need help with references

[Guest hesam7]

For my references I have three professors to chose from. Two botany professors and one biochemistry prof ( I worked as a summer student for my bcem prof). I know for sure that both botany profs will write me really good reference letters but I'm not sure about the bcem prof. Should I go with the two botany profs? Does it look bad if two of my referees are from the same department?

 

Thanks in advance

[Guest Lactic Folly]

It shouldn't matter that they are from the same department. The important thing is that they know you well in a professional capacity and can write you strong letters.

[Guest aneliz]

Keep in mind that they do not all need to be profs either... it is acceptable to have references from non-academics as well (eg volunteer supervisor, employer, etc). Many people will choose to have referees that reflect different aspects of their life (ie one academic, one volunteer, one employment or EC) This shows some diversity. Having all academic references (unless specifically asked for by the application) may not reflect the range of your abilities. (ie they may all sound very much the same and not add much new information to your application)

 

Just a thought.

[Guest hesam7]

The thing is that most of my job experience has involved research in different fields such as biochemistry, botany, physiology etc. If I use one of my supervisors as my referee would that count as academic reference? (I already have an instructor referee which obviously counts as academic).

 

Thanks

[Guest Lactic Folly]

Diversity is good, and will bolster your application if it is weaker in another area, but I still think the number one priority is to get a strong letter from someone who is adequately familiar with you.. if you are lucky enough to have 3+ people who fit those criteria, then pick and choose.. having a bunch of similarly-angled positive references may not be what gets you in, but a vague/positive but less glowing reference will not help.