推薦状
推薦状とは
推薦状という文化背景
米国大学院に出願するために推薦状を書く必要がある。
とにかく、早めに動いて、
- 教授があまり推薦状の文化に馴染みがないと感じたら教えること。（下書きを送る、フォーマットを送る、etc）
- 何を書いて欲しいのかを明示すること。
僕は下書きを送ることをお勧めしたい。
誰に書いてもらうか
できれば一緒にプロジェクトを走らせた人であれば良い。
name valueは極めて重要である。もし、推薦者がapply 先の大学のfaculty memberと知り合いであればかなりプラス。
僕は、(1) 指導教員、(2) 一緒に論文を書いた教授、(3) 一回会ったことのある教授でapply先の大学と密につながっている人、(4) 所属大学で一番h-indexの高い授業を受けただけの教授、あたりに書いてもらった。
体感的には、(1), (2), (3)の推薦状が特に効いたと思う。
フォーマット
以下のフォーマットを参考にすると良い。こちらは海外大学院に実際に進学した先輩の書いたものを参考にしつつ、海外大学院に実際進学した友人に添削してもらったものである。
ここでは推薦する者の名前をJohnとしておく。個人情報をたくさん含んでいたので、だいぶ重要な部分を削っているのだが、ここで強調したいのは、
- 段落構造（三つ程度、エピソードを入れて）
- 盛ってもらう（I rank his research as 1st in five years 等） あたりの事柄である。
It is my pleasure to recommend [person name] for admission to [name of program] at [name of university]. I came to know John in a meeting with the laboratory at … I know he has the necessary skills to do research, and he must be able to accomplish the Ph.D. program. I believe he will make significant contributions to the field of computer science in the future, which is why I recommend him in this letter. I would state how his ability to conduct research, his skill in explaining things, and vitality make him a suitable student for the Ph.D. program.
John has an extraordinary skill to research. His research … Considering the novelty of the insights and findings, this is one of the best research I have seen in my career, and I was really astonished that he did this research as his undergraduate thesis. I rank his research as 1st in five years among undergraduate thesis projects.
In terms of research-related skills, he has a special skill to … His research starts with … It is an important and necessary skill for Ph.D. students to …
Lastly, about his personality, I highly evaluate his passion for research and his vitality. One day, he …
His research skills, XX, YY, and ZZ indicate that he has the aptitude and potential to make outstanding achievements in the Ph.D. program. I recommend him for the program at your university. Hoping his achievements in his research career will improve our society, I would really appreciate it if you select him as Ph.D. student at your university.
Yours sincerely,