Statement of Purpose-Mention Professor names?

[Guest boo]

A lot of people suggest mentioning the names of two professors you want to work with and how their work has influenced you in your SOP. I found this to be very hard as it means you have to tailor each SOP for each school as well as read what each professor has written, figure out what they deem most important in their research, and try to apply it to yourself without sounding like you are brown nosing.

Did everyone else do this too, or am I the only shmuck?

[pistolwink]

I definitely did this as well, but it was really only a matter of plugging two or three "customized" sentences into one main personal statement.

I don't think it's necessary to say that a professor influenced you (although if it's truly the case, it might help, I suppose...), just that you feel your general interests are thematic with his/her general interests, even if you've never heard of him/her before looking into the program.

For the vast majority of the professors, I just went by the interests listed on their faculty websites and the topics of their listed publications. I mean, one's ability to do this would vary greatly depending on program and interests...I want to study film in the context of American history, so when I'm looking at history faculty members it's immediately obvious whether there are logical ones I'd be compatible with (let's just ignore the awkward construction of that sentence) - there are usually only a couple (if any) per department. And as for mentioning it in the statement....because it only requires a sentence or two, going into that much background research/detail just wasn't necessary. Now, if I were called up for interview, or if I found out who my advisor was after accepting an offer...THEN I'd be frantically reading his/her publications and figuring out how I fit in. Now, this worked for me, but I can certainly imagine how it might not be the case for every discipline or set of interests.

[gradgirl]

One of my advisors told me SPECIFICALLY to NOT mention professor names, becuase it can narrow your options--that is, if you express an interest in working with Professor X but he has no openings for new advisees this year, you're done. He said it can also put you in a situation where you're the victim of department politics you're unaware of--ie, you express an interest in working with Professor X but he's not on the admissions committee and Professor Y is, and Y gets annoyed that you hadn't mentioned HIS work. and is instantly soured toward your application. Also if they're getting a LOT of people who name the same specific person they want to work with, they probably get tired of hearing it... he said if they have someone really famous on their faculty in your area, of COURSE you'd want to work with them, and you dont need to express the obvious. And he mentioned the fact that it's better to approach a program with more of an open mind in case the person(s) whose names you drop are going to go on sabbatical/retire/who knows what... you want the PROGRAM to be a good fit, not just specific people.

This said, I didn't mention any names in my SoP...he pretty well scared me out of doing so. However, I did my homework on the profs in the departments, and i tailored each SoP to make my interests sound as harmonious and relevant as possible to the work that specific profs in the department were/are doing. In one case, I even contacted a specific prof to gain more info on his research interests and the program in general, and while I never mentioned his name in my SoP it was pretty obvious who i'd be a good match for when it comes to advising. I think it's not a bad idea to let the school "fit you in" to their department rather than staking out a claim and being as presumptuous as to assume where you'd fit in best. But that's just me. I'm sure others would violently disagree with me on this.

[pistolwink]

I think you're right that mentioning only one name might screw you over if that person is going on leave/retiring/out of favor in the department...that's why I always listed at least two or three, and why I didn't apply to any departments that didn't have at least two or three people with whom I could viably work. I mean, one probably shouldn't be applying to the program in the first place if it's on the merits of ONE person - and of the contingency of that person being available. I guess what I'm getting at is that you shouldn't be like "I want to pursue X program because X person is here," but rather, "I want to pursue X program because its scholarly orientation is broadly compatible with my own; I'm particularly interested in the possiblity of working with any of x, y, or z, who study these things that are similar/related to/the same as what I want to study."

But that should really be an organic process if you're picking the programs that are best-suited to your interests in the first place.

But I think mentioning specific people was a boon to my statements overall - at each place I've been accepted, I've been contacted personally by one of the people I mentioned, and there's already the context of common interests established.

[PETRAL6]

In programs that you have rotations or have no real connection to the research of one professor, be broad but in the area of the program. In research intensive positions where you will likely work closely with one or two professors, it is ESSENTIAL. I know in my program, I needed to have two people say that they were willing and wanting to work with me. I think the one just pushed so hard that another person said ok. I wrote a paragraph in each geared toward one or two professors.

[Guest daphna]

I contacted a relevant professor in each school to which I applied, so that they would know who I was and also give me some info about the program.

I then wrote in the personal statement something like "my contact with professor X further convinces me that this program is the right one for me".

That way I reminded the relevant professor that I had contacted them, but also didn't limit myself to specifically working with them.

[Guest Guest]

I didn't mention a single professor's name, and I sent the exact same statement of purpose to all of the schools I applied to (7 in all). I got in to all of them. There may not be a "right" way to do things, and it definitely depends on the field.

