Three letters of recommendation are required. Additional letters will be reviewed, but will not help or hurt your application. All recommendation letters are required to be submitted electronically through the online application.  You must register a minimum of three recommenders, and as many as five, via the Recommendations page of the online application.

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Letters should be prepared by professors, professional contacts, or others who may best speak to your abilities and academic potential in your chosen field of study.

 

You must communicate directly with your recommenders before registering their email addresses in our system; this will allow you to verify:

• That you have the correct email address for your recommender, and

• That they are available to submit your recommendation by the application deadline

 

Register your Recommenders:

1. Click the Add Recommender link. Enter in details for your recommender, you may also include a short message to them (they will see the message when they log in to enter your recommendation).

   • Select whether or not you waive your right to review your recommendation. You must make this selection for each recommender. Type your name as a signature, and note that this selection is final and not reversible.

2. After entering their details and confirming your right to waive, click the Send To Recommender button to generate an email to that person with a unique, secure link with which they will access the online recommendation submission form. 

3. Your Recommendations page will not be complete until at least three recommenders have been sent their invitations; you can not submit your application without completing this section.

4. If you plan to use a letter service, please review that service's instructions before registering your recommenders in the online application; many services will provide you with a unique email address under which you'll register each recommender, allowing the service to electronically submit the letters.

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Important details:

1. Be sure the information is accurate and that the person you've registered is willing to provide you with a recommendation before sending their invitation through this page.

2. You can edit the recommender information in the application (before you submit it), or in the Status Page (after you submit the application).

3. ​You will be able to track receipt of their recommendation via the application Status Page. You and the recommender will also receive an email when then letter has been submitted. However, do not wait for your letters to arrive before you submit your application.

4. ​You may wish to have your recommender add our email address, gradadm@ucsc.edu, to their address book to ensure our email invitation is not accidentally marked as spam.

5. Please see our FAQ page on Letters of Recommendation for further information.

6. You have the ability to rescind a recommendation request if needed, through the application.

   • If you mis-entered registration information for your recommender, click "Rescind" below their name. Then register them again using the accurate information, and click "Send Recommender Invitation Now."

 

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If you plan to use a letter service, please review that service's instructions before registering your recommenders through the online application; many services will provide you with a unique email address under which you'll register each recommender, allowing the service to electronically submit the letters

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For Recommenders

You may either upload your letter as a PDF to our system or type or paste your letter, using the custom link that we email to you. At the question, "Would you like to upload your document?" choose either Yes or No from the drop-down menu. A "Yes" will allow you to upload the PDF. A "No" will allow you to type or paste your letter directly on the browser page.

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Our system also allows you to rank the applicant on various qualities that our academic programs value (knowledge, creativity, resilience, ethics, etc.), and you can provide an overall evaluation. 

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To be registered as a recommender the applicant first must ensure that your email address is entered accurately in our system so that you receive this link. If you have not received the link and the applicant has confirmed that they registered your email address accurately, please have them email us immediately at gradadm@ucsc.edu.

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If you have an issue regarding your recommendation for an applicant, please contact the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies to convey your concerns confidentially.

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