Reference Letter/ Recommendation Letter

(Sample 1)

To whom it may concern,

I know Mr...............from a master‘s programme course spanning half a semester (which

equals 10 credit points in the Swedish system, out of 40 for a full academic year), and from a
current master thesis project that I supervise. The course is called ―Contexualising
Environmental Measurements‖ and deals with the context into which environmental
measurements and observations often are placed (environmental risk assessments
methodology is for instance covered in the course). During the course the students both
work intensely in groups and perform a rather extensive individual assignment in the form of
writing a paper. Both tasks are presented orally and as reports. The course also includes an
ordinary written examination.

The master‘s thesis of Mr.........is a comparative study of the application of Environmental

Impact Assessment methodology in developing and developed countries. The study is
focused on a comparative between Sweden and Pakistan, Mr.....‘s home country.

I am very pleased to tell you that when Mr..........took the course he completed his
assignments willingly and accomplished the tasks well in time and with a very good result.
He is quickly to understand things and has an analytical approach to problems. He is also
able to clearly present his result and handle also rather delicate situations in group work. I
can without hesitation rank him among top 20% of students in these classes.

Currently, when conducting his thesis under my supervision, he has shown an industrious
side and proves to be a highly motivated person. He has developed a strong interest in his
work on environmental issues particularly on environmental impact assessment.

On personal level, I find Mr...........as an extremely nice person that is easy to communicate
with, and who has a friendly and very courteous manner. I would be happy to give further
supporting comments if approached directly and give strong recommendation for further
studies or work in this area.

Yours sincerely,

.....................
(Sample 2)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

It is a pleasure to write a recommendation letter for.............. .The following information

would help to introduce him as well as convey my wholehearted recommendation that he be
admitted as a PhD Student.

I was his main supervisor during the Master Thesis ‗Design, Analysis and Implementation of
FPGA-based Multi-standard Software Radio Receiver (Feb 2007 – June 2007)‘. This is very
new idea with having difficulties in setting up the specifications to design the Digital RF
Front End, but Mr......... along with his group team member managed to find a solution for
the Dual-Standard RF digital Front End. He has engineered efficient techniques for multi-
rate signal processing with having strict constraints. He is an excellent problem solver, with
ability to produce results in short time. Mr .......has a deep understanding and a penetrating
insight of the concepts that have come across during his thesis work. He has shown firm
grasp of the theoretical aspects as well as practical implications of the ideas presented to him
during the Exam. He also accepts the criticism from supervisors very well and tries to
improve the scientific knowledge and skills. Mr. ....... has shown a capacity for both being
punctual and persistent. He is a motivated and innovative individual who works with
dedication and likes to meet the deadlines. I have found him to be an intelligent,
hardworking, diligent and very determined student. During the various presentations that I
have seen him, Mr. ....... exhibits a fair amount of self-confidence, and he is well organized.
His command on English language is excellent and he can express his ideas and concepts in
a clear and concise manner both orally and in writing.

Mr. ....... has given an opportunity to work as a Research Assistant in the Center for
Software Defined Radio (..............University) from (15th July till 15th Sep 2007). He will carry
on his Master thesis work to generate a hardware test bed for the dual standard software
radio receiver under my supervision. During this period he will also try to formulate his
work in the form of a research paper which will send to IEEE conference (NORCHIP) that
will be held in Nov. 2007 at..............

Being a head of the department I got the opportunity to observe his academic performance
throughout his Masters studies. With superb academic background and dedication for
research work, I am confident that he will excel in higher studies and research. I am pleased
to learn that Mr. ....... is eager to get admission for his Ph.D. I firmly believe that he has the
capability, potential, temperament and determination to take up the PhD. Acknowledging his
eagerness and satiated desire for higher knowledge in his field of interest; I have no
hesitation in giving him my highest recommendation.

Associate Prof. ........

..........University
(Sample 3)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

It is a pleasure to write a reference letter for Mr.......... The following information would help
introduce him as well as convey my wholehearted recommendation that he be admitted to
your program.

