Research Statement

[Schnuffichen]

Hey guys

So, I found this neat research institute in the Netherlands that pretty much covers my research interest AND offers PhD positions without needing a Masters.

They want me to send, among other things, a "research statement" and I'm totally at a loss what that entails... and how long it's supposed to be.

I've written SoPs and Research Proposals before, so my thinking was that it's somewhere in between: What are my interests, what is my background in the field and what do I wanna focus on, without the specifics of an actual proposal (i.e. without hypotheses, without specifics on methodology). Is that correct? And should I do some name dropping (or even citations?), for instance people who influenced me?

Thanks for all input!

Jana

Edited March 4, 2010 by Schnuffichen

[spectralScatter]

Hey guys

So, I found this neat research institute in the Netherlands that pretty much covers my research interest AND offers PhD positions without needing a Masters.

They want me to send, among other things, a "research statement" and I'm totally at a loss what that entails... and how long it's supposed to be.

I've written SoPs and Research Proposals before, so my thinking was that it's somewhere in between: What are my interests, what is my background in the field and what do I wanna focus on, without the specifics of an actual proposal (i.e. without hypotheses, without specifics on methodology). Is that correct? And should I do some name dropping (or even citations?), for instance people who influenced me?

Thanks for all input!

Jana

Hey,

So I just recently had to submit many applications to institutions in the U.S. As a result, I have had to write and submit several SoPs. When I wrote my SoPs, I included my research history, and how that history helped direct my future research interests. Some institutions explicitly stated that it was okay to include my research history with my SoP or to separate it into another statement. For these institutions I separated my research experiences into a synopsis of my research history (research statement). I didn't talk about how these experiences affected my research interests, since I talked about my future interests in my SoP.

I hope this helps.

Edited March 7, 2010 by chemmastr

[mudlark]

I would think that a research proposal would be the place to talk about methodology and other hard issues. But I'm from a different country and a different field, so who knows? Why not e-mail the contact person for the program and ask them directly? That's the only way you're sure to get the right answer.

[BrandNewName]

i have studied and now work in a german university so i can offer some educated guesses as to what is expected of the application.

first, i would make sure that they don't require additional training beyond a BA. in germany and some other places in europe (the netherlands being one, i believe) there are a variety of degrees that are now being phased out in favor of the standardized BA-MA-PHD structure. so when they say there is no master's requirement, if that message is geared toward mainly dutch students, they may be assuming that those students are coming into the program with something along the lines of the german Magister degree (normally 5 years). basically, that's just my convoluted way to say, send them an email and check up on the requirements if coming from the american system.

as for phd programs in europe, they are quite different than the states. very independent and often without a taught component of any sort. in germany (and again, i am about 80% certain that this applies to the netherlands as well), when you apply to a phd the research proposal is anywhere from 10-15 pages in length; it is not an SoP with anecdotal or biographical information normally. if they want a letter of intent or a CV (which sometimes serves this sort of biographical purpose in addition to acting as a listing of your awards, education, etc.) they will ask for that. your fit with a given professor's specific field of interest is not nearly as important. most departments have a few professors (for about 500 undergraduates in my department we have two full-time professors and a plethora of academic staff) and when doing a phd you don't find a professor who matches you exact interest, but rather someone in your field who is willing to check in on your progress every once in a while. on the whole because there are far fewer professors in departments here, there is a great emphasis on having a broad knowledge, thus the common focus on fit and aligning yourself with faculty in the department that you come across in the states doesn't really apply in europe. to be a successful applicant your phd project should be laid out in full within these 10-15 pages -- main ideas, methodology, time frame, literature, where it fits in the field, what it brings to it, etc. there is always room to wiggle around a bit, but without the taught period to serve as a buffer you are expected to come in, know what you want to do, have the motivation to do it and meet with a professor once or twice a semester, and be done in three years.

you should definitely get in touch with them and get more solid details. as i said, this is based on my experience in germany and my limited knowledge of how things work in the netherlands.