How to get letters of recommendation for a grad program in a totally different field?
September 23, 2010 11:46 AM Subscribe
How do you get letters of recommendation for a grad school program totally different from your undergraduate discipline?
The goal: career transition, switching out of journalism and into speech therapy
The plan: apply this January to a masters program in speech, language, and hearing sciences
The problem: I was a barely distinguished English major (a few scholarships, summa cum laude, phi beta kappa) in a department of 600, graduating from a giant public university way back in 2004. So how am I going to get three academic letters of recommendation?
I’ve read all the great advice here about the specific steps in asking for a letter (furnishing copies of old papers written, providing a current resume and a copy of a letter of intent, simply sucking it up and asking, etc.). But these seem all geared toward those continuing in their own field.
I’m looking for advice specific to career changers going in a totally new direction.
And here’s an interesting wrinkle: I already asked two professors for letters years ago during a failed attempt to get into a PhD program in literature. I’m extra chagrined to have to ask a second time.
So. Assuming I can convince some former profs to write on my behalf (again), what should I recommend they emphasize? The admissions department will reveal only that they are looking for evidence that an applicant can “work hard and learn new things.”
The only classes I took that were even remotely related to speech/language were French classes, where I had to study phonetics and pronunciation. Should I attempt to contact one of these professors? Or stick with the English guys, who know I can do diligent research and write well?
Career changers must do this all the time. MeFites, has anyone out there pulled this off? Do tell.
(Also, before anyone suggests registering for prerequisite classes, getting letters from new teachers, and waiting a year to apply, I simply can’t quit my full-time day job. And (oddly) community colleges around here don’t offer any communication disorders classes. It's either full-time program or nothing.)
The goal: career transition, switching out of journalism and into speech therapy
The plan: apply this January to a masters program in speech, language, and hearing sciences
The problem: I was a barely distinguished English major (a few scholarships, summa cum laude, phi beta kappa) in a department of 600, graduating from a giant public university way back in 2004. So how am I going to get three academic letters of recommendation?
I’ve read all the great advice here about the specific steps in asking for a letter (furnishing copies of old papers written, providing a current resume and a copy of a letter of intent, simply sucking it up and asking, etc.). But these seem all geared toward those continuing in their own field.
I’m looking for advice specific to career changers going in a totally new direction.
And here’s an interesting wrinkle: I already asked two professors for letters years ago during a failed attempt to get into a PhD program in literature. I’m extra chagrined to have to ask a second time.
So. Assuming I can convince some former profs to write on my behalf (again), what should I recommend they emphasize? The admissions department will reveal only that they are looking for evidence that an applicant can “work hard and learn new things.”
The only classes I took that were even remotely related to speech/language were French classes, where I had to study phonetics and pronunciation. Should I attempt to contact one of these professors? Or stick with the English guys, who know I can do diligent research and write well?
Career changers must do this all the time. MeFites, has anyone out there pulled this off? Do tell.
(Also, before anyone suggests registering for prerequisite classes, getting letters from new teachers, and waiting a year to apply, I simply can’t quit my full-time day job. And (oddly) community colleges around here don’t offer any communication disorders classes. It's either full-time program or nothing.)
And here’s an interesting wrinkle: I already asked two professors for letters years ago during a failed attempt to get into a PhD program in literature. I’m extra chagrined to have to ask a second time.
Do not be chagrined! These are your go-to people because they already have letters for you stored somewhere on their hard drive, which will need merely to be tweaked and re-sent. If you have copies of the letters, all the better--you can include those with your request and save them the trouble of even having to search for them. I would be surprised if they even blinked about your change of direction.
Any prof who remembers you well enough to write a letter is going to be able to make a case for your diligence, ability to learn and integrate new information, and so on. Others may prove me wrong, but I think you're worrying needlessly. It is common for people to change fields between undergrad and grad school.
posted by not that girl at 11:59 AM on September 23, 2010
Do not be chagrined! These are your go-to people because they already have letters for you stored somewhere on their hard drive, which will need merely to be tweaked and re-sent. If you have copies of the letters, all the better--you can include those with your request and save them the trouble of even having to search for them. I would be surprised if they even blinked about your change of direction.
Any prof who remembers you well enough to write a letter is going to be able to make a case for your diligence, ability to learn and integrate new information, and so on. Others may prove me wrong, but I think you're worrying needlessly. It is common for people to change fields between undergrad and grad school.
posted by not that girl at 11:59 AM on September 23, 2010
Hello! I was also an English major who decided to be a speech language pathologist. I'm in a postbac program now, and am applying for the MS program for next fall.
In my experience (again, don't know where you are, the school etc), these sorts of programs are very interested in work you've done in the field, or related to the field. There has been a lot written lately about how SLP and Audiology are the new in-demand fields, so they are getting more applicants than before. If you are interested in becoming a practicing SLP (as opposed to researcher) I would recommend getting a LOR from people who might be able to say something to your skills in the field. If the French class you took did have a big element of phonetics (and you think the professor will remember what you did/how well you did it), I think that would be better than a generic "good writer, hard worker" letter. Showing you have an understanding of what an SLP does, and that you have the background to suceed in this kind of work is more important than just showing that you are a strong student.
