Email asking a professor for a recommendation letter
Who wrote it
Maya Khoury graduated in computer science in Beirut and works as a data analyst. She asks the professor who supervised her senior project for a letter for a master’s in Milan.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- The professor, and how they know you
- Dr Nadim Rizk: taught my Data Mining course (spring 2023) and supervised my senior project (2023 to 2024)
- What you are applying for
- MSc Data Science and Economics, University of Milan
- Deadline and how to submit
- 10 February 2027, through the university’s online system: it emails the referee a link
- What they could mention
- Highest mark in Data Mining, class of 45; senior project: predicting generator fuel demand for 3 Beirut neighbourhoods from weather data, presented at the department open day
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Recommendation request to a professor: Email to a professor
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
Subject: Recommendation letter for the MSc in Data Science and Economics, University of Milan (deadline 10 February)1
Subject line
Note 1: The deadline is in the subject line, so the email can be found again when it matters.
Dear Dr Rizk,
Greeting
I am applying for the MSc in Data Science and Economics at the University of Milan, and I would be grateful if you would write a recommendation letter for me2. You taught me in Data Mining in spring 20233 and supervised my senior project the following year.
The request and a reminder
Note 2: The request comes in the first sentence, in a polite form that is still direct.
Note 3: A course and a year let the professor place her at once, even years later.
The deadline is 10 February 2027. Once I enter your name and email in the application system, it will send you a link to upload the letter directly, so nothing needs to come through me4.
Deadline and how to submit
Note 4: It explains the process and keeps the letter confidential, which referees and universities both expect.
If it helps, you could mention that I finished Data Mining with the highest mark in a class of 45, and my senior project, in which I predicted the generator fuel demand of three Beirut neighbourhoods from weather data and presented the results at the department’s open day. I would be happy to send my CV, my statement of purpose and a one-page summary of the project.
What he could mention
I know this is a busy time of year. If you are not able to write it, I will completely understand.5
An easy way to say no
Note 5: A professor who can say no easily gives a real yes. A lukewarm letter does more harm than none.
Thank you very much,
Maya Khoury
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
Dear Doctor, I want from you a recommendation letter.
Dear Dr Rizk, I would be grateful if you would write a recommendation letter for me.
Please send it as soon as possible.
The deadline is 10 February 2027.
You know me very well, so you can write anything.
If it helps, you could mention my senior project, in which I predicted the generator fuel demand of three Beirut neighbourhoods.
Questions people ask
How early should I ask for a recommendation letter?
At least three to four weeks before the deadline, and earlier in December and January, when professors write many letters. Asking early is itself a courtesy.
Should I offer to draft the letter myself?
Only if the professor asks. Offer material instead: your CV, your statement and a few points they could mention. If they do ask for a draft, the recommendation letter example in this library shows what a strong one looks like.
What if the professor does not reply?
Send one short reminder after about a week, in the same thread. If there is still no answer two weeks before the deadline, ask your second choice and let the first professor know politely.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.