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Statement of Purpose

This document provides guidance on writing an effective Statement of Purpose for graduate school applications. It recommends including an opening paragraph introducing yourself and your reasons for pursuing graduate study. The next section should qualify your experiences, including why you chose your field of study, relevant academic and research experiences, undergraduate studies, and other accomplishments. It then suggests providing background on yourself, your family, community influences, and personal attributes that will help in graduate school. The statement should conclude by reinforcing why you are qualified and will succeed. It should be concise at 1 to 2 1/2 pages.

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21 views

Statement of Purpose

This document provides guidance on writing an effective Statement of Purpose for graduate school applications. It recommends including an opening paragraph introducing yourself and your reasons for pursuing graduate study. The next section should qualify your experiences, including why you chose your field of study, relevant academic and research experiences, undergraduate studies, and other accomplishments. It then suggests providing background on yourself, your family, community influences, and personal attributes that will help in graduate school. The statement should conclude by reinforcing why you are qualified and will succeed. It should be concise at 1 to 2 1/2 pages.

Uploaded by

seviram441
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Your Statement of Purpose*

Your Statement of Purpose should be clear, concise, and complete in sentence structure. However, try to be
as informative as possible throughout the Statement. Before you submit your Statement of Purpose to the
department of your chosen field of interest and/or to the graduate school, ask your advisor or a faculty member
to read and comment on your work. Prior to this, share drafts with your friends and family.

Opening Paragraph. Here you want to introduce yourself and give your general reasons for pursuing graduate
study. Because the selection committee members will read many applications, make your statement relevant by
stating your particular talents and individuality.

Qualifications. In this section, the aim is to build a foundation for your forthcoming work. You should
discuss your experiences in the following:

1. Explain why you chose this field. What motivated you.


2. Your expertise and accomplishments in your major field, including any research you've performed.
You should mention the project and the name of the professor who you worked for or under the
direction of.
3. Your undergraduate studies in general and how they relate to what you intend to do in graduate school.
4. Your specific experiences that demonstrate your motivation and inspiration for continued study.
5. Other relevant experiences (Le., jobs, community activities, leadership in school organizations, awards,
honors, etc.). Be sure to include names of person/s, names of organizations, and other important details.
6. Explain (briefly) any discrepancies on your transcript which would include having a lower GPA in a
particular semester or year. No details are necessary.
7. Mention specific faculty you are interested in working with.

Background. Here, you want to tell the school about yourself. Also, describe your family and your
community (or a community in which you once lived). You could include whether your family, a family
member in particular, or someone in your community influenced your chosen field of interest. Also, you want
to give examples of personal attributes or qualities that you know will help you successfully complete graduate
study. For instance, describe your determination to achieve your goals, your initiative and ability to develop
ideas, and your capacity to work through problems independently.

Closing Paragraph. Finally, leave the reader with a strong sense that you are qualified and will be successful
in graduate or professional school.

The statement should only be 1 to 2 Y2 pages long so you need to be concise.

*Thanks to the University of Califomi a System for their contribution in writing this sample Statement of Purpose.

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