Ph.D. IR

Here's mine! I too kind of used the "since I was a kid" at the start of a second paragraph, but I never implied that I was interested in this field since then. Since I had only taken two polisci classes as an undergraduate, what I focused on was showing that I had the TRAINING to succeed, I just needed to be taught the theory a bit first. Take it with a grain of salt as I probably only got into 2 programs:


By the time I arrived in Japan for my semester abroad, I had already made the decision to pursue a career in politics. With vague plans of joining the Foreign Service’s management track, I had decided to go to business school after graduating. However, on April 5th, 2009, North Korea fired the Unha-2 rocket over Japan. While watching the evening news with my host family, I realized that embassy work would not be enough for me. Wanting to know why North Korea, a country already shunned by the international community, would take such a risk, I thought back to my literature review for International Research Methods on the effects of missile defense systems on the probability of conflict. Before the attack, Japan did flex its defense muscles, but I knew that there were many variables, debates, and problems, such as whether “rogue states” truly act recklessly or if economic sanctions are actually effective, that I had yet to study. I decided to pursue graduate studies so that I could better comprehend the nature of interstate interaction and, through a career in academic research, contribute to understanding the nature of conflict and cooperation between states.


Having had over a dozen foreign exchange students stay with my family while growing up, I have always been fascinated with and connected to the international world. This led to my eventual decision to spend my undergraduate career at the School of International Studies at University of the Pacific. Through their interdisciplinary approach to international relations, I have gained perspectives ranging from the anthropological to the historical, from the geographic to the political. My interdisciplinary training allows me to apply a variety of contexts to questions in political science. For example, when looking at the question of stability between states, not only can I consider realist factors of power balance in a uni-, bi-, or multipolar system in common examples like the Cold War and European conflicts, but I can also draw upon the fourth century B.C. warring states of China and the stateless societies of pre-colonial Africa. Moreover, I can consider deeper details, such as cultural conflicts between Israel and Palestine, the nuanced differences between Sunni and Shi’a Islam, and the geographic importance of a small island off the southeast coast of Korea. There is, however, always more to learn, both historically and theoretically.


Also through my studies, I have gained a solid foundation in both qualitative and quantitative methods. In Cultural Anthropology and International Research Methods, I practiced ethnographic interviews and analysis with college students and community members. This, coupled with further cultural research methods from Cross-Cultural Training, was especially useful while studying and researching in Japan. The tools I acquired allowed me to take daily experiences and turn them into data for the papers I wrote on Japanese society and the Japanese state.


Along with this qualitative training, my emphasis has been strongly quantitative. In International Research Methods, I also conducted quota sample surveys and used SPSS and tools learned in Statistics to form regression models and test hypotheses. Moreover, through my wide range of economic studies, I have learned how different economists have used models to describe the world. Next semester I will finish multivariate calculus and conclude my program with an Econometrics research project. Graduate school will allow me to take these tools and combine them with the foundations I have established in Comparative and International Politics to begin answering questions and testing hypotheses.


After watching the Japanese missile crisis unfold, researching the effects missile defense systems, and debating the nature of conflict at the International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague, my interests in international relations have gravitated toward universal issues of warfare and cooperation. Some of the traditional topics that intrigue me include international politics, security policy, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. My primary research interest, however, is conflict termination. In the past, when enemies were as clearly defined as the Third Reich or the Iron Curtain, the endpoint of war was clear: defeat of the enemy. Now that the enemy is frequently ideas themselves, as we see in the War on Terror, it has become less clear when to cease fire. By using qualitative methods and looking at data on variables like goal achievement, domestic political unrest, and casualty trends in a wide range of conflicts, I hope to bring the field closer to understanding how contemporary conflict has changed and help mitigate its impact.


University of California: San Diego will provide me with the necessary resources to answer these questions. By utilizing the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation’s work on international security policy, regional relations, and innovations in international cooperation, I will be able to further both my education and my research outside of the classroom. Moreover, the research topics of Dr. Branislav L. Slantvhev in interwar negotiations and war termination, of Dr. Barbara F. Walter concerning conflict termination and cooperation, and of Dr. Erik A. Gartzke in information and war particularly dovetail with my interests. Also, courses like Game Theory and Quantitative International Relations will be instrumental in supporting my future dissertation work. With these resources and mentors, I hope to make significant contributions to the field of International Relations. After earning my PhD, I plan to move into a faculty position to continue my research and bring the world closer to understanding the dynamics of the international sphere.

