Information for Recommenders

As part of Stanford University’s online graduate application, applicants register the email addresses of the individuals they have asked to submit letters of recommendation on their behalf. Recommendations must be submitted electronically through our online service to the department to which an applicant has applied. Application deadlines vary by department. Please contact the applicant if you have a question about the application deadline.

• Submit a Recommendation:  Instructions for you to create a recommendation account are sent to your email address, as entered by the applicant in their online application. Click on the link in your email and follow the instructions to create a recommendation account. In the recommendation, you will be asked to fill out a very brief form and to upload your letter, which may be a Word document (.doc or .docx) or a .pdf file, must be 5MB or less in size and cannot be password protected. PDF files cannot have a digital signature. Recommendations should comment on the applicant's academic potential for graduate work.
• Decline a Recommendation Request:  Through your recommendation account, you may choose to decline to submit a recommendation. When you decline, please include the reason for your decision in your message to the applicant.
• Make a Change After Submitting the Recommendation:  After the recommendation has been submitted, changes are not possible using the online process. Please contact Graduate Admissions for further instructions: gradadmissions@stanford.edu.
• Report a Technical Issue or Request Help:  Within the recommender request email you received is a link for recommenders to use to check FAQ or get online help. The link is also accessible through the recommender's account, after it is established.