SOP Help

[Seanish]

My SOP is 90% finished or so. I just can't seem to get the "fit in the department" part down. I think I'm opting for departments as a whole rather than specific professors (though I have heard from a few). The SOP process was difficult in general but I really feel awkward saying "The work of X is very interesting" or "the department's recent research is X". How do you go about it? Anyone in a program already have some advice?

Edited December 10, 2011 by Seanish

[TMP]

Talk about all the faculty you're interested in. Mention what is it about the department as a whole that attracted you to the program.

[StrangeLight]

look at how their program works, based on what you can glean from their website. for example, at my own program, students specialize in one regional field and one thematic field (something transnational like world history or atlantic history). if you can say "having the opportunity to participate in the atlantic history theme in the program would allow me to X, Y, and Z in my work" that would help a lot.

also, look at all the professors' pages. yes, all of them. if you do russian history and focus on representations of gender in the labour force and you see that a latin americanist also does/did gender and labour history, mention them in your SOP as someone you would like to work with, to learn the methodology and theory for approaching gender and labour.

i can tell you from experience that, in programs where this is a really natural fit, where you don't have to stretch reality too much to make it seem like 4 or 5 profs would be interested in some aspect of your work, you'll have a really good shot at getting in. conversely, any programs where you're really struggling to find commonalities with the faculty beyond "we study the same country in the same century," you will have a much more difficult time getting in.

these schools get 10-20 times as many applications as they have spots to offer, so genuinely appealing to the research of as many faculty as possible goes a long way.