Letter of Recommendation Instructions

Your letter of recommendation should be from a faculty member at your current institution who can best assess your ability for academic research and your motivation to attend graduate school. If your research experiences have been at a different institution, you may ask your faculty mentor at that institution to write your letter of recommendation. Only one letter of recommendation is required, but additional letters may be submitted. Please note that a Letter of Recommendation Waiver Form must be submitted for each letter submitted.

To best assist the Amgen Faculty Review Committee, faculty should discuss the following:

• How long and in what capacity he/she has known the applicant
• The applicant’s motivation for graduate study versus aspiration to attend professional (e.g., medical) school
• The applicant’s qualifications and potential for research as well as academic success

If there are any other insights that the faculty wishes to share, we welcome that information. Letters should be composed on departmental letterhead.

The applicant will fill out and sign the Letter of Recommendation Waiver form  (top portion)which is located in the application packet. Please be sure to share this form with your academic faculty who is writing your letter of recommendation. Both the letter (submitted by faculty) and Letter of Recommendation Waiver Form (submitted by applicant in application packet) should be emailed to amgensch@lifesci.ucla.edu. Please make sure the faculty receives a copy of the complete waiver form. All materials must be received by the posted deadline of February 1, 2025.

Email:
amgensch@lifesci.ucla.edu

CONFIDENTIALITY

The letter of recommendation remains confidential during the admission process. If the applicant has not waived his/her rights to inspect the recommendation, the faculty’s evaluation will become accessible as part of the education record only if the applicant is admitted into the program. Students should review the letter of recommendation waiver form with faculty recommenders and have the faculty send the waiver form. Please make sure the faculty receives a copy of the complete waiver form.

CONTACT

Kim Mendez
Program Representative, UCLA Amgen Scholars Program
amgensch@lifesci.ucla.edu