ask whoever you want to be your referer and then tell them your situation and maybe why you chose them.

- just - a thought. i included 1 recommendation from a fellow peer i had studio with. he knew my work more than any other person or professor. i think having at least 1 fellow student write a recommendation demonstrates your abilities to get along with other students in a studio. most people think to just get rec's from professors.

my 1 cent. . .

¿? doZer, what the F????

huh?. . .did i say something offending. if i did i apologize , or was it something of obvious nature? i don't know - let me know.

I wouldn't recommend having a classmate write your recommendations. I've seen this a couple times and it never went over well with the admissions people. (There's the assumption that the applicant did this because he didn't have enough professors, employers, etc. to write for him.) If for some reason you feel you must include a fellow student's recommendation I'd strongly suggest that you include it as an "extra" above and beyond the number of letters actually required by the school.

As for how to request a letter: if at all possible ask in person (unless there's a distance issue, in which case a phone call is better than an email request.) Approach the person, explain what you're applying to, tell them that you greatly respect their opinion and know that they're someone who knows you and/or your work well and that you'd be honored if they'd consider writing a recommendation for you. Some professors may suggest that you write a draft of the letter for them. If asked you should say you'd be happy to. Make sure that you send at least a thank you note to anyone who writes your letters, and be sure to keep them updated as to where you are and aren't accepted.

ah, yes - i had 4 rec's. one of them was my colleagues' from school.

I really what you said ormolu, i dont think i'll ask a classmate for a rec.

my dog wrote me a recommendation for me to grad school too. is that frowned upon by acadamia? i was thinking of having my parents write one too. my girlfriend wanted to write one, but i thought'd she only say bad things about my performance, so i told her no. if it's anything that got me into grad school - i give all the credit to my best friend, doZer.

If you are having problems asking for recommendations maybe you don't have the best relationship with the people who could offer them. Just a thought

I provided each of those I asked to write a recommendation with an envelope that included my resume, some background info, and my career goals. I also included a preaddressed and stamped envelope to send the completed recommendation letter in.

Be aware that profs. my be writing numerous letters of rec. Anything you can do to make it easier on them is a +. Providing some type of personal info can help the prof. make the letter more personalized.

oh im not having problems, i've just started my 4th year out of 5, and was wondering about the future and how to ask for recs.

I always found it useful that when I had portfolio reviews and I got commendation, when they asked if I had any questions I would ask if the work and my performance was sufficient to recommend...usually worked. Because they were always willing

Hey guys,
I have a friend who's father is a professor at a major public university. One day I asked his father advice on getting recommendation from professors and he told me that it is the professors job to write a letter for each student that ask him. So, don't let anything stop you from going to grad school

that's stupid, who would write a rec if they thought someones work sucked?

Most professors won't turn you down. Only a few might say that they do not feel comfortable writing a rec for you. I would chose the professors that you connected the best with and produced projects that got positive feedback from them/jury and that you are proud of.

This is a no fail route to finding a good rec. If you just pick some flashy name you might get a blah rec or a vague rec. Rather than picking someone who knows you and your work and can give a specific unique rec.

That is what I am hoping

blue: it may be your friend's father's opinion that it is within a professor's job description to write recommendations for anyone who asks, but this is not the case. There have been instances of university faculty (and teaching assistants) who have gone on "strike" from writing ANY recommendations, in order to pressure college administrators, and in these cases there has been no direct action that the universities could take against the faculty because recommendations are not a requirement of anyone's contract.
That having been said, it's generally understood when you teach that you'll be asked to write recommendations and that you will write them for those students whom you know well AND can truthfully recommend to their chosen programs.

The faculty handbook where I'm currently teaching advises "careful consideration" before writing any such letters, and advises doing so only if able to devote an appropriate amount of time and attention to the task, and only if able to write knowledgeably and comprehensively about the student's abilities and potential (seems like pretty obvious advice - but certainly doesn't indicate that writing recs is mandatory - quite the opposite really.)

My experience when applying to grad programs was that there were some faculty who were hesitant to write more than one or two recommendations per year for students applying to the same highly competetive programs, because they feel this "waters down" the credibility of all those recs (after all, a lot of letters claim that the student is "one of the best I've had the pleasure to teach" - or similar claims.) This is one reason to be the first to approach them.

you should not be in anyway intimidated about asking your professors or employers for recommendations, provided that you had a good relationship with them. they expect it. for people i've known really well, it has never been a big deal to just shoot them an email, but for someone you have a more 'formal' relationship with you will want to visit that person face to face. i had friends in undergrad who got recommendations from people they didn't even know, maybe because they thought that person's name would help them get into a particular institution, which is okay as well. if this is the case, however, you might want to meet on several occasions, show them your work, and talk a little bit so they can get a feel for what you are interested it. unless you are a complete asshole, no one will refuse a recommendation for you, but the fact that they write you one doesn't mean by default it will be very comprehensive (and a 'bad' recommendation is typically just really vague) so choose carefully. usually 3 or 4 is fine. if you want to get into a particular school, you might want to track down an alumi to that school, in addition to an employer or maybe a good professor that really likes you.