For a non-academic LOR: A supervisor from any volunteer or work experience you have with the population you want to work with would be a good idea as well.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 12:19 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
In my experience (again, don't know where you are, the school etc), these sorts of programs are very interested in work you've done in the field, or related to the field. There has been a lot written lately about how SLP and Audiology are the new in-demand fields, so they are getting more applicants than before. If you are interested in becoming a practicing SLP (as opposed to researcher) I would recommend getting a LOR from people who might be able to say something to your skills in the field. If the French class you took did have a big element of phonetics (and you think the professor will remember what you did/how well you did it), I think that would be better than a generic "good writer, hard worker" letter. Showing you have an understanding of what an SLP does, and that you have the background to suceed in this kind of work is more important than just showing that you are a strong student.
For a non-academic LOR: A supervisor from any volunteer or work experience you have with the population you want to work with would be a good idea as well.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 12:19 PM on September 23, 2010 [2 favorites]
Seconding not that girl to say that these people should be willing to just tweak letters for you. It's much easier to tweak a letter than to write a whole new one, so you're not putting them out much.
I switched disciplines from undergrad to grad school (also for an MA), though my time gap was only a couple of years, and I decided to ask the people from my old discipline who knew me and my work best rather than asking people tangentially related to my new field who didn't know me as well. That tactic worked for me. I asked them to discuss the transferable skills I gained in Old Major that would help me learn material in New Discipline (strong research and writing skills, ability to learn new material, ability to be a good student, etc.). I gave them ideas for what to write, but your recommenders have probably been through this process with other students, so it shouldn't be a problem for them. This happens all the time.
However, I felt the onus was on me to really show that I knew what I was getting into by switching and providing evidence that showed I could do the work in New Discipline. I addressed this issue in my Personal Statement and wrote a brief cover-sheet for my writing sample that said something along the lines of, "While this sample isn't from New Discipline, it demonstrates x, y and z about my research and writing abilities." And I learned later that the people reviewing applications see things like this all the time and know they are looking at research and writing ability rather than the topic of the paper. The MAJOR thing to demonstrate is that you know what you're getting into, you have enough background/experience/rationale to justify the switch, and can show you're a good fit for that particular program at that particular school, especially with regards to how well your goals match with what they do. This will probably mean tweaking your statement to the various schools you apply to. If you can show a connection between Old Major and/or Real Life Job and New Discipline in your statement, that would be to your benefit.
My experience: I got rejected from what I thought was my "safe school" for having too few relevant undergrad credits (I don't think they even read the rest of my application materials) and got into my "long shot" school with full funding. Go figure...
posted by BlooPen at 12:38 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
I switched disciplines from undergrad to grad school (also for an MA), though my time gap was only a couple of years, and I decided to ask the people from my old discipline who knew me and my work best rather than asking people tangentially related to my new field who didn't know me as well. That tactic worked for me. I asked them to discuss the transferable skills I gained in Old Major that would help me learn material in New Discipline (strong research and writing skills, ability to learn new material, ability to be a good student, etc.). I gave them ideas for what to write, but your recommenders have probably been through this process with other students, so it shouldn't be a problem for them. This happens all the time.
However, I felt the onus was on me to really show that I knew what I was getting into by switching and providing evidence that showed I could do the work in New Discipline. I addressed this issue in my Personal Statement and wrote a brief cover-sheet for my writing sample that said something along the lines of, "While this sample isn't from New Discipline, it demonstrates x, y and z about my research and writing abilities." And I learned later that the people reviewing applications see things like this all the time and know they are looking at research and writing ability rather than the topic of the paper. The MAJOR thing to demonstrate is that you know what you're getting into, you have enough background/experience/rationale to justify the switch, and can show you're a good fit for that particular program at that particular school, especially with regards to how well your goals match with what they do. This will probably mean tweaking your statement to the various schools you apply to. If you can show a connection between Old Major and/or Real Life Job and New Discipline in your statement, that would be to your benefit.
My experience: I got rejected from what I thought was my "safe school" for having too few relevant undergrad credits (I don't think they even read the rest of my application materials) and got into my "long shot" school with full funding. Go figure...
posted by BlooPen at 12:38 PM on September 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'd think letters from current or former employers would also be acceptable in your situation, although you should probably include at least one academic reference as well.
posted by Jacqueline at 1:53 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 1:53 PM on September 23, 2010
When I did my career-change masters none of my letters of recommendation were academic. They were all from managers I'd worked for in career one.
posted by kbuxton at 2:06 PM on September 23, 2010
posted by kbuxton at 2:06 PM on September 23, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
First, don't worry about asking profs. They write dozens of letters every year, and yeah, some of them are repeats. (Many, actually -- if their supervised student is applying for grants or scholarships, for example, they're typically writing letters every year for the same student.) So long as you give them ample time to do it (on the scale of weeks here), and if you're helping them as you say by providing writing samples, etc., it's totally fine to ask for another letter.
I would personally focus more on my actual skills, rather than more scant 'relevant' experience. That is, if you have profs who know you're a hard worker & problem solver (and have specific, concrete examples of such), have witnessed you take on new projects and see them through, etc., this is much more valuable than a letter from someone who can only say "Sureshot was in my French 201 class, and showed remarkable understanding of French phonetic structure" or whatever.
You're going into the program to learn; they won't necessarily expect you to have masses of background in the area. Show them that you're good at learning, at adapting, at being self-motivated, and at effectively communicating the output of your research (assuming it's a research-based program). They'll be able to see from your transcripts that you took some relevant courses, and you can always play this up in your statement of intent (again, assuming the application process requires one).
posted by miss_kitty_fantastico at 11:58 AM on September 23, 2010