Undergrad Honors Thesis Supervisor Doesn't Have a Doctorate – LOR For Post/bacc and PhD Apps?

[tagidili]

I really don't know what to do, I feel like whatever I do is a 'kiss of death' for applications. On one hand, I have been told by several people that you shouldn't ask for recommendations from those who have not completed (if not succeeded at) the work that they need to recommend you for. On the other hand, I have been told by many that not getting a LOR from a thesis supervisor at my stage is a HUGE red flag.

The situation gets even more complicated when I factor in the (nonexistent) reputation of my school. I attended a very small (less than 1000 students) unranked teaching college that mainly emphasizes religious studies. I was drawn to the college because of the strength of that program, and ultimately did my other (non-psychology) major in the religious studies department. However, no one outside of academics in religious studies have heard of my college, and its other departments, while acceptable, could definitely benefit from a raise in standards for the majors and more research opportunities. As my thesis supervisor is not only faculty, but also head of the psychology department, I am worried that a LOR from him will reflect badly on my school and highlight the lack of 'name recognition' that I am trying to downplay.

This is frustrating because I do really respect and admire my supervisor and think that his lack of a title doesn't make him unqualified for his position. He left his PhD program when he was diagnosed with cancer (not because of any kind of academic failure), he has two master's at prestigious universities (the second was where he was doing his PhD), and he is one of the best teachers I have ever had, which is the real priority of any decent teaching college.

In addition to supervising my thesis work in psychology where I wrote my own protocol and completed a self-driven study using the data from a local non-profit, he was advisor to the campus's psychology club that I was president of, and gave me As in all the courses I took with him. This will also be my only reference from my college, so I want to make sure it leaves a good impression about me and my institution. My other two references are pretty well-known in their fields (I worked in labs outside of my college as well) if that makes a difference. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

[vince2020]

Meh I had someone from the city jail (in China) I volunteered for write me a LOR and he only has a B.A. degree (not even in criminal justice or criminology - he went to school for computer engineering) and I still got accepted into some nice programs.