A letter of recommendation from a teacher to a foreign university. An example of a letter of recommendation: key points, nuances, samples

21.10.2019

Upon admission to foreign university the most important lever of influence on the admission board is a letter of recommendation to the student from the teacher. Documents of this kind are taken very seriously. Let's talk more about the basic rules for writing letters of recommendation.

letter of recommendation- a document no less significant than motivation letter, certificate or diploma. It is no secret that in order to enter a foreign university, you must pass a competition. Letters of recommendation often have a decisive role and influence on those who select applicants.

Professors foreign universities what is important is the assessment of the future student, which was given to him by teachers who saw him in action: his intellectual abilities, the desire to master knowledge, peculiarities of thinking, perseverance, etc.

In system higher education Kazakhstan has not formed an understanding of the meaning and impact of such documents. Therefore, teachers are often at a loss when students turn to them with such a request. Therefore, it is usually written by the applicants themselves, and the professors only sign the form.

As a result, a stereotyped and dry characterization is obtained, which will either not be paid attention to, or considered a manifestation of disrespect and frivolity on the part of the student and the teachers who taught him earlier.

The complexity of compiling a petition-characteristics lies in the fact that it has an arbitrary nature of presentation. But, despite this, a letter of recommendation to a student is drawn up according to clear requirements for composition and content.

To avoid miscalculations and inconsistencies, take into account the tips on how to write a letter of recommendation so that it makes the right impression and plays a positive role in the fate of the applicant.

First of all, pay attention to the composition of the letter of recommendation. The characteristic has a clear structure, which includes four basic components:

Introduction or intro. Briefly describe how long and under what circumstances you have known the person you are referring to.
Objective characteristics of scientific and professional achievements of the candidate:

Evaluation of the student's abilities, his intellectual data, approach to the development of knowledge, purposefulness, organization, perseverance, speed of mastering information, skills of independent work.
Description of what this student stood out for during his studies among classmates: his personal achievements in science and profession (awards, diplomas, scientific publications, patents, participation in olympiads and competitions of student works, participation in international scientific programs).
Providing information about the exceptional abilities of the candidate, such as non-standard thinking in solving professional problems, a creative approach to completing tasks, a scientific mindset, a tendency to experiment.

Evaluation of the personal qualities of the recommended:

How motivated he is to acquire new knowledge, develop skills and abilities.
Are you ready to improve your skills or engage in research activities.
Description of the distinctive personal qualities that contribute to the success of the candidate: communication skills, ability to work in a team, etc.

Conclusion (conclusion). The referent briefly justifies why it is necessary to accept the student for the program he/she is requesting. Indicates that additional information will be provided in response to a relevant request from a foreign university.

The document is signed by the teacher. The most important role in how seriously a written reference of this kind is taken abroad is played by the role of the recommender. Address a person with a degree and title who has a name in scientific world. A big plus if the teacher has articles in international publications listed in WEB of SCIENS or SCOPUS.

Avoid neutral tone and formulaic expressions. Try to focus on the positive qualities of the candidate.
When providing a description of a candidate, consider the specifics of the program that he will master.
This should be a subjective characteristic of the student's personal qualities, which he showed in the learning process. Do not provide data on success, as they are displayed in the diploma.
When talking about a student's accomplishments, give examples. This will add credibility to the above.
The letter should not contain more than two pages. Make sure it is not too short or long. In the first case, the student's achievements will look unconvincing, in the second - no one will read the essence.

When preparing a letter, avoid outright flattery and unsubstantiated praise of the student. As objectively as possible evaluate his abilities and capabilities. Remember: this assessment will be guided by professors from other universities, who may make unbearable demands on the candidate.

