References	Traditional Fulbright Scholar Program
Chat Transcripts

Question: When asking people to provide a reference, what "kind" of people are best to ask --people with "known" reputations in the field, people who have had Fulbrights, or based on some other criteria?
Answer: The best criteria for recommendations is someone who knows your work really well. That said, it's helpful to have someone with a known reputation in the field

Question: Since my teaching report is from the head of my school, is it OK for the other two references be from outside my home institution?
Answer: Yes, that is fine.  You want good references, of course, and once you have your dean writing about you, you should be free to find support where you will.

Question:  I assume that once I enter a name into the online application form, that the recommender will receive an email, sending them to the appropriate place to input information.  Is this right?  Or will the system wait until I submit the full application?
Answer: The system will send instructions to your referee as soon as you hit the "send email" button.

Question: Hmm.  I submitted one name on Tuesday and they haven't received an email yet.
Answer: you might want to get your reference to check their 'junk mail' folder.  Some people only accept emails from their contacts.  They need to accept email from "FSPonline@cies.iie.org."  You can then resend the instructions if necessary from inside your application.

Question: I have someone from my university writing a letter (and another reference is a former colleague), but not an immediate member of my department because my department colleagues are less familiar with my research/specialization. Is this something I should acknowledge in my project statement?
Answer: You may choose to make a specific note of that in your narrative or you might choose to underscore the multi-disciplinary nature of your work generally as a warning that a reference will be coming from outside.

Question: On references - can they send their recommendations after 8/1?
Answer: References can still come in after 8/1, but the sooner they come in, the better to make sure the review of your application is not delayed.

Question: Do my references have to have their replies in by Aug 1?  I waived seeing their comments--one of mine is in Iraq--apparently it might have gone into spam. 
Answer: It's to your advantage to have the references on time, but it won't be a disaster if they come in a little late.  You might advise your referees to set their email to accept email from 'FSPonline@cies.iie.org', from which our email will come.

Question: Can you use a professional reference who knows you well or must you use two academics if applying for a lecturing award?
Answer: You can use a professional reference who knows you well.

Question: Does it matter if both my letters are from people at my institution?  Or should I ask someone outside my university?
Answer: We recommend having one reference come from outside your home institution.  It is often best to mix letters. If they are all from your institution, you may seem parochial. If they are all from outside, some may wonder if there is a problem at home.

Question: Since someone from my institution must write the teaching report and one letter must be from the outside, should the second letter the internal or external?
Answer: Whichever will write a better recommendation!

Question: Do all applications include the Teaching Report? Or only those with a lecturing component?
Answer: Only lecturing applications require a Teaching Report.