Thank you for serving as a recommender for one of our UCSF applicants! There are a few items to know when setting up your recommender account and completing your recommendation.
If you haven't previously used UCSF's Graduate Division application system, you will first need to click the "Create Password URL" link in order to set up your password. Once the password is set up, you simply log in using the credential you just created.
This link to create your account is active only for 72 hours after the applicant initially sends the recommender request. Clicking on the link after the 72-hour window will result in you seeing an error. In this case, you must reach out to the applicant and ask them to resend the link. Once the applicant sends a new request, you will receive another email with a new account activation link. You can delete the previous email.
If the link in your email is not active/clickable, you will need to copy/paste the link into your browser. Please MAKE SURE to copy each character of the long URL, otherwise the link will not work, and you'll see an error message.
If you have previously used our application system to submit a recommendation, you will not see the "Create Password URL" option. Instead, you will simply log into the system using the credentials you set up previously.
When you log into our application system, make certain that you do not add additional blank spaces either before or after your login credentials - we call these "ghost" spaces. Any ghost spaces will cause your login to fail.
In case you have forgotten your password, you can utilize the "Forgot Password" feature on the login screen.
Sample Recommender Request Email
The image below shows an example of the message recommenders are sent from the application system. Please note your login username is the email address at which you received this request.
UCSF's Graduate Division programs utilize two types of recommender forms with three options:
Our programs can select to use a combination of the options above.
For suggestions of items to add to this troubleshooting list, or to suggest additional user guide articles, please contact GraduateAdmissionSupport@ucsf.edu. When contacting us, please reference the page URL and any other relevant information.