To create a more complete impression of the features of writing a letter of recommendation, study the sample in Russian:

I, Terentiev Alexander Nikolaevich, have known Ainur Bakhytovich for four years, since 2006, being a teacher at the Institute of Applied System Analysis of KazNTU in such subjects as "Microeconomics", "Applied Statistics", "Programming", "Time Series Analysis", " Modeling the economy in transition” and “Design of computer information systems". During the learning process, Ainur showed great interest in building mathematical models, data analysis, programming in various specialized statistical packages and time series forecasting. During the training, Ainur passed the exams in the above subjects with excellent marks. At the moment, Ainur is my diploma student. Subject it thesis- "Analysis, modeling and forecasting of time series and econometric indicators using the SAS system."

Letter #1

Vorontsova Ksenia Aleksandrovna graduated from Moscow State University in 2014 with a degree in International Journalism. Over the years of study, Ksenia Vorontsova has shown herself to be a responsible and purposeful student who seeks not only to accumulate knowledge, but also to put it into practice.

Ksenia studied excellently and at the same time accepted Active participation in the life of the university. From the third year she headed the student trade union of the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication, organized concerts, did charity work and blogged on the university website.

We also want to note the wide range of interests of Xenia. In addition to the main lectures, the student attended elective courses in Spanish and Polish, and achieved good results in their study.

Sincerely,

Alexander Viktorovich

Letter #2

Belousov Alexey Sergeevich in 2014 graduated from the Voronezh National University and received a bachelor's degree in Urban Environment and Interior Design.

Teachers who lectured and led workshops Alexey, they note his determination and great creative potential. Alexey chose the right profession and, undoubtedly, he will achieve good results in it.

Aleksey was responsible for his studies, received good grades and was singled out among his classmates during practical classes.

Sincerely,

Alexander Viktorovich

To confirm the personal and business qualities of citizens with subsequent employment letters of recommendation are issued. However, students of educational institutions may also need to obtain such a document. To characterize citizens for the period of study, a letter of recommendation is issued to the student.

Letters of a recommendatory nature are issued by officials in whose subordination citizens worked or studied. Only in this case, the characteristics of personal and business qualities will be objective and reliable. For students, such documents are drawn up by the leaders of the educational process - the dean, supervisor, or another curator at the training stage.

The name of the institution where the student was trained;
Personal data of the student to whom the recommendation is given;
Specialization in which he passed studying proccess student
Personal and business qualities that the student showed during the period of study;
Achievements of a scientific or social nature;
Recommendation for future employers or teachers.

This document is in the nature of a business letter, so all characteristics and wording must be clear and specific. The enumeration of the student's achievements should be accompanied by concrete evidence and an indication of the events in which he showed himself.

His position in the educational institution;
Full decoding of personal data (last name, first name, patronymic);
contract information.

To a foreign university in English

If a student is to continue their studies at an educational institution located outside the Russian Federation, they will need to submit a letter of recommendation to English language. Its form and content will not differ from a similar document in Russian, however, the presentation of the text in foreign language may present some problem.

The standard language of business communication is English, so letters of recommendation should be drafted with this fact in mind;
The document can be immediately issued in English if the domestic educational institution has qualified translators;
The document can be drawn up in Russian, and the translation will be certified and legalized by a notary.

Note! If a document is translated into Russian, both versions of letters of recommendation must be identical in content. In case of notarial legalization and translation, this correspondence will be established by a notary.

Of the additional information that may contain a letter of recommendation to a foreign university, one can single out an indication of the level of theoretical and practical knowledge of one or more foreign languages.

Master's degree

Another possible direction where a letter of recommendation can be presented is a master's program, which guarantees the student the opportunity to continue the educational process. Since completing a master's degree is not a requirement for higher education, a letter of recommendation may have an impact on the results of the competition for enrollment.

A student can choose a master's program not only from the university where he studied under the bachelor's program, so the content of the letter should describe in detail his attitude to the educational process, as well as information that allows giving preference to this particular student.

