Showing and Not Telling

[qeta]

I have seen this advice repeated again and again on this thread about SOPs that one should demonstrate their fit instead of telling. I am hoping to move fields at the end of my Master's from political science to sociology. I won't be able to take any sociology classes as part of my Master's degree. While sociology and political science are sister fields, sociology seems to place a much higher premium on knowing the classical theories and the methodologies in the two fields can be somewhat to quite different. To better prepare myself, I have started to read the texts and articles assigned in Wisconsin-Madison's sociology grad classes since the school so generously archives all old syllabi.

So my question is: should I mention that this is how I have prepared myself for a PhD in sociology in the SOP? Should that be a line on my CV somehow? Or, should I not mention it at all and let the adcomm infer my familiarity with the field from my research project and the authors/works that come up in relation to that?

 

Perhaps a related question is whether I should mention why I'm moving from political science to sociology?

[TakeruK]

Don't talk about how you read the texts and articles of sociology grad classes in your SOP. This is not the type of thing I would put in a SOP. Instead, I would focus the SOP on why the school you are applying to is a good fit for your career/academic goals. Show that you are passionate and knowledgeable the field by discussing your research project and previous work. Do not name drop authors/works/classes at UW-M.

 

In addition, if a prospective student told me that they read the books assigned to my program's grad classes prior to applying, I would not be impressed at all and I would not think this made them a better candidate for grad school in my program! However, perhaps this is a difference in field.

 

But the second question, yes you should absolutely discuss why you want to go to grad school in sociology and part of that should address why your interests change from political science to sociology. I think the answer to this question should be one of the main takeaway messages you put into your SOP and in answering this question, you will address a lot of questions that the adcomm will have about its applicants.

[ashiepoo72]

I would take a good, long look at your research/methodological interests and choose programs that can help you become the scholar you want to be. You need to clearly define what you want to do in graduate school before you can meaningfully and thoughtfully articulate how a program "fits" and how you are prepared for that particular program. It will help you figure out where to apply as well. My field is different (history), but I think this translates across disciplines (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!). For example, if I want to take an interdisciplinary approach to my research, I would apply to schools that either are strong in that methodology or, at the very least, not completely against it (and some programs are). I study modern U.S., and some programs are particularly strong in contemporary history so it's a great thing to mention in an SOP. To find these "fit" tidbits, you gotta do some research

 

Once you delineate your research and scholarly aspirations, you can begin looking at what resources both the department and the university have to offer. Maybe a particular university has a collection in their archives you can use or a scholar in another department that can touch on some aspect of your research interests that the sociology department can't. Maybe you want to learn a language, and certain universities are particularly good in area studies.

 

I have a question: have you done any research? I believe that the capability to do research at the graduate level will definitely help you, even if it's outside of your intended field--and like you said, sociology and polisci are sister fields. You should "show not tell" what you learned from any research experiences, what skills you developed, etc. Talk about methodology, sources, conclusions, etc.

 

If you can show programs you have a well-defined research interest, research experience and a clear understanding of how you fit the program/university and the program/university fit you, that's the formula for a good SOP (in my opinion...I'm applying to PhDs too, so take my advice with a grain of salt).

[qeta]

Don't talk about how you read the texts and articles of sociology grad classes in your SOP. This is not the type of thing I would put in a SOP. Instead, I would focus the SOP on why the school you are applying to is a good fit for your career/academic goals. Show that you are passionate and knowledgeable the field by discussing your research project and previous work. Do not name drop authors/works/classes at UW-M.

 

In addition, if a prospective student told me that they read the books assigned to my program's grad classes prior to applying, I would not be impressed at all and I would not think this made them a better candidate for grad school in my program! However, perhaps this is a difference in field.

 

But the second question, yes you should absolutely discuss why you want to go to grad school in sociology and part of that should address why your interests change from political science to sociology. I think the answer to this question should be one of the main takeaway messages you put into your SOP and in answering this question, you will address a lot of questions that the adcomm will have about its applicants.

Thank you for this! I have not yet found a super-positive way to talk about my intended switch from political science to sociology. I have a clear idea about the particular area of sociology I want to work on, which has remained unchanged from the content of my Master's SOP. Sociology is just better at dealing with my area of interest in a more multidimensional way and at incorporating micro-, meso-, and macro-level analyses, whereas political science is more interested in macro-level analysis. (Edited to say: now that I write it out, this sounds like a fine and non-negative reason for the switch.)

Edited January 11, 2015 by qeta

[qeta]

I would take a good, long look at your research/methodological interests and choose programs that can help you become the scholar you want to be. You need to clearly define what you want to do in graduate school before you can meaningfully and thoughtfully articulate how a program "fits" and how you are prepared for that particular program. It will help you figure out where to apply as well. My field is different (history), but I think this translates across disciplines (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!). For example, if I want to take an interdisciplinary approach to my research, I would apply to schools that either are strong in that methodology or, at the very least, not completely against it (and some programs are). I study modern U.S., and some programs are particularly strong in contemporary history so it's a great thing to mention in an SOP. To find these "fit" tidbits, you gotta do some research

 

Once you delineate your research and scholarly aspirations, you can begin looking at what resources both the department and the university have to offer. Maybe a particular university has a collection in their archives you can use or a scholar in another department that can touch on some aspect of your research interests that the sociology department can't. Maybe you want to learn a language, and certain universities are particularly good in area studies.

 

I have a question: have you done any research? I believe that the capability to do research at the graduate level will definitely help you, even if it's outside of your intended field--and like you said, sociology and polisci are sister fields. You should "show not tell" what you learned from any research experiences, what skills you developed, etc. Talk about methodology, sources, conclusions, etc.

 

If you can show programs you have a well-defined research interest, research experience and a clear understanding of how you fit the program/university and the program/university fit you, that's the formula for a good SOP (in my opinion...I'm applying to PhDs too, so take my advice with a grain of salt).

I have done quite a bit of research in political science, history (my second major in undergrad), and sociology. They used very different methodologies (surveys, interviews, archival research, and statistical methods), but throughout most of them I gravitated towards working on a particular research area. Your comments on the three focal points of the SOP are very helpful and I'm going to devote more time to developing the first and the last points in the future. Thank you!