LORs for MPH

hopeful360
Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:42:33 +0000

So I’m applying for my MPH (in epidemiology) for the Fall 2014 semester. Even though most of the applications aren’t due until Jan or Feb, I wanted to at least figure out my LORs and ask them. Most schools need three so I was thinking of asking…

1.) Assistant professor of Epidemiology who I currently work for as a clinical research assistant. She has her PhD from Brown (one of the schools I want to apply to) and I’ve only known her for a few months but we work pretty closely together.

2.) Professor from school who taught me two public health classes. She has her MPH and is a professor at BUSPH (another place where I’ll be applying).

3.) Now here’s the tricky part—I want to ask my PI that I did research with in undergrad. I worked with him for a year and he knows me very well. However, the research lab and work was in molecular biology/physiology. Nothing related to public health per say. Do I still ask him? I know he’d write a stellar rec—but he wouldn’t really know what to write in terms of public health.

I can’t think of anyone else I’d ask for the third recommendation but will it look silly to ask my PI (who has a PhD in molecular biology)?