Political Science SOPs?

[testingtesting]

I've been scouring these forums, but can't seem to find a substantial volume: anyone have any SOPs for Political Science or Political Economy PhDs available for review? It's really unclear how much I should be delving into my research topic: ii move from polisci generally into my subfield, then talk about a general issue i want to focus on (democratization) and some factors that i'm interested in that might explain that issue (e.g. changes in institutions causing democratization, or whatever). My SOP takes up about 1.5-2 pages single spaced, with about 2-3 paragraphs discussing my research interests, 2 paragraphs discussing my academic background, 1 paragraph discussing past academic and non-academic research, 1 paragraph discussing skills, 1 paragraph discussing interest in my subfield, and 1 paragraph discussing faculty i'm interested in. Hard to tell how much detail to go into in the research statement - i want to keep it as broad as possible without sounding clueless but don;t know what that looks like.

[ARealDowner]

I'm applying for political science Ph.D. programs this semester (several of the same schools as you, actually), and I too wrestled with this for my statement of purpose. My structure looks something like:

 

1) Introduction - one paragraph

2) What I want to study/why it's an interesting avenue for research - three paragraphs

3) Previous research experience and academic development - one (longish) paragraph

4) Potential research project to pursue - one paragraph

5) Why school X and associated faculty would be a good fit for my research - one (longish) paragraph

6) Short conclusion

 

It's definitely the full two pages that appears to be the limit for most of those schools (trimming it down to 500 words for UNC is going to be difficult). The part of it dealing with a concrete research idea is quite synoptic, I don't think you could adequately address the other sections if you went into excessive detail. I'm a tad worried that I don't devote enough attention to demonstrating fit, but I'm hoping the extended discussion of my research interests is enough to give the committee a good idea of why I would fit in there.

 

As far as examples of previous (successful) Ph.D. applicants' SOPs, I'm not sure...you might try asking in the political science subforum to see if anyone knows anything.

Edited November 17, 2014 by ARealDowner

[testingtesting]

I'm applying for political science Ph.D. programs this semester (several of the same schools as you, actually), and I too wrestled with this for my statement of purpose. My structure looks something like:

 

1) Introduction - one paragraph

2) What I want to study/why it's an interesting avenue for research - three paragraphs

3) Previous research experience and academic development - one (longish) paragraph

4) Potential research project to pursue - one paragraph

5) Why school X and associated faculty would be a good fit for my research - one (longish) paragraph

6) Short conclusion

 

It's definitely the full two pages that appears to be the limit for most of those schools (trimming it down to 500 words for UNC is going to be difficult). The part of it dealing with a concrete research idea is quite synoptic, I don't think you could adequately address the other sections if you went into excessive detail. I'm a tad worried that I don't devote enough attention to demonstrating fit, but I'm hoping the extended discussion of my research interests is enough to give the committee a good idea of why I would fit in there.

 

As far as examples of previous (successful) Ph.D. applicants' SOPs, I'm not sure...you might try asking in the political science subforum to see if anyone knows anything.

 

What is the difference between (2) and (4)?

[Crucial BBQ]

 

 

It's definitely the full two pages that appears to be the limit for most of those schools (trimming it down to 500 words for UNC is going to be difficult). The part of it dealing with a concrete research idea is quite synoptic, I don't think you could adequately address the other sections if you went into excessive detail. I'm a tad worried that I don't devote enough attention to demonstrating fit, but I'm hoping the extended discussion of my research interests is enough to give the committee a good idea of why I would fit in there.

 

As far as examples of previous (successful) Ph.D. applicants' SOPs, I'm not sure...you might try asking in the political science subforum to see if anyone knows anything.

You'd be surprised at how much fat can be trimmed.  Your entire 2 pages can be reduced to 500 words and still convey more information than the two pages you have now.  I am not sure about political science, but extending research experiences in an SOP is generally considered to be extraneous; you do not need to give a laundry list-that is what your CV/resume is for.  

 

I am not quite sure what political science programs look for in an SOP, but I would imagine it is roughly the same as every other program.  One thing to keep in mind:  there is no standard format. 

 

Here is how I laid out my SOP:

 

(I had a rather unconventional path through undergrad.  My SOP is written specifically to demonstrate intention, not to highlight my undergraduate career and why it is a no-brainer to admit me.  Because of certain factors I do not have the luxury to let my application speak for itself.  Even though everyone should write an explicit SOP, your own undergraduate career and motivations for graduate school will dictate how you write your own SOP.  If a program believes I am a great match or is interested in taking a chance on me, awesome; but I do not want to BS anyone or waste their time.  What follows below might not work for you).  

 

 

 

-Concise opening where I tell the adcoms my intentions right away.  1-2 sentences.  Some might call this the hook and use it as the opening sentence of the thesis.  I keep it separate because it fits my writing style.  Do what works best for your writing style. 

 

-Thesis:  explicit explanation of reason/motivation for grad school.  1 paragraph.

 

-Past experiences:  I did not list everything I had done, just 2-3 (I have a ton of undergrad experiences).  I did not specifically state what I did, but why I did it and what I had learned instead. 2-3 paragraphs depending on required length of SOP as deemed by program. 

 

-Future goals:  briefly described what I hope to do after grad school.  1 paragraph.

 

-Fit:  here is where I tie in my past experiences with what I know about the program.  1-3 paragraphs depending on required length of SOP. 

 

-Other:  here is where I put the other stuff that is relevant to the program, asked in the essay prompt that is not discussed elsewhere, and so on.  0-2 paragraphs depending on program, essay prompts, and required length of SOP. 

 

-Conclusion:  restatement of thesis, basically.  2-4 sentences. 

Edited November 18, 2014 by Crucial BBQ

[ARealDowner]

What is the difference between (2) and (4)?

 

It's my understanding based on advice from several people you're not just supposed to explain what subfield and niche you're interested in (2), but also have a concrete research question you can pose within that area of interest (4). The first post in this thread illustrates what I'm referring to as far as the latter goes:  in the second to last full paragraph)

 

I know it might seem counterintuitive to have the two separated, but because my research question derives directly from observations made during research I've done already, I want to briefly talk about said research so the reference to it makes sense. 

Edited November 18, 2014 by ARealDowner