The recent financial crisis and subsequent global policy response has demonstrated that
the relevant interests of Political Science and Economics will continue to merge. Within this
academic intersection, I wish to study the politics of economic development, focusing on the role
of the state during the process of economic change. I examined this topic in my senior thesis
(chapters of which are attached to my application). It was a case study on the state’s role in
economic development in Vietnam. This project represents the culmination of an intellectual
interest that stems from my early experiences as a child in Vietnam. Consequently, with this
personal narrative in mind, my academic background (which includes postgraduate studies at the
London School of Economics) and future research interests indicate that I have both the resolve
and competence to pursue a PhD in Government at Cornell.

Having spent part of my early life in Vietnam (a poor country only now undergoing
economic transition), I developed an interest in understanding how politics shaped economic
outcomes. Seeing the sharp material differences between the United States and Vietnam led to an
intrinsic sense that more was at play than sheer chance. It was upon studying comparative
politics (especially the political economy of East Asia) that I realized the importance of the state
and government policymaking in facilitating growth and development.

Personal experiences and coursework persuaded me to undertake a funded honors thesis
that analyzed the capacity of the Vietnamese government to act as a “developmental state,” a
lens of study borrowed from Chalmers Johnson, Ezra Vogel and Atul Kohli. I concluded that it
did not act as one, even though the government claimed to provide a middle ground between
capitalism and socialism. This project provided an important initial glimpse of the thrills of
academic research and influenced my decision to pursue my intellectual curiosities further. I am
now undertaking an MSc in the Political Economy of Late Development at the London School of
Economics (LSE). The program is allowing me to deepen my understanding of the economic
history and politics of development. In the development institute, I am fortunate to be studying
under Robert Wade, who has provided me with a nuanced picture of the contemporary debates
surrounding development. LSE has helped sharpen my understanding of the myriad of
alternatives for growth and development – strengthening my resolve to pursue a PhD.

Building upon theories encountered in prior research and courses, I want to be a part of
the fascinating debate between neo-classical economics and state-led economic growth theories.
I believe there is room for a middle ground that engages both sides. The examples of beneficial
state-interventions in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea – where industrial policies also
incorporated economic performance benchmarks – support a positive role for the state, while the
recent demand for privatization in these countries demonstrates the salience of liberal economics.
The space for academic inquiry comes from understanding the political incentives and conditions
that support benevolent state developmentalism, as well as the sequencing of reforms in this
process of economic transition.

Regionally, I want to focus on the contemporary politics of development in Southeast
Asia because it represents a terrific test-bed for research – it is a region with countries on the
verge of rich-nation status, and I already have working linguistic and political knowledge of one
rising country in the region. However, as my thesis also included comparisons with other
countries, these interests could evolve into cross-national comparative studies that include Africa
and Latin America, in addition to Southeast Asia.

I wish to measure why states choose to guide the process of economic development,
focusing on the international and political variables that induce policy and/or institutional
reform, using the developmental state theorem as an analytical lens. Some states choose to be
predatory or allow themselves to be captured by multinational interests; I want to understand
how domestic and international political variables influence some governments to be growth-
oriented, while dissuading others. Regarding policies, I want to decipher the causality and proper
sequencing of reforms: Does liberalization coincide with development? Or does development
lead to demands for liberalization? Patterns of interest group formation (consumer or business-
oriented) could serve as indicators for understanding this process. To sum up, I want to pursue
research concerning two possible relationships. In the first, my independent variables are
international and political factors, with my dependent variable being the outcome of state
developmentalism. In the second, patterns of interest group formation serve as the independent
variable, with the dependent variable being economic liberalization. On top of coursework I will
take at your department, I have taken courses in economics, statistics and social science research
methods, which provide a good starting point to answer these possible research questions.

The strengths of the department of Government in the fields of comparative political
economy, Southeast Asian politics as well as the opportunities for interdisciplinary studies
available through the university influenced my decision to apply to Cornell. These aspects,
combined with the top-notch research training I will receive will allow me to become a strong
scholar and university professor. The faculty also has scholars interested in Southeast Asian
political economy (in particular, Thomas Pepinsky) and others who are interested in
development and comparative political economy. Their expertise will allow me to accomplish
my research agenda. Additionally, I am drawn to the opportunities provided through
interdisciplinary studies at Cornell. The Southeast Asian program will allow me to utilize
resources from the university that will add depth to my research. My academic narrative and
prior research experiences should indicate that I have the competence and drive to succeed in
your program. I hope to be able to join the vibrant academic community at Cornell. Thank you
for the consideration.

