Listing out courses in SOP

[kaputzing]

Field: Ancient Near East.

I have been getting conflicting responses to this question. In general, I understand it is not wise to list out classes you've taken, because they have the transcript right there, so there's no point wasting precious words on them. However, I just received the first draft of my SOP back from my departmental advisor, and she explicitly told me to list out all the courses I've taken pertaining to my field of study. When I brought up my concerns with her, she told me my background was the strongest part of my package and that admissions committees in my field are primarily looking for 1.) a strong philological background, 2.) enough determination to get through grad school and not drop out, and 3.) fit.

"Fit" in my field is apparently quite broad. My first draft more or less states my interest in [GENRE] from [TIME PERIOD], while sketching out what I would like to explore within that text corpus, and she said that was narrow enough. I must've sounded or looked very dubious, because she clarified and said that nobody going into a PhD program in my field has enough background to know what they really want to do yet and that it was important not to sound like I have a dissertation topic in mind already. Because you can't be too detailed (might seem arrogant, as if you think you know enough as of right now to pursue a topic), and because language background is so damn important, I might as well spend my words on listing out the classes I've taken and talking about how they've brought me to where I am now than in discussing my research interests in too much detail.

Now, this goes against pretty much everything I've heard about writing SOPs; in general, it seems to be "say as little as you need to say about your background, focus on looking ahead," but as she understands it, because this isn't a modern field and because so much background study is needed to even know what the hell is up in this field, it's not like the more modern programs where you can discuss what you'd like to do. Which makes sense. Additionally, she's served on the admissions committee for two very, very good schools in my field, so I don't want to disregard her advice. Not to mention, I am applying to study under her for the next year as well.

Any input? Would especially appreciate advice from people more on the ancient side ("ancient" = pre-Medieval Studies) to know if this is sound advice. Will be getting opinions from other profs as well as soon as the weekend passes. Thanks!

[Darth.Vegan]

I honestly would not spend a lot of time on this. You can demonstrate background study by using language that fits with your field. I have one paragraph for my entire background and my SOP is still too long. I just don't see how you can talk about everything you need to plus coursework and get in under 1200 words. Some people even shoot for 600-`1000 word SOP's.

[octopussongs]

One thing to think of, if your transcripts actuall explain what you took. I took a lot of 'special studies' which are just senior level classes that aren't offered regularly, kinda just to represent super recent research going on in the department, but they are ALL under the same course code 'special studies anth. 469' so that doesn't say much! I have to mention these classes because there is no other way for them to know, unless they do the research themselves, and my department from undergrad isn't great about keeping a well navigatable or updated website.

I'm also submitted a list of all my classes in my major with grades and professors and breif descriptions. This will be part of 'additional documents' which I've found as a category in all my schools im applying to thus far. If its a paper app, just send it it. Can't hurt. I doubt they'd be pissed for one extra document.

[TakeruK]

I would agree that listing or summarizing your course experience is a good idea if it's very important to your field, if you'd taken particularly noteworthy courses, or if your transcripts show them as "Special Topics in Basketweaving" etc.

But I am not sure what you mean that most SOP guides instruct you to spend little time on background and focus on the future. About 75% of my SOP was my background -- describing the kind of student/researcher I am (based on what I've done and why I've made certain choices) and the remaining 25% was a discussion of why certain aspects of the program I'm applying to (especially the research that certain profs are doing but also courses, resources etc.) would be a good fit for my future career goals. Although I would give the advice to "not dwell on the past" in SOPs, I mean don't dwell on things like poor grades, lack of focus or whatever. But you definitely want to provide a narrative of your experience as a scholar in your field. Of course, this is just my opinion -- maybe my SOP was garbage!

[kaputzing]

The advice I've seen from most people tends to be 25% background, 75% interests/future projects/fit, with the final ideal length being around 1.5 pages.

I went and talked to another professor in my department, and he advises that I take the middle road and mention the courses and the professors I took them with (since the profs. aren't on my transcript) and use that to kind of flow into a "and that's how I am where I am right now" narrative. This might unfortunately take two paragraphs, and I still need to add another paragraph for more refined research interests. I'm still waiting for some of the other profs to get back to me on this too, so we'll see how horrible my execution was.

[thenerdypengwin]

This is what your CV is for. You can highlight relevant classes, grades, and explain their relevance to your field and interests. Don't waste room in your SOP. You never want to laundry list. You shouldn't brag, let the reader brag about you.

[rising_star]

I would put it on a CV under a heading like "Selected Coursework".