letter of rec from non-phd?

[haagendazs]

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hi

i was wondering if getting letters of recommendation would be okay if the teacher for the course wasn't a phd. he wasn't a TA or anything since it was a lecture-based course, but he was very near his phd. technically he would be a graduate student and phd candidate, but his title would be lecturer, not professor. is this still an acceptable letter of rec?

 

[Vicviper]

I'm sure if he could write you a decent letter it will be fine. Not all professors have Ph.D's.

 

[doc toothache]

i was wondering if getting letters of recommendation would be okay if the teacher for the course wasn't a phd. he wasn't a TA or anything since it was a lecture-based course, but he was very near his phd. technically he would be a graduate student and phd candidate, but his title would be lecturer, not professor. is this still an acceptable letter of rec?

It is not the degree that is the critical criterion in deciding whom to ask for an LOR. What matters is whether or not "technically" he/she has the official title. At least, at some schools, a lecturer is considerably below the rank of a professor.

 

[haagendazs]

ok, so "professor" title is good. is "lecturer" or "instructor" at least acceptable?

 

[Vicviper]

I think the term professor is just being used in a general sense, they probably just want someone you've taken a class from that can speak to your qualifications.

 

[doc toothache]

ok, so "professor" title is good. is "lecturer" or "instructor" at least acceptable?

It may be "acceptable" but how much weight do you think they will carry?

 

[PSU SHC 414]

ok, so "professor" title is good. is "lecturer" or "instructor" at least acceptable?

I had a LOR written by a "lecturer" (non-PhD... she had her Masters) from a speech com course... our preprofessional committee required at least one LOR from a instructor/professor in a non-science course. The letter was included in the compiled packet that the pre-prof committee sent to AADSAS. I didn't get any **** for it.

Are you submitting this LOR to your school's preprofessional committee, or directly to schools through AADSAS?

 

[PSU SHC 414]

It may be "acceptable" but how much weight do you think they will carry?

If he/she is able to speak to the person's character, maturity, personality traits, etc. (which, IMO, is the main reason for LORs since the rest of your application speaks to your academic qualifications for admittance), why wouldn't it carry significant weight in the eyes of adcoms?

Is a person who doesn't hold a doctorate degree any less qualified to be a judge of a person's character or to predict a person's "readiness" to pursue a professional/graduate degree? Hardly...

 

[doc toothache]

If he/she is able to speak to the person's character, maturity, personality traits, etc. (which, IMO, is the main reason for LORs since the rest of your application speaks to your academic qualifications for admittance), why wouldn't it carry significant weight in the eyes of adcoms?

Is a person who doesn't hold a doctorate degree any less qualified to be a judge of a person's character or to predict a person's "readiness" to pursue a professional/graduate degree? Hardly...

The judgment of an instructor with zero years of experience is unlikely to be at the same level as that of an instructor with 20 years experience irrespective of whether or not he/she has a Ph.D.

 

[notin]

i wouldn't give a second thought to whether they were a phd or not. but my perspective might be skewed, because my brother is currently a lecturer who will finish his phd this fall, and I don't see how his opinion will suddenly have merit in 6 months but doesn't right now.

the only thing that really concerns me about this is i don't see a lecturer as someone likely to be teaching an upper level course, which is where your recommendations should probably be coming from.

 

[PSU SHC 414]

The judgment of an instructor with zero years of experience is unlikely to be at the same level as that of an instructor with 20 years experience irrespective of whether or not he/she has a Ph.D.

agreed... but when did years of experience ever come up in this discussion?

you asked the OP to consider how much weight an instructor/lecturer's opinion would carry vs that of a PhD... i'm suggesting that the letters after a person's name shouldn't impact the LOR if they're commenting on the student's personal attributes. did i miss something here?

 

[nchrist]

The answer to all of these "is it ok for ______ to write a LOR" is to contact the school. Nobody can say in this instance because you didn't specify what schools you're talking about.

I got in without a single LOR from a "professor." Only one of my LORs came from someone with a PhD, one came from a dentist, and one came from a person with a bachelors (supervisor at work). I found that generally private schools were more lenient with LORs, but I'm headed to a public (ahem, "state-related") school next year, so take that with a grain of salt.

Best bet is to compile a list of school you're thinking of applying to and ask them. Of course you can always be safe and get it from a professor instead, but in some instances this is just not possible (I had been out of school years before applying). And sometimes they will say that you NEED something, but it's not always true. Websites and people who answer phones are not always completely informed of what goes on with admissions. So much of applying to school is a black box, you know what you put in and you know what comes out, but the process is anyone's guess. I would question anyone who speaks in absolutes, absolutely.

 

[doc toothache]

agreed... but when did years of experience ever come up in this discussion?
you asked the OP to consider how much weight an instructor/lecturer's opinion would carry vs that of a PhD... i'm suggesting that the letters after a person's name shouldn't impact the LOR if they're commenting on the student's personal attributes. did i miss something here?

Actually the OP was making the reference to a professor not a Ph.D. The experience in the equation comes by virtue of the fact that the rank of a professor takes years to achieve, which cannot be claimed for a position of instructor and, in many cases, a lecturer.

 

[haagendazs]

thanks for all your responses! i was actually unaware that professor and phd can be separated. i thought all phd teachers are professors, and all professor teachers have phd's. so basically, yes/no phd doesnt matter. professor title = definitely go for it. lecturer/instructor title = debatable it seems, maybe as a desperate last resort, or only if it will be really really personal and good? got it 🙂

thanks all

 

[g0forkurself]

I plan on getting my Letter of Rec from my chemistry lab lecture professor who does not have a ph.d at this time. I'm asking him for my LOR because I think lab teachers get to know you a lot better and I also TA'd for him in his class.