Getting LORs from undergrad professors when I have a MS

[Guest criminologist]

Would it be normal if I got letter of recommendations from Undergrad professors when I am in the process of finishing a masters when applying for PhD programs? The reason why I want to get letters from a few undergrad professors is because my MS program is more applied/professional in nature and is not meant for PhD prep and the coursework is not as relevant, the classes I am taking in the fall are geared towards PhD prep but it would be too late to ask current profs. The professors from undergrad I want to ask did not write my LORs for my masters program since I asked former co workers for that.

[MsDarjeeling]

Well there isn't really a rule that says you can't have LOR's from undergrad if they can still speak to your experience and academic ability.  However, I think it will look strange to adcom's if you've completed a Master's and not one of your LOR's is from one of those professors.  If you performed well in classes, did research, interned, or whatever then there should be at least one that would be willing to write a positive LOR.  If not then it leads to questions of.....why not?  I understand the timing issue with those you're just now studying under, but what about ones you've had prior?

[Guest criminologist]

Well there isn't really a rule that says you can't have LOR's from undergrad if they can still speak to your experience and academic ability.  However, I think it will look strange to adcom's if you've completed a Master's and not one of your LOR's is from one of those professors.  If you performed well in classes, did research, interned, or whatever then there should be at least one that would be willing to write a positive LOR.  If not then it leads to questions of.....why not?  I understand the timing issue with those you're just now studying under, but what about ones you've had prior?

Thanks for the reply. I am planning to get one from a teacher in my masters program I took 2 classes with (research methods and statistical methods). Most of the other classes I have taken were not as relevant in subject matter to the grad degree I want to pursue though

[MsDarjeeling]

Well then that covers *at least one* and it sounds like they can speak to your ability to handle graduate level work.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I'm wondering about the same thing for myself. I don't know if anyone else is in a similar situation. If I get into my top school, then I'll be starting a one-year master's program next Fall. Typically, you apply for PhD programs around December, so you should ask for your LORs around October or so. Well, this program wouldn't start until the last week of September, so I would basically just have met these professors by the ideal time that I should be asking them for LORs. Now, if I had the luxury of being in a two-year master's program, I'd have a whole year to establish relationships with these professors. Has anyone been in a similar situation? 

[MsDarjeeling]

I'm wondering about the same thing for myself. I don't know if anyone else is in a similar situation. If I get into my top school, then I'll be starting a one-year master's program next Fall. Typically, you apply for PhD programs around December, so you should ask for your LORs around October or so. Well, this program wouldn't start until the last week of September, so I would basically just have met these professors by the ideal time that I should be asking them for LORs. Now, if I had the luxury of being in a two-year master's program, I'd have a whole year to establish relationships with these professors. Has anyone been in a similar situation? 

 

 

I ran into this same problem when I got into my Master's program.  It can be done in a year, but I knew that wouldn't be enough time to establish relationships with professors, gain research experience, or ask for LOR's.  In my opinion a one year Master's program is great if you're staying at the same school you completed your undergrad.  You already have ties to the faculty and getting LOR's isn't a problem.  For those of us who chose to go elsewhere and make new contacts one year isn't sufficient time to do any of that. 

 

Knowing that I needed to use my time wisely and boost my PhD applications as much as possible I chose to incorporate additional course work (which is related to what I'll get my PhD in) and extend my program to 2 years.  This worked because it wasn't until my second semester that I had an idea of which professors I liked and were conducting research that interested me.  It also wasn't until then that any of them were willing to consider adding a new research assistant (me!) to the group they already had established relationships with.  Plus I learned by happenstance that the majority of them won't write LOR's for students that only had classes with them.  So basically you need to do research with them, do an internship with them, or have them supervise some other independent study before they're even willing to consider writing you an LOR.

 

Other students in my program who stuck with the one year option ended up taking a year off after to maintain relationships with professors, conduct research, or do internships and then get LOR's.  I think doing it this way is a little riskier because current students are prioritized over alums in many cases.  I doubt PhD programs see this as a bad option though as long as you gained what you needed. 

 

OP, I don't know if either of these options will work for you.  The only other thing I would suggest is reaching out to professors at the end of spring so the summer before you can get started doing research, interning, or being a ta for summer classes.  You need to get your face in front of them as soon as possible and as often as possible if in October you're going to ask for LOR's and your program just started.  Keep in mind they could still say no, so you'll need to have a back up plan of who will write them.  Also be prepared to go into PhD interviews and be asked why none of your Master's level professors wrote an LOR for you.

[IRToni]

I'm in a 2-year program, and will have one recommender from undergrad and 2/3 from grad school. When I asked my profs, they thought it's good to show a consistent trend, so having one recommender from undergrad could be a good idea. In addition, my undergrad thesis still is the single most important piece of research I've undertaken, so it made sense.

 

However, I was told that it would raise red flags about my performance in the M.A. if I had more undergrad than grad recommendation letters. I don't know how it is if you're in a 1-year program, they might be more understanding then!

[juilletmercredi]

I think I would ask for one LoR from undergrad professors, but the other 2 should come from master's level professors.  It will raise a red flag - people will wonder why you can't get most of your recommendations from your master's, and wonder if there's only one person who could recommend you.  I would also only ask an undergraduate professor if you were close and you did supervised research under them, or took at least two courses; I wouldn't ask an undergrad professor who I only took one class with to write me a recommendation if I had done a 2-year master's.

 

If you're in a 1-year master's, of course adcoms will expect your LORs to come from your undergraduate professors.

[Guest criminologist]

I think I would ask for one LoR from undergrad professors, but the other 2 should come from master's level professors.  It will raise a red flag - people will wonder why you can't get most of your recommendations from your master's, and wonder if there's only one person who could recommend you.  I would also only ask an undergraduate professor if you were close and you did supervised research under them, or took at least two courses; I wouldn't ask an undergrad professor who I only took one class with to write me a recommendation if I had done a 2-year master's.

 

If you're in a 1-year master's, of course adcoms will expect your LORs to come from your undergraduate professors.

 

I had 2 professors whose classes I took in undergrad I am thinking of getting letters from. I only took one class with them but did very well and sure they remember me. I did not do any research with them because I was not considering grad school then.

 

Also, my master's is professional-oriented degree and the classes are online so I would rather not have most of them from professors who I only took a online courses with, but admissions probably would not know because it is a well recognized brick and mortar school. I would be completing it in 1.5 years.

 

I also have a 4.0 right now in my MS program so do you think having 2 undegrad letters and 1 grad letter still be a problem?

Edited September 4, 2013 by gz390