If there is an enrollment in the master's program of the same educational institution, letters of recommendation, as a rule, are drawn up by direct scientific supervisors or curators of study. Only these persons have the opportunity to assess the student's personal attitude to learning and recommend him for further education.

When a student's years of study are coming to an end, and getting a diploma is close, it is worth thinking about finding a decent job. A letter of recommendation from a teacher or other representative of the educational institution where the student studied will help speed up employment. A sample letter of recommendation can be downloaded below.

Employers are often afraid to hire young specialist without work experience, a student who does not apply his knowledge in practice. Only a diploma of education can tell about his qualities. Recommendations from the university will help a potential employer to more clearly present the professional qualities and skills of a candidate for a vacant position.

A letter of recommendation from a teacher can also be useful to a student when transferring to another educational institution. Traditionally, this paper is popular when transferring to foreign institutions.

Recommendations are made by a person who is able to make an objective description of the student, give an analysis of his inclinations, abilities and prescribe recommendations in a specific direction, for example, a teacher, supervisor.

The letter is a kind of characteristic, designed in a free form and reflecting the main qualities of a potential employee or student.

The document is in the form of a business letter. The address format is “student”, “you”, “colleague”. Artistic expressions are not used. Writing a letter on company letterhead will be an additional plus for the recommended one.

The most difficult moment is the correct choice of the recommender. For a student, one should choose not just a teacher who gives a course of lectures and has seen him several times, but a person with whom a long work has been carried out and who is able to provide complete information about the student.

You should usually start with a title. Next, the period of acquaintance of the recommender and the recommended one is indicated.

Full Name;
place and period of study;
received specialty;
moral qualities;
personal achievements (participation in olympiads, contests, competitions);
availability of certificates of honor received during study.

If you are thinking about entering a higher educational institution, then it will not be superfluous to have letter of recommendation for university admission. This is especially true if you want to enter a university abroad, where a letter of recommendation can play a decisive role. The chances of a successful admission can increase many times over if you complete it correctly.

This is true not only for admission to higher educational establishments abroad, but also Russian universities. A letter of recommendation may be from the military unit in which the applicant served. If a letter is drawn up for him in which the recommendations are positive, the future student has every chance of receiving benefits during his studies.

For the university, this document is of great value, since it indicates the personal characteristics of the applicant, they can be used to trace the inclinations and abilities of the future student. The management of the university will be able to understand the positive and negative aspects of a person, and based on these data, make an appropriate conclusion about whether to take him to study or not.

First you need to know how you can get this document. In the event that the applicant is a graduate of a school or college, first of all, you can ask the director for a letter of recommendation, in extreme cases, you can use the request from the teacher to write the letter himself. If a person is already a graduate of a university, it is best to contact the supervisor. For employees, it is best to contact the employer. For military personnel - to the unit where he serves.

The tips below are best used if you want to write a letter of recommendation that is as informative as possible.

If you have the opportunity to choose a person who will draw up a letter of recommendation for you, then it is best to contact a higher-ranking person. Recommendations from such people will be of much greater value.
Be sure to indicate the person who compiled the letter of recommendation, as well as his position in relation to the person for whom the letter is being compiled.
It is necessary to describe the character traits of the applicant. It's best if it's not a simple enum. You can describe specific situations where a person showed himself from one side or another, where it is proved that he has the necessary character traits that are described in the letter. The less formulaic the letter is written, the better. If the description makes the reader pay attention to the applicant, then we can say that the letter was written successfully. You need to be able to write a letter of recommendation, it is not so easy.
It is good if the letter indicates the previous achievements and successes of the person. You can list the successes that the applicant managed to achieve in the previous time, as well as provide evidence.
Description of the professional knowledge possessed by the applicant. You can list the inclination of a person to a particular science, which is given to him most easily.
In order to compose a letter most effectively, you need to focus on the future specialty that the applicant wants to enter.
Write the main recommendations based on the information that was presented above. It is the recommendations that will serve as the main conclusions for the leadership of the university.