Hope this helps.

LOL, SuddenlyParanoid, your SOP will be canonized as THE SOP by which all others are judged, given this year.

Now that the application process is over, do people want to post their personal statements? It can help guide the applicants in future years, and it can be fun to read what people's research interests are! Please post your PS!









This draft is a prototype that I used for all of my schools - I personalized my statements for each school to different degrees.




When I was growing up in Shanghai, I was the strange kid who liked to watch news instead of cartoons. Elections, decisions of war and peace, economic development, and other workings of the human social systems have long fascinated me. After four and a half years of studying political science at Swarthmore College and political economy at the London School of Economics, I have maintained my passion for the subject and its many puzzles. I wish to continue my study at XXX and focus on international relations and comparative politics with a regional concentration on East Asia. I am confident that my academic training, research experiences and intellectual curiosity position me well to contribute to the community of political scientists at XXX.

At Swarthmore, my work in comparative politics focused on comparative democratization, comparative political economy, and East Asian politics. For instance, in a paper I presented at an undergraduate Asian Studies Conference at West Chester University, Pennsylvania, I developed an alternative framework to the developmental state thesis to explain post-war Japanese political economy. I conducted my first sponsored independent research on Taiwan’s democratization (under the guidance of Professor XXX, Davidson College) based on primary documents, interviews, and English and Chinese secondary sources. That research project suggests that democratization is a means to alleviate the ethnic conflicts between the Taiwanese opposition and the Mainlander elites—the Taiwanese gained access to the state apparatus while the Mainlanders were guaranteed the survival of the Chinese nation in Taiwan (Taiwan was democratized under the framework of the Constitution of the Republic of China). Building upon this research, I also embarked on a larger research project that culminated as a conference paper at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Political Science Association in Elizabethtown, 2009. That paper develops a general theory of democratization in ethnically heterogeneous countries that brings together three streams of literatures: theories of democratization, theories of ethnic politics, and systemic theories in international relations. It postulates that specific inter-ethnic dynamics may generate intra-ethnic dynamics that would encourage ethnic elites to opt for power-sharing based on case studies.

In addition to comparative politics, I concentrated on international relations in my senior year. I wrote extensive seminar papers on topics including international monetary relations, optimal American strategy toward North Korea and Iran, and the possibility and necessity to reconcile interpretivism and positivism. The research I conducted for professors supplemented my in-course work. For instance, I researched for Professor XXX (Swarthmore) on Chinese population policy, Professor XXX on recent Japanese national security policies and Professor XXX (Swarthmore) on international regime theory. Moreover, Professor XXX (Swarthmore) and I are currently collaborating on a project that examines the relationship between ideational and material forces through case studies from international relations.

This year at LSE, I am studying game-theoretic models, formal models, econometrics, and the politics of economic policy with Professors X, Y, and Z. I believe that my training in both qualitative and quantitative models will allow me to pursue multi-method research effectively. I have a keen interest in applying quantitative methods to historical material, as well as inserting qualitative analysis into issues that require formal modeling.

At XXX, I would be interested in studying ethnic politics and democratization, the theory of transnational networks, and ideas in international politics (especially its relationship with material forces) on the theoretical, empirical and methodological levels. I wish to strengthen my senior project on ethnic politics and democratization at XXX by utilizing game theory to formalize my results based on comparative historical analysis. Moreover, I hope to resolve two theoretical issues in my earlier project—how to devise a more sophisticated framework to study intra-ethnic dynamics and how the ideational and material dimensions in ethnic politics are related. Both issues are related to my interests in IR theory. Theory of networks may help me resolve the first issue while investigating how ideas and interests intertwine will assist me in responding to the second issue.

Concerning the theory of transnational networks, I want to refine the current framework by introducing the concept of density, which measures the number of interconnected points, or the “thickness”, of networks (states can therefore be conceptualized as special networks with arguably the highest density). The concept of density permits network theory to simultaneously underscore the importance of states and transnational actors. Subsequently, the international system is characterized by a distribution of densities of a gigantic network (which can be subdivided into smaller networks based on issue area, religion etc.). Additionally, the concept of velocity, which captures the volume of interaction between different networks, may also strengthen network theory. The international system is not a dormant distribution of points; instead, information, wealth, ideas, and even weapon smugglings and human trafficking connect the points in a dynamic manner, which I hope to explore.

