UG thesis adviser recommends getting a recommendation from a MA program -- subtle decline?

[adornoscapitalistcast]

I've been accepted to a masters. Not one in Soci.

Working to apply for PhD programs in fall of '13.

Emailed UG thesis adviser, thanked him for LoR for MA

He responds that "Recommendations have a half-life of about one year. Mine won't mean that much this fall."

I'm approach a year and change out of my UG years. Current letters depleted?

 

Is this a polite way of saying no? He advised my thesis. No LoR from him -- a red flag for sociology programs?

Edited February 21, 2013 by adornoscapitalistcast

[RiseofthePhoenix]

I think he's basically saying that an LOR from somebody in your MA program would carry more weight than his because it would provide a better assessment of your capabilities as a graduate student.

A good LOR is one in which the letter writer explains how s/he has trained you in various aspects of the discipline and how that training has made you a better writer, critical thinker, etc.

Phd programs are a lot more interested in your development as a graduate student in an MA program than in your undergrad career, even if that's in a different field.

IMO, being a graduate student and getting an LOR from an ug advisor might be a bigger red flag.

Edited February 21, 2013 by RiseofthePhoenix

[heathenist]

No, I don't think it's a red flag if that person doesn't write you a LOR, I think it's kind of expected that you would get letters from professors in your current program.  However, there are some exceptions.  For instance, the department I'm finishing my MA at right now is very small and therefore a lot of the same professors end up teaching all the grad classes.  One of those professors who I had taken 2 classes with left with what seemed like very little regard for some of the people they left behind (I asked for feedback on a paper I wrote for their last grad seminar they taught here and they kept telling me they would get back to me with comments on whether or not it could potentially be submitted to present at a conference, and that never happened despite my constant badgering), so asking for a letter from them didn't seem smart.  Additionally, I took multiple classes in the CCJ department, which is fairly close with the Soc department, but one of the professors was very forgetful(even though I was one of 4 students out of like 18 that got an A), so I didn't ask, and the other left for another university.  That left me with having only completed courses at this university with 2 professors.  Both of those professors wrote me LORs, but I had to ask an UG professor for the 3rd.  It actually worked out pretty well because that professor does work in the same field as me and I actually cite them a few times in my master's paper and writing sample that I used, additionally, I did a research internship for them my senior year and I had still been in contact with them since leaving UG.  In fact, they were the first professor to suggest the method I ended up using in my master's paper.

 

What I'm getting at is that in some situations having UG professors write letters isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it also isn't really what's expected.

[sociologyinthepast]

I think he's basically saying that an LOR from somebody in your MA program would carry more weight than his because it would provide a better assessment of your capabilities as a graduate student.

A good LOR is one in which the letter writer explains how s/he has trained you in various aspects of the discipline and how that training has made you a better writer, critical thinker, etc.

Phd programs are a lot more interested in your development as a graduate student in an MA program than in your undergrad career, even if that's in a different field.

IMO, being a graduate student and getting an LOR from an ug advisor might be a bigger red flag.

 

Worth noting - I think if your UG program involved research or especially substantive coursework in your desired graduate area, or if you had an especially strong relationship with a letter-writer, a letter from your UG program isn't necessarily a liability. Case in point, although obviously this is an n of 1: I had one letter from my graduate advisor and two from undergraduate professors. In my case, I was a research assistant for and eventual co-author with those profs, so it made perfect sense in my case. And I had stronger relationships with those faculty than with some of my grad faculty.

 

I don't think the absence of a letter will mean nearly as much as the presence of other letters. If you have letters from faculty you've worked with recently in your grad program that can attest to your preparedness for the PhD course, then I don't think any ad comm will see red flags. 

[Darth.Vegan]

You should have letters from your MA program but you can supplement the third letter from your UG program. 

[Spatula]

I was in the same exact situation as you this past application cycle and didn't listen to my UG adviser when he suggested I get someone else from my M.A. My advice, get 2 or more letters if you can from your M.A. program and have your UG as a fourth OR ask him if he has the confidence to write you a STRONG letter of rec. Found out from inside sources that I was rejected from my first choice because one of my letters was not walk-on-water-glowing-in-the-dark strong. Luckily, I got into a top program.

 

Anyways, good luck and do your best!!