An academic recommendation is a requirement for the Penn State education abroad application. Recommendations are an important part of the selection process because they reflect how a member of the Penn State academic community perceives your preparedness to study abroad. The recommendation is completed electronically and must be submitted by the application deadline.
Recommendation Guidelines
- The academic recommendation must be from a professor or graduate teaching assistant (TA) who has had you in class or your academic adviser at Penn State. All academic recommendations must be submitted by someone who can assess your academic preparedness for the program. Your recommender should know your academic capabilities and your interest in studying abroad.
- If you are applying to a faculty-led program, you should not request the recommendation from the Penn State faculty member, staff member, or teaching assistantwho will be leading the program.
- Recommendations cannot be copied across semesters or reused for another application.
Recommendation Instructions
- Meet with your recommender to discuss your education abroad plans well in advance of the application deadline. (Plan ahead! Allow up to four weeks for a recommender to complete the online form.)
- Ask if this person is willing to complete your electronic recommendation.
- In your Penn State application portan, select the “Academic Recommendation Required" requirement.
- Enter your recommender's Penn State email address or full nameand click "search."
- Select the correct recommender.
- List any coursework taken with your recommender, if applicable. If you selected an academic adviser, please indicate that in the text field provided.
- Answer the question concerning waiving your right to read or obtain copies of the recommendation and click "Send Request."
- Your recommender will receive an email notification with a link to log in and complete your recommendation. There are only a few questions that should take 5-10 minutes to complete.
- Before the application deadline, verify that the recommendation was received in your Penn State application portal. If it has not been received, send a brief, polite reminder email to your recommender requesting they submit their recommendation by the deadline.
- Once the recommendation is complete, send a thank you note to the professor, instructor, or academic adviser who completed the recommendation. Also, if you are ultimately accepted to the program, don’t forget to share the good news!
Note: If your academic recommendation is not submitted by the Penn State application deadline, your application will be considered incomplete.
