heard this from several people and witnessed it myself as well). Combined, I worry that asking my supervisor might lead to a weak letter, yet I also worry that not having my supervisor write a letter might raise questions.<br /><br />Many thanks in advance for your answer!<br /><br />p.s. one further thought is that, in my particular case, the alternative letter writer probably has a greater reputation than my supervisor - do you think this could mitigate the potential for raising questions about why my supervisor is missing as a letter writer?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-16692164255526529302020-04-10T20:25:57.530-07:002020-04-10T20:25:57.530-07:00(I am Anon Apr 10 11:48:00 AM)
Dr. Schwitzgebel, ...(I am Anon Apr 10 11:48:00 AM)<br /><br />Dr. Schwitzgebel, thank you so much for the advice! I will definitely consider that option if I end up with no third philosopher to write me a letter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-9417409428419102862020-04-10T17:02:26.795-07:002020-04-10T17:02:26.795-07:00My sense is that as long as you have two excellent...My sense is that as long as you have two excellent letters from philosophers, it's better to have the third letter be an excellent one from a non-philosopher than a tepid one from a philosopher.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-32070377722837902022020-04-10T11:48:28.551-07:002020-04-10T11:48:28.551-07:00Dear Dr. Schwitzgebel,
Thank you for the detailed...Dear Dr. Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />Thank you for the detailed outline. <br /><br />I have a question pertinent to my own situation: Although I have 2 philosophers who agreed to write me (strong) letters of recommendation for graduate schools (in philosophy), I have yet to find a third philosopher to do so, and I am afraid that I won't be able to find anyone (who can write me a great letter) before I start applying to graduate schools next year. However, I have taken a course with a political theorist in the political science department and I did very well on her course, and I am entertaining the possibility of asking her for the letter. But the caveat is that my AOI is not political philosophy (it's in the philosophy of language and/or philosophy of science), I just took her course on Foucault (just out of pure interest) and ended up doing very well. I think she can write me a strong letter, but I was just not sure if I should ask a third philosopher who may or may not write a great letter or if I should ask a political theorist who I am sure will write me a great letter. <br /><br />If you could give me some advice on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-23343245270028319872020-04-10T11:46:14.237-07:002020-04-10T11:46:14.237-07:00Dear Dr. Schwitzgebel,
Thank you for the detailed...Dear Dr. Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />Thank you for the detailed outline. <br /><br />I have a question pertinent to my own situation: Although I have 2 philosophers who agreed to write me (strong) letters of recommendation for graduate schools (in philosophy), I have yet to find a third philosopher to do so, and I am afraid that I won't be able to find anyone (who can write me a great letter) before I start applying to graduate schools next year. However, I have taken a course with a political theorist in the political science department and I did very well on her course, and I am entertaining the possibility of asking her for the letter. But the caveat is that my AOI is not political philosophy (it's in the philosophy of language and/or philosophy of science), I just took her course on Foucault (just out of pure interest) and ended up doing very well. I think she can write me a strong letter, but I was just not sure if I should ask a third philosopher who may or may not write a great letter or if I should ask a political theorist who I am sure will write me a great letter. <br /><br />If you could give me some advice on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-65633068220157294352019-10-15T12:47:15.084-07:002019-10-15T12:47:15.084-07:00Thank you very much for your reply and all the eff...Thank you very much for your reply and all the effort you put into this blog, Eric!Leonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-2452083779490229472019-10-09T13:50:53.697-07:002019-10-09T13:50:53.697-07:00My inclination is to recommend X and also to tone ...My inclination is to recommend X and also to tone down your personal statement a bit so it doesn't seem odd that you're not getting a letter from Y. You can of course still mention that as an area of interest, maybe even one of two primary areas -- just probably tactically best that it not be THE primary area.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-65877008470663235922019-10-09T05:22:42.921-07:002019-10-09T05:22:42.921-07:00Dear Eric,
Thank you so much for you invaluable a...Dear Eric, <br />Thank you so much for you invaluable advice given in this series!<br /><br />I know that this already came up briefly, but I would like to make it a bit more explicit. I am currently struggling to decide whether I should ask (say) X or Y to write me my third letter of reference. Both are lectures (same academic position), both supervised me for two tutorials in Oxford. The difference:<br /><br />X gave me an A+ (which led to a College Prize) and an A. Y gave me two A-'s. <br />But I mention in my personal statements two areas of interest that Y specializes on (I also had 4 tutorials on one of these areas with Y). I even say, in my statement, that Y introduced/fascinated me to/for one of these areas. <br /><br />I tend to ask X for a reference. But is it odd if Y does not write me one (and X's areas of specialization are not mentioned at all in my personal statement)? Should I ask Y instead or alter my personal statement a bit?<br /><br />Any thoughts on that would be very much appreciated.<br />Greetings from Europe!<br /><br />Ps. I am applying for the BPhil (i.e. the two-year Master at Oxford) not a PhD, if that changes anything.Leohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06440788667111161976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-16852237625207922682019-10-09T04:54:59.045-07:002019-10-09T04:54:59.045-07:00Dear Eric,
