Alan Tsang

Associate Professor

Reference Letters

If you wish to request a reference letter, please send me an email with the following details:
  • Courses you took with me (including years and final grades)
  • Describe of course projects and your individual contributions to them
  • Other individual interactions we had (projects, office hours, or even interesting questions you've asked in class)
  • Where you are applying to, and what the application deadlines are.

Process

  1. Academic references are generally provided by including the referee's contact details within the application.  The university you are applying to will then reach out to the referee for the reference.
  2. As the applicant, you should seek the permission of the referee before including their contact in the application.
  3. You should include some information about yourself in this email (see above for the particulars that I request).
  4. Once you have the referee permission, you can then include their information in your application(s).
  5. Some application systems allow you to check the status of the reference letters.  If the deadline of the application is within a few days and a letter has not been updated, you can send one email serving as a reminder.
  6. Be aware that the reference letter may have a different, later, deadline than the application submission deadline.
  7. References for industry vary greatly from this process, so YMMV.

Strength of Letters

Not all reference letters are created equal. 
If your only interaction with me was attendance in class, I will only be able to provide simple reference letter for you.  These are not considered "strong" letters for admissions.
If my reference letter is mainly based on interactions in COMP 4701 Computing, Society, and Ethic, then the reference letter will not be able to speak to your technical abilities.  How this will be received varies depending on the type of program.