If you’re planning to enroll in a graduate school, you need to create and submit a statement of purpose. In it, you state the reason for your interest in a specific graduate program, the type of work you plan to do in the school, and what value it would add to the school.
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Statements Of Purpose For Graduate School
What is the purpose of graduate school?
If you have your eyes set on graduate school after finishing your undergraduate degree, prepare to answer the question, “Why do you want to go to graduate school?” Moreover, you should also consider the answer to this question as it involves the costs of tuition fees and more time out of employment, both of which you shouldn’t take lightly.
For these reasons, it is important to have reasons that are firmly grounded. Here are the most common purposes to help you make the decision of writing a statement of purpose for graduate school to further your education:
- To invest in your own future
- For employers to notice you in the future
- To acquire more than a basic qualification, especially one which is internationally recognizable
- To pursue your interests further
- To contribute to your knowledge
- To make new connections
- To increase your financial prospects
- To obtain academic recognition
Statement Of Purpose Formats
What is a statement of purpose?
A statement of purpose for graduate school is an important part of your application to graduate school that informs the admissions committee about who you are, your professional and academic interests, and how you can be a valuable asset to the graduate program you’re applying to.
The goal of a statement of intent grad school is to tell your story and why you think you deserve to be a part of a university. It provides the admissions committee with an opportunity to get to know you and why you’ll add value to the graduate program.
What kind of writing do you need for this document?
Even if the statement of purpose format is less formal than standard research papers, you must still make sure that the language you use is completely free from mechanical and grammatical errors.
It should be a reflection of your qualifications and educational level. Your statement of purpose for graduate school should apply these guidelines when composing it:
- Use a more personal language and tone compared to research writing.
- Use the first-person point of view and an active voice.
- List events and information chronologically beginning with your most significant achievements and actions.
- Include plenty of relevant details like professors, course names, specific schools or programs, and methods.
- Compose several drafts to give you more time to edit and revise before submitting it to the admissions faculty of the graduate program.
Academic Statements Of Purpose
How do you write a good statement of purpose for graduate school?
Submitting an academic statement of purpose gives you the opportunity to help the admissions committee know about your academic goals and determine whether you’re a good match for the program you’re applying to.
The main objective of a statement of purpose for graduate school is to let them know that you have firm experience and background in your area of interest and you can also potentially succeed in graduate school. Here are steps for composing your statement of objectives graduate school:
Introduce yourself and provide a description of your academic interests
- Give basic background information about your area of interest and why this area became a particular interest for you.
- You may also state why and how you decided to take a graduate degree.
Describe your academic training, background, and preparation
- Provide a description of the skills you’ve learned from your various experiences which may include research opportunities, undergraduate coursework, fieldwork, presentations, scholarly writings, and so on. If possible, provide specific examples to express the points you’re trying to convey.
- Share details about the research you have done yourself or as part of a group. Include details like the project title, your research mentor, your role, the outcomes, and what you’ve learned. You should also mention any challenges you have confronted, how you overcame them, and what you’ve learned from them. This information could demonstrate your resilience and persistence despite adversity – and these are things admissions committees looking for.
- Include important documentation like thesis projects that you have completed along with any scholarly works that go beyond your academic degree requirements.
Show them your confidence in your decision
- Indicate in the document the field of study you want to pursue in graduate school. Do this in detail so that they will understand that you have thought about this decision well.
- You have to prove to them that you have researched the program thoroughly, its faculty, all research-focus areas, and why you’re specifically applying for the program. Including these helps you create a more informed statement that the committee who will review your application will relate to.
- Convince the admissions committee why you’re a good fit for the program and why the program is a good fit for you.
- If there are any specific faculty members you’re interested in working with, you can check this out in the graduate program’s instructions then try to determine the best way to state this interest in your statement. There are some programs that require you to provide the name of a specific professor with whom you want to work with.
- Mention in your statement any aspects in the graduate program that you are particularly interested in like immersion programs, opportunities for collaborating with other people outside of the university, research facilities associated with the graduate program, and so on.
- You can also include any information that’s important to you outside of the graduate program. This could include inquiries about a supportive environment for students, access to literary resources, opportunities to take part in career or professional development programs, and more.
- It could work to your advantage if you share what you plan to do after completing the program. This is an effective way to emphasize the significance of your decision to pursue graduate studies.
- Finally, you can share any extracurricular experiences you have that could demonstrate your leadership, your ability to work with diverse people, teaching skills, and so on.
