Letter of Recommendation

Requirements

In order to qualify for receiving a letter of recommendation from our institute, the following requirements must be met:

• Successful participation in at least 2 of our courses (except GMAT Preparatory Course) OR completion of a thesis at the IMM.
• An average grade of at least 2.3 across all courses at the institute (including seminars etc.; except GMAT Preparatory Course), with each grade weighted according to the respective ECTS. Please note that certain letters of recommendation (e.g., for an application to some scholarship programs) require outstanding academic achievements, which we must additionally consider when deciding whether to issue a letter of recommendation.

Important notes

In the case of assessments that require a more in-depth evaluation of you (e.g., in the context of scholarships or admissions to elite programs), we also require that you have already been in contact with our institute (e.g., through activities as a student assistant or tutor) or that the institute knows you well in some other way - otherwise we cannot write an assessment in such a way that it can actually bring you the hoped-for benefit in your application.

This does not apply to "standard assessments" (e.g., for a semester abroad or a Master's application) where an assessment based on grades and curriculum vitae is sufficient.

Application

If you fulfill both above stated prerequisites, we need you to completely fill out a request form (PDF, 731 KB) (including all required documents; see below). You should allow at least a time frame of four weeks for the review of the request and the preparation of the letter of recommendation. Please take this into account when submitting your application.

If you do not fulfill the prerequisites, please understand that we cannot issue a letter of recommendation. Exceptions are only possible in specific and well justified cases (e.g., if the letter of recommendation is necessary for a study abroad application and the application takes place at a time during your studies at which the regular requirements for the letter of recommendation cannot yet be fulfilled). Even in these cases, however, there must be a sufficient basis for a recommendation.

Furthermore, please consider that the number of certificates issued per person is limited:

• Students who have only attended "mass lectures" at our institute may apply for only one letter of recommendation ("To whom it may concern" or to a specified addressee). Among other things, this would include details of the lectures attended and the grades achieved in them.
• Students who have attended a project course, a seminar or any other IMM activities may apply for three letters of recommendation at the most (one "To whom it may concern" and two to specified addressees). This would contain details of the lectures attended, the grades achieved in them, and a more detailed evaluation of the student.

Letters of recommendation are issued in English only.

Please send your complete request form (PDF, 731 KB), as well as

• a motivational letter (max. 1 page) including the purpose of the letter of recommendation and reasoning for applying at our institute (for letters of recommendation for a semester abroad, additionally incl. justification of the choice of the corresponding target university/country),
• a CV,
• a current listing of your overall grades (as automatically generated via the online examination office)
• verification of extracurricular activities (if requested in the letter of recommendation)

to imm@som.lmu.de.