Directions for Prospective RAs, GAs, etc.
I receive a large number of requests to consider student interns and RAs. Please feel free to send me email, and I eventually will take at least a quick look through it. However, unfortunately, I do not have the time to respond to every email. In addition, I currently am not serving on the committees to choose Ph.D. students at the Smith school. If you are a current Smith school student with a potential research collaboration in mind, I will give your email top priority if you include a short document detailing your idea. You should include a summary of why your idea is interesting, novel, and significant; potential data sources; and a brief outline of the methodology that you want to develop or use.
Please add the tag [LRPROJ] to the subject line of your email requesting to be an RA or to start a collaboration. Otherwise I may ignore your email.
Directions for Letters of Recommendation
I am delighted to serve as a letter-writer for outstanding students who I have taught in class. “Outstanding” does not necessarily mean students who received an A. Make sure you have good attendance and participation in my class, treat me and other students with respect, and put forth a good effort on all assignments. Attending my office hours at least once is a good way to make sure I get to know you personally. Academic integrity and professionalism are of the utmost importance to me. I will not write a letter for someone who falls short on these!
Keep in mind that writing a good letter is a time-consuming endeavor. To ensure that your letters get submitted on time, please note the following:
I require at least one month’s notice before letters are due. Do not even ask me for a letter with less than a month’s notice. Fair warning: if you claim to be in desperate need of a letter with less than one month before it is due, I reserve the right to include a note about poor time-management skills in the letter!
Please add the tag [LRREF] to the subject line of your email requesting a letter or reference. Otherwise I may ignore your email.
You will have to send me relevant materials, such as your CV and statement of purpose.
I will also ask you to send me an organized list of the programs or jobs to which you are applying, including due dates and contact information. Even submitting one letter takes upwards of 30 minutes, so consider carefully before changing this list!
To help me write your letter, you must send me a 1-2 page document explaining why I would be a good letter-writer for you. Please detail how you contributed to my class, what you learned from me, and why you think the material you learned in my class will be useful for your future endeavors.
Graduate programs often request that letter-writers comment upon your writing skills. This document will help me to better incorporate an assessment of your writing skills in my letter.
If I write you a letter, I will have invested a considerable amount of effort in your success. I am very interested to hear the outcome of your applications and am looking forward to updates! Best wishes!