Critique My statement of Purpose for MA in International Relations

[sudhirch26]

Hello I am from abc college of India. I am currently pursuing my B.Sc in Physical sciences and want to do my masters in International relations from xyz college in france. i would appreciate if you would evaluate my SOP and help me improve it.

 

Statement of Purpose

 

Born and brought up in the Indian state of pqr, the foundation of my understanding of the relations of India with her neighbors and diplomacy was laid by discussions with my father who was a Police Officer in the Central Intelligence Department. The art of diplomacy has inspired me since then. My education at abc College has only refined me to further pursue the mastery of this very essential nuance of human relations and engagements.

India shares its border with 6 different nations among which it has major border disputes with Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. India’s relation with these countries depends a lot upon how it handles these disputes with her neighboring countries especially Pakistan. Peace and tranquility of this region revolves around the foreign policy of our country. India in coming decades will also be wielding far greater influence in global organizations/scenario as evident from the BRICS and the recent Rio 20+ summit. Thus India would be needing professionals of world class knowledge and experience in conflict resolution, international terrorism and diplomacy in organizations like the UN. The xyz offers to train a student with all these skills in its post graduate course in International Security. Having read the layout of the course I find it extremely attractive, stimulating and apt for the kind of career I wish to pursue. My desire is to have a specialization in the fields of global security, conflict-resolution, terrorism and peace building. These have become major concerns in the 21^st century, especially after 9/11. Paris is centrally located for such a calling. It houses a myriad of international organizations that will help me have a comprehensive and first-hand experience of how global governance functions.

I have done some amount of grass root work in both my school and my college and acquired various set of skills that would help me later in field.

·  In school, I was a part of the Student Academic Council and a Prefect. Handling the arduous task of looking after the discipline of over 2000 students from various caste denominations, who have quarreled over centuries, made me realize that I have the capability to resolve conflicts and negotiate.

·  In college I utilized the leadership skills that I had honed in school and used it in the vocation of Social Service. The highlights of this newly found interest was the Rural Development Project which was undertaken by the 123 League of abc college. Gomla, a village in Haryana was adopted by the Social Service League in collaboration with the United Nations Volunteers’ Scheme. We worked primarily in the field of social development: empowering women and improving the educational facilities in the village. Working in the project was a rewarding experience for me. Gomla was declared a model village by Haryana state government in 2012. In recognition of my efforts I was nominated the Vice-President of the 123 League and currently I am doing my best to fulfill this responsibility.

·  I have also actively participated in Student Government in college as Secretary to the Students’ Union of St. Stephen’s College in my second year. In addition to looking after students’ welfare, the Students’ Union also takes up students’ issues before the administration and it is in doing this work that I have had the chance to engage in policy making. This experience instilled in me leadership qualities.

I have been in pursuit of academic excellence since School. I topped in my school in Physics in 12^th standard CBSE board Examination. In recognition I was awarded a scholarship by the pqr State Police Force. I have been in the top 5 of my class in both my years of graduation and have scored an average of 81.48 percent. I have enrolled in an online course of jkl university titled, “9/11 And Its Aftermath” wherein I will be learning about the events which lead up to the attacks, changes in the US foreign policy thereafter and the war in Afghanistan. This will also give me a strong foundation for the course that I want to pursue for my post-graduation as I would already have a good grasp of some of the key concepts that I wish to explore in the future. Being from a scientific background provides me with an extra edge as my approach to studies would be methodical. I have also enrolled in a French certificate course in abc University so as to be fluent in a foreign language.

I aim to come back to India and give my best in serving it with the cosmopolitan education which I will be receiving in Paris. This I aim to do by qualifying for the coveted Indian Foreign Services and developing the foreign policy of India, which is poised to become a global super power in the coming years.