Without a doubt Mr. .......... is one of the finest students that I have ever taught. He is
extremely intelligent and hard working and excels under pressure! I taught him a third year
subject of Communication System. Throughout the period that he was my student, I always
found him taking keen interest in his study of the subjects. He was interested in mastery of
the subject matter, and would not be satisfied till he achieved it. In particular, he was
extremely quick in answering the most difficult questions that I posed during lectures. He
was assiduous and meticulous in completing his class assignments independently as well as in
a group. While working in a group I have noticed him taking keen interest and playing active
role. The quality and standard of his analytical and laboratory work is outstanding. In
addition, something that has impressed me about him is his ability and readiness to learn
topics not covered in courses through self-study.

Mr. .......... ability to apply his knowledge to practical applications is clearly reflected by his
final year project "Implementation of Fractal Based Image Compression", which received a
very high rating from all the Faculty members. His work in the project involved a great deal
of knowledge of Image Processing, DSP, Non-Linear Sciences, and Software development.
Being a chairman of the department I got the opportunity to observe his academic
performance throughout his undergraduate studies. I feel very proud to mention here that
despite a very competitive environment he stood 2nd in the department out of 240. In
recognition of his academic achievements he has been awarded a scholarship from the
government to pursue his MSc from UK.

I am pleased to learn that Mr. .......... is eager to get admission for his Ph.D. at your
University. I firmly believe that he has the temperament and determination for the same. He
is an enterprising student who pursues with vigor to understand each topic and has shown
originality, initiative and perseverance to tackle problems. During the various presentations
that I have seen him give, Mr. .......... exhibits a fair amount of self-confidence, and is well
organized. His command on English language is excellent and he can express his ideas and
concepts in a clear and concise manner both orally and in writing.

Acknowledging his eagerness and satiated desire for higher knowledge in his field of interest
I have no hesitation in giving him my highest recommendation. With superb academic
background and dedication for research work, I am confident that he will excel in higher
studies, no matter what the challenge is.
(Sample 4)

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I'm proud to recommend Mr. .......... for admission to the graduate program at your school. I
know him since 1999 as one of the brightest student at the department of Electrical
Engineering, majoring in Electronics and Communications. I taught him a course in Digital
Systems in his Final Year and I assess his performance in that course to be excellent. The
nature of the questions he asked during the lecture indicates that he tries to grasp the
concepts with finest details. He is an excellent problem solver. It seems as if he has a taste
for difficult and complicated problems. I found that he solved tough quizzes and test
questions with relish. Mr. .......... has a deep understanding and a penetrating insight of the
concepts that have come across during his course work. He has firm grasp of the theoretical
aspects as well as practical implications of the ideas presented to him.

Mr. .......... has shown a capacity for both being punctual and persistent. He is a motivated
and innovative individual who works with dedication and likes to meet the deadlines. I was a
member of the panel that evaluated his Final year design project. I have found his work to
be complete and highly original. He also demonstrated that in addition to being a superb
performer in an individual capacity, he can work in concert as a team member. His language
and communication skills—a prime indicator of one‘s level of intellect, are extraordinary.
His manner of conveying ideas is singular and articulate.

I have found him to be an intelligent, hardworking, diligent and very determined student. It
was his unstinted effort that won him various laurels during his academic career at our
institution. By means of his extra-ordinary academic abilities he managed to secure
SECOND position in the entire department. Mr. .......... has an unending enthusiasm for
higher studies and an unrivalled thirst for knowledge in his chosen field of study. Although,
he is currently doing his MSc from UK on a scholarship awarded to him in appreciation of
his academic achievements, but I am very glad to hear that he is anxious to go further.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that he has the capability and potential to take up his
PhD at an elite institution such as yours. His case for admission to the graduate program at
your department as well as the award of a teaching or research assistantship is therefore
highly recommended. I believe that not only would he be able to make a rewarding use of
his stay at your institution, there‘s a lot that he might be contributing on the basis of his
excellent portfolio.

Prof. Dr..........