References are an important supplement to your academic background, so make sure to manage them carefully. Salem State accepts professional (supervisors, etc.) or academic (professors, etc.) references; family/friends are not appropriate sources of references.
Depending on the program, 1 to 2 references are required. Please check the program-specific requirements for the exact number required.
Managing your references
Give your references adequate time to complete the reference, especially if your program has a firm deadline or you are applying within a few weeks of a semester beginning.
As soon as you have confirmed that someone can serve as a reference, enter their name and correct email address into the online application. This immediately triggers the request email to the reference, who receives instructions on how to submit the reference online.
Given the firewalls at educational institutions, school-related email addresses, especially K-12, should not be used for reference communication.
If your reference does not receive the request email, have them check their spam folder, as it may have landed there. If it did, they will need to mark the email as "not spam" and move it into their main inbox.
You can submit your application even if your references have not yet been submitted.
If time lapses and your reference has not completed the online reference, send a reminder email by logging into your online application and clicking the "reminder" button next to the name.
If your reference is having issues with submitting their form, they can contact us directly at gradadmissions@salemstate.edu.
