<p>I completed by undergrad back in 2004. I haven't kept in touch with any of my professors from school. I attempted to contact some of my favorite professors, but found out that they are no longer teaching at the school. What's the odds of that?! So I'm wondering if LORs from professors are required, or can I reach out to other sources?</p>
<p>My BS is in software engineering. I've been working in the field since graduating. Are LORs from employeers and/or business associates acceptable? What other sources can I reach out to? I'm under the impression that an LOR is more than just a character reference, so people like pastors or volunteer supervisors are definitely not recommended?</p>
<p>MS or PhD? Pastors and volunteer supervisors are probably a bad idea. If PhD, the entire application including your statement of purpose should really be more of a statement of research and accomplishments and why you’re fit for graduate school and not about less relevant traits.</p>
<p>Anyway I’m sure if you google graduate school letter of recommendation non professor you’ll find a lot of results.</p>
<p>That’s funny, I actually searched for those exact terms, unfortunately none of the results were helpful. I couldn’t find a concrete answer on whether LORs from an employer is a suitable alternative.</p>
<p>Some people recommended to take a graduate level course, and then ask for a LOR from the professor. But I don’t really see the added value in their recommendation since they would have only known me during the course of that single class.</p>
<p>Anyways, it will be great to get you guys input on this. In the meantime, I’m going to see if I can track down my professors.</p>
<p>You’ll definitely be OK with having one or two industry LoR’s. I don’t know if all three can be though.</p>
<p>A problem with asking your professors is that you haven’t been keeping in touch with them and they are unlikely to be able to write a letter other than “student did well in class” which is not great.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your replies. I feel a little better about getting all 3 LORs from employers and other people from my industry. I’ll still take a stab at getting in contact with my professors. It might be a long shot, but I guess it won’t hurt to try.</p>
<p>I took classes at a local CC and used letters from 2 of my profs there . . . I wouldn’t have been able to find anyone to write letters if I had not gone and taken some classes.</p>
<p>First of all, what kind of MS are you pursuing? A research-based degree, or a coursework-only degree? If it is the latter, industry references will do fine, as such degrees are oriented primarily towards working professionals. If it is the former, you are in a weak position.</p>
<p>LOR’s are meant to show your preparation for grad school, so character references are right out. Remembering that most academic questions are answered by your transcript and GRE, the purpose of the LOR’s is to have a few people say “I know what grad school requires, and this is my genuine opinion of this person’s preparation for it compared to the other students I have taught/mentored/known”.</p>
<p>Not everyone has three good LOR’s - most people have one or two that are little better than “this person got an A in my class and seemed quite enthusiastic/present!” Still, if you do not have ONE good LOR, you are really in a bind - they do not have to a professor, an industry PhD or even an accomplished professional (preferably published) who has supervised/witnessed your research would probably fly at most schools. Failing that, anyone who has seen your work and has a PhD themselves is at least an okay LOR, provided they have had a deeper relationship with you beyond showing up for class.</p>
<p>If you have no research experience, then you have no good LOR’s. You can apply, but you will get into schools that are not as good as you would otherwise reasonably expect. A better course would be to find some type of research opportunity and cultivate a relationship with the primary investigator.</p>