Winning SOP

7/28/2019 Winning SOP

1/15

Writing the

Statement of Purpose forGraduate School

Michael J. Spivey

Cognitive Science

University of California, Merced

Contributing authors:

Evan Heit, Psychology and Cognitive Science, UC Merced

Alex Whalley, Economics, UC Merced


2/15

Factors for Admissions

GPA

GRE

Letters of Recommendation

Interview/Visit

STATEMENT of PURPOSE

Complete Application


3/15

Statement of Purpose

Idea of your research/studyinterests

Sample of your ability to write Proxy for interview

Can be the difference between

getting in or not

Opportunity to sell yourself!


4/15

Central Theme

Reasons for your interest in

attending a specificprogram at a

particularinstitution

Statement is tailoredfor theprogram & institution


5/15

The Key Idea

Look like you will be a success in graduateschool. coming in, you are prepared, motivated, focused,

have needed skills (writing, math, research)

once there, you will successfully complete allrequirements and you will progress as aresearcher

This is about potential: You dont have to

already have a PhD to get into graduateschool!


6/15

Important to keep in mind:

Audience: admission committees areprofessors in your discipline - noneed to define basic terminology.

Establish your voice: confident, butnot arrogant- straightforward tone: explain how you

are prepared for graduate school- acknowledge poor performances (GPA,GRE scores etc.) then focus onachievements not failures


7/15

Important to keep in mind:

Answer the question: most graduate schools

dont give much instruction about SoP, but if

application asks a specific question, make sure

to address it Get feedback: At your current school, talk with

professors and graduate students about

graduate school and the application process,

and get suggested revisions from them on yourdraft SoP.


8/15

Writing an Effect iveStatement

How did you become interested in your field?- describe how research experiences, courses,

professors, internships, work experiences,community service, things youve read, otherindependent studies, or life experiences havestimulated your interest

What are your interests and careerobjectives?

- be speci f ic about discipline and objectives- for example, if psychology, what area? teaching vs.research?


9/15

Writing an Effect iveStatement

What are your research interests?- research is the essence of a PhDshould be reflectedin statement

- introduce a few topics of interest

- dont need to make a specific thesis or dissertationproposal, but should be able to pose 1 or 2 questions orproblems

What attracts you most to the institution/

program and why are you a good match?- interests should parallel those of the faculty in theprogram you are applying toread their articles, mentiontheir names

- the better the match, the better the chance of getting

admitted


10/15

Statement Should Be Well organized

Concise Free of grammatical, punctuation and

spelling errors

Convincing that you will be

successful graduate student

2 or 3 pages in length Including a last paragraph that mentions

the names and work of potential advisors

Proof-read!!


11/15

Statement Should Not Be

An undergraduate application

not too focused on extracurriculars, lifehistory, hobbies, general world view

About your convenience

Unclear


12/15

Discipline-specific:

Economics Be prepared: math background

Know what area you want to study

Show economic reasoning


13/15

Discipline-specific:

Psychology and Cognitive

Science

Be prepared: research experience,

statistics Know what area you want to study

Show awareness of how topics are

researched


14/15

In Conclusion,

The reader should be able to: see what you are interested in, and

why

see that you know what graduate

school is about (research)

see that you will be a success


15/15

Questions???

Documents

Winning SOP