LORs for (PhD/MS) Programs in 2 Different Disciplines

[MynahK]

I am planning to apply to 3-4 PhD programs in a sub-field of a science (which I'll call Z) that makes heavy use of computational statistics. At the same time, I will be applying to 2-3 quantitative masters programs in computational statistics and closely related areas.

 

I suppose this situation is analogous to:

1) a Physics student applying to both Physics PhD programs and Applied Math or Computer Science masters programs

2) an Economics student applying to both Economics PhD programs and Statistics or Finance masters programs

 

I've been working in a research lab in the science Z, and at some point this year I hope to ask the professors I've been working with for letters of recommendation. I'm not sure how common it is to ask for letters to graduate programs in different disciplines... but I wonder if there might be reason to worry that a professor might perceive this as a lack of absolute commitment to a particular discipline, and in turn perceive this in a negative light.

Any suggestions/advice?

[free_radical]

I personally didn't do this, but met several people on my visits weekends who did.  Materials Science + Chemistry is a very common combination, and I also met some people who applied to both Materials Science and Chemical Engineering.  There were even people who applied to EE and MechE in addition to Materials Science.  In all these cases, I don't think people were uncommitted to a discipline, they just had research interests that happened to be in different departments at different universities.  I think what is important for showing commitment though, is that you've thought out what your research interests/goals are and can articulate them to your LOR writers.  I'd say there should be a common theme at all the programs you apply to, but they don't necessarily need to have the same department name.