If a statement of purpose isn't mentioned, do I still need it?

[chron]

I posted this elsewhere but didn't notice this section so I hope posting this again is OK. I hear that grad schools require a statement of purpose, but I am confused because some of the grad schools I'm looking at don't mention it. I am mostly looking at Canadian schools, so maybe it's because of Canadian vs. American differences, I don't know.

 

I have seen cases where:

- they ask for a statement of research interests which I think lists what areas you want to study/research and potential supervisors, but not a statement of purpose

- the above, but only for PhD not Master's applicants. (I am only applying for a Master's).

- no mention of any statement or additional documentation. Maybe it's somewhere, but I can't find it on the university or department website. Can't find a mention of a resume/CV requirement even.

- they ask for a statement of academic intent, but say it should be brief and seems to be mostly about what I want to study and career objectives though I could also mention past experiences. However, the SOP samples I found on the web are mostly about past experiences, like going through your resume in detail and talking about what inspired you and such. I get the impression it's not the same as what this grad school is asking for.

 

(I'm looking at computer science programs specifically, if that makes a difference.)

 

I'm not sure what I should be submitting in those cases (and in the 2nd/3rd case, anything at all?). Could someone clarify this for me? Thanks.

Edited December 30, 2012 by chron

[fuzzylogician]

The statement of purpose is the essay where you list the reasons for applying to the school, your background, interests, career goals, etc. This essay can have different names at different places - some schools call it the research statement or the personal statement. As long as it's the only essay required, this is what schools will be expecting. Sometimes schools also ask for an additional essay that specifically talks about your past or reasons for getting interested in your topic - but I've never heard of a school only requiring this statement but not the research-oriented one. So, ignore the names and read the prompts. If in doubt, contact the departments and ask. But generally, if there is just one statement required it'll be the SOP regardless of what they choose to call it. 

[fuzzylogician]

The statement of purpose is the essay where you list the reasons for applying to the school, your background, interests, career goals, etc. This essay can have different names at different places - some schools call it the research statement or the personal statement. As long as it's the only essay required, this is what schools will be expecting. Sometimes schools also ask for an additional essay that specifically talks about your past or reasons for getting interested in your topic - but I've never heard of a school only requiring this statement but not the research-oriented one. So, ignore the names and read the prompts. If in doubt, contact the departments and ask. But generally, if there is just one statement required it'll be the SOP regardless of what they choose to call it. 

 

In your case: 

- they ask for a statement of research interests which I think lists what areas you want to study/research and potential supervisors, but not a statement of purpose

---> This is a SOP

 

- the above, but only for PhD not Master's applicants. (I am only applying for a Master's).

---> This is a SOP

 

- no mention of any statement or additional documentation. Maybe it's somewhere, but I can't find it on the university or department website. Can't find a mention of a resume/CV requirement even.

---> You should contact the school and ask. If not required but possible, upload a SOP as a supplementary document. 

 

- they ask for a statement of academic intent, but say it should be brief and seems to be mostly about what I want to study and career objectives though I could also mention past experiences. However, the SOP samples I found on the web are mostly about past experiences, like going through your resume in detail and talking about what inspired you and such. I get the impression it's not the same as what this grad school is asking for.

---> This is a SOP. Good SOPs should be about your current/future interests and goals. They should also talk about your past, but that shouldn't be the main point of the essay.

[TakeruK]

In addition to what fuzzy said, some Canadian schools do not ask for one long essay that is typically the SOP at American schools. For example, at UBC Physics, the grad application in 2010 consisted of ~5 questions that required paragraph responses. The 5 questions were the points that one typically makes in a SOP (e.g. what's your background, what you want to study, why UBC etc.)

 

Just something else to keep in mind too, because the questions can be misleading (sometimes the prompt is followed just by a text box, not an upload file thing). Until I checked, I was going to answer "What do you want to study in grad school?" with just "Astronomy" (thinking it was just like "what program do you want to apply to?" even though that question was already asked earlier in application). 

[chron]

I wanted to mention this, in case someone experiences the same issue.

 

One my grad school I recently applied for had, in their online application, a text box saying "briefly state your statement of purpose" or something similar. That confused me because it was a small text box and I thought SOPs were supposed to be much longer, and because the university was of Case 2 I mentioned above (requiring a statement of research interests for PhD applications but not Master's which is what I applied for). I also mistakenly thought I would be able to upload the document later, so I wrote in the text box "I will upload my SOP in a document". It turned out there were slots to upload required documents like the CV but not additional documents, so I ended up unable to upload an SOP. It was the night of the deadline, so it was too late to do anything about it (I couldn't go back to the text box section). I wish I had known and written a mini SOP in that text box, but it confused me at that time. I hope that didn't kill my application.

[chron]

Another school I applied for said on their department page that it required a statement of intent (without mentioning specifically what should be in it). I already submitted the application so it's probably too late now, but the general graduate studies page mentions a personal statement AND a research interest statement. It doesn't say every program necessarily needs both. Was the statement of intent I submitted supposed to be a personal statement, research interest statement, a hybrid of both, or neither? In any case, I didn't read the exact description of the statements on the general grad studies page before I applied, so I think I sort of screwed up. It's my fault, and I have to be more careful next time.