Gábor Békés

Associate Professor at the Department of Economics and Business, Central European University, and Senior Research Fellow at the MTA KRTK Institute of Economics.

This is my current policy of writing recommendation letters.

This version: v.1.2. Date: 2026-04-19

Recommendation Letters

PhD reference letter policy

I’m writing a PhD support letter if

  • you took at least one of my advanced classes (e.g. DA3, DA4, Applied Econ)
  • you got A at least in one of them, and A or A- for the rest
  • OR you worked for me as an RA

Job / internship reference letter policy

I’m writing a job or internship support letter if

  • you took at least one of my advanced classes (e.g. DA3, DA4, Applied Econ)
  • you got A or A- at least in one of them
  • OR you worked for me as an RA

How to submit

Please send me one email with everything attached, or a link to one folder (Dropbox / Drive / OneDrive) containing:

  • CV
  • Motivation letter / statement of purpose
  • Application info: Simple text (txt, .md) document with core info for each program/position:
    • GPA (or expected GPA)
    • Grades for all my classes
    • GitHub repo – link to your repo of your best project/assignment, or the file itself (optional)
    • Target / addressee — who the letter should be addressed to (e.g. “Admissions Committee”, “Hiring Committee, XYZ Team”)
    • Link to the posting or program page
    • Deadline (absolute date)
    • How the letter is delivered — I send it directly to you, you upload it to a portal, or a confidential form link you paste here
    • Whether a signed and scanned version is required (default: I send a signed PDF)

Please name files clearly, e.g. CV_LastName.pdf, Motivation_LastName_Program.pdf, application-info_LastName.md,

For PhD applications

Add this to the application info text:

  • Your interests, fields, plans.
  • Why you think you are ready for a phd program, to carry out research
  • If there are several programs, list each one (addressee, link, deadline, delivery) in a short table or bullet list. Mark the earliest deadline clearly.

For jobs and internships

Add this to the application info text:

  • A short note (3–5 sentences) on how your performance in my classes or as my RA/TA is relevant for the role. This helps me tailor the letter rather than write a generic one.

Godspeed.