Faculty Interactions

Faculty Relationship-Building at UF

Connecting with a faculty member can be understandably intimidating. Rest assured, building that relationship is full of positives! After networking, you can gain a mentor who adds a meaningful experience to your student success story and champions your future goals. As experts in their respective fields, faculty members provide reliable advice, reveal new opportunities, and may write letters of recommendation.

Tips for Connecting with Faculty:

• Finding mentors
  • Inventory your existing faculty connections
  • Explore UF academic department pages, read faculty research, and search for those with relevant expertise and experience
  • Talk to your peers for suggestions
  • Look for five to ten potential mentors in total

• Approaching potential mentor
  • Come prepared with points of interest after researching a faculty member’s work
  • Any student can build an academic relationship with faculty, regardless of what classes are attended
  • Utilize the advertised office hours for a one-on-one meeting

Obtaining Letters

Getting letters of recommendation doesn't have to be difficult if you consider it an academic career-long process, just like any other part of your curriculum.

You will need to:

• Build a group of faculty champions.
• Maintain relationships with these individuals.
• Continue to equip them to write the best letter they can by keeping them updated on your goals and academic and/or professional pursuits.

Valuable items for your letter writers: 

• Your transcript
• A statement of your goals and how what you are applying for connects to those goals (possibly in the form of a personal statement)
• Description of what you're applying for (e.g., the criteria for the award) - one written in your own words is the most helpful
• Your résumé/curriculum vitae

Some common misconceptions:  

"I shouldn't go to office hours if I am just breezing through the class."  

Developing eventual referees requires not only strong academic performance but also that you establish a relationship with that person. This is the part that students often need to address. You must make a connection if you want someone to write a glowing personal letter about how you are an excellent student and perform miracles in your spare time.

Some possible topics to kick off the discussion:

• Ask them about their research.
• If they teach in your department, ask them what courses or other professors they recommend based on your specific interests.
• Bring up a topic from class you found stimulating.
• If the potential referee is someone like a faculty advisor for a student organization, ask them how they became involved in the activity.

People enjoy talking about themselves and will naturally feel inclined to ask about you in return. It is important to remember that going to office hours for these reasons is not "sucking up." Most professors enjoy visitors who share their interests and goals and avoid cramming before exams! 

"Now that the term is over, I don't need to go and talk to them."  

Maintaining some form of contact with your potential referees is up to you. What if your favorite professor up and moves to Maine? Discovering this three weeks before your letters are due would be a bad event. Also, keeping up with your faculty champions gives you the best excuse for keeping them current on you. Which sounds better, "When she took my class two years ago..." or "Since taking my class, she has been heavily involved in research with my colleague who swears by her work"? Letter writers can only make statements like that with updates on what you are doing. 

"The letters don't have to be in for another month. I'll just see them next week." 

Referees often need many items when they sit down to write your letter of recommendation, the most important of which is time to write a thoughtful and meaningful letter. How strong will the letter be if your professor is frustrated with you for adding another short-notice task to an already hectic week? 

We suggest 4-6 weeks of notice, but all faculty vary on their preferences, workloads, and need for writing time; thus, the earlier, the better. And do not be upset if they have to decline. This is where building a large network of faculty champions can help.

Maintaining Relationships

Follow up with each referee by sending them a message of thanks and letting them know the outcome (either way). Developing and maintaining relationships requires an active effort throughout your career as a student and beyond. Equipping your champions with the pieces of you they need to write an informed letter takes planning. The rewards you and your faculty mentors gain from these efforts, whether entrance to graduate school, a strong professional and academic network, or even winning a Fulbright grant, can be immense.