Information needed for reference letters
Applying to jobs and graduate programs can be a stressful and I am glad to support good students in any way I can.
At the same time, writing letters takes a lot of time and energy during what is already a busy time of year. To
make this go as smoothly as possible for both of us please be sure to follow the directions below carefully and exactly.
Thank you for your consideration and best of luck.
If you are a 481 student
When it makes sense to ask for a reference
It will be my pleasure to act as a job reference for any student who conducted
him or herself professionally in my course and obtained
a grade of B+ or better.
It will also be my pleasure to write a reference letter to any Canadian MA
program in economics for any student who obtained an A or A+ in my course
and also has a very strong transcript, with high grades (mainly A, A+) in
the core economics and math courses that prepare students for
graduate study.
If you obtained A- in my course or do not have as strong a transcript than
I would ask you stop by to discuss at which schools it makes sense for you to apply
and who are the best professors to ask for references from. Note that schools generally
want to know your rank in the course, which is why it is often advisable to ask letters from
professors in whose class you have obtained an A or A+, especially when applying to competitive
programs.
The more economic modelling/empirical analysis in your paper,
the more that my reference letter will help for an MA program. Some
very good policy papers had excellent research but less economics. These papers
give less indication either way of potential in an economics MA but,
together with a strong transcript, would allow me to write me to write
strong references for other programs, such as law school.
It would be very hard to write a reference without a copy of your
final paper and my comments on it.
If you are a UofT Ph.d student applying for jobs
Please e-mail me your addresses by filling out this form for each address
and following EXACTLY the directions given when you press the Submit Query key.
Please make also give Kitty Legault
your addresses in whatever form she prefers.
If you want me to discuss teaching, please send me an e-mail specifying which courses and years
you were a TA for me and what your responsibilities were.
If you want me to discuss your research, please send me a link to your web page where your research papers
are posted and also make an appointment with me to discuss your research in person.
I will send you an e-mail when your letters have been sent out. Please consider it your responsibility to keep reminding me until then.
If you are a UofT undergraduate applying to a graduate program in economics or related fields (e.g. finance)
Requirements
Please only ask for a letter of reference from me if you had at least an A in my section of Eco 327 and/or at least an A+ in my section of Eco 220. An exception would be if I have pertinent information about you beyond your overall performance that other professors wouldn't have. Also I'm glad to be a reference for job applicants for any student
with at least an B+ in 327 and/or an A- in 220.
Be warned that getting into a Ph.D. program before doing an MA has become rare and difficult even for the very
best students. I will not feel comfortable recommending you for a Ph.D. program unless you have at least an A+ in Eco 327
and a very strong transcript to compliment it.
Also, please only ask for a letter if the TA that graded your paper has agreed to write a short paragraph about your paper.
What you need to give me
What you need to give me
Please drop by my office hours with your transcript to discuss which programs you plan to apply to well in advance of the due date for the letter.
After talking to me, please send the following information in a single email: (i) electronic copy of transcript (ii) list of programs you are applying to with deadlines (iii) your contact info., including phone number.
Please ask each school to send an electronic requests for reference letters as well as including the paper copies mentioned below.
A month before your letters are due, please mail me a complete packet containing the following items: (my address is given at http://www.amaynard.ca.)
- A copy of all official transcripts for courses taken at the University
level.
- Please include a copy of the final draft of any paper you wrote for me and any comments you received on the paper. (Please don't give me the original as I won't be able to return it.)
- Two copies of each recommendation form (maximum 7). Please
be sure to fill out all information about me (e.g., address, title, tel.,
etc.) on the form even though
the form may say that this is for the recommender to fill out. That information can be found at
http://www.amaynard.ca .
- Please either neatly handwrite or type out labels with the address
of each school. Do NOT attach labels to an envelope or write the address on an envelope I will use an official university envelope to insure acceptance of my reference.
- Please provide either a stamp or a large pre-paid express
mail Canada post envelope for each letter. (Do not affix the stamp to
an envelope and do not use a prepaid letter size envelopes. Do include
the labels mentioned above even if you use a pre-paid university envelope.)
- Please include a sheet with all your contact info., including phone and email address.
I will send you an e-mail when your letters have been sent out. Please consider it your responsibility to keep reminding me until then.