Students are required to work in the lab at least one year before sponsorship of a UROP. Students must work in the lab for at least one semester before a directed study will be considered.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nStudents interested in completing an honor’s thesis should contact Dr. Wagner directly. Students must work in the lab for at least one year before an honor’s thesis will be considered.<\/p>\n
Letters of recommendation<\/h3>\n
The following advice for students regarding letters of recommendation was adapted from the\u00a0Child Adaptation and Neurodevelopment (CAN) Lab at the University of Utah.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nIt is my pleasure to provide letters of recommendation and support for outstanding students. Please do not hesitate to ask for my support. But before you ask, please think about if I will be able to write a strong letter for you.<\/span> Here are a few things to consider before asking for a letter of recommendation:<\/p>\n\n- How well do I know you?<\/strong>\u00a0The best letters of support include specific details and examples of a student’s strengths. Please include in your request information about how often we’ve met, the work you’ve done in my class or in the BASE Lab, and what I’ve read of your writing. If you were a student in one of my classes, think about how well you did, how well I might know you from that class, etc.<\/li>\n
- Can I speak to what is being asked?<\/strong>\u00a0Think if my experiences working with you will allow me to address the specific questions that are being asked of the recommenders. For example, very often recommenders are asked to speak to an applicants leadership skills. If you’ve not held a leadership position in one of my classes or in the BASE Lab I won’t be able to adequately speak on this topic.<\/li>\n
- What do you want me to add to your application?<\/strong>\u00a0I need to know what specifically I can add to your overall application. Is it related to my research expertise? Were you a research assistant for me and you need to demonstrate a particular set of skills? Are you hoping for me to provide some information that other letter writers cannot? If there are particular details about our interactions that you want me to highlight, remind me of them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
If you feel I can provide a strong recommendation after considering these three questions, please<\/p>\n
\n- Please give me as much advance notice as possible \u2013 three weeks at the minimum. And it is even better if you talk to me months before the letters are due about your possible need for letters.<\/li>\n
- Include the following in your initial email: the semester and year and the name of the course(s) you took with me.<\/li>\n
- If it has been more than a year since you took my course, please fill me in on what you\u2019ve been doing since I last saw you.<\/li>\n
- Tell me why you\u2019re applying to this particular program.<\/li>\n
- Email me a copy of your resume and a copy of the essay or personal statement for the program you\u2019re applying to.<\/li>\n
- Tell me exactly what you\u2019re applying to so that I can address it properly in my letter. And give me a link to the program. \u201cI highly recommend Steve Smith for your program\u201d is not as good as \u201cI highly recommend Steve Lee for the Duncan J. Watts Fellowship at the University of Waterloo.\u201d If you\u2019re applying to multiple graduate programs, please give me the list of all of them at once so that I can efficiently write your letters.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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