The theory of transnational networks may inform some empirical issues that I wish to study at XXX, in addition to ethnic politics. The theory of transnational networks encourages us to view power from a Foucaultian perspective - how it is dispersed and decentralized in international politics. Adopting the perspective, we may challenge the anarchy precept in IR theory. If power is not symbiotic with a central sovereign, the lack of a global enforcer of rules does not logically lead to anarchy. Subsequently, we can be more optimistic when discussing issues such as global governance – the Hobbesian dichotomy of a global sovereign or governing paralysis may be a fake one. Moreover, an interconnected view of the world may refine our understanding of the roles and strategies of middle and small powers in IPE and international security, which are often overlooked. The proliferation of networks implies the multiplication of veto points. Thus seemingly weak states or second-class powers may exert disproportionately huge influence in the international arena depending on their positions in the global network.

Aside from the theory of transnational networks, I am also interested in studying ideas, identities and norms in IR. Firstly, I am interested in theorizing how ideas merge, clash and compete with each other in international politics. For instance, what are the conditions under which a dominant culture, i.e. beliefs in liberal capitalism, generates “counter culture”, i.e. right wing and Islamic extremism? Secondly, relating back to the theory of transnational networks, how do the two distributions of density and ideas constrain and nurture each other? While scholars have written on how networks may transmit and generate ideas, how would the ideational contents of a network facilitate or constrain its growth? Thirdly, I am also interested in studying how ideas and interests covariate. I think that current IR literature has a tendency to analyze the two variables either as inherently incompatible starting points for analysis, distinctly independent variables or derivatives of one another. I postulate that ideas and interests are in fact symbiotic, and I wish to specify their relationship. Subsequently, I am curious to study the interactions between the two systems in IR theory - the distribution of power and the distribution of ideas. Fourthly, I hope to utilize quantitative methodologies to study norms and ideas in international politics (e.g. automated content analysis and NOMINATE regression). I wish to investigate the “irrational” dimensions of human scientifically and adopt economic tools for interpretive studies.

My knowledge on political science has grown cumulatively in the past four years. However, the more I know, the more questions I have. I look forward to continuing my intellectual journey under the distinguished scholars at XXX, and to becoming a researcher and scholar under their tutelage.

This is just untrue. That sort of preparation is unnecessary. I expect PhD applicants to have taken calculus to the level of AP Calc, first semester college-level stuff, and a class or two in applied statistics. Most of the results that we work with in political science require little more than what you would know from those classes, and the rest you can learn in graduate school (that's what graduate school is for). If you expect to make fundamental discoveries in statistical methods or pure game theory, then perhaps you need more preparation, but I don't think so, and that only describes less than 1% of all political scientists.

The idea that you have to double major in math or take all of these classes is just a way to scare prospective students. Prospective students, listen: this advice is just utterly wrong. Even if you want to do quantitative work in quantitative-heavy fields, this advice is wrong.

That's not to say that logical and/or mathematical reasoning is irrelevant to your preparation. It is not. But you can demonstrate that many ways: a major or minor in econ, substantial coursework in analytical philosophy or computer science or engineering/physics, a good senior thesis, many different ways. It's just nonsense that students of a human science need a course in topology as undergraduates.

Hi,

Also, I think it would be helpful to mention 2 or 3 professors in the department who you are interested in working with and why, in your paragraph about why you chose this particular program.
I totally agree with Newms here too. Be positive! Avoid the negatives as much as you can, unless you feel like you want to explain low grades/GRE scores.
GOOD LUCK!

Hi redant,

It's usually one essay called a statement of purpose, but usually you want to focus more on your research experience and interests than on your life story. However, and this is where it gets confusing, some programs (I'm not 100% sure about Anthropology) ask for two statements - a statement about your life background (usually called a personal history statement, or statement of diversity or confusingly, a personal statement) and a statement of purpose (or statement of academic purpose). So you just need to look at what the program asks for. If its one statement (even if they call it a personal statement) they want a statement of purpose about your research. If they ask for two, then one would be the personal history statement and the other would be the statement of (academic) purpose.

As for how long it should be, 1000 words is usually a good estimate for the statement of purpose. Sometimes the programs list a size limit, so you really need to check. If the program wants 2 statements, usually each would be smaller, but again, they sometimes list how long they want it so just check each program's requirements.

I hope this clears it up for you!

Hey there,

I'd be happy to look over your SOP if you like. Good luck!

Hey PhD IR,

I'd be happy to look it over for you. You can PM me if you'd like.