Getting an LOR from a professor in different department

[shovonreza]

Hi, So I took this physics course from a Physics professor in Freshman year and did great. My major is molecular biology, however. But I personally know this professor and He would actually write me stellar recommendation than some of my own department professors. While I'll also be asking for LOR's from faculties of my own department, do you guys think an LOR from a Professor from a different department but in the same university will weigh less compared to those from professors of my own department? Thanks.

[MidwesternAloha]

Nope it's good to show diversity and that you performed well in courses outside your main discipline. It's very supplementary/complementary

[eeee1923]

It's a good idea to get an LOR from a prof in a different department (I definitely did), but if you only took that one physics course during your freshman year and haven't really worked with him since then (research, independent project, TA, etc.) then I'm not sure how much weight his letter would have to an admission committee. Just food for thought.

[velua]

I agree, and physics sounds like a semi-related field, so it's fine. I would be hesitant to get a letter from an English professor for a science program, for example.

[fuzzylogician]

It's generally not a bad idea, though it's better if the majority of your LORs come from people in your field. It does mean that the adcom won't know him and therefore it might carry somewhat less weight than a letter from someone the adcom knows and trusts, but in the end a strong letter is a strong letter, and that matters most. In this case, I am not sure how come this professor can write you a stellar LOR, since you say you took just one course with him and it was in freshman year. What does it mean that you know him personally? It makes me a little bit suspicious. 

[braindump]

I didn't have a single letter from a professor in my dept.  Granted, I'd been doing research related to the field I plan to join, not the field I'm currently in. I think it matters less where they come from and more the context they know you in. I definitely agree with the others that you should be getting letters from professors who know you in a research context rather than professors who can say "yeah he got an A in my class."

[shovonreza]

It's generally not a bad idea, though it's better if the majority of your LORs come from people in your field. It does mean that the adcom won't know him and therefore it might carry somewhat less weight than a letter from someone the adcom knows and trusts, but in the end a strong letter is a strong letter, and that matters most. In this case, I am not sure how come this professor can write you a stellar LOR, since you say you took just one course with him and it was in freshman year. What does it mean that you know him personally? It makes me a little bit suspicious. 

I took two courses actually Physics I and II..I did really well so he let me hang around his lab sometimes since i was interested. Not "personally" personally, what I meant to say was he could write good stuff about my potential and interest in various fields. Hope that explains

Edited April 21, 2015 by shovonreza

[SublimePZ]

For what it's worth, the three LORs I got was from an internship supervisor, a completely unrelated field (peace and conflict studies), and then an upper-division biochemistry class. I think the strength of your LOR matters a lot in this case. If you can get your physics professor to write you a really strong letter, I don't think an adcom would care about the fact that it's a physics vs. bio class.

[fuzzylogician]

I took two courses actually Physics I and II..I did really well so he let me hang around his lab sometimes since i was interested. Not "personally" personally, what I meant to say was he could write good stuff about my potential and interest in various fields. Hope that explains

 

I see -- that clears it up. Can he say "shovonreza exhibited curiosity and enthusiasm and spent his free time in my lab" or "shovonreza contributed to projects X and Y and has interesting ideas about Z"? That is, what did your hanging out in the lab include? If he can attest to your abilities that would make it a great LOR. If he can only say you were interested but can't actually talk about your potential to succeed, as evidenced by your past work, that would make it a less strong letter but given the alternatives it may still be a good choice.