Thank you very much for you invaluable...Dear Eric, <br />Thank you very much for you invaluable advice!<br /><br />I know this already came up briefly, but I would still like to make it a bit more explicit. I am unsure to decide between two potential letter writers (for my third letter). Both are lectures (same "rank"), both supervised me in two tutorials in Oxford. The difference is: X gave me a an A+ (such that I received a College Prize for my work here) and an A. Y gave me two A-'s. <br />But Y tutored me in two areas that I both mention in my personal statement (and none of X's areas of spec. are mentioned). I even write that Y introduced/fascinated me for one of these areas.<br /><br />Is it strange to get a letter from X and no letter from Y? Should I maybe alter my personal statement a bit? Or replace X's later with Y's?<br /><br /><br />Any thoughts on that would be very much appreciated.<br />Greetings!<br /><br />Ps. I am applying for the BPhil (i.e. the 2-year Oxford Master programme) and not a PhD, if that makes any difference.<br /><br />Leohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06440788667111161976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-42064021891947505162019-08-19T16:10:38.765-07:002019-08-19T16:10:38.765-07:00Two philosophers and one non-philosopher is perfec...Two philosophers and one non-philosopher is perfectly fine, esp if the third is relevant to your philosophical work. Better three strong letters than three strong letters and a tepid one.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-31914790511704423312019-08-17T16:03:02.566-07:002019-08-17T16:03:02.566-07:00Thank you for the post. I have three strong letter...Thank you for the post. I have three strong letters from philosophers, but also have one froma classicist, who I did research with, and have taken multiple classes with, all of which Ive done well in. Do you think it would make sense to send 4 letters?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-82439066313514305392018-07-30T00:26:32.979-07:002018-07-30T00:26:32.979-07:00On 1: It is worth considering adding such a letter...On 1: It is worth considering adding such a letter, especially if you can do it as a fourth letter. It can be a challenge explaining a long absence from academia, depending on what the time was spent doing.<br /><br />On 2: I wish! Make it as easy as you can for them, and apologize. They ought to understand that in unusual situations it often makes sense to take more of a shotgun approach because the outcome is even chancier than usual.Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-89534524870019172072018-07-29T11:50:25.125-07:002018-07-29T11:50:25.125-07:00Dr. Schwitzgebel,
Thank you for your extremely in...Dr. Schwitzgebel,<br /><br />Thank you for your extremely informative series of posts on applying to grad school. I have two questions about recommendation letters - thanks in advance if you have time to field them.<br /><br />1. Suppose an applicant has been out of academia for many years (say over 10) - perhaps she has been working in the private sector. Should one of her three letters come from someone who can speak to her work outside of philosophy, even if that letter is not written by a philosopher? Is the strength of such a letter relevant?<br /><br />2. Suppose an applicant would like to apply to an unusually large number of schools (say 20). Is there any way to ease the administrative burden on the letter writer, who presumably must upload the letter to multiple websites?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-3006456368893704752017-07-25T12:20:58.893-07:002017-07-25T12:20:58.893-07:00Hi Mitchell -- no particular need to hit 50. And ...Hi Mitchell -- no particular need to hit 50. And it's fine to have relatively young letter writers. Of course more senior is better but the quality of the letter is more important than who it's from (as long as their a philosopher).Eric Schwitzgebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16274774112862434865noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26951738.post-36037918516164826792017-07-25T06:43:40.221-07:002017-07-25T06:43:40.221-07:00Thanks for all the extremely helpful information D...Thanks for all the extremely helpful information Dr. Schwitzgebel. I'm currently graduating with a bachelor of philosophy this fall and I had a question concerning both letters of recommendation and grades. I happen to be a transfer student to the institution I'll be graduating from (in addition to living an hour away from the university) and so I've only had brief days within weeks to really get to know the faculty over the last two years. The two professors with whom I've developed the strongest relationships with and who have commended me on my work happen to be new hires - only two or three years out of graduating from Princeton University. I certainly want to request a letter from both of them and they've both already informed me that they would be happy to do so. My question however, and I feel sort of grimy even asking this, but is the fact that they are relatively new to the profession a major disadvantage for me? I still intend to seek out some of the older professors at my school and see if they will be willing to review my work and consider writing me a letter and I'll certainly submit letters from the two professors I mentioned but I'm just curious regardless. My second question concerns grades. I have a 4.0 and I was actually fortunate enough to receive the Presidential Scholar Award in Philosophy from my institution earlier this year. However, as I mentioned earlier, I'm a transfer student and so the actually graded credit hours that I've obtained from my graduating institution amounts to only 46 credits. Would it be more competitive for me to consider another semester to reach over the standard 50 mark (which would also allow me to graduate with honors if I maintain my G.P.A) or should I keep things moving towards graduate applications? Admittedly, I would like to just keep pushing forward but if you think it would be in my interest to accumulate more credits at my graduating institution I will definitely consider that route. Thanks for your time! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03672773114465922658noreply@blogger.com