<p>I am applying for immunology phD program for Fall 2012 and am currently writing my SoP. I know that I need to express my future research goals/what I want to study somewhere in the statement of purpose. Would saying "autoimmunity/immunogenetics, specifically the mechanisms and potential therapies for type I diabetes" be specific enough, or would they want a more narrowed research focus? I really have no idea what exactly I want to research right now, but I don't want this to hurt my chances!</p>
<p>You don’t want to too focused. You want to make sure your reserach goals align with that of 3-5 professors. I’m not too familiar with immunology, but autoimmunity/immunogenetics sound specific enough. Don’t bring up therapies for Type I diabetes unless there’s a professor doing research on the topic </p>
<p>You could word it as"I want to study autoimmunity and immunogenetics in School M’s immunology doctoral program. I’m especially interested in Professor X’s research on therapies for Type I diabetes, Professor Y’s reserach on YY, and Professor Z’s research on ZZ"</p>
<p>I second None’s answer. You don’t need to be more specific than that (just don’t actually use a / in your SOP).</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice (and no, I didn’t use a slash in my actual SoP. Ha). Would one of you be willing to proofread or just give a general opinion? If not, it’s fine. I plan on getting two professors to read over it within the next few weeks, but I thought an opinion from someone who didn’t know me would be nice.</p>