[Guest guest]

I also agree with gradgirl above. My own profs here too advised me not to mention specific profs in the programs I was applying to, or even be too specific in the expressed area of interest, just specific enough so that they pair you with someone in the area of research you are interested in. The profs you might be asking to work for might not have any opening, might not have their grants renewed, might not even be working in the same project anymore. Let alone the fact that people in the admission committee will try to fill the spots with students suited to them. (actually, this happened to me in one dept, the grad chair didn't like the area i was going to work on, and instead got more students in his area. I couldn't figure why the rejection when all my credentials were perfect, until I heard this piece of gossip from the faculty there).

I didn't mention specific profs, or specific future research project in my statement, and it helped me get to a lot of top-notch schools. And good that I didn't, because 2 profs in 2 of these schools I was planning to work with did not get their grants renewed, so I'd have gotten a straight rejection if I limited my research interest to them only. After I got admitted, profs from all the schools were contacting me themselves to see whether I'd like to work with them and describing their research. So it is good to describe your skills, past experiences, but do not shoot yourself in the foot by saying you only want to work in one narrow area of your field. Plus, it is nice having a lot of options and deciding after all the cards are laid in the table.

As a rule of thumb, if you are not mentioning a particular faculty in the SoP, then it is a good idea to apply to places that have at least 2 profs in the area you want to go into. That way, you have higher chances, and helps in case one prof goes away.

On the other hand, if you mention more than one prof, the admissions committee will see straight through you and decide you do not have strong interests in any of them altogether, but instead are trying to list as many as you can in the chance that one of them might take you. Noone really wants to be a second choice, so faculty do not like that either. Just let the schools then decide where you fit in with them and don't show arrogance by pretending to know you are the best fit for so-and-so prof. The same prof might have a lot of students saying exactly that and is probably tired of hearing it.

[pistolwink]

"On the other hand, if you mention more than one prof, the admissions committee will see straight through you and decide you do not have strong interests in any of them altogether, but instead are trying to list as many as you can in the chance that one of them might take you."

Whoa, there. Generalization; clearly not true. I know I am not the only one that's been admitted to good programs by mentioning specific names in a personal statement; it's clear that both methods have the potential of being successful and have mutually exclusive merits. It's obtuse and negatively limiting to suggest that someone should categorically rule it out when it can enhance his/her statement - if done effectively.

[Bianca]

I agree with pistolwink and it also probably depends on the program. I mentioned at least 2 names in each statement and got in in 4 of the 8 schools I applied. before doing that I contacted all of these potential advisors to make sure they will be taking new grad students this year.

and mentioning many names also doesn't have to be necessarily bad. in one of the schools there were 4 professors that work in my area (which is not usually the case, only 1 or 2 in the other departments) and so I used this to say something like 'the fact that there are so many people doing research in this area, such as prof x,y,z, and w makes your school my top choice'. I was accepted, contacted by one of those whose name I mentioned and she was very excited about my application.

so there are no rules of thumb, I guess

[air_supply_fan]

personally, i mentioned the names of profs in all of my personal statements. i guess it's b/c i'm applying to a ph.d. program and i wanted to show i'm focused and know exactly what i want to do. i usually mentioned three profs who are doing research in my area. from this you can see that the programs i'm applying to are all very strong in my area in that they have quite a few profs with the same interest. i know these profs are all close friends judging on the large number of papers they co-authored. and btw, the DGS of all the programs i got into are working in my area. don't know whether that's a benefit or not.

[DespSeekPhd]

How could one write a statement of purpose while being deliberately vague about your, well, purpose? I'm not saying it didn't work for you, I'm just curious. I assume that when they ask for a statement of purpose, they want to see how well your can detail your plans. After all, they don't want people in their program who are floating around still trying to figure things out. They want to see that you have a narrowed focus that you are passionate about and can articulate it. Right?

I applied for an MA program, as my husband's medical residency precludes me from moving anywhere for a PhD for 3 more years. I briefly outlined my research interests (ecclesiastical medieval history) and noted three professors and how they could assist me. It took a couple paragraphs. The other question is, what is the benefit of working with a professor who does not have similar research interests to you?

I have no choice but to apply to programs based on one professor - the only existing program I can find that has more than one professor in my area of interest is Toronto. Every other program has maybe one professor that does early medieval and even touches on ecclesiastical. So I look at whether the professor is tenured, how long he/she has been there, how invested he/she is in the program, etc. When I apply for my PhD in a couple years, I'll need to apply to at least 10 programs to get myself a slot. So goes the application process.

