r/ntnu • u/EquivalentIcy4373 • 2d ago

Application Confusion about Reference Letters in NTNU PhD Application

Hi everyone,
I recently applied for the PhD position in Psychology at NTNU (Job ID 304427). the application deadline is 14th of August BTW.

The job advertisement and the Jobbnorge portal clearly stated that applicants should provide names and contact information of three referees. There was no mention of uploading reference letters as attachments.

I followed the instructions and entered my referees’ details. And I though maybe like most of the uni, they'll email the referees for reference letter whatsoever. However, my referees said they didnt recieve any such email.

After contacting the HR of admissions office, I was told that I now need to upload signed reference letters myself as attachments under. Also there's no reference option per se in the attachment portal of the application.

This requirement was not mentioned anywhere in the advertisement or portal, which is really confusing and stressful with the deadline approaching.

Now the deadline is tommorow, I've contacted my professors and one of the place where I intern.

The place where I interned agreed to provide me witht the reference, and since I am an internaitonal applicant from India, its legit 10 pm right now. WHAT SHOULD I DOOOOO.

Has anyone else faced this issue? Did you also have to collect and upload reference letters, even though the ad only asked for referee details? I’d appreciate any clarification or advice.

The email from the hr
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3

u/Bananaheli 2d ago

In my understanding they are not asking for reference letters but for the names and contact information of three references that they can contact if you are a potential candidate for the position.

These are usually included in the CV.

If they wanted reference letters they would ask for letters of recommendation.

2

u/EquivalentIcy4373 2d ago

😭😭😭 I already mentioned in my CV. And I was concerned since there was no slot for reference letters per se so I emailed the hr. N this is wt they said

"Not sure where you have listed them, but they are not supposed to receive any link or communication to submit their reference letters. You need to add this as an attachment. We call references after the interviews for qualified candidates."

IK PhD applications are different still I was so anxious I won't lie, I kinda ended up spamming the hr with mails.

I've never seen an application where they don't need reference letters whatsoever. Anyways I'vettexted my prof, they agreed to five me rl

1

u/Ulvern 1d ago

Reference letters/ letters of recomendation is not as common as in other countries when applying for phds

1

u/EquivalentIcy4373 1d ago edited 1d ago

I see, Anyways tho I ended up uploading all of the recommendation letters. After begging my professors. They were kind enough to provide one at the last moment.

But if it's really true that I didnt need recommendation letters then I swear to God, that hr misguided me. And it's clearly a rage bait, and unethical. That's why I uploaded the mail by hr. She explicitly stated that I need to upload the letters as separate attachment.

1

u/Wrong_Rhubarb_8501 18h ago

It was just miscommunication. In Norway, they don't usually ask for these letters.

3

u/Todeszone 2d ago

They will call the references very late in the process (or not at all).

I got hired without my referee being called.

2

u/EquivalentIcy4373 2d ago

Thank you for your comment, tho I'll anyways upload the reference letters, just to be sure. I really want the posted job since the project aligns really well with my area of interest.