Letters of recommendation are part of the American system. However, they are not, strictly speaking, either a students right or a professors obligation. They fall somewhere in between. Most professors are happy to write a few letters each year and feel obligated to do so. Students should be careful not to try to abuse the system by asking for a large number of letters. Students should weigh carefully the number they request, especially from the same teacher. Likewise, alumni should keep in touch for a few years if they hope busy former professors will spring into action on their behalf after they have left our Department.
Advice for students when requesting a letter:
1. Consider carefully your relationship with a member of the faculty before asking for a letter. Will your request put the professor in an uncomfortable position? Consider things like: Has the professor seen you do poorly in a course? Miss work? Miss class often?
2. Give the professor ample time (three-four weeks).
3. Ask; do not demand.
4. Give the following information in writing: Name of academic program or job title and person to whom the letter should be addressed. Also, give the professor your curriculum vitae, list courses taken from the professor in question, with date (semester), grade, and, perhaps, title of research paper or presentation.
5. If the application form allows you to opt out of the right to see the letter, do so. People who reserve the right to see their files at a later date give the impression (to the professor and to the committee reviewing the application) that they are potential trouble makers.
6. Give a stamped envelope with the address on it if the letter is to be mailed.
7. Send a thank-you note after the letter has been written.
8. Inform the professor if your application is successful.
UD students not only read St. Augustine's Confessions in Rome, traveling to Ostia to marvel at the place in which, according to Book IX, St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, had a joint mystical vision of God -- they also travel 4.4 miles from the Irving campus to read the text with residents of South Irving.
+ Read MoreAs you know if you’ve read even some of our first UD Reads book, "All the Light We Cannot See," it’s possible to build a radio from random, scavenged parts, as long as you can find the necessary random, scavenged parts, as Werner does in the book. This is also essentially what Assistant Professor and Department Chair of Physics Jacob Moldenhauer did as well: He scavenged parts from the Physics Department, and built a radio.
+ Read MoreThe University of Dallas Board of Trustees announced today that it has unanimously selected Thomas S. Hibbs, Ph.D., BA '82 MA '83, to serve as the university's ninth president. The first alumnus of UD to be president, Hibbs has served as dean of the Honors College and distinguished professor of ethics and culture at Baylor University since 2003.
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