Statement of Purpose (part two)
Part 2 of the application is a Statement of Purpose (SoP). A statement of purpose will allow us to gauge your commitment to developing as a researcher and obtaining a graduate degree.
- Statement of Purpose
- We recommend going to the Writing Center for revisions of your SoP.
- Send the final SoP in either a PDF or Word document.
The standard document format for a statement of purpose is 12-point font Times New Roman, double-spaced with 1’’ margins. We do ask the statement of purpose not exceed 2 pages.
Please make sure your SoP covers the following prompts:
- Personal Statement — describe your personal education and professional journey. We want to know your academic narrative and understand what shapes your academic interests and motivates you to pursue your goals.
- Research Interests — describe what are you interested in researching or further studying in academia and why.
- Graduate School Interest — describe your interest in graduate school, the type(s) of graduate programs (M.S., Ph.D.) you have considered, and how will these support your professional goals.
- McNair Program — describe what you expect to gain from your participation in the McNair program and how the McNair program will support your academic and professional goals.
- Leadership and Co-curricular Engagement — describe your leadership experience and how you engage with your communities.
Part Two (SOP)