SOP for Master's

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi all, </p>

<p>I am planning on pursuing a Master's for the sole purpose of taking some more classes and exploring another university. I've seen lots of advice for statements of purpose saying that you should research the school and talk about professors or labs or programs or research initiatives that you would like to be involved with. </p>

<p>Does this type of advice still apply to Master's students? I am doing a non-thesis option and I don't feel the need to fabricate a grand interest in research and academia. Is that okay to adcoms? Is there some way to phrase this in a pretty way?</p>

<p>Thanks for your time and insight.</p>

2

<p>Show your interest in the subject matter, and explain why you would benefit from a more in-depth understanding.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, momwaiting. That I can do. But I shouldn’t worry about talking about research and stuff I would like to get involved with?</p>

4

<p>If you’re in the humanities, yes, you must absolutely specify the subfield of research in which you are interested.</p>

<p>I have no idea about the sciences.</p>

5

<p>A credit-based master’s program may be different from a Phd one in that you don’t have to express an interest in joining the academy; however, you still need to show that you care deeply about intellectual discovery. Remember that graduate school is for specialization, not for taking a broad range of classes. By applying with a too-broad set of interests, you risk having the committee decide that you’re not ready. </p>

<p>BTW, if you really ARE just interested in taking classes, that’s easy enough to do in a non-degree program, as a sort of intellectual hobby.</p>

6

<p>Anivel, you need to decide which field you want to pursue in graduate school. </p>

<p>Graduate school is all about specialization (in the case of professional master’s programs, preparing you for a career). What do you want to do? </p>

<p>For instance, I am enrolled in a professional master’s program. Thesis is optional. In my SOP, I specifically mentioned why I want to attend that particular school, which skills I would like to learn, and what I plan to accomplish after I graduate.</p>

<p>If you are simply only interested in taking classes for hobby, community college is the cheaper and better approach.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for your help!</p>

<p>I guess I needed to be more specific. I’m a computer science major and I’m planning on concentrating in artificial intelligence. I’m definitely passionate about the direction, but I’m more interested in the college experience than on pursuing it for as long and as intensely as a PhD would dictate. I’m set on graduate school at a respectable university because I ended up regretting where I went for undergrad and I feel like I’ve missed out on the education that I wanted. </p>

<p>I was just confused because all of the advice I could find about statements of purpose said that you should always mention specific professors or specific programs, and I don’t see the point of doing so if I’m not being truthful. Tenisghs, thanks for the specificity of your advice. Skills and goals and accomplishments are all things I can talk about sincerely.</p>

8

<p>Depending on your goals, it is also ideal to attend the best graduate program in your field. </p>

<p>For instance, I am enrolled in a top-5 dual-master’s program.</p>