LOR from a professor who is currently pursuing his PhD

[Nemog]

I am mainly applying for masters degree program and one PhD degree program. I am getting a LOR from a professor- who has been my project guide, tutor and lab instructor and has known  me for 3 years. However, he doesn't have a PhD degree yet and is working on it, but has carried out good work in his field. Will it hurt my chances of getting an admit because of this?

The other two professors that I am taking LORs from has PhD. Let me know what you think?

Edited November 26, 2015 by Nemog

[TakeruK]

Ideally, you want to get a letter from someone who already has a PhD, not someone who is also a graduate student right now. However, since this person does know you well and can hopefully describe your abilities well, they would still be a better choice than some other people. I would recommend that you try really hard to find someone else with a PhD and use this letter as a backup only to ensure you have 3 letters.

[rising_star]

It's not ideal but it also sounds like it will be a strong letter. Given that the other two letters will come from those with a PhD, I think you'll be okay.

[Nemog]

40 minutes ago, TakeruK said:

Ideally, you want to get a letter from someone who already has a PhD, not someone who is also a graduate student right now. However, since this person does know you well and can hopefully describe your abilities well, they would still be a better choice than some other people. I would recommend that you try really hard to find someone else with a PhD and use this letter as a backup only to ensure you have 3 letters.

Does it help that he is an assistant professor( with Ms degree) as well as my class coordinator  at the college too? I really have very less time to arrange for another letter right now. Will my application be rejected based on this?

Edited November 26, 2015 by Nemog

[rising_star]

No, your application won't be rejected based on this. A strong letter from someone who has been teaching for several years is better than a "did well in class" letter from someone with a PhD.

[TakeruK]

3 hours ago, Nemog said:

Does it help that he is an assistant professor( with Ms degree) as well as my class coordinator  at the college too? I really have very less time to arrange for another letter right now. Will my application be rejected based on this?

I agree with rising_star. You won't get rejected based on this. Ideally, you would want someone with this amount of knowledge about you and also has a PhD, but if you can only find a 3rd letter that just has one, then it's better to have someone that knows your abilities well, even if they don't have a PhD. 

In my opinion, it depends what your other options are for this 3rd letter. From your original post, it wasn't clear if you were saying that this is your best choice and you are asking whether this is an appropriate letter or if you are considering many choices and want to know how good/bad this choice would be.

In later posts, it sounds like you are asking the first question, so yes, I think this is a perfectly fine letter. I do think it does help that this person has the title assistant professor, class coordinator and that they have been guiding your projects. I think these things will help give context to their evaluation of you.

If it was the second question, then I would repeat what I said earlier: it's not the ideal letter choice, but it's certainly not a bad choice (e.g. better than a generic "did well in class" letter from a person with a PhD).

[Eigen]

I'm a little curious here- is the school you're currently attending in the US? I ask because it's rare in STEM fields for someone to have an Assistant Professor title without a PhD. 

Being from another country where it's more common would put things in a different context. 

As others have said, if it's your best choice it won't get you rejected straight out, but it will not be as good as someone who knows you well and has a PhD already. 

[Nemog]

No. The school I am attending is not in US. And thank you everyone, for replying.

1 hour ago, Eigen said:

I'm a little curious here- is the school you're currently attending in the US? I ask because it's rare in STEM fields for someone to have an Assistant Professor title without a PhD. 

Being from another country where it's more common would put things in a different context. 

As others have said, if it's your best choice it won't get you rejected straight out, but it will not be as good as someone who knows you well and has a PhD already. 

 

[Eigen]

I wouldn't worry as much about them not having the PhD if you're applying from out of the US, and they're an assistant professor, then. 

[Nemog]

Thank you so much. Your reply really puts me at ease. :)