Recommendation letters

Who qualifies as a recommender

Most CSC routes require two recommendation letters, but the acceptable recommender types can vary by route and university. Confirm your target notice for exact eligibility.

Many applications request two academic recommendation letters. Some universities are stricter about rank and role than others, so check each official notice for your exact route. The letters are strongest when the recommender can speak directly about your academic work and your readiness for the program.

Choose recommenders who actually know your academic work - someone who taught you in a small class, supervised your thesis, or ran a project you contributed to. A glowing letter from a famous professor who barely remembers you is weaker than a specific, detailed letter from an associate professor who supervised your final-year project.

What makes a letter strong

Concrete letters, specific projects, ranked comparisons ("top three of 120"), and comments on your research potential, beat glowing generalities from a famous professor who barely remembers you.

The best letters are concrete. Instead of saying 'the student is hardworking and intelligent', a strong letter describes a specific project you did, the problem you solved, and how you compared to peers ('among the top three of 120 students I taught this year'). It comments on your research potential - curiosity, independence, ability to handle setbacks - because that is exactly what a CSC committee and a future supervisor care about.

For PhD applicants in particular, at least one letter should ideally come from someone who knows your research directly and can speak to your capacity to carry out an independent project. A letter that engages with your intended research area carries much more weight than a generic character reference.

The logistics - done ethically

It is common for a busy referee to ask you to draft a letter they then edit and sign. It is never acceptable to forge a signature or submit a letter the referee has not actually approved; universities verify references and inaccurate letters can weaken an application.

In practice, busy professors often ask the student to prepare a first draft that the referee then edits, personalises and signs. This is common and acceptable as long as the professor genuinely reviews, revises and endorses the content - the final letter should reflect their honest assessment, not a fabrication you wrote and they rubber-stamped without reading. Never forge a signature or submit a letter the referee has not actually approved; inaccuracies in a reference letter can lead to rejection risk.

If you do draft it to save your referee time, keep it honest and specific, then hand it over and let them change whatever they wish. Provide them your CV, transcript and study plan so they have the material to write from.

Format requirements

Each letter must be on official institutional letterhead, dated within the current application cycle, and carry the recommender's signature plus full name, title, institution, and direct contact details (email and phone).

Each letter should be on official university or institutional letterhead, carry a handwritten or verified signature, and include the recommender's full name, title, institution, and direct contact details (email and phone) so the committee can verify it if needed. It must carry a recent date within the current application cycle - a letter dated two years ago looks recycled. Scan each letter as a clean, high-resolution PDF for upload.