Sample EPID600 letter of recommendation

Dear Colleagues:

I am happy to write a letter of recommendation for Mercedes Samson in support of her application to the MPH program in the Department of Maternal and Child Health. Ms. Samson’s was enrolled in the classroom version of my course “Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health” (EPID600) during the fall 2007 semester. EPID600 is the introductory epidemiology course that most public health students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill take to fulfill their epidemiology requirement and is designed to meet the epidemiology-specific MPH core competencies (see http://www.asph.org/UserFiles/V2.0Apr2806.pdf).

Grading in EPID600 is based primarily (80-90%) on scores on three open-book, take-home examinations, each based on an actual epidemiologic study. Two exams had short-answer/multiple choice/calculation questions, and the third, a structured article critique, consisted of seven essay questions with 250-word limits. Teaching assistants grade selected questions across all students in the class, without knowing examinee identities. Thus, examination scores provide a good basis for comparison across the class (66 graduate and professional students, 15 undergraduates, plus 116 professional students taking the class via the Internet in fall 2007). Credit for answers to selected case study questions can substitute for up to 10% of the weight of the first two exams in the overall grade. The remaining 10% of the grade is based on participation in small group discussions about case studies, also based mostly on articles. Each student facilitates at least one discussion. (Detailed information about the course can be found at www.unc.edu/epid600/classes/2007cd/ )

Ms. Samson’s overall grade of 85 fell right in the center of the distribution. Her score of 79 on the first exam was just below the median (quartiles were 75, 80, and 85); her score of 87 on the second exam was nearly at the third quartile (quartiles were 70, 78, 88). Her score on the third exam was a little disappointing (78, just below the first quartile for the class as a whole).

Ms. Samson’s class participation, however, was excellent. In addition to earning the maximum 10 points for submitting case study answers, the members of her small group, which did very well on their group case studies, rated her contributions as excellent. Amy Green, an advanced Epidemiology doctoral student who monitored the group’s discussions provided the following comments for this letter:

“Mercedes was one of the most dedicated of my students. She always came prepared to lab, asked good questions, and frequently volunteered to present her work. Many epidemiologic concepts are not straightforward, and it was evident that Mercedes put a great deal of effort and time into learning the material. She was one of the hardest working students and would often email me with questions. Her lab group benefited immensely from her inquisitive style. She also made a concerted effort to synthesize information outside of class. On a number of occasions she brought additional material to the attention of the instructor and students, and shared relevant and interesting ways to incorporate epidemiologic thinking into public health. She will make an intelligent, energetic and hard-working addition to any public health program”

Ms. Samson’s performance on the EPID600 exams demonstrates that she is fully competitive with graduate students in public health degree programs in her ability to learn epidemiology, and her excellent lab participation demonstrates that she works well with her peers and contributes more than her share. Although her score on the article critique was lower than those for most of the class, the grading for these is less precise than for the first two examinations.

Please feel free to call (966-7436) or write (vjs@unc.edu) if I can be helpful.

cc. Amy Green, teaching assistant

1/6/2008 vs