A reference is evidence, not a formality
Panels use references to check whether your own account of yourself is accurate. A short, generic letter from a famous professor is worth less than a detailed letter from someone who supervised your work closely. Choose for knowledge of your work first, seniority second.
Choosing referees
- Your most recent research supervisor — thesis, project or laboratory. They can speak to method and independence.
- A course leader who graded your work — for taught degrees, someone who can compare you with a cohort.
- A workplace supervisor — where the scheme values professional experience, as many government schemes do.
Check the scheme’s rules: some require an academic referee, some require one academic and one professional, and some will not accept a relative, a peer or a colleague at the same level.
How to ask
Ask in person or by a short email, six weeks before the deadline, and ask whether they can write a strong letter. That word gives an honest person the chance to decline, which is better for you than a lukewarm letter.
When they agree, send one message containing everything they need: the award name and link, the deadline and how the letter is submitted, your CV, your statement draft, the title and dates of the work you did with them, and two or three specific things you hope they can confirm. You are not writing the letter for them; you are saving them an hour of searching.
Practical details that go wrong
- Many systems email the referee a link directly — confirm the address you entered is their institutional one, not a personal account.
- Check the spam folder question with them; portal emails are frequently filtered.
- Some schemes require letters on headed paper with a signature and a date.
- Referee deadlines can differ from the applicant deadline. Read both.
- Remind them a week before, and again two days before, politely.
If a referee falls through
Have a third possible referee identified from the start. If someone goes silent close to the deadline, contact the scheme’s administrators, explain, and ask what they allow — many will accept a substitution if you ask before the deadline rather than after it.
Afterwards
Tell your referees the outcome, whatever it is. They invested time, they often write for you again, and the ones who hear back are the ones who write quickly next time.