I am happy to provide a recommendation letter to help you succeed—but only if certain conditions are satisfied. These criteria are here to make sure I can write strong and informative letters for students that I recommend. I take pride in placing my students in good programs (in the past, students who got my letter have gotten offers from top PhD programs such as Northwestern, UT Dallas, and USC), and I don’t make endorsements lightly.

See below for the criteria:

Letters for Research Programs:

I will gladly write a letter for you if

  • You have worked with me on research projects for 6 months or longer, and
  • While working with me, you have demonstrated a strong interest in research and your potential to become a good researcher. This typically means that you are driven and proactive, are able to propose creative solutions rather than simply following the tasks, and have demonstrated certain technical skills.

Letters for Non-Research Programs:

I will gladly write a letter for you if

  • You have interacted with me directly, either via working with me or by taking one of my courses, and
  • You have demonstrated that you are a top-performing student either through your research performance (see the section above) or by fulfilling both criteria in my class:
    1. You have scored an A, and
    2. Your participation score is within the top 25% of the class.