[legob]

I'd have to agree with people who mentioned that it is not a good idea to state a faculty member's name on the SoP. I have worked three hard years in my field to get into a top 2 PhD program. I was working remotely with a professor in a prestigious program and then decided to apply for that program. I even had campus visit before filing my application. On my SoP which I believe was very effective and tailored about my research interest, I mentioned the name of the same professor. The guy had no grant at the time. Although the program's director liked my application, there were some other professors who obviously had some negative idea with prospective PI and YES, they persuaded the director to push me way back on the waiting list and at the end I got rejected!!! After six month (by having a lot of conversations with other people on campus) I realized that they professor I was going to work with was not popular at all and many wanted him out of the program. This is how I screwed up! So DO NOT specifically mention any names.

[Black Beauty]

I am in agreement with those who said that it is a good idea to mention faculty members' names on your SOP.

On March 20, 2006 at 6:36 PM, pistolwink said:

it's clear that both methods have the potential of being successful and have mutually exclusive merits

This is an old post but I agree with this statement. Seven out of the eight PhD programs I am applying to ask that you mention the names of faculty members that you would like to work with in your SOP. Therefore, I looked at numerous professors' websites to find faculty members whose research aligned with my interests. 

Because these schools specifically ask for names of professors, I believe it would be beneficial to mention names on your SOP.

[DBear]

On 2016. 11. 11. at 0:16 PM, Black Beauty said:

I am in agreement with those who said that it is a good idea to mention faculty members' names on your SOP.

This is an old post but I agree with this statement. Seven out of the eight PhD programs I am applying to ask that you mention the names of faculty members that you would like to work with in your SOP. Therefore, I looked at numerous professors' websites to find faculty members whose research aligned with my interests. 

Because these schools specifically ask for names of professors, I believe it would be beneficial to mention names on your SOP.

I agree as well, there are risks to naming professors, but that's usually something that should be addressed in the preparation phases. 

Also, this seems to be a discipline specific issue as well and it's important to know what the norm is in one's discipline. For example, I don't know one person who did not name names in phd applications for English/ Communication/ Rhet comp. I've even been told by a PI in a top program in my field to at least state 3. 

Also think it depends on whether one is applying for an MA or phd.....

But yeah, before reading this thread it hadn't even crossed my mind that one shouldn't mention names

[day_manderly]

Question: one of the professors I am interested in does not work at the department where I will be studying. He will still be available for conversations, I guess, but I am not sure whether I should mention him at all. By 'mention' I don't mean saying I want him to advise me, just that I'm excited he works at the same university, and I've enjoyed his work in my field. Do you know anyone who mentioned profs outside their grad school/department?

Edited November 13, 2016 by day_manderly

[DBear]

4 hours ago, day_manderly said:

. Do you know anyone who mentioned profs outside their grad school/department?

Not if they're not directly affiliated somehow... Even then, with the word limits on SOPs, not sure you'd want to spare lines for someone that's not going to be directly related to your research. If you really want, you could maybe say that University X is so great because it has excellent faculty both in and outside of Department Y, which will be great in stimulating your research interests... 

[Edotdl]

I've heard of some profs that will not look at your application unless you've mentioned them in your SOP. Adding a few "customized" sentences is the approach I took and it seemed to work out okay. It should be clear from the rest of your SOP why you want to work with these profs and how their interests relate to yours. Therefore, a few sentences to mention specific names should suffice.

[Feanor]

I've heard that, for some places, putting someone's name means they'll forward the application so that said person can have a look and give feedback. This can be obviously benefitial if you contacted him/her beforehand and had a nice connection. Also, I'd like to think the graduate school in general will appreciate that you cared enough to gather the data on who does the kind of thing you're interested and why, certainly beats being the generic applicant who isn't sure of anything and has no idea of what people actually do over there. Just try to make sure you wouldn't rely on a single person, that's a dangerous bet for everybody.

[eagb]

I think all of my applications (Bioinformatics) asked in a separate question to list some professors that you are interested in. In this case, should you still mention profs in the SOP? I made my interest fairly broad, and made sure that it was something at least a few people are doing in the department. For example, I want to use big data and machine learning to use epigenetic profiles in autism to flag candidate genes, but in my SOP I said I was broadly interested in developing and applying data science strategies to large genomic datasets to answer questions relating to human disease. Is that a good solution, or should I still say something like 'For example, the groups of Prof X, Y, and Z are of particular interest because they employ these strategies'?

[avflinsch]

This was the advice from my LOR writers

LOR #1 - stated that it was a good idea to mention faculty members. He also specifically stated that he is on the admissions panel and was was retiring (which I took as a hint to not mention him as a potential advisor)

LOR #2 - definitely list faculty members, and reference their research. He did not want to know ahead of time if he was a POI, and stated that they get to see the personal statements without the name of the submitter.

LOR #3 - definitely list faculty members, and show where your area of interest runs parallel to or overlaps theirs.